The next Monday morning dawned cloudy with a threat of snow, but Kurt didn't let that dampen his excitement for the day ahead. Santana had approached him the night before with a job she though was perfect for him. She had discovered that there was an opening at her modeling agency and had somehow gotten him the job. She didn't give him a chance to comment one way or the other, just told him she would be by to pick him up bright and early in the morning.

He woke up extra early in order to select an outfit for this first day. He must convey professionalism, but be fashionable enough to garner respect from people who were so often exposed to the top levels of the fashion industry. This was probably not the time to wear an original design — designer names would impress more. Luckily, he had been making bookmarks on his tablet for the looks he was most drawn to, so it was quick work to find an Armani jacket from the fall 2012 line that suited his needs perfectly. He stood in front of the mirror, looking critically at the blue wool jacket that fastened off-center on the right with slightly over-sized buttons. The jacket itself was pretty basic — it was the neckline that really added drama to the garment. The neck was an asymmetrical cowl, with the left side standing up to show the blue wool and the right side spilling down and out to reveal a blue satin lining. It was understated, yet intricate and hopefully just the right note to hit on his first day. He finished off the outfit with some tailored black trousers and blue suede boots that matched the jacket, then added a black Marc Jacobs messenger bag.

Finally happy with his appearance he headed down to breakfast. Helen was not up yet, but Blaine and Rachel were already at the table. Rachel had just come from her morning workout and was still glowing from the exercise. Kurt had to admit that it made the young woman look very pretty. Now if only something could be done about her sour expression. She had spent the last few weeks baffled at the seemingly instant and deep friendship that had sprung up between Kurt, Blaine, and Santana. Every time the other woman had come over to the house to meet with Kurt, Rachel's expression had gotten more and more pinched. Kurt knew that she was feeling excluded from their group, but they hadn't dared to invite her to join in on any of their movie nights, as they often detoured into genie oriented discussions. The current situation was just reinforcing her belief that Kurt was going to somehow take Blaine away from her, so he knew that they need to find a solution, the sooner the better.

As he moved over to sit at the table, Blaine looked up from the newspaper and gave Kurt a thorough look from head-to-toe. "Wow, Kurt! Looking good. You've got an excellent military meets elegant country gentleman thing going on. What's the occasion?"

"Santana got me a job at her modeling agency," Kurt happily exclaimed, "I start today. She should be here to pick me up in a few minutes."

Blaine looked a little uneasy at his announcement. "Do you think you're ready for that? What if…" he glanced over at Rachel, who was looking at Kurt with a flabbergasted expression. "I mean, I know you want to make some extra money, but do you have time to take on another job in addition to working on Peter's memoirs?"

"Santana got you a job at her agency?" Rachel interrupted in disbelief. "The Santana you only met less than a month ago? The same Santana who refuses to take 5 minutes to introduce me to the producer of the commercial she was in last month?"

"The difference is that I can actually stand being a room with him for more than 3 minutes, so I don't mind doing favors for him." Santana swept into the room, throwing herself down on one of the empty chairs. "Now, don't you have to go catch up with Sneezy or Dopey or one of your other dwarf friends? The adults want to talk alone for a minute."

Rachel threw her napkin down and placed both hands flat on the table to help push herself into a standing position. She speared Santana with a venomous glare, then spun on her heal and stormed dramatically out of the room.

Santana acted as if nothing had happened, reaching over to sneak a piece of bacon off of Blaine's plate. "So, who's ready to get their work on?"

It only took 25 minutes before Santana was pulling her car into the parking garage at work. She had taken that time to give Kurt a high level overview of his job, which would involve acting as one of the assistants for the owner of the agency. She warned him that the job wouldn't be easy, since the big boss was known for being extremely hard on employees and tended to go through assistants like Kleenex.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do fine. If nothing else, I'm sure it will be entertaining for the rest of us to watch. I also can't wait until the others at the office get a look at you. It'll be just like watching them drool over the pastries in the cafeteria that they don't allow themselves to eat. Don't tell Blaine, but it might have been the picturing their reactions that led me to the idea of getting you a job here in the first place. I can't wait to see those bitches eat their hearts out." She threaded her arm through his and led him to the elevator and up to the 25th floor.

Santana had been right about the reaction of the other employees of the agency. From the second Kurt got off of the elevator he felt like he was a bone being dangled in front of a pack of very hungry dogs. Within 5 minutes he had been inappropriately propositioned by two women and one man and had had his rear end pinched by an unknown party. He breathed a sigh of relief when Santana finally got him to the office of the chief assistant who was to be his manager.

"Tina, I have your fresh meat for you," Santana smile wickedly at Kurt as she motioned him into the office before disappearing with a wave.

A lovely Asian woman with blue and pink stripes in her hair stood up, smiling at Kurt and making him feel instantly at ease. "Hi, you must be Kurt. I'm Tina Cohen-Chang. It's nice to meet you. I hope you like it here. Or at least don't run away screaming in the first 10 minutes."

Tina proceeded to walk him through what his basic duties would be and how she would be spending the rest of the day trying to get him up to speed. The first order of the day was the morning team meeting, where the various department heads gave the management staff an update on the working being done that day.

"Are you ready to meet the boss?" she asked, leading him past the kitchen towards the conference room.

Kurt felt his eyes grow big as they neared the door. He could hear the sounds of raised voices seeping through the walls and could almost smell the fear of the people inside. Suddenly he wondered if this was really such a good idea. Maybe he should just give up on the idea of finding a job and return home and wait for Blaine to get off of work. That had worked with all of his past connections. He had never attempted to find a job before. What was he thinking? Tina opened the door and muted yelling became a clear, understandable roar.

"You think this is hard? Try modeling a swimsuit in the middle of the Amazon River while piranhas are nibbling at your toes. That's hard."

Kurt's first day on the job had been quite the experience. Sue Sylvester, the owner of Outstanding Models, had proven to be just as challenging a personality as Santana has described. Kurt had watched in horror as she belittled and threatened the employees unlucky enough to be in the morning team meeting. He was sure that at any moment someone would point out how wildly inappropriate she was being, but no one ever did. After everyone had finally escaped from the meeting Tina had shown him around the office, introducing him to most of his new co-workers and filling him in on how the agency worked. They got along very well and she invited him to lunch to meet her boyfriend Mike, who was a dancer and part-time model for the agency.

Kurt's second day started off bright and early with a model candidate review, where Sue met with the model scouts to evaluate the new girls and guys who were looking to be represented by the agency. Tina was taking notes for the meeting and Kurt was asked to bring each candidate into the room to be evaluated. Sue arrived last, holding a personal shake blender, and threw herself into the chair at the end of the table.

"Tony, let's get this show on the road," she barked, looking at Tina.

"I think we have a great batch of candidates to review today," the soft-spoken assistant replied.

"Delicious. Spectacular. My buttocks are clenching in sweet anticipation." She hit the button on the blender, setting it to whir loudly for a few seconds. Tina gave Kurt a nod to bring in the first potential model. The next hour was not a pleasant one and Kurt couldn't help but cringe with every comment out of Sue's mouth.

"There is so much silicone in that chest she could be used as a floatation device for an entire football team. Next." *Whir*

"Her lips are so big Angelina Jolie is in the corner crying due to her feelings of inadequacy. No!" *Whir*

"There isn't enough wax in the world. Get him out of my building." *Whir*

"She should be eating cottage cheese instead of wearing it on her thighs. Tell her to call us when she has lost 40 pounds or has wisely given up on a modeling career and is looking for her first receptionist position. Whichever comes first."

Each comment Sue had made throughout the meeting had pushed Kurt closer and closer to the edge and with the last one he toppled off. As Sue pressed down on the blender power button to give her drink a stir the container broke apart, sending the cayenne pepper laced protein drink inside exploding all over her face. The room was silent as everyone took in the sight of Sue's shocked face dripping with congealing shake.

"Tennille! Help me clean this mess off!" Sue stormed from the room, Tina following her with a handful of napkins.

Kurt briefly felt guilty over what he had done, but the feeling disappeared with the quiet burst of laughter that filled the room as soon as the door closed. The general sentiment seemed to be that the incident was well deserved and they all enjoyed the moment of shared schadenfreude. After several minutes Sue and Tina returned, the older woman looking only slightly the worse for wear for her misfortune.

"What're you all just sitting around for? Let's get this finished. I have a lunch meeting with Leonardo DeCaprio. He's going to spend the hour begging me co-start in his next movie again and I don't want to be late."

They saw several more applicants, Sue's comments still harsh, but a shade less disrespectful, before she called a halt to the meeting.

"I don't understand the lack of quality I am seeing here, minions. Every day I arrive and the line of people looking to be represented by my agency is stretching down the block. I have to call the Chief of Police at least once a week to get him to assign a squadron to us for crowd control. With all of those people willing to sell their souls to work here how on earth can these be the best we can come up with?" She glared at the people around the table as if blaming each and every one of them for the physical defects of the people waiting outside. She passed over Kurt quickly, then did a double take, returning to spear him with her laser like gaze. "Now this is what I am talking about! Look at that skin, that hair, those eyes, that body! This is what we need around here. Why is he sitting here? He should be out working already. Why isn't he on a photo shoot right now?"

Tina cleared her throat lightly before getting up the nerve to correct her. "Actually Sue, Kurt is your new assistant, not a model."

"What? Why would he want to waste his time slumming it with you people? I can make him a star. Tara, get him a contract."

Tina took a step towards the door before Kurt's voice stopped her. "Ms. Sylvester, I'm…flattered, but I'm really not interested in being a model. I much prefer being on this side of things."

Sue made a noise of disgust. "Nonsense. I give you one week before you are begging me to get you the fame and riches you so obviously deserve. Ah, sweet Porcelain, the money you and I will make together." Sue stood up, calling the meeting to an abrupt end now that her plans had been foiled. "Back to work, all of you. I can smell the carbs and sugar leeching from your skin and it is frankly making me a little bit nauseous."

Tina just looked at Kurt with a shrug as if to indicate that nothing that had just transpired was that unusual. This job was definitely doing to be an experience.

Blaine had always been happy to get back home after a long day at work, but the lure of home seemed even greater now that Kurt was there. Helen and Rachel lived busy lives and were, more often than not, out in the evenings, so the cozy nights spent in front of the fireplace in the library had become a special thing for just the two of them; Blaine doing some left over work or reading a book and Kurt doing research or watching yet another musical on his tablet. He felt a strange sense of comfort and familiarity, as if his nights had always been spent like this, even though they had known each other for only a month.

He glanced over at Kurt, who was intently reading something on the tablet, and felt a pulling in his heart that he chose not to examine too closely. He forced himself to pick up his book again, but couldn't focus his attention, as his eyes kept returning to the other man over and over. He had long since memorized the features of Kurt's face, but here in the firelight new angles and planes came to life. The slight dimple next to his mouth that came out with a truly genuine smile, the arch of his eyebrow when he was feeling especially perturbed. Sometimes Blaine thought that he could look at Kurt forever and still see some new expression, uncover some layer, that he hadn't seen before.

His musing were brought to an abrupt end when Kurt let out a loud burst of laughter and clutched his chest. "I think I've fallen in love."

"Wha…?"

Kurt turned his tablet around to show Blaine the screen. "His name's Maru and I'm seriously considering stealing him. Or at least making a clone."

Blaine looked down to see a video playing of a cat running across a hardwood floor then taking a sliding leap headfirst into a cardboard box. Oh no, Kurt had discovered the world of cute animals on the internet. They might never be able to pry the tablet from his fingers again. Blaine looked down at his laptop, which still had several documents open that he needed to review, then glanced back at Kurt, warm and cozy under a blanket, still laughing at the video of Maru the cat. What was that saying about a dying man never wishing he had worked more? With a decisive click, he closed the lid on the computer and pushed it aside. He abandoned his chair and moved over to sit down on the couch next to Kurt where he repositioned the blanket that was on Kurt's lap so that it now covered them both. "You think that's cute, wait 'til I introduce you to Boo, the world's cutest dog…"

The next day at work Kurt was updating the portfolios for some of the agencies' models, blushing slightly as he added some nude photos to a book, when Santana appeared at his elbow. "They're just boobs, Mother Teresa. They aren't going to reach out of the photo and attack you. Speaking of being attacked, I had to sneak by two groups of women in the break room who are about to come to blows over who gets to ask you to join them for lunch today. You are now officially the new office pet." Kurt looked towards the break room. Santana must be exaggerating, but he had heard raised voices coming from that direction just a few moments ago.

"I heard about Sue's 'accident' in the meeting yesterday. What an unusual and not-at-all-suspicious thing to have happened with you in the room. I also heard that she somehow locked herself out of her office for a few hours and that her car wouldn't start last night so she had to call a taxi, which for some reason took over two hours to get here."

Kurt kept his eyes on the portfolio he was working on, concentrating overly hard on sliding the next photo into the plastic protector. "I'm not sure what you are getting at."

"Nothing, nothing at all. Just making an observation about the bad day she had. Not that she doesn't deserve it — I'm sure she has really bad karma." Santana sat down next to him nonchalantly and pulled a portfolio to her, looking at the photos inside before pushing it away with a grimace. She looked around for a moment to ensure that they were alone, then whispered, "I...I just want to make sure you're being…discreet, you know? Just don't call attention to yourself too much, if you can help it."

Kurt's hand paused for a second over the stack of photos and he turned his head to look at her with give her a questioning look. "Are you worried about me?"

"Look, if you tell anyone I said this I will deny it and have you committed to a hospital for a psych evaluation, but I like having you around and I'd hate for you to mess up what you've got going here just because Sue is a horrible excuse for a human being."

"You're right," Kurt sighed, finally setting the stack of photos down. "I just hate bullies and it really bugs me to see her get away with stuff like that."

"I get that, though since I'm sometimes called a bully myself I don't know how hard I can throw stones. I just think that there might be a better way of changing Sue's ways."

"And what might that be?"

"I don't know, but maybe we can figure that out together?"

"I think I'd enjoy that."

On Valentine's Day a few nights later, Blaine and Kurt found themselves alone in the house. Rachel was spending the evening with Finn, Helen was out with a few friends, and the staff had all been given the night off, so the two men decided to cook themselves a feast. Kurt had nearly swooned with joy when he had first seen the kitchen, though Blaine hadn't really been sure why, since he always used his powers to prepare meals. Kurt had assured him that that wasn't the point. Chef quality appliances and miles of counter space were always to be appreciated even if one wasn't going to actually use them. They weren't going to go unused this night, however. Kurt had declared that he wanted to try cooking the old fashioned way tonight, no powers allowed.

They had decided on the menu the previous day and Kathleen had made sure that the kitchen was stocked with everything they would need. As they cooked Blaine was surprised at how well they worked together. They moved around the kitchen gracefully as if in a choreographed dance, never getting in each other's way but always there to offer a helping hand when needed. Kurt had a natural affinity for baking and Blaine preferred cooking, so they split most of their efforts up along those lines and were able to prepare the meal with only a brief food fight involving chocolate chips. Blaine once again had the distinct feeling that he was in a romantic comedy and almost felt like looking around for the cameras. It would be a waste if someone wasn't recording their cheesy behavior for posterity.

Once dinner was ready they decided to forgo the formal dining room and instead ate over candlelight in the room where they normally ate breakfast. Kurt blushed a little as he lit the candles, acknowledging that they were a little over-the-top for the occasion, but that he liked to eat by candlelight because it reminded him of earlier, more simpler days.

Half-way through the meal Blaine set down his fork and glanced up at Kurt with a serious expression. "Kurt, I think I may owe you an apology. I had such fun tonight, cooking with you, but when you said that you didn't want to use your powers I just… I worry that I've made you feel like you can't use your powers for anything and I never wanted to make you feel like that. I wished that you would be yourself and then I immediately went and told you how you needed to change and I'm…I'm so sorry. I was just so scared about someone else finding out about you. There are a lot of bad people in the world and I…I sometimes worry about someone taking you away from me."

"I know you're only trying to protect me, but I'm a big boy, Blaine and I'd really like to find a compromise that works for both of us. I know I can't just go and use my powers anywhere and I'm in constant fear of being caught on camera conjuring something up, but..."

"But you have to be you. And I want you to be, Kurt, I really do." Blaine reached over and laid his hand on Kurt's as had become his habit. "How about we make a deal? You'll do your best to keep under the radar while out in public and I'll do my best to embrace all of the wonder and excitement you and your powers bring to my life when we're alone."

"You have a deal."

They lingered over dinner and desert, filling each other in on the goings on at work and telling funny stories, then after dinner they retired to the living room, where they nestled into a window seat, clutching mugs of coffee to warm their hands. Blaine listened while Kurt told a few amusing stories about life at Outstanding Models, but they soon drifted into a companionable silence.

Blaine leaned his head against the window pane, watching as it fogged up with each breath he took. "I wish it was summer so that we could go swimming in the moonlight. That just feels like the perfect end to this evening."

Kurt sat up a little straighter at his words. "You wish…?"

"Oh no, not wish wish. I mean, I don't really want you to make it summer. I think a few people might notice that and I don't think that qualifies under our new 'when we are alone' deal. I was just thinking out loud."

"Well, I won't make it summer, but I can still grant your wish." Kurt set his coffee cup on a side table and pulled Blaine up from his seat, relieving him of his mug also. He intertwined their fingers and began winding his way towards the back door, never letting go of Blaine's hand. He pushed open the doors and they stepped out into the cold night — only it wasn't cold. The air was warm and smelled slightly of cut grass and summer flowers. Kurt stepped to one side and Blaine saw that the swimming pool was now uncovered and in all of its summer glory, the lights making it glow in the darkness. He walked to the edge and reached down to run his fingers lightly through the water, not sure why he was surprised when he felt the warmth.

"Don't worry, I didn't change the season. No one else will notice any difference. I just created a…let's call it a bubble, over the backyard to make it warmer. Happy Valentine's Day."

"This is amazing, Kurt. I can't believe this. I…thank you." He reached out and pulled Kurt into a tentative hug, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. When he didn't tense up at the contact Blaine allowed himself a small smile. "I guess I should go put my suit on, huh?"

He walked around the pool to the cabana and swiftly changed into his swimsuit, giving a quick thought of thanks to Kathleen or whoever kept the building stocked up with suits and towels even in the winter. He returned to find Kurt already changed and dangling this legs into the water. Blaine came to an abrupt stop, momentarily rendered dumb at the sight. The lights shining up through the water were being reflected by the paleness of Kurt's skin, making his body glow and shine. Blaine's eyes wandered, cataloging each new aspect of Kurt's body that had been uncovered: the toned arms, muscles defined as they shifted underneath his skin; The dusting of light brown hair covering his legs, chest and abdomen; The slim waist and broad shoulders that were always hinted at under his many layers of clothing. As Blaine stared all he could think was incandescent…luminous…radiant.

Blaine shook himself out of his stupor, realizing it was about to become very evident how much he liked seeing Kurt this way. In desperation he ran to the edge of the pool and dove in, happy when the water covered him, hiding him from Kurt's view. He surfaced to find Kurt, who had now joined him in the water, laughing in delight.

"It's been so long since I've been swimming. I don't think I can remember the last time actually. I'm not exactly built for sunbathing, so the opportunity doesn't usually present itself."

"You sunburn? Can't you just wish it away?"

"I can't heal people, not even myself, so I can try and prevent it, but if it happens I just have to suffer like everyone else. It is easier just to stay out of the sun. I'm more of an indoors kind of guy anyways."

"Well, you're an outdoors guy tonight and you just so happen to be with one of the top Marco Polo players in North America, so you had better be ready."

The two played games and swam for at least two hours before finally becoming too tired to continue. Kurt then conjured up two inflatable lounge chairs and they floated in the water, just gazing up and basking in what had been a perfect evening. As Blaine looked up, he realized he could see the stars, which must have also been Kurt's doing, since the lights of Chicago made star gazing next to impossible. As he observed, faint lines began to appear, outlining each constellation as if the entire night sky had become their own private planetarium. Still watching the show in the sky, Blaine reached over the water, holding out his hand. It took just a few seconds for Kurt to reach back and they settled in, eyes turns upwards and never letting go of each other.

The next morning, Blaine looked out his window at the pool and was glad, yet oddly kind of disappointed, to find it closed up for winter as usual, as if the previous night had never happened.