Kurt Hummel was spotted earlier this week walking in Santa Monica with the mystery man who the paparazzi first photographed him with about a month ago. Since then, the two have been seen together all over town, from his manager's office, to the studio where Kurt is filming his current movie, to shopping in L.A., where the two came away from several stores loaded down with bags. The unidentified man is on the short side, dark, and oh, so handsome, but who is he? Kurt my dear, is there something you'd like to tell us?— StarsRUs, October 14th, 2018.

=^..^=

Blaine and Bev told Kurt about the new letter and photo right away. He felt a stir of worry at the news, but the letters had never concerned him like they had Bev, so he tried to push it aside. He trusted Blaine to handle it.

Even if he had been so inclined, Kurt didn't have a lot of time to dwell on the new developments, as the publicity schedule for his new movie was ramping up. It was only his second film and his first comedic role, so he was anxious for people to see it. He wanted to prove to himself and to his critics that he wasn't a flash-in-the-pan, that he had a chance at a long term career. He did a few short phone interviews with some smaller online sites, but was thrilled when he was scheduled for a few sit down interviews with two of the bigger magazines.

Ever mindful of Kurt's time, Lynn was able to schedule both of the interviews for the same day and it was decided that they would meet at a local hotel known for hosting such meetings. The plan was to get there early and find a nice unobtrusive place for Blaine to watch from, but traffic was horrible and they arrived late for the first interview. The writer was already waiting for them in the lobby and watched as they entered the hotel together, talking closely. When he realized that they'd been spotted, Kurt decided to have Blaine sit with them for the interview, but didn't introduce him. He realized that his omission was like waving a red flag in front of a bull, but he was feeling particularly feisty that day and wanted to see what would happen.

The interview went well and the writer didn't ask about Blaine, though she definitely did sneak a few glances in his direction. Blaine played his part well, just smiling blandly and sitting silently. Within half an hour the interview was over and the writer left, leaving Kurt and Blaine with just enough time to grab lunch at the hotel's restaurant before the next interview began.

"So, that didn't go according to plan," Blaine commented as he perused the menu.

"Aren't you tired of sitting anonymously off to one side and watching me work?"

"It's kind of what I'm hired to do, Kurt."

Kurt scraped his fork across his napkin a few times, liking the patterns that the metal pressed into the soft linen. "I know, it's just…it's just getting old."

"Well, what do you want to do? Tell me and we'll do it. I want you to be comfortable."

"I just want someone to ask who you are, you know?" Kurt threw the fork down onto the table where it clinked up against his glass. "I'm being rude by not introducing you. Why is everyone letting me get away with it?"

"But we don't want them to ask, right?"

"I guess. You know what, just ignore me. I'm just in a mood today."

The meal passed quickly and they finished up the second interview in the same manner as the first, then headed home, but Kurt's strange mood remained.

=^..^=

"The interviews are out and they're pretty good." Lynn handed printouts of two articles over to Kurt a week later. "However…Blaine is mentioned in both of them. Not by name, of course, but they do some subtle speculation on who he is."

Bev stood up from her desk and moved over to join Kurt and Blaine in the sitting area of her office. "I think it may be time to go public with the boyfriend story, before people start to dig around and come up with theories."

Bev was looking at Kurt like she expected him to have diva freak-out, but he was strangely relieved. This was what he had been unconsciously wanting the day of the interviews, when he had felt so unsettled. For some unknown reason (right, unknown, can't you even be honest with yourself, Kurt?) he wanted Blaine to start acting as his pretend boyfriend, but he hadn't known how to broach the subject. Now his hand was being forced and he was secretly thrilled.

"I guess it's time to make it official." Kurt reached over and grabbed Blaine's hand, pulling it into his chest. "Blaine Anderson, will you do me the honor of being my fake boyfriend?"

"Why Kurt, I thought you'd never ask." Blaine played along, reaching up with his free hand to wipe non-existent tears from his eyes.

Lynn looked at them fondly. "I'm glad you guys are having fun with this, but we need to get your story straight before we start making any announcements."

Kurt crossed his legs and let go of Blaine's hand. He settled back onto the sofa and the careful crafting of their tale of love began. They agreed to stick with the 'met in Ohio as kids' angle and also agreed to keep Blaine's usual cover as a nanny. They wouldn't make any exact statements as to how long they had been dating, but wouldn't try and hide the fact that Blaine was living with Kurt.

Once all of the easy details were out of the way Kurt put forward two ultimatums. "First, I've decided to tell my family and friends the truth," he declared, holding a hand up to stop Bev when she would have objected. "I won't lie to them and I trust them not to sell me out, so take it or leave it." Bev sighed and nodded her agreement. "Second, no PDA. Maybe a little hand holding here and there, but that's it. I wouldn't be all over him in public even if he was my real boyfriend, so that's out of the question."

"But think of all the press we'd get," Lynn protested. "This could mean a lot to you going into awards season."

"And yet I remain unconvinced." Kurt reached down and flicked an imaginary piece of lint off of his trouser leg.

A few more minutes of grumbling and the deal was struck. It was decided that the new official couple would make their debut at the upcoming premier of Kurt's new movie in two days. Bev and Lynn moved across the room to begin crafting plans for the work needed on their end and Kurt turned to Blaine. "If you're going to be my boyfriend we have got to get you some better clothes. No one will ever believe that I'm dating a man who dresses like an insurance salesman."

"It's not like this my personal style," Blaine said, looking down at his plain light blue shirt. "It's just been so long since I've dressed just for myself that I don't even know what I like anymore."

"You're in luck. I'm offering my services as personal stylist. Make sure to get a good night's sleep tonight, for tomorrow, we shop."

=^..^=

Kurt hadn't been kidding about the need for a good night's sleep.

Blaine came into the kitchen the next morning to find Kurt cooking omelets, which was more than they typically ate for breakfast. Kurt looked particularly fetching that morning, wearing a pair of black pants with rivets down the outside that looked as if they were made of crystals that hugged every inch of his body and a lightweight red sweater that somehow looked alluring and sexy while covering him completely.

He didn't know how long he stood there in the doorway looking at Kurt, but he came back to earth to find Kurt staring at him with a question on his face, spatula in one hand, the other on his hip. Blaine searched his mind, trying to recall what Kurt might have said. Oh, right. "Umm, good morning to you to?"

Kurt looked at him as if he had lost his mind and shook his head slightly before gesturing for Blaine to take a seat at the table while he served.

Blaine took a bite and nearly groaned as the flavors burst on his tongue. "I thought we were going shopping today?"

"We are, but we need our protein first. It's going to be a long day."

"It won't take that long, will it? I mean we can just go to Kohl's right?"

Kurt's eyes opened so wide Blaine was worried they might pop out of his head. "Hello, have you met me? Do you think for even one second that I'm going to let you get your wardrobe from…" Kurt gave an appalled shudder, "…Kohl's? I mean, we might get a few pieces from Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus, but I'm sure most things will come directly from the designer's stores and..." He caught the laugh that Blaine was fighting to suppress and realized he had been had. "Very amusing. I don't think making fun of the man who is about to set your fashion direction is wise, do you?"

They were just putting away the washed dishes when the doorbell rung, announcing Bill's arrival with the car. They had decided the night before to take the chauffeured car so that Bill could drop them off and pick them up quickly if they encountered any problems and Steve was also accompanying them since Blaine's attention would be elsewhere. Blaine grabbed his wallet and Kurt picked up his messenger bag and they were out the door.

Once on the road Kurt got down to business. "First we need to figure out what your style is. How did you dress before you became a bodyguard and resigned yourself to a life without natural fibers? And if you say sports jerseys or rock band t-shirts I'm breaking up with you right now."

Blaine closed his eyes and tried to picture the clothes he'd worn back in school. "I had to start wearing uniforms just as fashion became kind of interesting to me, so I didn't have much more than jeans and plain t-shirts for weekends. I guess I kind of dressed that way in college too."

"Okay, so you had no sense of style. You're a blank canvas. I can work with that." Kurt called out an address to Bill as he pulled his phone out and began searching through photos for some ideas.

Blaine could tell from his tone and body language that Kurt was a little more tense than usual. He knew how much Kurt loved to shop, but it seemed that the combination of the new letter and the start of the boyfriend deception was overshadowing even his anticipation of dressing a life-sized Ken doll. He searched his mind for a way to lighten the mood.

"So, you said no big PDA, but can I call you by an endearment?"

Kurt didn't even look up from his phone. "Not if you want me to answer."

"Come on," Blaine pouted. "What about 'baby?' or 'sweet cheeks?' No! I've got it. 'Pookey bear'!"

Kurt groaned and let his head fall back against the seat, distracted at last. "If you call me 'pookey bear' I will replace every bottle of hair gel you own with Super Glue. I will hack into your email and send positive replies to every message in your spam folder about the latest male enhancement products. I will sign you up on every gay dating website I can find and indicate you're interested only in 'bears' who specialize in spanking. I will…"

"Okay! Okay! Got it. No 'pookey bear.'" The SUV pulled up to the first store and Blaine hopped out, scanning the street before sticking his head back in and indicating Kurt could exit. They walked to the entrance and Blaine pulled the door open, motioning Kurt inside. Just as the door closed behind them Blaine leaned forward to whisper in Kurt's ear. "How about 'snookums?'"

=^..^=

Kurt imagined that in a different world he might have chosen personal styling as a career. It was something he was passionate about and knew he was good at and he was determined to finish the day with a complete wardrobe for Blaine that fit his personality perfectly. He realized that it was a tall order.

His plan was to direct the sales people politely, but firmly, not letting them attempt to distract him with the dregs of the last season's collection that they were still trying to sell. He knew the current collections backwards and forwards and was sure of what he wanted to see Blaine try on.

The first store they visited was Tommy Hilfiger. Kurt knew that Blaine was unlikely to look right or be comfortable in the kind of cutting edge fashion he himself gravitated towards, so they were looking for classic, traditional pieces. Blaine tried on several different outfits, but they just didn't feel right. Too ivy league, too bland, too 'it's time to meet Muffy and Spencer at the country club for drinks.'

Next they tried Alexander Wang, but the clothes were much too stark and linear and didn't fit Blaine's personality. Burberry was too trendy and the latest Calvin Klein collection proved to be too much denim and completely wrong for Blaine's body type.

By noon they had only managed to get a few pair of jeans and a pea coat and Kurt could feel Blaine getting a little tired of trying on clothes. To offer him a break Kurt asked Bill to stop at Gucci, where Kurt had a few items he wanted to try on himself. He was a regular customer at the store and the staff knew him (and his spending habits) well, so they shut the store to other customers when they arrived. With the store all to themselves Kurt spent the next hour entertaining Blaine by trying on half of the clothes in the store and modeling them while pretending to be 'Hans' a Swedish supermodel character he had created in an improv class he had taken back in New York. 'Hans' was a distant cousin of Ben Stiller's Zoolander character and he was famous for his signature 'White Titanium' look, which involved a lot of glaring at the audience. Blaine and the store staff were wildly entertained and Blaine even joined him for one walk down the 'runway', posing with him for the fake cameras. It was the silliest Kurt could remember being in years.

As his many purchases were being wrapped up, Kurt wandered over to the scarves and wrapped one around his neck, standing in front of a mirror to see how the fabric looked against his skin.

"I love that one." Blaine said from behind him, holding his own bag that contained another coat and a pair of gloves. "It brings out your eyes."

Kurt felt his face flush and ran the end of the scarf through his hands, enjoying the feeling of the silk. "I do love a good scarf. Fall is my favorite season for fashion, even though one can't really carry off layers in L.A. very well; It doesn't get cold enough."

The saleswoman came forward with his bags and Kurt put the scarf back on the table and thanked her, promising to be back when the new collection arrived. As he walked to the front door, Kurt realized that Blaine wasn't with him and he turned back to find what the hold-up was. He found Blaine just a few feet away, gazing longingly at a display of bow ties. "Do you actually like bow ties or are you looking at it in an ironic hipster kind of way?"

Blaine looked up guiltily. "I really like them?"

"Come on, I know where we should go next."

They exited the store and found their car waiting for them along with a pack of paparazzi, who immediately began yelling and jostling them to get a reaction.

Kurt flashed a fake smile as Steve ushered him towards the open car door. "Smile Blaine, these will be probably be the first paparazzi shots that have your name on them. Wave to the locusts." Kurt raised his hand and gave his patented 'Queen of England' wave. Blaine looked distinctly uncomfortable, but also smiled and gave a quick wave before ducking into the vehicle.

Within minutes Bill had pulled the car up to Brooks Brothers. As soon as they walked into the store Blaine's eyes lit up and Kurt knew they had found the right place. The first thing Blaine did was walk over to a display of bow ties and look at them like Kurt might look at the newest collection of Vivian Westwood sweaters.

Kurt glanced over his shoulder at the salesman who was approaching them. "Be careful. These stores have a strict 'you drool, you buy' policy."

Blaine didn't seem deterred by the warning, his eyes still roaming lovingly over each tie. "There's so many. How do I decide?"

"Let's start with shirts and sweaters. Then we'll pick the ties that go best with them."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just get one of each?" Blaine asked hopefully.

"Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, Imelda" Kurt sighed at Blaine's confusion. "You'll be the Imelda Marcos of bow ties. No? Ah, how soon the world forgets. Come on, let's get started."

It was a bit of an uphill battle, but Kurt finally convinced Blaine that his style was simple classic pieces mixed with just enough humor to give his wardrobe personality. They agreed on the basics — polo shirts, pants with rolled up hems, and a few bow ties (especially the bow ties) — but Blaine was more interested in sweater vests than the striped and color blocked cardigans, and a particularly jaunty bowler hat that had caught Kurt's attention, so Kurt had to work a little harder to get him to warm up to those. Kurt had discovered in the past several weeks that Blaine was very eager to please and usually all it took was a pleading look and batted eyelashes to get him to bend to Kurt's will. He had promised himself that he wouldn't exploit this newfound weakness of Blaine's too often, though, so he went about using other, more typical, methods of persuasion.

After a quick lecture about message cohesion and point-of-view (which would have gone much better if Kurt had had access to his sketches or if Blaine had ever watched Project Runway), Blaine finally gave in and let Kurt dress him from head-to-toe. He looked a little doubtful when he came out of the dressing room in his first ensemble, but when Kurt compared his new look to that of Gene Kelley, Blaine looked so pleased Kurt thought he was going to break out into song.

Blaine returned to the dressing room to change into a pair of navy colored trousers and a striped cardigan that was so perfect that Kurt swore he'd buy it if Blaine didn't want it. Kurt wandered out a bit into the store and picked up a few additional shirts and a jacket for Blaine to try before coming across a display of shoes that would look amazing with the outfit Blaine was putting on. He had a salesperson pull a pair in Blaine's size and went back to the dressing room to give them to Blaine.

"Blaine, are you decent?"

"Coming."

Kurt pulled the dressing room door open and stepped inside. "I found these amaz..." He ground to a halt as his brain finally caught up with what his eyes were seeing. Blaine was standing in the room wearing nothing but a tight pair of boxer-briefs, his arms lifted up as he re-hung the sweater on a hanger. "I-I thought you said 'come in'. I'm sorry, I'll just…" Kurt turned around and quietly closed the door behind him. He kept on walking until he reached the next dressing room and slipped inside. He closed the door and sank onto the bench in the corner and wondered how long he would have to wait in there for the heat to fade away from his face and the tightness to disappear from his pants. He grimaced as he adjusted himself and said a silent 'thank you' that thigh-length sweaters were in that season.

He tried taking a few deep breaths to calm down, but every time he closed his eyes he just saw Blaine again, tight boxer-briefs hugging ever millimeter of his body, the sleek muscles in his back sliding under his skin as his arms reached up above his head. Kurt knew he was going to have to get his burgeoning attraction for Blaine under control or pretending that they were in a relationship was going to get very uncomfortable very quickly. Speaking of uncomfortable…Kurt decided to borrow a page from his step-brother's book and picture the most unsexy things he could think of to dampen his arousal: socks worn with sandals, mom jeans, animal sweaters, speedos on anyone other than Olympic athletes. He looked down at his lap. Yes, that was working.

"Kurt, are you in there?"

"Yes!" Kurt scowled as the words came out much too high for his liking. "Just trying on a few pieces. I'm almost finished." He made a few rustling noises with the jacket and used a finger to nudge a piece of hair slightly out of place to give him a more mussed look. He looked himself up and down in the mirror to make sure that nothing…stood out, held the shirts in front of him just in case and took a deep breath before opening the door.

Blaine was standing in the hallway, dressed in the clothes he had arrived in, a half-concerned, half-amused look on his face. He held up the cardigan that Kurt had seen him hanging up earlier. "I think this is too big. I need a smaller size."

"Of course. I can't believe the salesman isn't back here to help you with that. I'll go track him down. He needs to do better if he wants to earn his commission." Kurt gave Blaine a blinding smile and moved to brush past him into the store.

"Kurt, do we need to talk about —"

"No no no. No talk. I'm good if you're good. Nothing to talk about here. I just…hey, salesman!" Kurt nearly ran after the man he'd spotted walking towards the front of the store, anxious to escape Blaine's need to talk things out.

The salesman located the cardigan in the right size and Kurt handed the shirts and jacket he was carrying over to Blaine before ushering him back to the dressing room, thankful that Blaine didn't recognize them as the garments Kurt had been pretending to try on earlier.

The rest of their time in Brooks Brothers went quickly. Kurt had to talk Blaine down from buying a few items (he still firmly maintained that the holiday themed bow ties on display had been there for ironic effect only and were not meant to actually be purchased), but all-in-all things went smoothly and Kurt stayed far away from the room where Blaine was changing. The number of garments that were a 'yes' grew and grew until it seemed like they were buying at least half of the current season's looks.

Next they made their way to Tom Ford, where they bought exquisitely cut trousers, finely woven button-down shirts, and cashmere sweaters so soft Kurt wanted to curl up in them and take a nap (but of course he would never treat a piece of clothing so poorly as to do that). They also purchased a few classic Tom Ford suits that had rendered Kurt speechless when Blaine came out of the dressing room to model them. Blaine was measured by the in-store tailor, so that one could be readied right away for the premier the following night. Kurt would have normally liked to oversee the taking of the measurements to ensure that the suit was going to be tailored the way he liked, but he thought it best to stay far away from any situation that would put him in the position of thinking about Blaine's inseam.

After the tailor finished with his measurements Kurt attempted to pay for the clothes, but Blaine told him not to worry, he could afford them. Kurt protested that they were for the job and he should pay, but Blaine insisted, saying he needed the clothes anyways and he was already getting the free services of a great personal stylist and what more could he ask?

After making the commissioned sales people very happy, they returned to the SUV, packages in hand. As they waited for Bill to stow all of their purchases in the back, Blaine, who was wearing one of his new outfits, kept craning up to catch a glimpse of himself in the rear view mirror. His happy smile as he straightened his bright red bow tie was enough to make Kurt swoon.

"I was going to suggest changing your hair, but that style kind of works with this new look. What does it look like without all the gel?"

"Like a poodle got electrocuted," Blaine grimaced, his hand going to his head protectively.

"Hmm…I'm sure it can't be that bad, but we'll leave it for now."

Reassured that his hair was now safe from a make-over, Blaine leaned back against the seat and sighed. "I can't believe how much work that was. It must be exhausting to do this all the time. Why do you do it?"

"Fashion is the only art you can take with you on a daily basis. It's self-expression, aspiration, and inspiration all made up of little pieces of cloth. I think it's amazing. Besides, in most animal species it's the males that are the beautiful, fancy ones and the females that are the drab ones, but in humans it's the opposite. How is that fair? I'm just doing my part to even things out." He glanced down and saw that Blaine wasn't wearing any socks with his new boat shoes. "Oh, we forgot to buy socks. We can go back…"

"No, that's ok," Blaine said cheerfully, holding up his leg so he could look down at this bare ankle. "I like it this way."

"Of course you do."