His body feels heavy.

His mind feels blank.

His senses seem to wake up before his brain does. Soft, fresh sheets under him, something lying lightly on top of him. A warm light surrounds him and caresses his face, he can feel it beyond his closed lids.

Kurt opens his eyes slowly. Everything is out of focus; around him splashes of colour move and make sounds that he can't completely understand. He blinks a few times, and finally the world's outline appears clear in front of his blurry eyes.

A man is that "something" which is lying on top of him. Dark hair, a pair of ridiculous but awkwardly adorable triangular eyebrows and marvellous, deep, shining honey eyes.

That's Rachel's friend. 

Why is he on top of him?

What the hell is happening?

He turns his head towards the door a little, with a lot of effort. There is another man standing there, his fist clenched, his jaw tight, his eyes burning with clear rage.

That's the Duke, Kurt realises, as the confusion in his mind fades away.

"I'll say it one last time: what the hell is going on here?!" the Duke almost shouts, grinding his teeth to keep his rage back. Kurt's eyes fling open, as he tries to find the voice to answer.

"Oh, Duke..." he whimpers.

"It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside, isn't it?" the man growls, casting them both a deadly look: he has seen the man who should be his lover and a stranger lying one on top of the other on a bed, and there's no doubt he is thinking that he has been cheated on. This is the only thing Kurt knows and understands about this whole situation; but he has to do something, or his whole career will be destroyed in front of his eyes as easily as a sand castle. Yes, he has to do something, and on his own, too, considering that the other man seem to have lost the ability to do anything but shake his head and stutter.

"Beautifully said, my Duke", Kurt purrs, his voice now steadier, sitting up slowly as Blaine moves away from him, "And the time couldn't be more exact. Let me introduce you... the writer".

"The writer?"

"Yes, of course. We were... rehearsing, as you can clearly see" Kurt explains, standing up and getting closer to the blond man, trying to look as sincere as possible.

Apparently, though, it's not enough: anger only grows in the man's eyes, as he moves one step forward towards them.

"Ha!" His laugh is sharp, fake, almost dreadful. "And you expect me to believe that on a bed, in the arms of another man, in the middle of the night, inside the Windmill of the Moulin Rose, you were rehearsing?!"

"We- I-

"Why are you standing still, guys? You can't fool around, not when the time to rehearse is so little! In Broadway this wouldn't be allowed!"

The exclamation coming from behind them makes Kurt and Blaine jerk in surprise.

Standing in front of the balcony, hands on their hips, are Rachel, Tina, Mercedes and Santana, looking at them with a confident look. Kurt doesn't even have enough time to ask them, or even himself, how did they just appear in the room exactly when he needed them: the women immediately start to move and talk at the same time, creating a terrible confusion.

"From the top, guys, come on, hurry up!" Rachel shouts, clapping her hands and going towards the door.

"I hope the piano is already tuned!" Tina says, sitting in front of the instrument and playing a quick melody.

Mercedes stays behind them, as they turn again to face the other man. "Hell guys, are you with us? Wake up!"

Santana goes next to the Duke instead, and puts an arm around his shoulders. "Hi dude. Want to enjoy the show?"

The man spins around, his look becoming more and more puzzled as he watches the girls moving around him with confidence, as if they were actually used to this. This is the moment when he's weaker: he's confused, can't understand what is happening; at this point, Kurt's words could even be true to his eyes, and the young man knows that.

He has to take advantage of it. He gets closer to the Duke, eyes fixed in his to convince him, but not daring to touch him. "I was so inspired by our terribly short encounter, that I had to call my colleagues for an emergency rehearsal: I suddenly realised that we have so little time left before the opening night, that's the reason. I hope it doesn't bother you, my Duke".

"If it's a rehearsal, where's Ryerson, then?" the man asks, sharply. He's still suspicious and angry, but seems to be starting to believe him; the confidence in his eyes is about to shatter, and Kurt can see it. But what can he do now? The Duke has a point: of course Sandy would participate to any of their rehearsals, especially considering that he always wants to be included in every decision and meeting, even the silliest or smallest.

"Well, of course Sandy is-

"My dear Duke, I am so terribly sorry!"

Every head in the room turns towards the door, where suddenly Ryerson himself has appeared. Kurt doesn't really know whom to thank for the enormous, incredible luck he has had in the last couple of minutes, but if God exists, he's surely watching over him right now.

He gets in front of Sandy and fixes his eyes in his. Please, Sandy, just back me up and don't ask questions, he prays desperately with his look, hoping that he will understand. "Oh, Sandy! There's nothing to worry about, the Duke already knows everything about the emergency rehearsal", he says, pronouncing clearly the last two words, casting him a meaningful look.

"The emergency rehearsal?" Ryerson repeats, as if to fix the words in his mind.

"Yes, the one we are doing to incorporate the Duke's artistic ideas", Kurt explains, turning to the Duke to give him a knowing smile. When the man smiles back with the same smirk, as if they were both hiding a dirty little secret, the young artist understands he has won the battle. He has convinced the financer, he and the other man are out of danger now.

It's hard to stop a sigh of relief from coming out of his lips, but he somehow manages to keep his façade up.

"And", Kurt adds, casting Blaine a quick look, "that he has already met the new composer, and is extremely keen to invest".

"Invest? Invest!" Sandy exclaims, slowly realising what that means, "that's absolutely amazing, my Duke. So why don't we go in my office and... get the paperwork done?" he then suggests with a smile, turning towards the door, ready to leave.

"What's the story?"

Sandy turns to stare at him again, together with the rest of the people standing in the room.

"I'm... sorry?"

"What's the story? If I have to invest, I need to know the story", the Duke explains, crossing his arms and looking at Ryerson with a defiant attitude.

Sandy opens his eyes wide, gazing at Rachel, trying to hide the fear and confusion in his eyes behind a terribly fake smile.

"O-Of course, the story", he babbles, "The story- Rachel?"

"The story, dear colleagues", Rachel starts, moving a step forward as she speaks, with a confidence she doesn't feel at all, "is about- it is- it's about-

"Love!"

Seven pairs of eyes turn to stare at Blaine, who has just spoken, in shock.

"Love?" the Duke repeats, disgust filling his eyes. 

"Love", he repeats, his voice softening, "Love overcoming every obstacle".

Blaine can almost feel an arrow of cold disdain coming from the man's eyes and penetrating his heart, but right now, he couldn't care less, because Kurt is looking at him.

Yes, Kurt is looking at him in the eyes, but there's more - he's staring right in the depths of his bare soul, piercing through his body and mind with those beautiful fragments of morning sky.

Blaine stares back, and can't help smiling - somehow, this man he barely knows has the ability to make happiness rise in his heart, and grow until he can't hold it back anymore, or keep it inside. Perhaps it's the chemistry there's between them, perhaps it's the bond he feels with him; Blaine can't give it a name, but he knows for sure that it's something new, and it's something great.

This could be the start of a beautiful friendship, he says to himself, as his eyes light up with joy, before Rachel interrupts his flow of thoughts.

"It's set in Switzerland!" she says with a bright smile, clearly expecting her audience to applaud her brilliant idea. Blaine notices the outrage storming in the Duke's eyes before the woman does, though, and knows he has to say something else to impress the man.

Come on, Blaine, find something, he thinks frantically as the man slowly repeats "Switzerland?"

"Chic Switzerland!" Sandy corrects, in a desperate attempt to save the situation.

A chic city, a chic city, a chic city-

"Paris!" he cries out. As the Duke turns towards him again, he repeats, slowly and more clearly, "It's set in Paris, in 1900".

A sigh of relief pouts from his lips as he sees the financer's face soften. "Paris is a perfect setting, I must agree with you on this point. Extremely beautiful city. And?"

Blaine turns to look at Kurt again, as if he was talking to him exclusively. An ecstatic smile curves his lips, as his eyes get lost far away from the man and this room, far from this time and space, along the roads of Montmartre.

"There's a can-can dancer", he starts to tell, walking slowly towards Kurt, "The most beautiful can-can dancer in the whole world".

Suddenly he turns to stare right at the Duke, excitement filling his heart and almost pouring from his lips and eyes. "But the club in which he works is owned by an evil woman, who threats the can-can dancer to get him killed if he doesn't become her lover. The night when the two must lie together for the first time, there's a misunderstanding, and the man sleeps with the club's new singer instead. The two fall inexorably in love, and-

Suddenly Rachel runs up to Kurt, and takes him by his hands. They interlace fingers, as she trills, "I will be the gorgeous new singer, of course!"

"-And they have to hide their love from the evil club owner", Blaine goes on, ignoring the thrilled woman.

"And the singer's voice is magical, and can evoke a beautiful, mystical creature, that can only speak the truth", adds Tina shyly.

Mercedes snaps her fingers with a movement of her head. "I will be the creature. There's nothing more mystical that this body in a fairy costume, believe you me!"

That's the moment when Sandy decides that he hasn't spoken for too long, and has to cut in on the conversation. "It will capture the thrusting, violent, vibrant, wild Bohemian spirit that this whole production embodies, my dear Duke!" he exclaims, getting closer to a now pretty disturbed and uncomfortable Duke, making him step back.

"And what do you mean by that?" he dares to ask after a few seconds of silence.

"I mean that the show will be a magnificent, opulent, tremendous, stupendous, gargantuan bedazzlement! A sensual ravishment" Sandy almost groans, and then continues, "it will be... Spectacular, spectacular!"

"That's the name of the show, Mr. Duke", Tina points out.

"And it defines it perfectly! No words can describe how simply great this event will be", Rachel adds, holding her hands to her heart.

"You'll be dumb with wonderment, I swear".

"And returns could be fixed at 10%, that's excellent, you must agree with me".

"Not to forget, my dear Duke", Kurt affirms, walking slowly towards the shaken, but now pretty interested man, "that you will of course be involved artistically".

Pushed by the young man, the Duke sits on a chair next to the refreshments table, staring with wide eyes as the company starts moving frantically around him, enacting parts of the show, describing him how simply fantastic it will be. The room itself seem to start spinning, giving him a terrible headache but amusing him in some way. 

"It will be so exciting, I can barely imagine it!"

"The audience will like it so much that they will stomp and cheer, you'll see!"

"And so delighting, too!"

"Hell, if they don't run it for at least fifty years, I will stop eating tots, I swear".

"Have I already said that it will be extremely exciting?"

"At least four times, Gayberry. As every other thing that comes out of your mouth".

"Would you stop it you too, for once, and just imagine how marvellous it will be? Just picture yourself the wonderful Paris..."

"You know that the city won't just teleport in the theatre, don't you, Kurt?"

"I was just imagining, Mercedes. Just- oh my God, the can-can dancers' costumes! I have to make them. I need to".

"And think about the special effects to create the entry of the magical creature! Artie will be thrilled to organize that".

"Let's talk about my songs instead. They have to be a challenge; they will make use of my vocal range from the highest note to the lowest, won't they, Blaine? After all, I am the protagonist".

"Actually, the main character is Ku-

"Escuchame bien, Barbra, because I will say this only once. World doesn't revolve around you and your enormous ego, and if you refuse to get something as simple as that, I will give you a small taste of Lima Heights hospitality".

"Could we get back to the show, please, guys?"

"Tina has a point. We're trying to convince the Duke, remember?"

"The Duke!"

"Why, he's still here?"

"Dear Duke, please forgive them. They are artists, and a pinch of madness is of course rooted in their soul".

"I can definitely see that", the Duke snaps, hating the fact that they so easily forgot of being in his presence. He is almost tempted to say something else, but he decides to keep quiet. After all, these people are his future pet's friends, and as long as he wants to keep him around, he has to cope with all of them.

"Yes, but what happens in the end?" he decides to ask instead.

The company seems to freeze entirely, and the attention focuses almost automatically on Blaine. He looks around before fixing his eyes in the Duke's.

"The dancer and the singer are pulled apart by an evil plan", he explains with wide gestures, as Kurt and Rachel hold hands and look at each other almost desperately, enacting the play. He opens his mouth to speak, but to Blaine's own surprise Kurt interrupts him.

"But in the end, he hears her song..." he starts, turning towards him and fixing his eyes in his. Blaine doesn't know what has taken him, but he just can't look away as he continues.

"And their love is just too strong" he whispers, almost unconsciously, as if he was talking to Kurt and Kurt alone.

"It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside", the Duke says, remembering the words that Kurt had said him before, breaking the enchanted silence that the bond between the two men had created in the room.

"Exactly, that's the song", the young man affirms, forcing himself to look away from Blaine's honey eyes.

The Duke nods, looking pleased, as Blaine continues.

"The singer's secret song helps them flee the evil owner", he goes on, as next to him the whole company acts the scene, "and even though the tyrant rants and rails against them, it's no use".

"I am the evil owner of the club, and you will not escape!" Sandy shouts, moving behind the two ‘desperate lovers' and grabbing them by their arms.

"Erm, Sandy, of course no one could play it like you could-

"But even though you dress in pink and keep creepy porcelain dolls in your bedroom you are not a woman, and I definitely don't need to check, thank you. I will be the evil owner, and if anyone of you is against it, I will go all Lima Heights on their sorry asses, got it?"

Kurt turns to look at Santana, who has just spoken, and sighs. "Who could portrait an evil character better than the devil itself?" he says, with a shrug.

Sandy crosses his arms with flames dancing in his eyes, but doesn't know what to answer back, and stays silent.

The Duke tries to hide his smirk behind a composed face, but he is clearly amused by this ridiculous group of people.

Actually, he is intrigued by this whole production. He knows he is financing just a couple of kids, with no professional work behind their backs, but something sparkling in their eyes attracts him like a warm light. With their ambition they seem to remind him a younger self, when he believed he could surpass his father and take over the family company using his only ability. He wants to know how far this people can get before understanding that by playing fair, you don't achieve anything in this disgusting life.

And then there's Kurt. Kurt, this beautiful, celestial young man that makes him shiver with lust, that tempts him with his crystal voice and his sultry movements. He is a damned tempter trapped in the body of a pure angel, and it makes him itch with the desire to foul him, to stain this luminous perfection.

Yes, the Duke thinks, it's just an itch. I simply have to scratch it, and it will fade away.

He doesn't speak for some minutes, pretending to think about the show, enjoying the looks of anxiety and waiting that he can see on these kids' faces.

"Generally, I like it", he sighs in the end.

The room falls silent for an instant, as everyone absorbs the simple sentence and understand its meaning entirely.

Then the world seems to turn upside down, as joy and excitement explode in a storm of cries and laughter.