He just hoped it wasn’t for porn or something. Casting calls that read like that usually were. He wondered if he was desperate enough to consider that if it was.

He sat quietly in the corner, wondering exactly what the deal with the job was as candidate after candidate was shown into the room, kept inside for twenty minutes before being shown out by the same man – an average height Asian man with a no nonsense demeanor.

Kurt almost got up and walked out several times – but he owed it to Carole and Finn and his father to see this through, even if it didn’t solve any of his problems. Finally, it was his turn.

“Kurt Hummel,” the Asian guy called. Kurt rose to his feet, his posture straight as he walked into the room, the guy stepping back to allow him inside. Kurt took two steps in and paused. There was another guy behind a desk, slightly younger looking, staring at him in shock.

“Welcome, Mr. Hummel,” the guy at the door said, coming over and taking a seat behind the desk as well. He gestured for Kurt to take a seat in the chair and Kurt sat primly, crossing one leg over the other and setting his clasped hands on his lap. The other guy was still gaping at him – Kurt felt self-conscious and wondered if he had something on his face he hadn’t noticed or maybe the lack of sleep had finally become too much and he looked terrible. “I’m Wes Montgomery and this is Blaine Anderson.”

Blaine seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in and turned his attention to the documents in front of him. Kurt observed that his face was flushed but didn’t have a chance to wonder what that was about before Wes continued.

“We have just a few questions for you and I’m sure that you have some for us,” Wes said.
“I do,” Kurt replied.

“Excellent,” Blaine jumped in, and Kurt’s eyes widened a little at the sound of his voice. It was like liquid honey and he’d never heard anyone sound quite like that – it certainly didn’t compare to his own airy, high-pitched tone. “I’ll explain what we’re looking for and then we can go from there, okay?”

“It’s not porn, is it?” Kurt couldn’t help but ask, his face flaming bright red at his words.
Blaine made a choking sound under his breath and Wes let out a chuckle. “No,” Blaine stuttered out, his face really red now. “It’s not porn, I promise.”

“Okay,” Kurt spoke softly as relief shot through him, gesturing for Blaine to continue.
“It’s really very simple,” Blaine told him, looking Kurt in the eye. His heart beat faster as their gazes locked and Kurt almost missed what Blaine said next. “I’m looking for a husband.”

*

“What?” Kurt stared at him.

Blaine could feel Kurt’s eyes practically pierce his soul. He’d never had such a visceral reaction to someone before – not Jeremiah and certainly not Sebastian, though he’d appreciated both of their attentions. Kurt was, hands down, the most beautiful man he’d ever seen.

“I’m trying to claim an inheritance,” Blaine began. He figured most of the details could be relayed later, as he and Kurt got to know each other (and when had he decided on Kurt being the one? They’d barely exchanged any words at all and here Blaine was already counting on him saying yes), keeping it brief instead. “In order to do that, I need to present a valid marriage certificate to the trust holder.”

“So you basically put an ad in the paper to get yourself a husband?” Kurt was sitting back in the chair now, one leg still crossed over the other at the knee, and he was giving Blaine this look, an eyebrow arched as he continued to stare.

“Simply put, yes,” Blaine replied. “The rules of the trust state I have to be married for up to a year to receive full access to the funds.”

He watched as Kurt’s eyes clouded over with what he thought might be disappointment. They were a mix of an unfathomable blue and a piercing green and Blaine knew he could get lost in them very easily. “So you wouldn’t have the money right away?” Kurt whispered, almost as if he was ashamed of the question.

“I’ll be allowed access to the interest,” Blaine answered. “It’s a considerable sum, doled out in a monthly allowance and more than enough to live comfortably on.”

He saw Kurt swallow hard and then nod. “Your ad said something about being willing to relocate? I assume you mean Westerville.”

“Not exactly.” Blaine smiled. “If this happens, then we’d be moving to New York in a few months. I’m going to NYU in the fall and I need this money to pay for school.”

Kurt inhaled loudly when he said they’d be going to New York and Blaine watched as he fought to keep his composure. Something about New York had set him off and Blaine’s heart sank. He’d wanted this to work out – something about Kurt intrigued him more than any of the others he’d seen today, though he couldn’t put his finger on what.

“Can you give us a minute?” he murmured to Wes. Wes nodded, and got up.

“It was nice to meet you, Kurt,” Wes said, leaving the room and shutting the door quietly behind him.

“What’s wrong?” Blaine asked softly. Kurt took another deep breath and Blaine watched as he sat up straighter, almost like he put up walls.

“I was supposed to go to New York,” Kurt answered, his voice quiet. “My father,” he paused a moment, “my father passed recently and we didn’t have the money for me to go.”

Blaine nodded and they sat quietly.

“How much money would be mine?” Kurt finally broke through the silence. “I feel crass for asking, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t here for the money.”

Blaine named of the sum he and Wes had figured out and deemed reasonable for someone to give up a year of their life. Kurt’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head in response.

“It’s not all at once, of course,” Blaine hastened to add, “because of the rules of the trust – but you will have a monthly stipend to spend however you want and the rest will be given in a lump sum once the full amount of the trust is released. It’ll be your money and I’ll have no say in what’s done with it.” He paused to gauge Kurt’s reaction and continued. “I’ll pay for all of our basic necessities of course – apartment, food, utilities.”

Kurt looked indecisive, but Blaine wasn’t. He knew that he wanted Kurt to be the one to do this with him. He wanted to help Kurt in any way that he could. He got up from his chair and came around the desk, dropping to one knee in front of Kurt. Kurt’s eyebrows shot up toward his hair line in response.

Blaine covered Kurt’s still clasped hands with one of his own, ignoring the tingling in his fingers where their skin touched. “Marry me, Kurt,” Blaine said.

He didn’t know if it was the kneeling or the hand holding that decided it for Kurt, but Kurt let out a breath and nodded.

“What now?” Kurt wanted to know, looking as shaken as Blaine felt. He got up from the floor, letting go of Kurt’s hand, and perched on the edge of the desk.

“We need to find a state where it’s legal to get married, go get married, come back and show the certificate. Then we can start planning our lives in New York.”

“Exactly how much available cash do you have?” Kurt wanted to know, raising his eyebrows at Blaine again.

“None,” Blaine admitted after a moment. “After graduation this week, I don’t have a place to live, either.”

Kurt’s expression softened and Blaine thought he might have seen momentary pity in Kurt’s eyes. He tried not to get angry (though the last thing he wanted was pity) because he didn’t want to scare Kurt off now that he’d actually found someone who seemed decent to go along with this insane idea.

“Well that changes a few ideas,” Kurt murmured. “What about this?” he began. “I’ll head home…”

“Where’s home?” Blaine interjected, wondering where Kurt was going with this. “This wedding has to happen as soon as it can and it has to happen under the radar. I can’t let anyone know about this until it’s over.”

Kurt blinked at him. “Relax, Blaine. We’re getting married. You’re going to have to trust that I’ve got your best interest at heart,” he said. “Home is Lima, about two or so hours from here. I’ll head home. In the morning you can drive up with the stuff you don’t need to make it the rest of the week here and we can park your car behind my dad’s auto shop. We’ll cover it with a tarp and no one will mess with it. Then we’ll drive up through Michigan and cross the Canadian border.”

Blaine let out a laugh when Kurt finished. “I’ve always wanted to go to Canada,” he said. “I’ve got a passport – do you?”

“Yeah,” Kurt replied. “I daydreamed a lot about going to Paris someday and thought I should have one just in case.” Blaine chuckled again. “We can get in touch with City Hall or something in a town across the border, get married and drive back,” Kurt finished. “I’ve got some available funds on my credit card that we can use to pay for the wedding.”

Blaine frowned, not liking the idea of Kurt paying for something that was ultimately Blaine’s idea. Kurt was still talking though, and Blaine focused on his words.

“We’ll stay with my family until we can get a place in New York.”

“That sounds… really good,” Blaine replied, unable to stop smiling. Everything was actually coming together.

“Good,” Kurt agreed. “Then I’ll see you first thing in the morning.” Blaine nodded and they took a moment to switch cell phones, inputting their information.

“Thank you, Kurt,” Blaine murmured. Kurt smiled but it didn’t quiet seem to reach his eyes.

“This is a mutually beneficial arrangement, Blaine,” he replied. “We’re both getting something out of it. No need to thank me.” With that, he swept out of the room, Blaine staring after him.

Suddenly, Blaine had a feeling he had no idea what he’d just gotten himself into.

*

It was all Kurt could do to keep the news to himself once he got home that night. For once, all of their financial troubles would be solved, and he wouldn’t have to worry about them anymore. Carole could keep working at a job she loved and Finn would be able to go off to college with Rachel and Kurt would be in New York with them. He worried about Carole being by herself but decided that he’d figure out what to do about that later.

He didn’t want them to know the truth though – somehow he and Blaine would have to spin their relationship as a love match. If Carole knew he’d married someone for the money they needed, she’d never take it. Plans set, Kurt wished his family a quiet goodnight.

His phone buzzed on the way up to his room, and Kurt’s heart pounded a little as he read the ID. It was Blaine.

“Hello?” he answered the phone, keeping his voice low. The last thing he needed was Carole (or Finn) coming up to see who he was talking to.

“I wanted to let you know that I contacted City Hall in Windsor, Ontario – where we cross the border, and they can get us in as the last civil service of the day tomorrow.”

“That’s great,” Kurt replied. “What about a marriage license?”

“We’ll get that done as soon as we get there,” Blaine told him. “If there’s time to kill, I figure we can look around or maybe just grab some lunch.”

“Sounds good,” Kurt murmured.

“You don’t know how much it means to me that you’re doing this, Kurt,” Blaine said after a moment. “My entire life is in your hands.”

“No pressure,” Kurt breathed out, a chuckle escaping.

“I should probably let you head to bed.” Blaine sounded reluctant.

“Probably,” Kurt agreed, also feeling a little unwilling to let Blaine go just yet. “I have a wedding to find an outfit for and a quest for ‘something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue’ to go on.”

Blaine laughed. “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Kurt murmured. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

“See you then.” Blaine hung up and Kurt stared at his phone for a long time.
It wasn’t until he was tumbling into bed, ready to fall into a deep sleep that other things struck him.

What if Blaine wanted it to be a true marriage? What if he wanted sex with Kurt? What if Kurt had just signed over his body for money? Kurt tried to push those thoughts away, but they wouldn’t leave and all plans of finally getting a good night sleep (it had been so, so long), had gone out the window.

It was good thing he and Blaine would be in the car for several hours tomorrow. They had a lot more details to work out.