“So how did he propose?” Alice’s friend, Tammy, leaned forward into Kurt’s space, eyes gleaming. “Or were you the one who proposed? Never know how it works for you people.”

Kurt managed to restraint a biting comment about her people and instead forced his face into a dreamy mask. It wasn’t hard - at one point, he’d wanted to be an actor, after all.

“Oh, it was so romantic,” he said, grinning inwardly as he realized all the people nearby were leaning in. “He brought me to an expensive restaurant, dazzled me with roses and champagne . . . .” All the women were sighing. “And then, at the end of dinner, he got down on one knee and, with tears in his eyes--”

“Tears, sweetheart?” Blaine asked, leaning over from his chair, amusement in his face. “I’m pretty sure there weren’t any tears.”

Kurt waved a hand. “No need to be ashamed, dear, everyone knows only real men cry.” The men in the room exchanged looks, torn between outrage and confusion. “Anyways,” Kurt continued. “He got down on one knee, tears in his eyes, and asked me to be his husband until the day we died.”

“And you said yes!” one of the younger girls cried, her face shining. 

Kurt leaned over to her and said, in a mock stage whisper, “I said I needed to think about it.” A gasp rose among his audience. Kurt leaned back in his chair, smirking inwardly. He did love a good show. “Not because I didn’t love him, of course,” he didn’t let his cringe at the word love show, “but because marriage is a big thing.” He leaned forward again. “And because it was fun to see him squirm.”

Blaine hit his shoulder. “Kurt!” he cried, but he was laughing along with everyone else. Kurt grinned.

“After a few days of torturing him, I brought him back to my apartment and dazzled him with roses and champagne and told him yes,” Kurt continued. There was an eruption of applause.

Blaine leaned into his shoulder. “Were there tears then too?” he asked. Kurt made a valiant attempt not to be distracted by feeling of hot breath ghosting on his ear.

“Of course,” he said airily. Blaine laughed.

“Kiss!” someone called, and then the entire room was saying it. Kurt blushed a little, then scowled. He hadn’t blushed in years, and then all of the sudden Blaine Anderson, of all people, was making him do it left and right. 

“Uhm,” Blaine said, looking at Kurt with wide eyes. Kurt sighed and pulled him in by his shirt collar. 

“It’s only a kiss,” he said against Blaine’s lips as he gave him a quick peck on the mouth, ignoring the way Blaine’s lips were warm and soft against his. 

There were boos from their audience. “No, a real kiss!” one of women said, grinning. “Give us a taste of what we should expect at the wedding, huh?”

Kurt frowned, turned back to Blaine, who was still staring at him, wide-eyed. Kurt hadn’t properly kissed someone in years. A little uncomfortable with all the eyes on them, he moved forward and drew Blaine close again, pausing a bit before pressing their lips together. There was an awkward pause where both of them froze, then Blaine’s mouth parted under his, warm and open, and before Kurt could stop himself, he was sticking his tongue down Blaine’s throat, hand gripping the back of Blaine’s neck tightly. Blaine moaned a little bit, tilting his head back, and Kurt had never appreciated their height difference more--

A wolf whistle brought him back to himself and he hurriedly broke away from Blaine’s mouth, blushing wildly. Blaine, just as red as Kurt, stared at him wide-eyed. Kurt, for a moment, wondered if he could always get Blaine to shut up so easily with a kiss. If so, he’d have to employ it in the future . . . . 

“Now that’s what I call a kiss,” crowed the same woman from before. She was fanning herself, grinning slyly. “You’ve boys are lu-cky!”

Kurt rolled his eyes, tension leaving him as he moved away from Blaine. “Show’s over, folks,” he said.

“Shame!” one of the women called from the back.

Kurt smiled, then paused when he realized, with some surprise, that he was actually enjoying himself. It had been such a long time since he’d enjoyed a party. Usually they were just tools he used to make a connection or to close a deal. He so rarely got to relax at one of them.

“Kurt?” Blaine asked.

Kurt looked over at him, blinking. The crowd around them was beginning to disperse, gathering into their own groups. 

“I’ll show you to our room,” Blaine said, taking Kurt by the elbow.

“Our?” Kurt asked as Blaine guided him through the throng of people.

Blaine smiled up at him. “My mother insisted on it.”

Kurt snorted. “I thought your family would be the wait until marriage type.”

“Because we’re from Alaska?” Blaine asked, smile widening.

“Well you were governed by Sarah Palin,” Kurt said, shrugging. 

Blaine made a face. “Ugh. That’s the worst part of saying you’re from Alaska - everyone thinks you like Palin.”

Kurt smiled a bit. Blaine was leading them up a long hallway of stairs - Kurt kept getting distracted by the line of photos on the wall, all of them featuring Blaine. Kurt bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the ones of Blaine as a baby, waving his fists and grinning widely. 

“You don’t then?” he asked idyly.

“I’m Independent, not Republican” Blaine asserted. “Plus, she’s kind of annoying. I’m all for women in power, but if we might as well have a woman who knows what the hell she’s doing. Like Clinton, for example.” Blaine snorted. “My dad doesn’t quite agree.”

“Republican?” Kurt asked sympathetically.

Blaine rolled his eyes. “The worst. The only reason he doesn’t like Palin is because he thinks she’s not conservative enough.”

Kurt clicked his tongue, appalled. “Your father has horrible taste in politics,” he said. “Thank God you didn’t inherit them, I could never have a Republican husband.”

“Neither could I,” Blaine laughed. “That makes us sound like very Republican-phobic, doesn’t it?”

Kurt shrugged. “That’s what they get when they try and deny us our rights,” he said, more bitter than joking.

Blaine paused and looked back at him. He slipped his hand down from Kurt’s elbow to his hand, so their fingers tangled together. Kurt’s mouth went dry.

“It’s changing,” Blaine assured him quietly. “I’m looking forward to the day when we have marriage equality in all 50 states. Even Alaska,” he added, grin curling at the edge of his mouth. “Anyways!” Blaine continued, apparently unaware of the way Kurt was staring at him. “This will be our room.”

He pushed open the door. Kurt took in the huge space with wide eyes. It was bigger than his own bedroom at home, and he squashed down the feeling of inadequacy fiercely. Perhaps he didn’t have large, luxurious homes like some people, but he’d worked hard and gotten farther than a lot of people. He had no reason to feel like he wasn’t reaching some sort of success bar because his secretary had a bigger room than him. 

“It’s nice,” Kurt said, deliberately nonchalant. 

Blaine rolled his eyes. “It’s horrible,” he said bluntly. Kurt blinked at him. “Who needs this much space, right? We’re two people, not a small army. This whole house is just--too big. I don’t like it.” He shrugged, glancing at Kurt. “I love my family, but I can’t say it’s been a hardship not to come back to this place.”

Kurt shook his head. “It is nice,” he said again, more firmly. Just knowing how much Blaine disliked his wealth was enough to ease that small, bubbling pool of jealousy gathering in his stomach. “I bet you live in a tiny, hellish apartment, don’t you?”

Blaine looked sheepish. “Well, yes,” he said.

Kurt snorted and turned away to examine the huge bed. “When we’re married, you’re moving in with me,” he said absently. He frowned when there wasn’t a response and turned to see Blaine staring at him. “What?” he asked.

“Move in with you?” Blaine asked, wide-eyed. 

Kurt shrugged. “We’ll have to keep up appearances,” he said, a little bit uncertainly.

He’d almost forgotten that there would be an--after. Being married to Blaine wouldn’t just be for a weekend or a month--they’d have to be married for a year. And they would have to keep that pretense up all the time, everywhere. Kurt bit his lip, turning away from Blaine. The thought of pretending for that long was--exhausting.

He jumped when Blaine’s hand curled around his. Kurt looked over to see Blaine regarding him closely, almost worriedly. “It’s going to be fine,” he said. “You know that, right? I mean, we might kill each other within the first few weeks, but we’ll work it out.”

Kurt rolled his eyes, but he relaxed a little. “I won’t kill you as long as you don’t disrupt my moisturizing regime,” he said.

Blaine laughed and withdrew his hand. Kurt refused to think about how cold his hand felt.

-

They settled in for the night, unpacking their things. Kurt very carefully attempted to ignore Blaine. He’d thought, when he started this whole facade, that it would be simple to keep up, almost laughably easy. He was starting to think he’d overestimated his emotional control.

There was a knock on their door an hour after they’d come up and Alice popped her head in.

“Gammy and I have something to run by you,” she said as she stepped inside, Gammy at her heels, grinning. Kurt didn’t know Gammy that well, but he had a feeling that her grin meant something dangerous was coming. 

“You boys might want to sit down,” Gammy suggested, grin widening.

Kurt and Blaine exchanged looks and slowly sat down together at the edge of the bed. 

“First, I want to say how happy we all are for you,” Alice said, beaming at them. “Even your father, though he’s not very good at . . . expressing that.” Blaine snorted. Kurt couldn’t help but agree with that sentiment. “So, to show our support . . . Well, I know Alaska doesn’t allow gay marriage, but we were wondering if you boys would like to hold the ceremony here, on Sunday?”

Kurt’s jaw dropped. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Blaine’s do the same.

Oblivious to their surprise, Alice continued, “It wouldn’t be the real thing, of course, but you could get all the legal stuff done when you’re back in New York. It would just be nice to do the ceremony part here, with all your friends and family, Blaine.” She paused, a sudden frown coming to her face. “Unless you wanted to wait for your family, Kurt? I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think of that--”

“It doesn’t matter,” Kurt said. “I don’t have any family left who’d care.” Immediately after he said it, he mentally kicked himself. That would have been the perfect excuse not to do this horribly bad idea, and he’d just ruined it for himself. 

Alice’s face crumpled. “I’m so sorry,” she said, reaching over to take Kurt’s hand. “Both of your parents are dead?”

Kurt flushed, aware of Blaine’s interested gaze. “Yes,” he muttered. “Are you sure you want to do this, Alice?” he asked, desperate to change the subject. “I mean, Sunday is only two days away, could we even manage--?”

Alice smiled again, though she kept her hand on Kurt’s. “It’ll be a rush job, but I think we could do it,” she said. She leaned in and added, winking, “It helps that we own most of the town.”

“But this really isn’t necessary,” Kurt said, looking to Blaine for support. Blaine, to his dismay, looked like he was considering the idea. “I mean, it’s such a huge effort and it’s not like we really need it anyways--”

“Oh, pish,” Alice exclaimed. “Kurt, honey, you are getting married! Don’t you want it to be more memorable than a trip to the court house?”

He had once. Kurt honestly hadn’t considered marriage in years.

“But--”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Blaine said. 

Kurt tensed, turning to him. “Are you sure, honey?” he asked, poison in his voice.

Blaine just smiled at him. “I think it’d be romantic. And we can always do it your way when we get back home, dear.” Kurt frowned at him, but Blaine was already turning to the ladies. “I think it’s a perfect idea, Mom. What will you need us to do?”

“Show up to your ceremony,” Alice said, laughing. “No, no, Gammy and I will plan the whole thing. In fact, Kurt--would you like to come out to town with us tomorrow afternoon? We can get you a fitting with our family tailor.”

Kurt blinked. “Family tailor?” he asked, torn between envy and amusement. 

“Tina’s very good,” Alice assured him. “She’s new - her father used to have the job, but he died a few years back and she took over. How about it? Expenses are all on us, of course.”

Kurt glanced over at Blaine, who was making a face. Kurt didn’t normally like letting people he didn’t know tailor his clothes - Mercedes had been doing it since the beginning of his career, and he rarely let anyone else touch his clothes. But it would be fun to annoy Blaine. 

“Alright,” he said. Blaine’s head snapped towards him.

“But you don’t like anyone but Mercedes tailoring your clothes!” he said, face full of surprise.

Kurt was really starting to get curious about how much of his life Blaine knew about. It was certainly more than Kurt thought he’d shared.

“Change can be fun,” he informed Blaine, on the edge of smug. 

Blaine glared at him. “Traitor,” he muttered. “Yes, yes, I’ll go in too,” he told Alice, who was looking at him expectantly.

“Good, that’s settled!” Alice said, clapping her hands with delight. “Let’s head in the morning, alright? Then you’ll still have time to properly relax at home before we go out for Gammy’s birthday celebration!”

“Birthday celebration?” Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow. He glanced at Blaine, who grinned at him.

“Oooh, this year will be a good one,” Gammy said. “I’ve got it all planned out.” She eyed Kurt critically. “You look like you could use a good party, kiddo, you’re definitely coming.”

Kurt frowned at her. “What kind of party?” he asked, assuaged by images of tea, biscuits, and making small talk with elderly people who just wanted to complain about the good old days. 

Gammy winked at him. “It’s a surprise,” she said. “You’ll find out tomorrow night! Now, we better let you boys get some . . . sleep.” She winked again. It took a moment for Kurt to catch her meaning - when he did, he flushed deeply and avoided looking at Blaine. Gammy laughed. “Come on, Alice. We’ll see you in the morning boys!”

It was silent for a moment after they left. Then Blaine sighed gustily. “Gammy’s insane,” he said, more fond than exasperated. 

“She most definitely is,” Kurt said, flush starting to fade a little. “As if I’d ever do that with you.”

“I suddenly feel so special,” Blaine said dryly. “But it’s fine - you’re not exactly at the top of my list either.”

Kurt frowned, but shoved away the small mix of indignation and hurt. He didn’t care if Blaine wanted to sleep with him - in fact, better if he didn’t! If real feelings got mixed up in this sham of a wedding, it would make everything ten times more complicated. Kurt didn’t need complicated. All he wanted was to be able to keep his life - and Blaine was helping him do that, because Kurt had ordered him to. They had a business arrangement and nothing more, and Kurt shouldn’t even want anything more--

“I’m going to take a shower,” he muttered. He needed the time to think.

-

Blaine sighed, completely relaxing for the first time since he’d gotten home with Kurt. 

He’d been wound tense since the plane ride, but Blaine was used to covering his anxiety with smart remarks and smiles. There was a reason he’d lasted so long as Kurt’s assistant instead of having a nervous breakdown like the twelve people who’d had the job before him. But this situation - a pretend engagement, introducing Kurt to his parents and town, having his family life uncovered by his boss - was coming really close to breaking his mask of calm. 

It didn’t help that he’d had to kiss Kurt or that they had to keep pretending to be engaged, which meant touching. Not that Kurt did any touching - Blaine was starting to wonder if Kurt thought he was diseased or something - but Blaine did and it was starting to drive him insane. He’d always thought Kurt was attractive, but his attitude had kept Blaine from thinking about it very much. Here, though, Kurt’s snappy attitude . . . softened, almost as if he realized that it wouldn’t be conductive to their charade if he ordered Blaine around all the time. And that meant it was easier for Blaine to remember that Kurt was stunning and had really, really soft hands and lips--

Blaine shook the thought off. Their relationship was complicated enough without adding attraction to it. But he had an inkling that living with Kurt would only make things worse. 

He laid back on his bed, sighing. If he’d known it would make his life so complicated, he would never had applied for the job as Kurt’s assistant.

-

“Can’t you do anything about the light?” Kurt complained, fresh from the shower.

It was nearly ten o’clock, but still dreadfully light outside. Blaine rolled his eyes and flipped the curtains shut, shadowing the room. Kurt sighed in relief, then turned to the bed.

“You’re sleeping on the floor,” he told Blaine.

Blaine huffed. “And if my parents come in to surprise us with breakfast in bed?”

Kurt paused. “Would your mom actually do something like that?” He didn’t bother asking about Thomas - Kurt was sure he wouldn’t. 

“Maybe,” Blaine said sullenly. “Anyways, we can’t risk it, right?” He paused, then said, almost whining, “And the floor is cold.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “Oh, fine,” he said. “But if you try anything, I will hurt you.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Blaine said, suddenly much more cheerful. Kurt turned to see him climbing into bed, shirt off. Kurt flushed, but tipped his chin high as he climbed into the opposite side of the bed, careful to stay as far away from Blaine as possible.

For a while they both laid there, attempting sleep. Kurt shifted experimentally - the bed was very comfortable, but he couldn’t quite find the right position--He froze when his hand brushed against warm skin. 

“Stop feeling me up, Hummel,” Blaine muttered, voice thick was sleep.

Kurt blushed and yanked his hand away like it was on fire. “As if I would,” he spat, then turned on his side, away from Blaine.

“‘S alright,” Blaine muttered. “Not like I’d care.”

Kurt huffed. “Go to sleep, Blaine,” he said haughtily. 

After a long moment, Kurt heard Blaine’s breaths even out. He laid awake for a long while before sleep finally overtook him as well.