If Kurt Hummel had more competent people working for him, he wouldn't have been late for his dinner date with his fiancé. But, no, Harold Stilwell decided to take an unscheduled leave today, and Kurt hated letting things pile up. So he had to look through the paperwork on his accountant's desk taking note which ones can be done later and which ones he'd have to bring home to be worked on immediately.

There was a thick envelope from the Internal Revenues Service that was supposed to be for him, but Kurt decided to take with him as well, mentally deciding that he really should have his assistant replace Harold.

He had never really liked him for some reason (he came with glowing recommendation) and had secretly been calling him "Mouse" for his shifty nervous habits. Well, now he can finally fire the Mouse without looking like the hard-ass boss.

While Kurt didn't suffer fools in his work place, he believed in creating a good harmonious environment. Of course, he was by no means a softie who couldn't rein in his people. He wouldn't have a respectable fashion line (with two boutiques already) and two published books to his name if he were.

Getting to his level of success in the fashion and lifestyle business was no easy feat. While others thought it the fashion business was all about parties and schmoozing with famous people and networking, they were dead wrong. Although those things were part and parcel of the whole thing, majority of the work was comprised of painstakingly packing clothing, reviewing receipts from suppliers, checking inventory for not one but two boutiques, reading through budget plans and spreadsheets, and a host of other behind-the-scenes details that needed to be done.

Stilwell had been reliable enough up until recently. The Mouse had been toeing the line between what is acceptable work and sloppy work for the past couple of months. Wanting to avoid high drama as much as possible, (He'd outgrown such episodes back in high school) Kurt had passed it off as stress from his recently concluded fashion show. It was no easy feat for an accountant to oversee finances for an author/fashion designer/entrepreneur.

After a final look around, Kurt locked up and hurriedly walked down the stairs and out the side entrance of the building, eager to go home to his fiancé.

He was pretty sure Ted was sulking by now. Kurt was already thinking of apology gifts that he could give to Ted, while in the cab, but he was finding it difficult to come up with a good one. Not because he had poor gift giving skills, but because he had given too many apology gifts of late, he couldn't remember what items they were.

He sent a quick text to his assistant Michael, asking about the list of apology gifts. He felt a twinge of guilt when Michael replied with a list comprising of 7 items, which means he had been quite neglectful of his fiancé. Kurt dispelled his guilt by reminding himself that he's doing it for their future. It wasn't like he had been running around the city, partying and sleeping with other guys. He'd been attending work-related functions, staying late in his office with his team. He quickly decided he would forego the gift apologize profusely, and promptly get him to bed.

Satisfied with his plan, Kurt got to thinking of his fiancé Theodore Davison, who he lovingly called Teddy. Kurt was grateful to have accomplished so much in his life; however he considered his relationships to be the greater accomplishments. Especially Ted. Kurt could not ask for a more patient and understanding partner. He had often been accused as high maintenance and severe by other boyfriends in the past. And while he had the self-assurance to not let these accusations get to him, there was a time in his life when he was left wondering if there could ever be anyone who would complement his high standards and exacting nature.

Although it wasn't love at first sight for both sides, Kurt felt he couldn't have asked for a better love story than theirs. He met Ted when they both worked for the same fashion magazine, with Ted assigned to the upper finance offices and Kurt working the creative department. Ted was often sent by accounting on errands on Kurt's floor and soon became among the people Kurt was friendly with.

Getting to know his dear Ted had been so easy; as easy as his rapport with his first boyfriend and current best friend Blaine. Thus, transitioning from friendship to something more had been an unquestioned eventuality for them both, so much so that after four years of being together, they decided to get engaged. It was agreed, however, to prolong the engagement, in order to fit Kurt's tight schedule. Another big reason he loved Ted was how the other man would so easily give in and make way for Kurt's conveniences while never being made to feel bad.

Kurt also found comfort in Ted's sweet gentle features. The guy may not have model-esque features, but he had a boyish countenance and gentlemanly air borne from years of prep school. He was also just about Kurt's height so he didn't tower over; a fact that reassured Kurt very much, what with having been shoved and taunted by hulking jocks for years. Thankfully, he was way past all that horrible experience and his current success was the best fuck-you he could ever throw at his bullies.

He was already opening the door to their apartment, when he was taken out of his quiet musings by the unusual darkness and quiet inside. The view of the dining area from the main entrance showed that the table was not even set and there was no sign of his fiancé.

"Teddy?" He tried not to get all panicky, despite the sense of foreboding that was niggling at him.

He called out Ted's name again as he moved along the rooms.

"I'm over here," the answering call came from the small balcony of their apartment.

Kurt gingerly walked towards his fiancé, careful not to aggravate any annoyance that his fiancé may have already felt at being stood up. "What are you doing out here, honey? You scared me there for awhile – "

Ted kept his back to Kurt and tersely replied, "You're late." This made Kurt nervous, as he rarely saw his fiancé express anger or irritation to anyone, least of all to him.

"I know, honey. I'm so sorry, I know we said dinner at 8 but I got held up at the office, and I had to pick up some of Stilwell's work, you know that mousy guy – "

"Kurt, please…"

"I know you're probably tired, but I'll make it up to you – "

"Kurt, stop."

Ted rarely raised his voice, and although Kurt was a little hurt by his tone, he can't exactly blame him, when he was spewing excuse after excuse to Ted.

"This isn't working, Kurt. You've been cancelling dinner dates with me 90% of the time, I barely get to see you even though we live together," He had slowly turned to Kurt, while shaking his head, as if out of frustration and sadness. This observation caused the guilt to wash over Kurt once again, and he was feeling a little panicky again, sensing something bad building between them, like the slow pull of waves, before they slap against the rocks.

"I'm sorry, things may have been hectic recently, but fashion week is over and things are slowly winding down so we can have more time together again."

"There will always be another fashion week, Kurt. And when it's not fashion week, you're doing presentations and book tours and whatever else you get to do with everybody but me.

I've found someone else and I want out of this relationship, Kurt, before things get more serious with him."

And there it was.

But Kurt refused to be deterred by this snag in his relationship. They would work through this and come out happier later in the end- much, much later, because he was beginning to feel his own temper starting.

"Not that I condone this at all, but I can overlook this indiscretion. We can get past this." If he sounded a little too patronizing, and self-righteous, he wasn't sorry; he felt there was never an excuse for cheating.

"No, Kurt, I really want to be with him," Ted replied, with a frustrated voice and a little anguish in his eyes.

"Do I even know this guy!?"

"No. He's older than I am, he's 35. His name is Erwin and he's a graphic designer. And, yeah, he may not be the best dressed guy in New York," – gesturing to Kurt – "in fact his clothes never ever quite match. He cusses a lot and tells the worst jokes. "

"So? Are you saying I'm a snob, because you can be uptight too, some of the time," Kurt was starting to get hysterical right now, but tried to hide it by crossing his arms around himself in a defensive manner.

"...He's so comfortable with himself. He doesn't care about getting a little rumpled… But he's the most colorful and impulsive person I've ever met. In fact, he dabbles at painting portraits of random people during his free time…" Kurt had started side-eyeing him now, because it sounded like he was already gushing about the other guy.

"But anyway, the thing is – I love him. "

Kurt bowed his head to avoid looking at Ted's face, the gaping pit in his stomach growing wider. He couldn't really argue his way in the face of love. Ted had never been this energetic and earnest in months, or in, like, ever. Kurt may have grown up from the dewy-eyed romantic he once was back in high school, but he hadn't completely lost his faith in love. Plus, the surprising lack of despair on his part was questionable, so there really was no other choice but to concede.

"Kurt, I don't want us to part as enemies, I want us to remember how good we had it while it lasted. That's why I wanted to tell you before we got more serious." Dear, diplomatic Teddy.

"So, you're saying you haven't been sleeping with him behind my back?" Kurt replied with the raise of his brow.

"Err… Look, I know what we had was really good, but we both know it hasn't been working for awhile. And for a long time, I thought we were fine because everything was so easy between us. Then I realized, after having met Erwin, that I want passion."

Ok, this is where Kurt drew the line. He would not tolerate being accused so wrongly about himself, and to use it to justify offenses against his own person! He had suffered much for his passions long before he met Ted. Ted with the premium sheltered education; Ted, who never had any real tragedy in his life. He had learned at a young age, that there were people, well-meaning or otherwise, who preferred Kurt to tone down his passionate side a bit, not care too much about singing a girl song, not care too much about wanting to go to prom with a real date. And if there was one thing he learned, it was to not listen to anyone but himself regarding who he was supposed to be.

"Oh, come off it. Don't lecture me about relationships and passion, Ted. I wrote a freaking book about it. Relationships are supposed to be more than sex. And I do have passion! I have a lot of passion to spare!" His hands were braced on his hips now in a challenging stance.

"Kurt, you are only passionate about your career and your own success. I know relationships should be more than just sex, but we haven't done it in months. And it doesn't happen if I don't get keyed into your schedule! Plus, you're a little weird when it comes to sex, sometimes you're so totally into it and other times I feel like you're just humoring me and you can't wait to get back to whatever else you'd rather be doing."

"Are you calling me a sex weirdo? Stop acting so sanctimonious and don't you dare go blaming this all on me, I'm not the one who slept with somebody else!" It was already becoming a screaming match, and Kurt hadn't been in one for a very, very long time, so he breathed in sharply to calm himself, before he could continue.

But before he could, Ted beat him to the punch. "Clearly, we are not in the best state of mind to talk about this more. So I'm going to leave now. I will get my things and give back the keys on Tuesday when you're at work."

Kurt was left still standing on the balcony as Ted closed the door at the main entrance, which left him to mull over the recent events of the evening. He was completely shocked and at a total loss with what to do next. Two glaring things were clear to him though: he was more seething mad about Ted accusing him of lacking passion (or was it because he was made to feel it was his own fault Ted had the weakness of character to cheat?) than the actual cheating, and he felt a bit resigned at the start at discovering that Ted found someone else that he claimed to love (did this mean he didn't really love Teddy in the first place?).

Tired and wrung out, he went back inside and sat down on his writing desk. He didn't have the energy to analyze his emotions at that moment so he started making a to-do list. Lists grounded him. They were simple, uncomplicated, and systematic. He needed to get rid of the apartment and get a smaller one, which thankfully wasn't so urgent. He made a separate list of the shared things he should get rid of, the other things that he can send to Ted, and those he could keep for himself. He wrote down a tentative schedule for the move-out and referenced his work schedule along with likely times his friends can help him out.

After devising a detailed move-out plan, he was left to space out for awhile, when his eyes fell on the papers he brought home with him. On top of the pile was the thick envelope from the IRS, so he decided to get to it first.

Not a minute later, his eyes bugged out at what he just read. The letter was a bill for $ 1.4 million dollars in back taxes.

Kurt was very careful and honest with his taxes because he did not his reputation tarnished by something as appalling as money and tax issues. He was pretty sure the mistake was not from his side but on the government's computer errors.

He thumbed through his phone to contact Stilwell, and as he waited for his accountant to pick up, he was sure more than ever to fire the guy when he had the chance.

Stilwell wasn't picking up so he tried his wife's number. "Hi, Lisa, it's Kurt. I need to speak with Harold."

"He's not here." Her speech was slurred and she sounded like she had been drinking, making Kurt grimace.

"I have a very urgent matter to discuss with him so can you tell him to get back to me as soon as he can?"

Lisa suddenly burst into tears, and started mumbling, leaving Kurt bewildered. "Lisa dear, calm down. Please speak clearly, I don't understand you."

"I-I said H-h-harold left me! He r-ran off with our neighbor!" bringing with them, Kurt discovered soon after, his own money.