Saturday morning, Kurt's alarm went off at 7:00. He turned back over to face Sebastian after he turned it off. "You don't have to have to come with me if you don't want to or if you have schoolwork that you need to work on."

Sebastian wrapped his hand around the side of Kurt's face and kissed him on the forehead. "I want to come with you. On the way back, we'll stop by that shop with the coffee beans from around the world, drink some samples, and get a few new kinds to bring home."

"That sounds fun. Let's get ready then."

"Just a few more minutes of snuggles." Sebastian pinned Kurt to the bed octopus snuggle style. Once he got comfortable, he said, "Six months of data, and I'm still not sure of the winner."

"I think you've been lax on your data keeping. Plus, we certainly didn't give all of the clothing options very many trials."

"Those got nixed early on and dumped from the trials."

"I see." Kurt ran his hand along Sebastian's arm. "I am rather fond of the birthday suit option myself."

"Me too."

Kurt kissed the top of Sebastian's head. "Six months. When I told you what my fantasy was – something that I thought was so far out of reach I might as well have been wishing for a magic wand – you listened and you have shown me the mutual concern, respect, affection, love, and trust on a level that far exceeded any hope that I ever had. I'm so glad you agreed to marry me. I love you. You're my best friend and I'm looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together."

Sebastian smiled. He pulled Kurt's hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles. "And I love you. I don't know how to explain it really, but you just make me feel more alive. Everything is better with you."

"I feel the same way about you. Scoot closer."

"Any closer and I'll be lying on top of you."

"Mmm hmm. That's the idea."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

"Good morning, Madison," Kurt said cheerfully, as she approached the steps where he and Sebastian were waiting with smiles on their faces and in their eyes.

"Morning." She followed them into the building and through the halls as they headed towards the stairs to the atrium with the bulletin board pillars. "You two are cheerful."

"Not any more so than normal," Kurt said.

"Well, a lot more so than I've ever seen you. Happy is a good look on you." She winked at him.

"The two months when I was in Lima, my world was imploding and I had lost my goddamn mind. I'm better now. I found my mind and my self-esteem and I've put myself and my life back together in the last 15 months. My unsolicited advice is to never date someone who makes you feel like you aren't enough or like you need to be less of yourself. No one is perfect and if you know things about yourself that you'd like to change, then see a therapist and work on them. But never, ever let a guy make you feel like he's doing you a favor by being with you."

"Mason has done an amazing job of loving, accepting and supporting me – all while being honest about my weaknesses and my strengths. He's set the bar pretty high. He'd never let me get away with dating anyone who made me feel bad about myself."

"Good," Kurt said.

"I'd do the same for him. Jane is amazing though. She and I have become good friends, even though I hardly ever get to see her in person. She and Mason are really happy together."

"I'm glad for them."

"And I'm young and I'm not in a hurry to find Mr. Right. I don't even believe in Mr. Right. I think there are millions of people in the world and some of them would make great life partners and someday if I meet one of them, then I do. If I don't, I don't."

They made it to the atrium.

"So, this is the section for shared housing. We can all look through and photograph the ones looking for a female roommate. That way we can look up the addresses and map them out before you start calling. I did the hour commute to Midtown for two years. I wouldn't recommend it with us getting out late each night. The subway isn't terrible in the daytime, but there are fewer running late at night and taking a taxi out very far even once or twice a week will override any savings in rent. Plus, you have to leave early to leave time for potential delays. You'd lose 15 hours a week of your life to commuting six days a week and your time is valuable too."

"Makes sense," she said.

Sebastian walked behind Madison on his way to the other side of the pillar. He spoke very quietly. "Don't discount meeting the right person at the wrong time and things working out later."

Madison looked at him and raised a questioning eyebrow.

Sebastian nodded and smiled.

They spent about ten minutes looking through the fliers before they headed to the practice rooms. Kurt checked the schedule on the outside of the doors as they walked down the hall. He stopped at the first one that didn't have anyone's name listed until later. He opened the door and the three of them went inside. Kurt pulled a small Bluetooth speaker out of his bag and connected his phone to it.

"To warm up for fun, let's try 'Take Me or Leave Me'. I'll take Idina's part."

The music started and they both sang and danced around a little. It broke the ice, which was what Kurt was hoping for.

"That was fun," she said when it was over.

"Ready to try the other one?"

"Sure. I've never sung this one live with anyone. I just like it and sing along, so I'm going to cheat and use the lyrics."

"That's fine." Kurt started the music.

They went through it once and hit a few rough spots.

"Do you want to give it another go?"

She nodded and he restarted the music. It went better the second time through.

She said, "I think our voices sound good together."

"Me too. Thanks for doing this. Shall we go look through the ads?"

"Sure."

They went into one of the smaller classrooms.

Kurt looked through all of the ads before they started to look up the addresses. "This one would be good," he said, looking at the photos on Sebastian's phone. "Callie is the leader of NYADA's show choir, The Apples, which makes her at the bottom of the social ladder here. But she's super nice and I've been to her place. It's small, but it's decent. It's north of here, so it's close to the theater district." He showed her the ad.

"The price is high, but I'm never going to find what I consider affordable. I couldn't find 'affordable' in DC either. So, you know her personally?"

"I do. She's outgoing and friendly, but she's not overbearing. As for the price, it's not bad. You'd get your own room and be sharing the rest of the place with just one person. I can call her and take you over there if she's available."

"Sure. That would be great."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

"So, what can you tell me about her before we get there?" Madison asked, as they walked to Callie's place.

"Well, she's not concerned about what other people think about her style. She definitely has her own look. Her hair is blonde and it's cut in a short pixie, but she wears it styled all different ways. She's maybe 5'4" and slim built. Personality-wise, I've never seen her say a cross thing to anyone, even to the more obnoxious sycophants at the school who love to give her dirty looks because she refuses to conform to a more traditional attractive feminine look, even though she could. The first time we met, she was wearing a mostly green, multi-colored striped, long-sleeved, not-quite-knee length sweater dress with red tights with a pattern on them below the knees and she had her hair teased so it was sticking out every which way."

"Sounds colorful."

"She is. She's a senior. She's majoring in set design and stage management. She's a strong group singer. Her voice blends well and she has a warm tone that fills the sound out. She's a good leader – not letting anyone become a diva and try to hog the spotlight. I've never heard her raise her voice, but she does have a killer, attention-grabbing whistle."

Madison laughed. "That could come in handy when you're in charge of a group of college students."

"It does. Quite a few people have whistle envy."

That made Madison laugh again.

"We're here." Kurt opened the door and held it open for Madison and Sebastian.

They stepped to the side and let Kurt go up first. When they got to the apartments on the fourth floor, Kurt knocked on the left one in the center. It didn't take long for Callie to answer.

"Kurt!" She hugged him. "It's good to see you. You too, Sebastian." She hugged him as he came in.

"Callie, this is Madison. She's going to be in a new off-Broadway production. She's looking for short-term or maybe long-term housing."

"It's nice to meet you, Madison." She closed the door. "Let me show you around." She took Madison through the apartment.

They came back a few minutes later.

"You don't have to let me know right this minute or anything. I haven't had anyone else call since I posted the ad two weeks ago. I'm hoping to find someone in the next nine days because that's when February's rent is due and I'm really not able to afford this place on my own. Since you're the first to come look, I'll give you the first option. If someone else calls, I'll let you know, if you want to leave me your number."

"Sure. This location actually seems really good." She took Callie's phone, put her number in, and handed it back. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. This building is pretty quiet. I haven't had any problems with neighbors that scream or fight or people who throw late night or overnight parties on weeknights. It can get loud on Friday and Saturday nights sometimes."

"I'd be here in the mornings, mostly. We'll be rehearsing in the evenings, and then of course the shows will be in the evenings once it opens. Previews will start late March with an early May official opening date."

Callie nodded. "Madison… Madison. You're Madison McCarthy. Sorry. I just realized. You're in Dear Evan Hansen. Kurt sang a song from that for the Winter Showcase."

"I did," Kurt said.

She straightened her stance as if she could manage to make herself tall enough to look him square in the eyes. "Kurt Hummel, we've been friends for three years. Is there something you want to tell me?"

Kurt laughed. "You're sworn to secrecy if I tell you."

"I'm good at keeping secrets."

"I'm going to be playing Evan Hansen."

Callie squealed and threw her arms around Kurt's neck. "Oh, my God. Does Adam know? He's going to be so excited for you!"

"He doesn't know yet. I just signed the contract yesterday and when we got home it was like 3:00 in the morning in London. And we left this morning to meet Madison. I haven't had the chance to Skype him yet, but it's on my list of things to do today."

"You have to. He raved and raved about your first performance at the Winter Showcase. His belief in your future success was unwavering."

"I'm going to Skype him as soon as we get home."

"You better. I won't tell him or anyone here, but as soon as you're willing to let this be publicly known, you better tell me because I'm throwing you a party."

"I don't need a party."

"Sure you do. Everyone needs a party." She hugged him again. "I'm so glad for you. I won't keep you because I'm sure that you have other places to take Madison."

"Thank you for your support. I'll think about the party."

"It was nice to meet you Madison," Callie said.

"You too."

Callie opened the door and saw them out.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Once they were back outside, Kurt offered to walk to the area where the production would be so she could get a feel for the distance. He pointed out things along the way and answered a few questions.

She was surprised at how quickly they arrived at the theater. She said, "Honestly, I think I'll just cancel my appointment tomorrow with the rental agent and just move in with Callie. The rent is no worse than the other places the agent sent me listings for and better than some. The location is better than I had any hope of finding and Callie is sweet. Her former roommate left her furniture behind, so I won't even have to buy a bed or anything. Just some bed linens and towels."

"If you're sure, you could just go back to her place and tell her. She'd probably let you stay tonight and tomorrow and you could save the cost of the hotel and put the money towards February's rent."

"It seems so crazy to just take the first place, but you've known her for long enough to give me a good feeling about living with her. It seems better than a place on my own actually, at least for a while. And it's better than a total stranger."

"Well, then, do you want to go back and tell her? You can sit and talk about the details."

"I hate to bother you, but I'd appreciate that. If you could just walk back with me, I'll take a cab back to the hotel to get my stuff if she's okay with me staying tonight and tomorrow."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

As they were walking towards the closest Metro station after leaving Madison at Callie's place, Sebastian asked, "What happened to Callie's roommate? Demetria, right?"

"Yeah. She actually graduated last year. She stayed hoping to land a role here on Broadway, but after New Year's she got a role in a touring production of Hairspray and she left town to join the tour. I got an invitation to the party Callie threw for her, but we were in Paris. I didn't think to tell you. I hadn't really thought about Callie looking for a new roommate, but hopefully she and Madison get along."

They boarded the train and Kurt scooted into Sebastian's side as they stood since there was no available seating. Once they got back off, they went back to talking.

"Let's go look through that art gallery that's not far from the coffee place. I know we both have things to do for the rest of the day, but can you spare a little more time for a gallery tour?"

Sebastian scooted closer and let go of Kurt's hand and slipped his arm around his waist instead. "Of course."

Kurt looked at him and smiled and slid his arm around Sebastian's waist and squeezed a bit, causing Sebastian to grin.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

"I'll start lunch while you get your laptop and set the Skype call up."

"Sounds good. I'll leave him a message to call when he gets in if he's not online right now and I'll leave the laptop on in here." Kurt left and came back with the laptop and put it on the dining table. "How can I help?"

"Mmm. Almost everything is chopped. I think I just need a kiss or two."

"Mmm hmm." Kurt stood beside him until he finished the cilantro.

Once Sebastian finished, he turned towards Kurt and kissed him. "You can warm the tortillas up."

"Okay."

Ten minutes later, they were seated at the table enjoying their fajitas made from leftover roast.

"Good use of leftovers," Kurt said. "I'm not overly fond of the leftover vegetables from the roast, but this was a good idea to try – making double the meat and the regular amount of vegetables instead of doubling both like we tried the last time. We should add this to the list of meals."

"I agree."

When they had just about finished, Adam called. Kurt stuffed the last bite in his mouth and wiped his hands on his napkin. He pressed the button to accept the call.

"Hey, Kurt. I saw your message."

Kurt nodded.

Sebastian spoke up. "He'll be right with you. He stuck the last bite of his lunch in his mouth." Sebastian grabbed their plates and cleared the table.

Kurt swallowed. "Hey, Adam." He wiped his mouth. "I have some good news."

Sebastian pulled his chair closer to Kurt's. "He's playing it down by saying good."

"A trait I'm well acquainted with," Adam said, as he winked at the Sebastian. "So, what's the good news, love?"

"I've been asked to play Evan Hansen in its off-Broadway opening later this spring and I signed the contract yesterday."

"Fantastic! That's brilliant, Kurt! Congratulations! You deserve it! You absolutely deserve it!"

Kurt's smile got bigger with each positive thing Adam said. "Thank you."

"How will you manage Mama Mia! and Dear Evan Hansen at the same time?"

Sebastian answered, "The same way he always does – by being his amazing self."

"Well, that's true, of course," Adam agreed.

"Madame Tibideaux is being graciously lenient about my Advanced Stage Combat class attendance."

"Well, wonders never cease. I'm so happy for you, Kurt. This is amazing!"

"I've only told a few people."

"Well, I'll keep it to myself until you say otherwise. Thank you for calling. I'm on my way to the theater, but I saw the message when I came in to power down my computer on the way out and I wanted to get back to you before I left. We'll talk again soon."

Kurt nodded and disconnected the call. A few tears managed to escape. He wiped his eyes. Sebastian leaned towards him and kissed his temple.

"You're amazing."

"Thank you. Do you want to study with me on the sofa?"

He leaned in again and whispered in Kurt's ear. "How about we just wear our boxer briefs and hoodies? I'll bring the comforter from the other room in and we can put it on the sofa and then sit on it and cover up with it."

Kurt nodded.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Sunday morning found Sebastian sitting behind Kurt in a chair at the dining table, both of them drinking coffee and splitting a honey oat bagel with sunbutter on it.

"It's different," Sebastian said. "Not terrible, not fantastic, but I can eat it. It's not expensive and it tastes better with the bit of honey we added."

"I agree. It can go in my rotation. I might try adding a bit of cinnamon to it next time. I was also thinking smoothies – just the fruit part maybe? And I can add a carton of plain yogurt and a straw? No, dairy doesn't help with singing. I just need some lembas. That would make my life so much simpler."

Sebastian chuckled and kissed along Kurt's neck. "If I had any elf friends, I'd be sure to set you up with exactly what you need."

"That does make me think of something though. Sam's always been into low-carb stuff and he used to make these breakfast bar type things that were really calorie dense. That would be perfect because it wouldn't need refrigerated and I could keep one in my bag until after Mama Mia! rehearsal. I could have it on the way to the theater, along with a Thermos of honey ginger tea. I'm putting that on my list of things to research this morning. Maybe we can find some recipes and get what we need for them when we go shopping in a little while."

"Works for me. I'm going to miss eating dinner with you though."

"Me too. We'll just have to make sure we have super snuggly breakfasts every morning." Kurt wiggled back tighter against Sebastian's chest.

Sebastian squeezed him a little. "We can do that."

Kurt took the last drink of his coffee and turned in the chair and got comfortable facing Sebastian. He propped his forearms on Sebastian's shoulders and ran his fingers through the back of his hair. Sebastian closed his eyes and moaned lightly. Kurt kissed him.

"Dance with me?" Kurt asked, as he moved the kisses up Sebastian's jaw line towards his ear.

"Always, but more chair snuggle kisses first."

Kurt smiled and kissed him again.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Kurt glanced up from his script to see Sebastian writing something quickly and moving down a line in his notebook and writing something quickly again. He went back to his script for a few minutes, but when he glanced up again, Sebastian was still at it, in a second column on the page. He put his script down next to him on the sofa. It didn't take long for Sebastian to notice.

"Done?"

"Not completely, but I was wondering what you're doing. You've obviously either finished our menu or given up for a bit."

"Oh, I finished it. Do you want to look it over to see if it's okay?"

"I'm sure it's fine. I'm still curious. Are you making a shopping list for the menu?"

"I already did that."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He took Kurt's hand and kissed his knuckles. "Do you want me to run lines with you for a little bit before we go?"

"I'm nosy. I want to know what you were writing in that notebook."

Sebastian blushed. He looked toward the notebook, sighed, and then picked it up. "Don't laugh at me." He handed it to Kurt.

"I won't." He opened the notebook up to the last page that had been written on. Each line had "Sebastian Hummel-Smythe" written on it. "Why would I laugh at you? It's sweet." He handed the notebook back to Sebastian. He thought about the options – Smythe-Hummel and Hummel-Smythe. "I think you're right. Hummel-Smythe is easier to say." He gave the notebook back.

Sebastian put it back on the sofa next to him. He took Kurt's hand and interlaced their fingers. "I didn't tell you what Grandma told me on the phone Friday night. I knew we'd want to talk about it and I didn't want to start a conversation when were both tired or when we were both doing schoolwork yesterday."

"This sounds like a bad thing."

"Nope, not at all. Just a serious thing."

"Okay."

"Grandma sold the Smythe mansion and is selling the law firm. She bought a 2-bedroom place in Isabelle's building and she's moving here a week from tomorrow."

"She's selling the law firm? I didn't realize that she had the power to do that."

"Me either. She said that she and I are going to have a talk about my financial situation next week."

"Moving to New York seems like a good idea though. You and Isabelle are here."

Sebastian nodded. "I'm assuming that keeping the mansion all this time was because of me. I figure the idea was that my grandparents would have more than one child and that those children would have more than one child and that right now she would have quite a few great-grandchildren to come and enjoy the holidays at the Smythe mansion. And that could have been a lot of fun, like it is with all of my cousins, but none of that happened. I'm assuming that she starting putting all of this into motion right after my birthday when she learned that I don't want to be a lawyer or live in Ohio."

"A 2-bedroom place in Isabelle's building probably costs about the same as the mansion on the outskirts of Columbus."

"Possibly. I have no idea of the cost of either, to be honest."

"So, a week from tomorrow? It seems so quick, but I'm sure you're right that she's probably been working on all of it for months. I'm sure it took a while to find a buyer. It's not like there are that many people in the market for a mansion in Ohio. What will your father do?"

"Still be the State's Attorney. I would imagine that he has enough money of his own that he could reopen a firm again if he wants to if he loses an election at some point."

"That's true."

"She said that maybe you can introduce her to some of your friends from the retirement home. She's really lonely. She's lost both of her sisters and her husband in the last 10 years."

"I'll take her down to the retirement home if she really wants to go. We'll need to add going over to visit at least once a week to our schedule. We can't have her move here to be closer to us and not spend time with her."

"That's the next thing on the agenda for today, well after we come back from shopping anyway. We need to make our schedule for the next two weeks, and then for the five weeks after that."

"I've already got a sheet of paper for each day of the week ready and once we've gotten it all figured out, I will put it into a spreadsheet like usual. We can use the front for the next two weeks and the back for the five weeks after that."

"Alright. Let's see the recipes that you found and finish this up. I just left a space in the menu that says 'breakfast bar', but we need to add the ingredients to our shopping list before we head out."

"And there's the dancing I asked for."

"That too."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

After they put the groceries away and ate lunch, Kurt started to work on the breakfast bars while Sebastian washed the dishes. Once he was done, he put the baking dish in the oven and set the timer. He washed the mixing bowl and spoon, and finished cleaning the kitchen up.

Kurt went to sit with Sebastian when he finished. Sebastian had grabbed the throw pillows and pushed them into the corner, sat down, and was waiting for him. They cozied up and got to work on getting everything organized.

Kurt studied his schedule. "Remove Stage Combat Club and leave our couples yoga time," Kurt said, as he drew a line through Stage Combat Club.

"You're sure? You are already going to miss your Advanced Stage Combat class."

Kurt kissed Sebastian on the temple. "Yes, I'm sure. My time with you is going to be so limited as it is. I'm not giving our yoga time up for a club. I know we've been going to the club together, but this way we'll be able to sleep a little bit later and do yoga here at home together before we go to NYADA for dance. Maybe we'll go back after Mama Mia!."

Sebastian turned to face him and started to kiss him on the cheek, but Kurt saw him out of the corner of his eye and turned to meet Sebastian's lips with his own.

"Love you," Kurt said, and kissed Sebastian again. "So much."

"You have an hour from 11-12 on Fridays since the classes you have during that time only meet on Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday. I don't have class until 1:15. I'll stay at NYADA and study in the library or somewhere and we can have lunch together before I go to my class. Even if we just sit together while we eat and study."

"You're a sweetie. You know that, right?"

"Mmm. Maybe. But I have to give you up on the weekends for rehearsals and then performances and I'm going to miss you like crazy."

"You really like being with me."

Sebastian looked up from the page he was adding things to. "Was that a statement or a question?"

"Half and half."

"Well, it should definitely be a statement – one that has no hint of question to it. I absolutely like being with you. Way back last summer, you said you wondered when you'd need a break – when us being together would eventually get to you and become too much togetherness?"

"Yeah."

"I wondered the same thing because I had been alone for so long, but that moment never came. There hasn't been a time when I thought to myself that I could study better or concentrate more if you weren't here or when I thought that any part of my life would be better if I spent less of my time with you. There are times when want to stop studying and kiss you, but you don't seem to mind that."

Kurt turned to kiss him. "I don't." He kissed him gently. "Not at all."

"I'm really going to miss you being here with me. I know a lot of our time during the school year is just sitting together in the quiet while we both study, but having you next to me is … I know it sounds cliché, but it's perfect. And I'm going to really miss you. You've worked hard and I'm so excited for you, but I'm going to find as much time in your crazy schedule that I can be a part of as I can."

"Thank you. I'm going to miss you too, you know. And I agree with your assessment. Being together just feels right. It's comfortable in a way I never knew I could be. And I would be honored to eat lunch with you on Fridays between 11 and 12."

"Good. I already put it in the schedule."

Kurt chuckled. "Slide it back this way little bit."

Instead, Sebastian pulled it farther away, but leaned towards Kurt, who kissed him. Sebastian put the page back between them with a triumphant smile on his face.

An hour later, they had everything written out. Kurt took the stack of papers and put them all the way to his right on the sofa seat. He scooted closer to Sebastian afterwards.

"I was pretty tired Friday night, but I'm pretty sure that you suggested that we get married when my parents and Mercedes come to see Mama Mia!."

"I did."

"Were you teasing or serious?"

"I will marry you Tuesday or any day after that because we'd have to get the marriage license tomorrow and then wait the required 24-hour period first." He turned and wrapped his hand around the side of Kurt's face and neck and gently pressed his lips to Kurt's.

Kurt slid down a little and pulled at Sebastian to get him to move and lie on top of him. He bent his knees and gave Sebastian room to lie down between legs. Sebastian kissed down Kurt's neck. He began to unbutton Kurt's shirt and kissed along the edges where Kurt's skin showed. Once he managed to get all the buttons undone, he opened Kurt's shirt back and laid his head on Kurt's chest with his ear right over Kurt's heart.

"I love the feeling of your skin against mine."

Kurt ran his hand through Sebastian's hair and relaxed. "Me too. When those bars are done, we could move this to the bedroom and get undressed and snuggle."

"Mmm. How about we turn the little heater on, undress down to our boxer briefs and dance and then snuggle."

"Mmm hmm."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

A few hours later, Kurt was lying with his head on Sebastian's chest. Sebastian's stomach growled.

"We need to get something in you. Obviously lunch has worn off."

"I know exactly what I want in me." He kissed the top of Kurt's head and ran his hand down Kurt's arm.

"You're insatiable."

"You're fantastic."

"So are you." Kurt ran his hand along Sebastian's ribs, pressing just hard enough not to tickle. "I can honestly say that I never, ever thought I would enjoy switching, but you make it amazing every time. All that fake bravado you used to swagger around with – you can totally own that now."

Sebastian chuckled. "Well, I learned from the best."

"Oh, really?"

"Definitely." He reached under Kurt's pillow.

Kurt got up on his hands and knees and kissed Sebastian. "I can do that." He straddled him and leaned back down to kissed him again.

Sebastian parted his lips, deepening the kiss. He ran his hands along Kurt's back and down to the back of his thighs.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Kurt slipped a pair of sweats on when he came out of the bathroom. Sebastian came up behind him and whimpered in his ear. Kurt turned to face him and kissed him.

"Come with me to the kitchen and we can make out while our food warms up. I'm just not going out there wearing nothing – I'll freeze. And our onesies need washed." He grabbed their onesies and their sheets and put them all in the washer.

Sebastian followed him out to the kitchen. Kurt opened the refrigerator and pulled out a container of leftover soup and a partial container of leftover white rice and put all of it into a pot and turned the stove on. He pinned Sebastian against the counter and kissed him.

"Better?"

"Mmm hmm." He wrapped his arms around Kurt and slid them down his to his butt and held him close. Kissed along Kurt's neck. "Fuck, you're hot."

"What's gotten into you?"

"You several times, obviously."

"And that wasn't enough?"

He tipped Kurt's chin up and looked him directly in the eyes. "You are always enough. You're amazing. So, amazing that I just want you more every time." He kissed Kurt gently.

"What we have is amazing. I just want to make sure that I'm not overlooking something that you need from me."

Sebastian kissed him again and trailed kisses along his jaw up to his ear. "Nope, you're not overlooking anything. You make me feel loved all the time. I enjoy every second with you. Reading, singing, doing yoga, dancing, talking, cooking, making love – all of it."

Kurt leaned into him. "Me too." He kissed him and then leaned back and stepped out of his arms to stir the soup. He went right back to where he had been. "My answer is 'yes'. If you want to get married when my parents and Mercedes are here for Mama Mia!, I'm totally fine with that. It's going to be a simple event. Since you're suggesting a weekend, we'll need an officiant of some sort. We won't be able to just stand in front of a judge on the weekend. If we want to do the judge option, we'll have to do it the Friday afternoon before or the Monday after. You can look into the options and we can compare them. We'll have to talk to Sam and Mercedes about whether they could stay here through Monday or not though." Kurt stepped back and stirred the soup again and took it off the heat. He reached up for two bowls and grabbed the ladle from the drawer. He split the soup between the two bowls. He put the pot in the sink and rinsed it, cooling it down enough to be able to wash it.

Sebastian moved the bowls to the table. "You're sure? I don't mean to pressure you. We can wait until school is out if you want to. I was just thinking that Mercedes is already working a flight here into her schedule. And for your parents, it's more a matter of the fact that they're going to come to Mama Mia! and to see Dear Evan Hansen as well. Asking them to buy plane tickets to come here in March, April, and May seems like a lot. But we can keep talking about it." He grabbed spoons and napkins.

They sat down and started to eat.

"The question I have is will you still want to have a full ceremony in Paris if we have an officiant and have a small wedding ceremony here somewhere, like maybe at Grandma Smythe's new flat? Or will having something that resembles a regular wedding here change what you want to do in Paris?"

"We could just have a reception there. I mean you saw how short Patrice and Leon's wedding was compared to the celebration afterwards. There wasn't a processional, or attendants, or singing, or a sermon, or anything. I guess the priest did read that part in the Bible about the qualities of love and reminded them that love isn't just a feeling, but also a choice about the way we treat someone, but it was short. Other than that, the two of them just stood up in front of their family and friends, declared their love for each other, and vowed to be faithful to each other. "

"It was shorter than I had anticipated. So, in theory, we could write out whatever vows we use here in French and just stand in front of everyone at the beginning of the reception and say our vows to each other again in French."

"We could I suppose. Since we'd already be legally married, we wouldn't actually need someone to prompt us on what to say or to declare us married."

"More things to think about. Do you have plans for us for after dinner?"

"Nothing that I couldn't change. What do you want to do?"

"Well, I'd like to resume our belly dancing and sai sword training. We haven't done either in at least six weeks."

"Sai swords first to give our food time to settle a bit." He looked up and made eye contact with Kurt and winked. "And then we dance."

Kurt smiled.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

They both sat their swords down carefully. Sebastian took his gauntlets off to let them air out before putting them away. They put their bells and dance clothes on.

Before Kurt started any music, he asked, "I've seen some pretty cool first dance videos on YouTube before. Do people do anything like that at wedding receptions in France?"

"I don't actually know. I haven't been to many weddings. There's no reason that we can't. It's our ceremony and reception. We should do what we want. Do you want to choreograph and practice a dance to do instead of just slow dancing together?"

"I think it would be fun. One of the things we really love to do together is dance, so it seems fitting to me. Would you do it?"

"Definitely. We just need to find a song first and then set aside some time to work on it each week."

"We can both come up with ideas for a song." Kurt pressed the play list on his iPod to turn the belly dancing music on. He started moving his hips and turning slowly along with the music. When he came back to his original position, Sebastian hadn't moved. "Did you change your mind?"

"Oh, no. Definitely not. I was just watching you. You're gorgeous. I got distracted."

Kurt stepped towards him and kissed him gently. "Dance with me." He turned back around and danced a few feet away from Sebastian and went back to moving to the music.

Sebastian closed his eyes for a minute to focus on the beat and started to move.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

A half-hour later, they were on the floor doing cool down stretches.

"This is so much fun," Sebastian said. "I'm so glad you showed me this side of you."

"Me too. It is a lot of fun. Let's take the bells off and just waltz or ballroom dance."

"Okay."

"Did you have other plans?"

"Well, it's Sunday and my plan included us curling up on the sofa and watching a French movie."

"A couple of songs, a shower, and the movie?"

"Perfect."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Monday morning, they spent time snuggling like they usually did, but they skipped doing yoga. They got ready and went to get a marriage license. Other than that deviation from their normal schedule, Kurt didn't do anything else unusual during the week.

They went out salsa dancing Monday evening, as usual. Sebastian made more of the breakfast bars with variations and froze them when he was home and Kurt wasn't. Kurt spent the most of the rest of his available free time during the week to learn his lines for Dear Evan Hansen and working on the songs. He and Sebastian snuggled up on the couch just to be near each other when he was home.

Kurt spent his last week working daytime hours at Vogue helping Isabelle get ready for Men's Fashion Week.

Madison came back to town on Saturday. Kurt, Sebastian, and Callie took her to their favorite indoor flea market, where she picked up the bed linens and towels that she needed. Before they went their separate ways, Kurt and Sebastian took the two of them to the Peruvian Asian fusion restaurant they liked for lunch, which they both really enjoyed. Kurt and Sebastian returned home afterwards to get back to work.

Sunday morning, Sam came into town and took them to Costco and stayed until mid-afternoon.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Kurt snuggled into Sebastian's side on the sofa after Sam left. "I feel like I'm being a bad friend to Elliott. I've been texting him here and there, but I haven't actually told him about getting the role."

"Instead of survivor's guilt, you have success guilt."

"Yeah."

"What about getting him set up to make a demo album? He writes his own music too, right?"

"He does. You mean like when went to the studio that day with Adam?"

"Exactly. Between you and Callie, surely you can come up with a band. He could meet with people a couple of times and we could sing back up for him too."

"And we get the demo done and I can give it to Mercedes when she comes to see Mamma Mia!."

"Sounds like a good plan."

"I could even see if Rachel will sing back up. She was my next topic of discussion, which is why her name came to mind. She came to see us before break and we haven't really considered what she was asking."

"She used to be your so-called 'best friend'. I haven't brought her up because she's never played a role in my life and I figured you would bring her up when you were ready to talk about it."

"Well, I obviously don't have much room in my schedule to fit her in, but I guess the one time I could offer her is that hour I have on Fridays. If she's actually willing to put in the effort to meet at NYADA and bring her own lunch, then it would make me think she's serious. But I don't want to give away my hour with you."

"Is this important to you?"

"That's what makes it hard to decide. I'm perfectly fine without her in my life. I don't know how having her in my life would improve my life in any way. And I can think of a lot of ways that it could make my life less enjoyable, based on past history. I guess I could offer to meet her once and if it's a miserable experience, I can just never invite her again."

"That's true." Sebastian looked down at his chest. "What are you trying to do?"

"Well, I was trying to sneak my hand into your shirt, but it's tucked in your jeans under your sweater and I keep losing my grip on the buttons because the buttonholes are tight, so I'm completely failing at stealthily feeling up my fiancé."

Sebastian chuckled. "Would you like some help?" He slipped his hands under his sweater and unbuttoned a few of the buttons.

Kurt slipped his hand in the space and started to run his thumb along Sebastian's abdomen. "Mmm. You're soft and so sexy."

"As long as I'm not tender and tasty."

"More like firm and tasty."

Sebastian about choked. "I'm rubbing off on you."

"Not currently, but that could be arranged."

Sebastian wiggled his eyebrows. "Oh really?" He leaned towards Kurt and kissed his forehead.

Kurt moved and sat straddling Sebastian's lap. "Or we could do it the other way or both ways." He rolled his hips as he leaned forward and kissed Sebastian breathless. Kurt started humming the chorus from "Ride" alternating with the chorus from "My Pony".

Sebastian kissed up Kurt' neck as he caught his breath. "If you're teasing me, you need to stop. If you aren't, let's go to our room."

"Not teasing because teasing means no follow-through, but if you have something else in mind, that's okay." He leaned forward and kissed Sebastian gently. "Just because my mind wandered doesn't mean that we need to act on it. I'd be happy snuggling right here with you."

"We can do both. Stand back up and let me scoot down to the corner."

They rearranged themselves so that they were half-sitting, half-lying in the corner of the sofa with their legs intertwined and extended out onto the ottoman. They exchanged flirty kisses back and forth for several minutes, and then just lay there holding each other.

Kurt took a deep breath. "Grandma Smythe arrives tomorrow."

"She does. And I'm having dinner with her while you and Isabelle go off and do your Fashion Week stuff."

"That's good. I'm going to miss going out dancing on Mondays. We've been doing that for a long time." He nuzzled into Sebastian's neck.

"We have. I'm going to miss it too. We're going with her to the Isabelle's lawyer's office first thing Tuesday morning. You can sign the pre-nup and we can go to NYADA from there. Isabelle's going to take Grandma out for breakfast while I'm at NYADA. Later in the afternoon, I'm going to meet back up with Grandma at her place after I get out of class to have the talk she wants to have."

"Sounds like a good plan." Kurt restarted the flirty kisses. "We usually watch a French movie. Was that what you had planned?"

"Yes, but I could totally be on board with your other idea first after we finish talking, if you have anything else you want to talk about."

"I'll text Rachel and invite her to meet us on Friday at NYADA for lunch. No. Actually, that's just unkind and I hadn't thought it through. Maybe we could meet her for brunch on Sunday morning before we go to Costco."

"Okay."

"Only I don't want to do it then either. I'll keep thinking." He tried nuzzling up to Sebastian again. "Can we go get the extra comforter and snuggle naked? Boxers are fine, but I want to be able to touch you and your sweater and collared shirt are making it hard."

Sebastian kissed him gently. "Sure." He sat up. "Come on."

Ten minutes later, they were back on the sofa comfortably wrapped up in the comforter and they were looking through their movie choices. Once they had chosen, Kurt turned over and faced Sebastian and nuzzled into his neck like he had been trying to do. Sebastian held him close and waited. He knew that if he gave Kurt the closeness that he needed to relax that he would share what he was struggling with.

"Earlier this morning when you were reading and I was in the spare room organizing stuff, I came across the notebook that I used to use for my counseling sessions. I looked through it and it was really amazing to see how different I feel and how much I've grown, for lack of a better word. Back seven months ago, Mr. Salazar and I talked about intimacy. I told him how the first therapist I went to told me that I had a problem with intimacy and how I took that for meaning something specific. Mr. Salazar pointed out that there are five types of intimacy and gave me an article to read. I found the notes I took on the article in the notebook. I wrote out the different types and the definitions and how I struggled or succeeded in the various types and I also wrote how I would like a relationship to be within each of those categories. There was also a list of seven traits that were important within the five types of intimacy. I wrote notes on those too. He also used some terms during that session that I wasn't familiar with, so I looked those up and wrote about how I felt they applied to me." He slipped his arm up so that he could run his hand through Sebastian's hair. "You know what I found?"

"What?"

"That although I might have misunderstood the first therapist, I did have trouble with intimacy, but I don't now. I looked through my notes and I found everything that we have together now written in my own handwriting as what I wanted back then. It was amazing to see it right there on the page."

"What were the traits that were important?"

"Let's see. Trust, acceptance, honesty." He paused trying to recall more of them. "Compassion, affection, communication. That's six. There's one more." He paused again. "Oh, yeah, safety." He kissed Sebastian gently. "Seeing the notebook reminded me to make sure that I let you know what an amazing partner you are. I know I tell you sometimes, but as things are about to get nuts, I want to be sure that you know how much I love you and value you. And that I will never take you for granted. I notice the things you do for me, even if sometimes I don't say it at the time."

"I don't feel taken for granted. No need to be concerned about that. I want you to succeed. And I will do whatever's in my power to support you while you make your dreams come true." He kissed Kurt. "Those seven things you listed – I think we're doing a good job with those too. Thinking about Rachel brought some of this stuff to mind this afternoon, didn't it?"

"Yes. The article wasn't just about romantic couples. A lot of it applies to friendships as well. Reading through what I had written confirmed that I have everything I ever wanted with you." He kissed Sebastian. "But with Rachel, I don't know that I can keep my boundaries with her. I can't go into it expecting the worst because she has kept her word and she says she's gotten help as well. The two of us were a mess and we've healed." He ran his hand along Sebastian's jaw. "If we hadn't, then we'd never be where we are. I might have dreamed of a relationship without walls or hiding myself, but actually having that with you is beautiful. It really is. And I don't know if I can risk letting my walls down with Rachel."

"I think you're jumping ahead and panicking. Meeting with her for a meal and going back to the toxic endpoint of your relationship with her are two different things. I think you haven't forgiven her and that's okay. There's no timetable for forgiveness, but if you think you can't sit and have a meal with her without thinking of all of the things she's done that hurt you, then I don't think it's time to try to re-establish a friendship with her."

"That's what I've been thinking about today. I don't want to sound really horrible, but I can't currently think of anything that's in it for me. The things we did have in common aren't really things I would do with her now."

"What do you mean?"

"She liked to watch some of the same types of shows that I liked, so in the evenings we'd watch one together sometimes. She would snuggle up to me and we'd cover up with a blanket and watch Designing Women or The Facts of Life or whatever. It was a type of physical intimacy that was safe. She wouldn't make fun of me for crying during movies. Those were the times when I felt close to her. Then, and when we sang in the loft, which was mostly before anyone else moved in with us. She talked and I listened. Sometimes she'd listen to me, but those times usually turned back into me listening to her, but it was what I had and the only support I had. But I don't need any of those things from her anymore. I'm not in need of a movie snuggle buddy." He kissed Sebastian. "That role has been filled, permanently. And I have Sam now too. I guess I just can't figure out what role she would have. I don't trust her enough to actually share private information with her, plus I honestly can't think of anything I would tell her anyway."

"This is what I'm hearing you say. Rachel cannot have her previous role as best friend back. You already have me and Sam. And you also have Adam and Georges that you're close to now. You have your own family to keep in contact with, both in Ohio and in France now. You keep in touch with Elliott and Mercedes, even if it's not as frequently as you think you should. You have about 10 other things you're juggling, including some things that you just can't drop. You don't want to add another thing to your to-do list."

"I don't. You're right. And if Callie said, 'How about lunch?' I'd offer her the spot on Friday to eat with us and enjoy it. Or I'd even offer Sunday for brunch. I don't feel that way about Rachel right now. After she left me alone like I asked her to, I didn't do anything to work through my issues with her. It was out of sight, out of mind. It's time to face the issues or just tell her that I'm not interested."

"I think to determine that, you may have to actually agree to meet with her. To see whether she's grown up enough that your willing to make place for her in your very hectic life. And I do understand what you mean about not knowing what role she could even have in your life. Probably, potential co-worker and acquaintance is all at this point. Someone that you can share a meal with and not feel super stressed out the whole time. Someone that you could be at the same place at the same time like a party, or bar, or even a production of some sort and not feel like you're being spied on. If I had to play the role of therapist, I think that Rachel hits that button inside you that makes you feel like you're being watched, but not just watched like the press that followed you around for a while because of your dad's position, but the type of being watched that's personal."

"I hadn't really given it any thought. I really did put her out of my mind altogether, along with pretty much every other person I went to high school with, except Sam and Mercedes." He lay there playing with Sebastian's hair while he thought for a while.

Sebastian closed his eyes and enjoyed the attention that Kurt was giving him. He ran his thumb along the soft skin on Kurt's back where he had his hand holding Kurt close to him.

"I think you're right. She was the closest to Blaine and she moved in with him when she first came back here. She was with him when Sam and I went to confront him the first time when you were in France last December. Sam texted Blaine asking him to meet us at a coffee shop and she was there with him like it was her business as well. She stuck up for him. She saw me as her competition and him as her co-star. There's just a lot of painful memories." He took a deep breath and went back to thinking. "Talking to you has made me realize that I'm not ready for her to be anything more than a friendly acquaintance, like the person that's been in four of your classes that you've done a couple of group projects with. I have to keep my focus right now."

Sebastian kissed him. "Alright, then. You can talk to Mr. Salazar about it the next time you go in, if you want to start to deal with it. That's totally up to you. You can move on and leave it all in the past too."

"That's where I've moved most everyone else – to the category of 'people that I used to know'. But she's here and they aren't, so I think I'm going to have to deal with it on some level. Not right now though. Doing well in Mama Mia! and starting Dear Evan Hansen rehearsals while still doing well in school is my top professional priority for the next few weeks and you are my top personal priority always." He pressed closer and kissed Sebastian passionately. When they broke apart for air, Kurt switched to French. "You've been to your classes for two weeks now. Which ones do you like the most?"

"I think I'm really going to like the psychology course and I think I'll like the Latin American Surrealism and Fantastical Literature course. I've not read any of the books before, so it will at least be different. I have an advanced French grammar and vocabulary course. It's been a long time since I took a French grammar course – back when I was 16 or so. Obviously, not much has changed as far as the rules go, but this course deals with archaic syntax structures as well as reviewing modern rules. I'm not sure that it will be my favorite, but I feel like I need it."

"That makes perfect sense. Feel free to correct me if I make mistakes."

"I doubt there will be any need for that, but if you decide to start writing philosophical essays that use obscure words and archaic verb tenses, I'll be your go-to guy for editing."

Kurt laughed. "So, it's more to help you understand old texts that don't follow modern French syntax rules than to learn to use whatever rules may have previously been used."

"From looking at the textbook, there are exercises to write modern sentences using the older syntax rules as well as the reverse, but the idea is to be able to use this knowledge to be able to read farther back into French literature and historical writing. I got the idea of taking it when I was working on my thesis. You know how much I like history. And I want to be able to read the older things for myself rather than relying on someone else's translations."

Kurt kissed him. "You being so smart is such a turn on."

"Mmm. I think that makes you sapiosexual."

"Yep. That's one of the words I learned back when I was looking up things from when I talked to Mr. Salazar. He didn't use it, but I found it amongst the other words I was looking up. But it's not just spouting useless random facts about stuff. It's that internal desire to know more and learn that's really sexy. I didn't really know this about myself until less than a year ago and back then I didn't know there was a word for it." Kurt kissed him again. "I don't think there are special words for the other things I find sexy, but you," he kissed Sebastian, "are many of them."

"Many? Not all?" Sebastian teased and ruffled Kurt's hair.

Kurt rolled his eyes and pulled his upper lip between his teeth and thought for a minute. "Actually I can't think of anything that I think is sexy that's a quality you don't possess."

"So, I guess that makes me like Mary Poppins."

Kurt looked at him confused.

"Practically." Kiss. "Perfect." Kiss. "in every way." He kissed down Kurt's neck, licking here and there as he went, tickling him.

Kurt started laughing. Yes, yes it does. It definitely does." He started to tickle Sebastian.

Sebastian moved the kissing back to Kurt's lips, which stopped Kurt's tickle attack on his ribs. He pressed in and deepened the kiss and they spent the next several minutes kissing until they had to stop to breathe.

"Do you want to start the movie?" Kurt asked.

"Yep."

Kurt pecked him on the lips and rolled over. They refluffed the pillows so that they could both see the TV comfortably. Kurt grabbed the remote and pressed play.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Tuesday morning, Kurt and Sebastian met with Isabelle and Grandma Smythe at the bank as scheduled. Kurt and Sebastian quickly signed all of the papers put in front of them, which were passed to Mr. Marshall to sign. Once everything was signed, Mr. Marshall left briefly and returned with copies for both Kurt and Sebastian to keep.

Kurt and Sebastian left the bank together, walking hand in hand.

"You know I didn't need you to do that, right? I didn't even want you to do it."

"I know. I'm also certain that you know that I would never go after your family's money, signed pre-nup or not. I did it for us. I don't want anyone calling me a gold-digger. I've had two boyfriends, two fiancés, and soon to be, two weddings – both men were from wealthy families. Your family has far more money than Blaine's, which would provide easy fodder for a flaming headline about me leaving Blaine and running into your much more wealthy arms a few weeks later. We know the truth. You made some bad choices at a teen. I made some bad choices in my teens and my early 20's. The voluntary pre-nup is the best I can do at this point to prevent someone from taking pot shots at me and at us. I know that it seems over-the-top and unnecessary to you, but I've had lies written about me since I was 14. JBI was our resident yellow journalist and wanna-be paparazzi. Let's see, he wrote about me cheating on Blaine with Sam in our junior year. Photos included. It was when I took Sam and his family some clothes when the bank locked them out of their house and they were living in the skeeziest motel in Lima. There were plenty of other times that he wrote lies about me. And then after I was left for dead in the alley, there were all sorts of speculative stories written about it. A tryst gone wrong – meaning me hooking up with a gay prostitute in an alley. I won't even mention the ones that were worse."

Sebastian stopped walking, causing Kurt to stop as well. He pulled Kurt over to the edge of the sidewalk near the buildings. He pulled Kurt into a hug and held him close. "Thank you. I didn't understand. I love you. You did this to protect me."

Kurt leaned into him and said, "I did. If you think what your dad said was vicious, give the gossip rags a tidbit of juicy information and watch them rip the two of us to shreds. I love you, Sebastian, and I will do what I can to protect you, which may be very little, but this I could do for you. I have no intention of ever leaving you or doing anything that would cause you to leave me." He pressed his forehead against Sebastian's. "What we have is the real deal." Kurt stepped back and took Sebastian's hand and walked toward the subway. "We need to get moving or Cassie is going to be angry with both of us, with good reason."

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

That afternoon, Kurt texted Sebastian, Elliott, and Sam around 2:00, asking them to be at Vogue at 4:00. Several of the Givenchy models had gotten sick that morning and were not going to be able to walk the runway that evening. After pointing out that $500 could be made in one evening, Sam skipped his afternoon class and headed into the City and Elliott got someone to cover his shift at the diner he where he worked.

When they got there, he sent them all to the hair and make up studio for a trim. Kurt had already had his done. They left once the three of them were ready. At the venue, Kurt led them backstage and the four of them were put into the different outfits they would be wearing. A tailor quickly looked them over and hemmed Kurt's pants an inch shorter. They took the clothes back off and spent time in the make-up chairs being done up for the show. The three of them were briefed on exactly what to do when it was time for them go out onto the runway.

They each modeled three outfits, which they got to keep in addition to the $500 each Isabelle was offered to find last-minute replacements. They all performed as asked and the evening went smoothly. When they finished, Kurt invited Sam and Elliott back to the apartment. Isabelle sent them in a car since they had so much clothing with them. They stopped and picked up Thai food on the way back.

After they ate, they divided up the clothes between them in a way that everyone was happy with. The outfits had been made up of unusual layers in ways that none of them would wear. Elliott and Sam ended up with some nice black bomber-styled jackets. They all kept the suits with the long jackets because they liked the look. The other more form fitting suits ended up in Kurt and Sebastian's possession since they had slimmer builds and Elliott and Sam didn't feel comfortable in form-fitting suits for regular clothing. They divided up the hoodies and other jackets between them. After seeing what they other models wore, they were all glad to have been wearing the formal wear rather than the casual wear.

Sam headed back to his dorm, not wanting to fight the commuter traffic the next morning to get to class. He left the suit in the closet and took most of the other clothes back with him. Elliott stayed the night at Kurt's invitation. They had time to talk about Kurt's upcoming role and his demo idea. Elliott was on board with giving it a try.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

The next morning after dance, Sebastian went to Grandma Smythe's to have the talk that he had postponed the previous afternoon.

"After a thorough examination of your father and grandfather's financial holdings, which were all obtained legally during the embezzlement investigation, I determined that the two of them have more than enough money to live on the rest of their lives without either of them working another day. They do not owe money on their residences or anything else. I had my will rewritten and changed their inheritance to $1 each. I had everything else being divided between you, Isabelle and Iris. But to be honest, Iris does not need the money either. She and Lucas have invested wisely over the years and with Isabelle being their only child, she is set to inherit significant holdings. So, I have changed my will to reflect that you will be the main heir to the Smythe holdings and fortune. I know that you did not expect this, but I believe that you have a good head on your shoulders. Marceline was a fantastic mother to you and after floundering briefly after her death, you have made good choices."

Sebastian was speechless.

"Upon your marriage to Kurt, the apartment will become yours. You may place his name on the deed as co-owner. The paperwork he signed yesterday will not be affected by that. The co-op fees and utilities will become your responsibility once you have both graduated. The money left over in your educational fund will cover them for quite some time, if need be. But with Kurt working off-Broadway, his income should be more than enough to cover your living expenses or his half of them, however you two choose to hand things."

Sebastian nodded.

"One last thing before you spend as much time as you want looking over these numbers, is that I plan to give Kurt enough money to pay off his school loans."

"He…"

She interrupted him. "He won't want that. I'm fully aware of that. I find the inflated cost of attending university to be absurd. When your father went to Columbia, the tuition was about $10,000 a year. When your grandfather attended, the tuition was under $2,000. I'm old, but I am not stupid. I am aware that inflation has caused the prices of things to go up in the last 50 years, but regular market inflation does not account for a five-fold increase in the cost of tuition in the last 25 years. The consumer price index shows about a 15% increase in the cost of living in that time period. It would make sense if it now cost $11,500 to go to Columbia now, but it costs $52,000 now. There is a huge difference between a $1,500 increase and a $42,000 increase."

Sebastian took a deep breath and said, "I'll leave this topic up to you to convince Kurt about. I love him and I am not willing to start what would certainly be our first big fight right before we get married. He might back out. He has struggled just to agree to relatively small amount you've spent on him to go to France with me. He still insisted on giving my aunt Celeste money towards groceries. He's not marrying me for my money. Working hard means a lot to him. Throwing money that I didn't personally earn around like it means nothing will be a surefire way to push him away and that's the last thing I want. He's everything to me. I won't lose him over $80,000 in school loans. I just won't."

"Alright, dear. I'll consider the options. Please go ahead and look over the information. We can talk more later."

"Yes, Grandma." He slid the stack of papers out of the file folder and began to read them.

[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]

Kurt had been excused from his late-morning and afternoon classes in order to attend the open call for the understudy and swing roles. He left right after showering after dance class. He arrived 30 minutes before the auditions were set to start at a coffee shop a few blocks from the theater to meet Mark and Rob for the first time. Mark would be playing Connor. He was slightly taller than Kurt with a trim build. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a baseball cap and glasses. Rob would be playing Jared. He was slightly shorter than Kurt with a slightly more solid build than Mark, but still trim. He had medium brown hair and hazel eyes. He had on a beanie.

Mr. Johnson introduced them and had them all sit down so they could talk briefly. "Mark and Rob already know this, which is why they've shown up looking the way they do. I'd like the two of them to sit mixed in with the guys who come to audition. I'd like to get a good feel for the guys who come. I don't honestly think anyone will recognize the two of you with beards and the hats. I'll be referring to Mark as Martin and Rob as Ron. That's what they'll write on their nametags."

The three of them nodded.

"Let's get in line and get some coffee. I'll head out and the three of you can straggle down to the theater and get in the line to pick up the audition material."

The three of them followed him to the line.

"I have no idea if people here do this, but I'm not interested in hiring any two-faced actors. I want people who are excited to be in the show and who genuinely want to work hard to make it a success. And actors act. I want you two to see how they act when they think no one is watching them act and as they interact with Kurt who will be introduced as Evan."

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Kurt got in line at the theater and drank his coffee. Once the doors were opened, he walked into the foyer, picked up a nametag, and put it on. He made it about ten feet into the auditorium when he heard his name.

"Kurt?"

He turned around knowing exactly who it was. He responded coolly, "Blaine."

"I almost didn't recognize you with the beard and the um, unusual hairstyle. I honestly didn't even realize that you could grow a beard."

He resumed walking down to the front to sit down. "Well, now you know. And the haircut is thanks to Givenchy. It was how it was cut yesterday before I went on the runway for Men's Fashion Week. So, it may not be my usual coif, but it is quite de-rigeur. I'm leaving it until wardrobe says how it needs to be cut for Mamma Mia!."

"I see."

Kurt took a seat. He didn't interact with Blaine, who sat down in the row behind him and began to fill out his own paperwork. The rest of the guys came in and sat down and kept quiet. Madison came in and went down front. She had her hair down and she was wearing a nearly knee length skirt with winter tights, a sweater, and a beanie similar to the type that Adam and Elliott wore.

Mr. Johnson stood up. "In case anyone didn't read the open call carefully, this session is for men who can comfortably sing in a high tenor range. So, if any baritones or basses have mistakenly shown up, feel free to leave now. You can give Madison the audition packets on your way out.

A couple of guys got up, handed Madison their packets, and left. Madison continued to walk up and down the aisles offering to take anyone's completed paperwork.

"Madison?"

"Mr. An… Blaine," she caught herself and corrected.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"I'm Zoe Murphy."

"Oh. Congratulations."

"Thanks. I've been playing the role since the show opened in DC." She moved on to collecting the rest of the paperwork. She gave the stack to Mr. Johnson and sat back down.

"So, now that I have everyone's paperwork, we'll have each of you sing and read one of the sides. Once that's finished, we'll ask some of you to stay to read again with our Evan, Kurt Hummel." Mr. Johnson indicated for Kurt to stand up.

He stood briefly and turned, mostly to enjoy the shocked look on Blaine's face. He sat back down.

When the first person's name was called, Blaine moved to the seat next to Kurt and tried to interact with him. Kurt shushed him and focused on the performers on the stage. Blaine's name was eventually called. When he finished, he went to the green room where the rest of the guys who had already auditioned were waiting. Eventually, Mr. Johnson met with Kurt, Madison, Rob, and Mark in a smaller room.

"So, what were your impressions? There's a lot of talent, but we'll have to work with the three we choose every day."

Rob asked, "What's with the Blaine guy? He kept saying that he's known Kurt since he was 16 and Madison since a year and a half ago and that he's more talented than the two of them."

Madison just shook her head slightly and said, "He and I do know each other. Not well, but we met a year ago in September in Ohio, which is where I know Kurt from. But Kurt and I spent more time together than Blaine and I did. I was still in high school and he was the advisor for a choir at a different school."

Kurt said nothing.

"I take it that you and Blaine have a history?" Mr. Johnson asked.

"Yes. Blaine and I attended high school together my junior and senior year. He was a year behind me in school. He and I have a sordid history that I'd rather not go into detail about. I'd rather not make any statements. I'd actually rather not know anything else that he said or anything else the four of you say about him. You four know what will be best for the show. I have utmost faith in the fact that you'll pick the best actors to fill the spots that are open. I'm going to slip out and sit in the auditorium. It will just be better in the long run if I have no input." Kurt quietly left the room and returned to his same seat in the auditorium. He pulled his phone out and sent emails to Mémé, Mercedes, and Dave, who he still emailed occasionally while he waited for Mr. Johnson and the others in charge to make their selections for the next part of the audition process.