A BEAUTIFUL SUNSET MISTAKEN FOR DAWN

PART II
Kurt remembered Blaine as a child. He used to be a very lively, happy kid. He unfortunately had lost his mother, just like Kurt did – which was the reason why they bonded almost immediately at school, and started to see each other outside of it too – but he wouldn’t let this bring him down, never. He didn’t remember her, he only knew her face from the photos his father showed him, because she had died giving birth to him, but Blaine, as smart as a child as he was now that he had grown up, always refused to feel guilty about it. “Life,” he once said to Kurt, “is the gift my mom gave me. I’d be an ungrateful son if I spent it in misery because of her death, especially since this was the price she had to pay to give me life.”

Kurt had always admired him. Blaine was like a prince, he was kind, smart, talented and funny. He was rich and lived a happy life, and everybody envied his fiancée a lot, because beautiful as he already was when he was just a boy, everybody knew Blaine would grow up to be a wonderful, handsome and classy young man, and by the time he would have been fifteen and ready to meet his future husband he would surely be one of the best men in town, or even in the entire country.

But something had changed drastically soon after his thirteenth birthday. When his future husband had died, Blaine had let himself go. All the sadness and the sorrow he had refused to let take over his life were now the only thing he could see. “What was the point, Kurt?” he asked one night, sharing the bed with him after Kurt’s father had invited him to spend the night at their house, trying to help him distract himself from the grief of his loss, “I always tried and see the best in everything happening to me, but honestly, I think I was wrong. There’s nothing good in this world. Nothing happy. We’re born to live by the laws of the Gods, and when we break it, we live only to suffer another day.”

Kurt never knew what law Blaine had broken – or thought he had broken – but anyway he had never agreed with his friend on this. Somehow, though, he could see the point of his reasoning. Blaine wouldn’t have thought similar things if he just would have been a little luckier, but Kurt found perfectly reasonable that he was trying to make it easier for himself by blaming somebody else – as in the Gods. That was, after all, one of the reasons why they existed. To help their creatures carry on with their lives, by lifting some of their terrible weighs off their shoulders.

After he heard him on the phone that morning, Kurt was particularly eager to see his old friend again. Not only because he happened to be the key for Dave and him to fulfill they’re most precious dream, but also because his voice sounded so sad and tired Kurt couldn’t help but to be a little worried for him. He knew Blaine was perfectly capable to take care of himself, but still Kurt cared for him, and wanted him to feel happy.

That was the reason why he had invited him to spend a couple of days with them in the city.

Kurt waited impatiently for the whole day, and when he finally heard the doorbell ring he was so excited he jumped on his feet and stopped the maid already headed to the door. “Nevermind, Janine,” he said, smiling at her, “I’ll get it. You can go, now, I’ll call you when I need you later, to arrange Lord Anderson’s bedroom,” he added. He watched as the maid bowed and nodded, turning to him and disappearing behind a door, and only then he opened the door, smiling brightly. “Blaine! Welcome!” he said happily, throwing his arms around his friend’s neck, “It’s so nice to see you again!”

“It’s good to see you too, Kurt,” Blaine smiled, holding him in a friendly hug, patting his shoulders and then parting from him before the hug could turn out to be inappropriate, especially since they still were on the doorstep. “How are you? You still look as good as always.”

“You always flatter me, and I accept that, even if you are lying,” Kurt answered, blushing slightly as he chuckled, covering his mouth with the back of his hand, “Come on in. How was your trip?” he asks, moving from the door to let him in.

“Oh, the usual,” Blaine said, shrugging as he walked inside and took off his light coat, “Bumpy and hot. The city never changes, does it? I wouldn’t live here for all the money in the world, I honestly don’t know how you do it. You could easily move in the countryside and have a much better house in a much better place.”

“And live so far away from my cinnamon coffee?” Kurt joked, playfully pretending to be outraged, “I never could!”

Blaine laughed out loud, and for a moment Kurt could smile and believe that what he thought while he was speaking with him over the phone was just his mind playing trick on him, overthinking everything and replacing with sadness what could be just signals of tiredness.

“You know,” Blaine said, still laughing faintly, “We’ve got it in the countryside too. We pay people to bring it to us while it’s still hot.”

“Yes, but…” Kurt insisted, staring out the window with dreamy eyes, “The rush hour, the lovely little restaurants on top of the City Tower, and the shops!” he adds, making a little excited noise, “How I love the shops! Living in the country would kill me in three weeks.”

Blaine chuckled, shaking his head. “You’ve always been whiny, since the day you were born,” he commented with a tender smile curling his lips, “I remember you, you were only six or something, and you were always asking your dad if he had presents for you, every time he came back from work.”

“A proper gentleman of my kind needs to be pampered!” Kurt said, pouting a little.

“Of course you do,” Blaine laughed again, still playfully mocking him. “So,” he said then, his expression turning serious as his laughter faded away, “What with all the secrecy and the mystery? You almost scared me on the phone, you know? I don’t hear from you for weeks and then you call and you can’t even speak freely? Your jealous husband finally blocked your camcalls?”

“No, you silly!” Kurt chuckled, shaking his head, “I just happen to have something that I’d like you to value and, if the case, buy.”

Blaine opened his eyes wide, very surprised, looking at Kurt as he didn’t even get what was going on. He didn’t have a no-friends-in-business policy, in fact he had a long list of convenient and satisfying sales made with close friends, but Kurt had never showed interest in buying or selling antiques, so his sudden proposition definitely came as a surprise. “You’ve got something yours that you want to sell, and you want me to buy it?” he asked, just to be sure he had got it right, “What does it mean? Or, better, I know what it means, but this is unexpected. What it is that you want to sell?”

Kurt walked to a little wooden table in a corner of the room, and retrieved something carefully wrapped inside black velvet cloth, protecting whatever it was from light and humidity. He unfolded it in front of Blaine, revealing his family’s Creation Book. “It was my father’s,” he said, “As far as I know, it is very old.”

Working as an art dealer, Blaine had an eye for antiques, so he could instantly understand that Kurt was right. He also knew very well what a Creation Book was, how it was handed down from father to child and, of course, the sentimental value of a book like this. “I’ve… I’ve never bought a Creation Book, Kurt,” he admitted, “I’ve never even received an offer, it’s not something people usually sell.” He looked at his friend, his eyes showing how surprised by the whole situation he was. “It shouldn’t be for sale.”

“I know,” Kurt nodded quickly, holding the book to his chest, “And I know it is quite strange to ask you to buy it, but we need the money to do something that would be very important for this family, and this would make the book serve the purpose it originally had.”

Blaine frowned lightly, examining the cover of this book held between Kurt’s arms. It was covered in gold and there were diamonds decorating every letter composing the title. Creation Books were often really ancient copies, worth way more money than whoever could think. They were usually priceless, and Blaine couldn’t imagine why Kurt needed so much money. “I don’t even know if it’s possible for someone not belonging to your family to buy it,” he said honestly, “And even if it was possible, we’re talking about something expensive, here. Your Creation Book is quite old, yes, but it’s perfectly kept. I’d say this is something a family like yours should be willing to keep, not sell.”

Kurt swallowed, looking down at the book and holding it tighter. “But you could find someone to sell it to, couldn’t you? A collector, maybe? I heard some people buy ancient family books,” he tried.

“Yes, of course, sometimes collectors buy them at the black market, as they’ve been stolen from old, abandoned family houses, or sometimes their owners are forced to sell them because they’re in financial troubles…” He lifted his eyes, searching for Kurt’s, “Is this the reason why you’re selling yours?” he asked, worried, “You know you could easily ask for a loan, even to me, I just need to go to my bank and set up a transfer to your account! I would be more than happy to help you!”

Kurt blushed a little, averting his eyes. Surely, Blaine’s money would have made everything easier, and he was a safe person, to whom Kurt knew they could give back their loan little by little without risking to be killed for it or something, but Kurt would never ask his best friend to do something similar, and then if Blaine made a transfer to their bank account they would still have to withdraw, and justify the withdrawal to their bank, while tax inspectors would have been extremely careful investigating on the matter, because of the huge amount of money.

“No, Blaine, we’re not in troubles, thank you. You don’t have to worry,” he said, shaking his head, “As I said, this sell would be really important for this family, maybe as much or even more than the book itself. I’m only asking you to consider the possibility to buy it. Can you do that for me?”

Blaine sighed deeply, crossing his arms over his chest. “I have to find out about what are the real chances of dealing an item like this on the market, before,” he says, pondering the whole situation. “I will have to look it up on the Rulebook, you now, some items are harder to buy and sell than others. And then, obviously, there’s the matter of the price. How much are you asking for it?”

“Actually, I was hoping you could value it for me,” Kurt answered, offering the book to him so he could look at it better.

“Oh, I definitely can’t,” Blaine said, chuckling, “Not an item like this. Listen, why don’t you just tell me the price you were thinking you would made out of this trade? Then, I’ll tell you what I think about it.”

Kurt hesitated for just one moment, and then spoke quickly. “Sixty thousands,” he said in one breath only, unreasonably scared that Blaine would guess what he needed them for by only hearing the number. “But we’re open to negotiation!” he quickly added as he saw the disconcerted look in Blaine’s eyes, “We could start from a base price of thirty thousands, but we can’t ask for less.”

“Mmh,” Blaine said, holding the book between his hands and looking at it as he thought about the situation. He obviously knew a book like that was worth more than sixty thousands, and definitely way more than thirty, but he couldn’t let this knowledge or his friendship with Kurt come between him and his job. He had to make the best deal out of it, so he let his skills take over his feelings. “I don’t know, I’m not sure this can be done. You’re asking for a lot, you know?” he said, moving back to the table to put the book down and carefully flip through it. “I don’t even know if I will be able to find somebody to sell it to, to refund the investment.” Blaine could feel Kurt was desperate to sell the book, it was clear in his sheepish attitude and in the misery he was asking for it, so he was sure that if he could manage to keep him on the line some more he could end up buying it for even less. “Listen, I need time to think it over. Since you so kindly invited me to stay the night, I would like to take this time to carefully ponder my possibilities, and then tomorrow I’ll let you know what I decided. That’s all I can say for now.”

Kurt’s eyes instantly lightened up, a little smile curling his lips. “You can stay as long as you want!” he said enthusiastically, “I’ll have the guest room ready for you immediately.” He clapped his hands to call the maid, who appeared in only a couple of seconds. “Prepare the guest room for Lord Anderson,” he told her, and then watched her leave with another relieved sigh. “Take all the time you need to think it over, and then let me know,” he added, tensing a little as he turned around to look at Blaine again.

Blaine smiled, reading on Kurt’s face how much of a good deal he was going to make out of this sell, and then nodded at him. “I’ll let you know as soon as I decide,” he reassured him with a little hug, and then he excused himself, following another maid to his own room.

*
Blaine said goodbye and asked to be excused right after dinner. Dave didn’t seem happy with his rush at all, but when he added that he wanted to start working on their case as soon as possible, so to have a definitive answer ready for tomorrow morning, he seemed to calm down, and said goodnight too.

Kurt had already asked a maid to open the media room for him, so Blaine already knew where to go. He sat in front of one of the computers and started his research, retrieving his notebook from his pocket, so to take notes about what he found on the web regarding Kurt and Dave’s case. He still liked to write by hand, even if alchemy had made possible for people to write on digital pads that instantly converted every note into a virtual document, making communication between people easier than it ever was.

Blaine liked what alchemy could make possible, he just didn’t like to depend on just that for his work, and this was the reason why he still preferred to write his notes and observations by hand, and when he was at home he would always choose to consult his personal paper archive in his library over searching the internet for information.

Having the stay here, though, made it impossible, so he found himself struggling to find information he knew he would have found way more easily at home. It took almost three hours to find something. It wasn’t much, and it wasn’t comforting at all, and he was about to give up. Apparently, people – even collectors – weren’t too prone on buying Creation Books, both because they were such personal items, and because their cost usually was too much for anybody. Interested buyers could be found in the black market, but that wasn’t a place Blaine wanted to be seen in – his sins were already too many to be counted on both his hands’ fingers, and voices about him tended to spread faster than he could try and stop them – and it didn’t seem like there were so many other chances for a book like that to be sold, so he was taking in serious consideration to tell Kurt he just couldn’t buy it, but then, whenever he thought he had made the decision, Kurt’s begging eyes surfaced in his memory, and he had to give it another try.

He told himself to research some more – not more than an hour, though: he was already dead tired, and his eyes had started to sting long before – and then surrender, but he was interrupted by a voice calling him. “Are you still awake?”

Blaine turned suddenly, quite surprised, because he didn’t expect anybody to be still awake at that late hour. “Uh?” he said, squeezing his eyes in the dark and then smiling and stretching out a little when he recognized Kurt on the doorstep. “Sorry, did I wake you up?” he asked, brushing his face with both his hands, “Were you bothered by the lights?”

“Oh, no, not at all,” Kurt smiled, shaking his head. He had gone to bed really early, but he couldn’t sleep at all. He had pretended to, though, when Dave had joined him in bed, because he didn’t want to tell him how worried he was, how much he feared that Blaine wouldn’t want to buy the book, taking away their only chance to retrieve the money they needed. The thought alone was heartbreaking enough. After a while he had gotten up, walking to the kitchen to prepare something hot for himself, maybe a tea, and that had been when he had saw the light on in the media room, and couldn’t help but stopping by, seeing Blaine still there. “Our room is at the other end of the hall, don’t worry,” he reassured his friend, “Have you at least slept a little?” he asked then, worried by the shadows under Blaine’s eyes.

“Honestly, not a single moment,” Blaine answered, chuckling lightly, “I was trying to dig up some information on your case, to see if there was something I could do for you.”

“Did you have any luck?” Kurt asked eagerly, sitting on the armchair next to Blaine.

Blaine shrugged, feeling too guilty to crush every hope in Kurt’s heart in the middle of the night. “Something here and there,” he answered vaguely, “It’s not an easy task, you know? I’m giving it another try, anyway,” he added, smiling reassuringly. “You should be sleeping, though, shouldn’t you?”

“It’s hard to sleep when your mind is racing,” Kurt said, giving in to a small, sad smile.

Blaine smiled too, turning to him. “You didn’t tell me why this is so important to you. I can’t believe you would sell something valuable like your Creation Book, your father’s, moreover, for a frivolous reason.”

“Oh, it’s not frivolous,” Kurt answered, shaking his head, “It’s the most important reason one can think of. But…” he added hesitantly, “It is a delicate matter.”

“What are you talking about?” Blaine asked, now at the same time intrigued, curious and quite a little worried, too, “Are you sure you’re not having any financial trouble?”

“No, I am not, but…” Kurt sighed, struggling. He really wanted to tell Blaine about their plan, also because – money issues put aside – he was very excited at the idea of having a baby, but he didn’t know if he could open his heart to Blaine like that, if he could trust him enough. On the other hand, he was the only one who could help them, and maybe knowing more about the whole situation would have helped him take the right decision. “If I tell you,” he asked, tentatively, “Could you promise me to use us some discretion about it? It is really important.”

“Of course,” Blaine nodded, turning to Kurt and holding his hands in his own, “We’ve been friends since we were kids, Kurt, you know you can trust me completely.”

Kurt smiled, finding in his friend’s eyes the same light of sweet sympathy that had drawn him toward Blaine the first time they had met, years ago. “I know,” he admitted, blaming himself for doubting it, even for just a second, “That’s why I feel I can tell you,” he took a deep breath, holding Blaine’s hands back. “Dave and I… we want to have a baby.”

“…oh,” Blaine exhaled, relaxing and smiling, “And what’s the problem in this? Have you already seen someone? Do you need money for the adoption papers and such? And you don’t have them? I though your husband’s business was going pretty well.”

Kurt lowered his eyes, swallowing hard. He knew Blaine would have instantly thought about adoption, since that was the standard procedure in case of same sex marriages. “Blaine, no,” he shook his head, “We want to have our own baby,” he explained, tensing.

Blaine frowned lightly, unable to understand what Kurt was implying. Then, he thought about the secrecy the whole thing was surrounded of, and when he realized why Kurt was even willing to sell something like his Creation Book, he turned pale. “…you mean you want to… give birth?” he asked in a low voice.

Kurt nodded quickly, blushing a little. “We met a woman who can perform the… right process, so I can get pregnant. But it’s a very expensive procedure.”

“You’re talking about forbidden alchemy,” Blaine said, nervously, “Kurt, it’s not something you should do. Why don’t you just adopt? It wouldn’t be any less your child!”

“Of course, of course,” Kurt nodded, though a little voice deep inside him was disagreeing, at some level, “But I really want a child that is the exact combination of me and Dave. A baby of our own, one we gave life to, together, would be so wonderful.”

“Kurt, it’s not the way you were born,” Blaine insisted, shaking his head, “It’s not what the Gods wanted for you. This is a sin against them, you know that. What do you think it’s going to happen if you go through with it? I’ll tell you, it’s going to be a disgrace! Believe me, I know what I’m talking about. The Gods’ wrath is not something to be taken anything less than seriously. You can’t risk that much, I’m worried for you, Kurt!”

“Oh, come on, Blaine, nothing will happen,” Kurt answered, looking away, “I will get pregnant, the baby will be born and we will give him or her all our love. That’s the only thing that can happen. If the Gods didn’t want all of this to happen, they would have made this kind of alchemy impossible.”

“Kurt, that’s just stupid,” Blaine sighed, “The Gods can’t erase the bad in the world, but this doesn’t mean that the bad in the world is right, just because it exists. You…” Blaine bit his lower lip, looking down at his hands, still holding Kurt’s, “You don’t even know how much you’re risking, here. Read your Creation Book, instead of selling it, see what the Gods have done to the ones committing sins against them in the past.”

“Gods don’t punish love, Blaine,” Kurt answered, shaking his head, “They created the world we’re living in, and founded it on love. They don’t want us to suffer, that’s what the Creation Book says. That’s why they give us our perfect match when we’re born, so that we can live happily. Having our baby is what will make me and Dave happy, and I’m willing to take any risk to have it.”

Blaine sighed again, stubbornly looking down. “You’re making a mistake, Kurt,” he insisted, “It’s forbidden, and it’s a sin, nothing good can come from something similar. But you believe it so blindly…” he said, smiling a little, “I’m even more worried, now.”

“A child can’t be bad, Blaine,” Kurt said, smiling back at him, “It’s a gift from the Gods. It doesn’t matter how a child is born, it’s always the Gods that make it possible.”

“No, Kurt, it’s… it’s not like that, but…” Blaine sighed heavily again, “I clearly see you already decided. So that’s why you needed the money and you needed it off the bank? That’s why you decided to sell your Creation Book privately, instead of putting it on sale on a public auction?”

Kurt nodded slowly. “We have enough money on our bank accounts, but we can’t withdraw them all without them asking us why.”

Blaine nodded too, thinking over the whole situation. “And how much do you need?”

“Sixty thousands,” Kurt answered, tensing again, “The woman we talked with wouldn’t do it for less.”

Blaine sighed again, shaking his head. “You know your Creation Book is worth at least a hundred thousands more?”

“Excuse me?” Kurt snapped, his eyes widening, “Are you kidding me?”

“No, I’m not,” Blaine answered, showing him his notes, “I looked it up on the official auctions records. One of the last book sold there has been published twenty years after yours, and it was sold for a hundred and seventy thousands dollars. And I couldn’t find anything specific about the black market, but I’m almost sure I once saw something published more or less on the same year of yours, sold for two hundreds thousands dollars.” He paused for a moment, giving Kurt the time to read through the notes. “Do you know what this means?” he asked later, “You’re literally giving away something so valuable.”

Kurt held his breath, looking down. He knew what Blaine was trying to tell him, but in the end, he didn’t even care. The thought of having a baby that could be Dave’s and his was stronger than everything else. “I need that money and I need it as quickly as possible, from a person I can trust and who won’t say to anybody what I’m going to use it for,” he lifted his eyes, searching for Blaine’s. “My current desire depends on too many variables to care about the real price of the book. I know my father would agree with me. He wanted a nephew so much, but he didn’t live enough for me to give it to him. I want his wish to be fulfilled, so I don’t feel guilty selling the book for less than half his real price, if this is going to get me what I want.”

Blaine looked straight in Kurt’s eyes, and then sighed and nodded. “Alright, then,” he surrendered, “Sixty thousands, you said? Deal.”

Kurt opened his eyes wide, lips parting in disbelief. He was so surprised to hear this answer that Blaine’s words reached him with a little lag. “Are you serious? You’re really buying it? Oh, Gods!” he almost screamed, covering his mouth with both his hands.

“I am,” Blaine nodded, conceding him a little, tired smile, “I still don’t agree on your choice, I’m worried for you and about the consequences of this thing, but… you want it so much,” he chuckled, “You’ve never been easy to stop, I’ve learned it’s easier to go with the flow.”

Kurt laughed wholeheartedly, throwing himself in his friend’s arms to hug him in a rush of gratitude and affection, “Oh, thank you, Blaine! Thank you!”

Blaine scoffed out a breathless laugh, surprised by Kurt’s enthusiasm, “Alright, alright…” he nodded, patting on Kurt’s shoulder, “I’m happy to see you like this.”

Kurt parted from him, his eyes filled with tears. “You’re giving us the greatest of gifts, Blaine,” he whispered, “May the Gods bless you.”

Lowering his eyes, his smile almost fading away, Blaine could only think that this, despite Kurt’s good intention, was just impossible. Instead, he had just given the Gods one more reason to punish him.