Kurt: I have just one more question... Are there any men in your town?
Cooper: You mean once I leave? Z E R O.
Kurt: Is tomorrow okay?

---

Kurt has only been in this town for less than twelve hours, but he already feels like packing his bags again and going back home to New York. Clearly thinking that he would feel less lonely and less sad in another country on Christmas was a mad idea. The cottage he swapped with Cooper is nice and quaint (especially now that he figured out how the fireplace works), he does have wine and all sorts of delicious food he bought from the grocery store and a pile of books waiting for him on the bedside table, and the snowy landscape around him is quiet and calm, definitely different from the constant hum hes used to in New York.

But he still feels lonely and sad. Even more than he did in New York. The whole idea was to get away from familiar places and faces, to get a break from all his work-related stress, the hopeless guys hes tried to date and the emptiness of his own house -- but now he would give anything to see the same familiar view from his living room window instead of the dreadfully dark English countryside around the cottage.

So Kurt books himself a return flight for the next day, packs his bags just a few hours after he unpacked them, and settles in for his first and last night, wondering how on earth hes going to get Cooper -- who seemed really excited about going to the States -- out of his house after only a day. He feels kind of bad for breaking their deal, but better that than spending another day in Surrey by himself and feeling miserable.

He has almost fallen asleep when he suddenly hears a knock on the door, the sound making him jump up in bed and clutch the covers to his chest. He hasnt heard anything or anyone for hours, and the nearest neighbors seemed to live quite far away from the cottage, so perhaps it was just the wind howling outside. Or some snow falling from the roof.

Except someone knocks on the door again, more insistently this time, and now Kurt can hear a male voice shouting on the front porch.

"Cooper! I know youre awake, Coop, so let me in!"

Kurt stumbles out of bed and hastily pulls on a cardigan. He doesnt find anything he could use as a weapon, but he creeps downstairs anyway and stops before he reaches the front door, feeling his heart hammering against his chest. Cooper didnt say anything about yelling late-night visitors when he offered his house for Kurt. If its a crazy axe murderer, how long does it even take for the police to get here? The taxi ride from the airport was long enough.

"Who is it?" he calls out tentatively.

"Its me," the voice yells back, unhelpful. "Hurry up, its freezing in here!"

"Who are you?" Kurt tries again.

"Cooper, I swear to god, if you dont let me in right now Im going to take a leak all over this porch--"

Kurt squeaks and rushes to open the door, flinching when the freezing air hits his face. The guy standing outside has his shoulders hunched and his hands pushed into his pockets to ward off the cold, but his head snaps up when the door bangs open. Kurt can feel his heart immediately stuttering inside his chest and skipping a few beats. The guy looks gorgeous. He has dark hair that has been slicked back with gel, as if hes a movie star from an old Hollywood movie, and beautiful brown eyes that are currently staring at Kurt in obvious confusion. His cheeks are flushed, and Kurt can see a polka-dotted bowtie peeking out between the collar of his form-fitting coat.

Cooper Anderson was clearly lying when he said there werent any men in this town.

The guy blinks his eyes. "Youre not Cooper," he says slowly, swaying in place. "Or if you are, Im much drunker than I thought."

Kurt lets out a surprised laugh. "No, Im not. And I have no idea who you are."

The guy frowns, leaning back to look at the house. "But this is Coopers house. And if you were one of his friends, Im pretty sure I would remember you, even if Im a bit drunk right now," he says seriously. "Cooper doesnt have any friends that look as gorgeous as you do."

Kurt ducks his head with a blush. Maybe this guy isnt a crazy axe murderer after all -- or if he is, at least he knows how to butter up his victims.

"Um, I dont really know Cooper," Kurt explains, "I just swapped houses with him for the holidays. Through a home exchange website? Im here in England, and hes in New York."

"New York?" the guy repeats. "Coop in New York? That must be a sight. Hes probably on his way to L.A. already." He stomps his feet a little and pushes his hands deeper into his pockets. "Um... Look, I really dont mean to intrude, but could I please come inside to use the bathroom? Ill leave as soon as Im done, I just really do need to--"

"Oh!" Kurt takes a step back before he even realizes what hes doing. "Um, sure, go ahead."

"Thank you," he guy breathes out sincerely, stepping inside and heading straight to the bathroom before he turns around and extends his hand to Kurt. "My apologies, I completely forgot -- Im Blaine, Coopers younger brother."

"Kurt. Hummel," Kurt adds and takes Blaines hand, both of them wincing a little because his skin is so cold.

"Its nice to meet you, Kurt Hummel," Blaine says with a genuine smile, and then he ducks into the bathroom and closes the door behind himself.

Kurt stands frozen in the hallway for a moment, staring at the bathroom door. A brother. Coopers younger, handsome and polite brother who has eyelashes that go for miles and is dressed in fashionable clothes that fit him like theyve been tailored. And Kurt -- Kurt is wearing an old cardigan and a pair of sweatpants, and he probably has a very bad case of bedhead. Its not like he thought there was going to be anyone he should try to impress here in the middle of nowhere.

He has just started frantically straightening his hair and clothes when Blaines voice calls from the bathroom, "So, Kurt Hummel --"

"Yes?" Kurt squeaks, and jesus, what is it with his voice tonight?

He hears the faucet turn off and then Blaine steps out, his coat now hanging open and revealing the slightly wrinkled shirt-sweatervest combo hes wearing underneath. He stumbles a little as he closes the door, rolling his eyes at himself as Kurt instinctively reaches out to help him.

"I really am sorry for disturbing your night," Blaine says sincerely, smoothing his hands down his coat in a nervous gesture as he straightens up. "See, the thing is -- every once in a while I go out to the pub for a night out with my old friends, and whenever I do that, I tend to crash at my brothers place so I dont have to get a cab or walk the long way to my own house. Now obviously my brother forgot to mention that hes out of town tonight..." Blaine pauses, frowning in thought until he rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "Or maybe he did mention it, but the few beers Ive had have managed to make me forget it already."

Kurt laughs, feeling his shoulders relax with the amusement. Definitely not a crazy axe-murderer, then.

"Anyways," Blaine continues, straightening his back and meeting Kurts eyes. "Ill get out of your hair now. Im sincerely sorry for disturbing your evening with my drunken ramblings." He gives a small bow, stumbling again, and then takes a step towards the front door.

"You dont have to go," Kurt blurts out.

Blaine stops and turns to look at Kurt. "Im sorry?"

"You dont have to go," Kurt repeats. He suddenly doesnt want Blaine to go, and hes not really sure whats gotten into him. Blaine just seems genuinely... nice, a welcome counterbalance to all the people he knows in New York, and Kurt doesnt want to send a nice guy out into the cold this close to Christmas. "I mean," he stutters when Blaine just stares at him in confusion, "its late and the weather is kind of awful, and you are clearly at least a little bit drunk. No offence," he adds, and Blaine shakes his head as if to say none taken. "I just dont think its a very safe idea for you to wander out there on your own," Kurt continues, gesturing at the couch. "And there is a perfectly good couch right here."

"You honestly wouldnt mind?" Blaine asks, and once Kurt nods, he lets out a relieved sigh. "Oh my god, thank you so much. Youre a real lifesaver. I promise Ill be out of here first thing this morning, I swear. You wont even notice Im here."

"No, dont worry about it." Kurt waves his hand in the air. "Im leaving tomorrow, so..."

"Wait, hang on." Blaine frowns as he moves to sit down on the sofa, swaying a little in place. "When did you get here again?" he asks, squinting his eyes up at Kurt.

"About eight hours ago?" Kurt says. He moves to pick up the spare pillow and blanket he noticed earlier and hears Blaine laugh behind him.

"Eight hours? Wow, we really made an impression on you then..."

"No, its not..." Kurt pauses as he hands the makeshift bed over to Blaine. He doesnt usually talk about his life to complete strangers, but theres something about Blaine that makes it feel alright. Besides, its not like theyre going to see each other after tomorrow anyway. "Its not this place," he says eventually, "its me. I somehow got the idea that I would feel happier and less alone if I went someplace new for the holidays, but then I got here and felt even more alone than I did back home, and I just..." He sighs self-deprecatingly. "Clearly it wasnt one of my brightest ideas."

Blaine gives a sympathetic smile as he loosens his bowtie. "Im sorry. No one should feel alone during the holidays. And you in particular shouldnt, because you seem like someone who deserves to be happy, and not just during the holidays." He seems to realize what he said after a moment because he looks away with an awkward expression and rubs the back of his neck again. "And you certainly dont deserve drunken strangers interrupting your night with mindless sweet-talking..."

Kurt blinks his eyes in surprise. Its been a while since someone has said something that nice to him -- the fashion world isnt a place known for its kindness, even if Kurts employer at Vogue Dot Com is definitely one of the few good people. He has his friends, of course, and they compliment his outfits and ideas every now and then, but his last serious relationship ended extremely messily just a little over a month ago, and before that he and his boyfriend had already been arguing non-stop for weeks. Kurt still feels a chill run up his spine when he remembers the insults he and his ex hurled at each other during their worst fights.

"No, its... Thank you," he says quietly, sitting down on the couch next to Blaine and hesitantly placing his hand on his knee. Blaine looks up at the touch, his eyes surprised. "Its sweet of you to say something like that," Kurt adds.

Blaines lips turns into a small smile, and Kurt finds himself wondering what it would feel like to kiss them. Is this what people mean when they say they shared a moment with someone?

"Well, Im glad you didnt think it was creepy," Blaine jokes. He squeezes Kurts hand briefly and then shrugs out of his coat. "Honestly though, you can get back to whatever it was you were doing. Ill just nap here for a while and then Ill be gone in the morning."

Kurt can feel his heart clenching inside his chest for some reason. He notices his hand is still resting on Blaines knee and pulls it away, hoping his blush isnt too noticeable. "Alright then," he says quietly, not really understanding why he feels so disappointed. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Kurt," Blaine replies, closes his eyes and leans in to place a quick kiss on Kurts lips.

Kurt freezes.

The kiss lasts only a moment, but soon after Blaines eyes pop open and he stares at Kurt with a mortified expression. "Oh my god," he gasps out. "Im so sorry, Kurt, I really am, that was just-- I cant believe I just did that. I know my inhibitions fly out of the window when Im drunk but that wasnt--"

Hes starting to scramble backwards, trying to put more space between them on the sofa, but Kurt reaches out and grabs Blaines arm, stopping his embarrassed rambling. Kurt stares at him and licks his tingling lips, watching the way Blaines eyes instinctively drop down to follow the movement and then look back up again. It was just a short peck, a fleeting touch of Blaines chapped and warm lips, but suddenly Kurt wants more. He wants to bury his hands in Blaines hair, break away the curls that are starting to escape the gel, wants to seal his mouth over Blaines and swallow every sound that passes his lips.

"Would you..." he starts, hesitating and then glancing at Blaines lips. "Would you mind doing that again?"

Blaine swallows, his throat bobbing. "E-excuse me?"

"Kiss me," Kurt breathes out. "Please."

Blaine searches his face for a moment, and then he surges forwards, capturing Kurts lips in a searing kiss that makes Kurts knees feel like jelly even though hes sitting down. He stumbles backwards from the force of the kiss before responding eagerly, sucking Blaines lower lip into his mouth and tangling his fingers in Blaines hair, pulling him closer. Blaine grabs his arms, steadying them as he licks into Kurts mouth and makes him let out a breathy sound.

Its the best kiss Kurt has ever had. Hes never kissed a complete stranger before, hasnt even thought about it that often, but kissing Blaine is... breath-taking. Blaine uses just the right amount of pressure, hes passionate but not sloppy, and he has enough coordination even if hes a little drunk and Kurt can taste the alcohol in his mouth. Blaine is the most amazing kisser Kurt has ever had the pleasure of kissing, and when hes starting to feel light-headed from all the making-out, he cant help but wonder if Blaine is as good in... other activities.

And wow, thats a pleasant thought.

"Wait," he gasps out, breaking the kiss abruptly. Blaine tries to chase his lips and then blinks his eyes open, staring at Kurt with his pupils blown wide. "Just... wait," Kurt repeats, trying to catch his breath.

"Was that... Was that okay?" Blaine asks hesitantly, searching Kurts face again.

Kurt laughs. "Okay? Youre asking me if that was okay when Im gasping for breath after you rocked my world?"

Blaine blinks and then ducks his head with a soft laugh, all bashful school-boy, and Kurt can feel heat twisting in his stomach. Theres a gorgeous, hot and funny man sitting next to him, someone who seems just as willing as Kurt himself feels like, and god, if this is his last night in this town, hed be a fool not to take advantage of that.

"Look, Blaine," he starts. Blaine looks up, smiling, and Kurts stomach swoops with an entirely different emotion. "Im kind of having a rough time right now," he continues, "and then you just show up, and considering that youre extremely good-looking and we probably wont see each other after tomorrow anyway, Im thinking we should... have sex."

Blaines eyes widen.

"If you want to," Kurt adds hastily.

Blaine gives a surprised laugh. "Is that a trick question?"

"Im perfectly serious," Kurt says, keeping his voice even. It feels crazy, it feels so unlike him, but isnt that the point of holidays? To step outside your comfort zone? And he feels safe with Blaine, he already knows some things about him besides the instant attraction -- its not a seedy one-night stand after a night at the bar, something Kurt would never do.

This is something... more. Maybe.

Blaine looks at him, and Kurt can see his eyes softening, even if the heat in them never lessens. "I already thought that you must be the sexiest and most beautiful man I have ever seen," Blaine confesses in a low voice, and Kurt blushes, "and now youre turning out to be the most interesting one as well."

Kurt grins, pleased. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes," Blaine breathes out, closing the space between them and pulling Kurt in for another insistent kiss. "Oh my god yes. Definitely yes."

"And youre not just saying that because youre drunk?" Kurt mumbles against his lips, the heat in his stomach turning into something that feels a lot like exploding fireworks that are spreading through his whole body.

"No." Blaine grabs the lapels of Kurts cardigan, trailing his lips over Kurts jawline as if he cant get enough. "You can ask me again tomorrow, and Ill say yes all over again."