Christmas in New York was spectacular. The decorations – not to mention the lights and of course the atmosphere with the streets bustling with tourists, shoppers frantically searching for a last minute gift and of course, there were the holiday scrooges who avoided the streets as much as possible.

Having only moved to New York a year ago Kurt was yet to experience his first Christmas in New York. Burt and Carole were due to arrive in two days. Thankfully Rachel was going home for the holidays which meant he had their shared apartment all to himself, the first real time since they’d moved in. A whole two weeks to himself. As much as he loved Rachel living with her twenty- four seven wasn’t the easiest of tasks.

Another Christmas alone and single. Kurt thought to himself and sighed as he slowly strolled through Central Park, no real destination in sight. It was a regular occurrence for him to pick up his usual from the nearest Starbucks and then aimlessly walk around Central Park for a few hours, sometimes stopping to listen to a busker or finding that quiet spot where he could read in peace without Rachel’s constant singing for several hours, an escape.

Today was no different from any other, apart from the fact that Rachel had left earlier in the morning leaving Kurt with no real plans for the day.  He sat down at one of his regular spots, the chaos of the city left far behind as he watched people go about their lives. As much as he loved the city sometimes it was a little overwhelming and the park was the perfect place to take a break from everything.  Once he’d finished his drink Kurt continued his walk and happened to stumble across a small Christmas market with a variety of stalls and mini shops.

Kurt browsed around all of the stalls, purchasing a gift for Carole and a vintage Christmas mistletoe shaped brooch for himself. The last stall – well, shop - was a small grotto covered in fairy lights and had white snowflakes covering the windows. There was a sign suspended over the entrance which read Candy Magic. Kurt was immediately enticed by the small shop and took a step closer to the door, only now realizing that it was dark inside, lit only by a small light at the back. He peered through a clear patch in the window and could make out several rows of candy and jars at the back. With a sigh Kurt turned to leave, spotting a note on the inside of the door, written neatly in a red pen – a woman Kurt suspected.

Come back tomorrow for all your Christmas candy needs.

Have a magical day!

-B

Kurt couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips, whoever ‘B’ was they were incredibly cheesy. He made a mental note to return tomorrow and with that he started the long walk back to his apartment.

Later that evening after he’d treated himself to takeout Thai food, Kurt pulled out his laptop and typed Candy Magic into the search bar, curiosity getting the better of him. The top result was the link to a store in, wait… Ohio? Kurt did a double take, instantly clicking onto the link. Half an hour later Kurt had discovered that it was a family run business, now in its third generation. The fact that the shop originated from his home state made him even more intrigued to check it out tomorrow.

~

Overnight there had been a dusting of snow, adding to the beauty of Central Park. Kurt was on his usual afternoon stroll, coffee in hand when someone on a skateboard came out of nowhere, speeding past him in a blur causing him to drop the coffee on the floor.

Just my luck. Kurt thought as he picked up the cup and threw it into the trash before continuing with his walk.

A little over ten minutes later Kurt returned to the same spot as the day before, heading straight for Candy Magic. Luckily this time the lights were on and the door was open, he could hear the chorus to Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas playing before he’d even set foot in the shop, this alone brought a smile to his face.

The shop could have been no bigger than his bathroom Kurt noticed as he entered the small wonderland, instantly being hit with the smell of winter spices. He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes momentarily before sensing someone else’s eyes on him. He opened one eye to find a guy, possibly around his age eyeing him curiously, a smile playing on his lips. Kurt glanced around to find the shop was empty, apart from him and whoever was behind the counter. He felt himself blush and awkwardly walked over to look at the display of festive sweets in the corner. He picked up a handful of candy canes and was just about to attempt to reach for another when a basket appeared at his side startling him, causing him to drop several candy canes on the floor.

“Here let me help.” A voice came from beside him.

“Thanks.” Kurt mumbled and finally looked up to discover the source of the voice was the guy who had only been standing behind the counter minutes ago.

“No problem.” The guy said in a soft voice. “Find everything you’re looking for?”

“Oh, um… I haven’t really looked yet.” Kurt replied, placing the rest of the candy canes into the basket.

“Well, if you need any help I’ll be over by the till.” He handed Kurt the basket and walked back over to the till, humming along to White Christmas that was currently playing.

Kurt smiled appreciatively and took the basket out of his hands, continuing looking around the store. He glanced up several times surprised to find the guy staring back at him, shyly smiling each time he was caught.

Twenty minutes later Kurt hoisted the basket onto the counter, shaking out his hands as he did so.

“Either you really like candy or you have a lot of people to buy for.” The guy joked, beginning to take the items out of the basket, running them through the till.

Kurt shrugged. “Both, actually I was wondering if you have any of those sour hearts, you probably don’t since I haven’t eaten them since I was kid.”

The cashier paused to look up at Kurt. “Y-yeah… we do.” He stuttered, turning around to pull a jar off the shelf. This gave Kurt the perfect opportunity to study the cute guy without being caught. The first thing he noticed was his bright blue converse. He smiled to himself only to realize that he was being watched again.

“I know they don’t match but they’re my favourite colour.” He guy explained, pointing to his shoes.

Kurt shook his head. “Oh, no, no it’s not that. They remind me of someone I knew years ago.”

By now all of Kurt’s purchases had been placed in bags.

“That’ll be twenty nine dollars exactly.” He said smiling at Kurt.

“Is... is that all?” Kurt asked, confused, as he handed over thirty dollars.

“Yep.” He nodded and handed Kurt his change.  “Hey, um... I’m sorry for making you drop your coffee earlier.”

Kurt raised his eyebrows. “You were the one on the skateboard?” He asked only to receive a shy nod in reply.

He grabbed his bags off of the counter and pulled out his small bag of hearts which were on top, he managed to snatch one off the top. “It’s like reliving my childhood.” Kurt beamed, mid-chew.

The guy behind the counter shrugged. “I always preferred the cherries.”

“This day is too weird.” Kurt shook his head. “I guess I’ll see you round…” He smiled softly and backed away from the counter, heading towards the door.

“K-kurt?” A small voice came from behind.

Kurt dropped his bags and turned around, to find the same guy from before holding out what appeared to be a tiny candy.

This can’t be happening. Kurt thought as he stared at the guy expressionless.

He took the candy with a shaky hand and turned it over.

Call me.

“Bla-Blaine?” Kurt whispered in disbelief.