December 23rd
Kurts high spirits had evaporated. He had been completely fine all day yesterday, perfectly content to stay in his room and blast music, read books, and browse the internet.
But then he had gotten hungry. And he had made it a Roommate Rule not to eat on his bed, since he hated waking up with crumbs stuck to him in the morning. And then, he had remembered that this was a big bed and it seemed much bigger without Blaine splayed across it, taking up most of the mattress. It seemed much colder, too, even though he often slept with nothing but the sheets over him when Blaine was home, since his fianc� was quite the blanket hog.
So, he had ventured out of his bedroom to find something that wasnt cookies and eggnog to eat, his mood considerably worse than it had been a few hours ago.
He hadnt predicted how much worse he would feel when he saw the rest of the apartment. It looked beautiful, literally like a Christmas wonderland. Rachel had left to go caroling with some of their friends from NYADA in Central Park, and he was alone. His friend had lit a white candle in every window, and their yellow flames danced in the reflections. The tree had now been fully trimmed, and it looked beautiful, with red and green spheres hanging from the branches and twinkling colored lights draped all around it and a glittering, gold star at the very top of the tree.
Choking back tears, he had opened the refrigerator to find absolutely nothing promising, so he sat down on the couch and turned on the TV.
As if it was the disappointment icing on his missing-Blaine cake, there had been a weather report on predicting that a snow storm was supposed to hit the East Coast on Christmas Eve.
Perfect. Just fucking perfect.
At that point, Kurt had decided to call Blaine, even though theyd already Skyped twice that day, because he just needed to hear his voice. They had talked for almost an hour and a half, and Blaine had told him about Sams desire to hook up with his cousin Megan, about his Uncle Anthonys off-key caroling, and about the screaming matches between his Aunts Mary and Angela that he had woken up to every morning since hed gotten back to Ohio. Kurt had told him about how obnoxious Rachels abundance of Christmas spirit was, how Santana had left illegally obtained Baileys for them before shed left to spend Christmas with her family, and how his dads flight was arriving on Christmas Eve morning.
And then, theyd both caved and each had started telling the other how much he missed him, how much Christmas sucked without him.
Currently, a day later, Kurt wasnt feeling any better. He was curled up under a blanket on his bedroom floor (since sleeping in that big, cozy bed without Blaine just wouldnt do) with a book held over his head. He was about to give up on reading and roll over so that his face was smushed into the pillow and think about Blaine when he heard a knock on the door. He rolled over to see Rachel standing in the doorway with two mugs. She tilted her head to one side and smiled at him, then strode into the room and sat down next to him. "Hot chocolate," she said, holding one of the mugs out to him as he sat up.
"Thats a Christmas beverage," Kurt said, wrinkling his nose.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "It is not. Hot chocolate is a winter beverage."
"But at Christmas, its a Christmas beverage and Im not doing Christmas things, so I dont want it."
It was tensely quiet for a few moments, the two friends sitting next to each other, Rachel still holding out the steaming mug. Finally, she sighed and placed it down on the floor. "Kurt," she said softly, covering his hand with hers. Kurt turned to her. "What?"
"I...you have to promise not to get mad at me, Kurt. I just...wanted to tell you that I dont really like this...self-pitying attitude youve adopted. I understand that you dont get to spend Christmas with Blaine and that youre upset about that but...its bringing me down. I want to enjoy the season and you being all...pouty is putting a damper on it."
Kurt bristled. His jaw dropped. "God, Rachel," he snarled. "Be a little more blunt, why dont you."
Rachel sighed. "Im not trying to hurt your feelings," she said. "But I just...its just that...youre being kind of an asshole, Kurt."
Kurt clenched his fists and stood up, stomped out of the room. Rachel followed him, her wool-socked feet making soft sounds on the wood floors behind him.
"Thats not what I meant," she called, but Kurt rolled his eyes.
"Really? Then what did you mean?"
"I just meant-"
Kurt shrugged. "You know what? I dont really want to know. Yeah, Rachel, I am being kind of an asshole. But thats because everyone, literally everyone else gets to spend Christmas with the love of their lives. Everyone except for me. Do you know how much that sucks, Rachel? Do you?"
He whirled around and faced the window, looking out at the city, all lit up and beautiful. But he turned back around when he heard sniffling behind him.
Rachel was standing there with her arms wrapped around herself, and she had tears trickling down both her cheeks.
And Kurt knew. He knew he had over-stepped.
Because Rachel didnt get to spend Christmas with the love of her life, either.
"Oh, God," he whispered. "Rach, Im so sorry. I-"
"Its fine," she replied, her voice breaking. Kurt took a step closer to his friend and went to put an arm around her, but she ducked away from him.
"Rachel, I didnt-"
"Whatever," Rachel said. "I was going to apologize for calling you an asshole, but I really dont feel like it anymore. Im going to bed."
With that, she turned on her heel and strode back into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
--
"...I just feel like shit," Kurt was saying. Blaine could see the tears rolling down his cheeks, pouring out of his blue eyes from over the webcam and all he wanted to do was Apparate back home, pull Kurt into his arms, and hold him until everything was better.
"Im so sorry, baby," he said, his own voice breaking.
Kurt shrugged weakly and let out a quiet sob. "I cant believe I was so insensitive. I mean, I should have thought about what I was saying to her but...God, I just miss you, Blaine."
Blaines heart gave a painful lurch and a few tears blurred his vision. "I miss you too, Kurt. You dont even know how much."
They were silent for a few seconds. Then Kurt smiled sadly. "Hows the family?"
Blaine laughed weakly. "Horrible. Absolutely horrible. What else would you expect?"
Kurt let out a weak laugh of his own. "Tell me a story about them. Something to take my mind off of what a dick I am."
"You are not a dick. But okay. You ready?" He proceeded to tell Kurt about how his Uncle Vincent and Uncle Giovanni had gotten into a drunken fight at dinner earlier that evening, and how the brawl had turned physical. But, being as hammered as they were, they had ended up swinging blindly at each other and stumbling into the living room. The whole family had followed and the fist fight had culminated in the two men falling into the twelve-foot Douglas fir and knocking it to the ground. At the end of the story, Kurt was laughing and smiling. They exchanged "I love yous" and hung up, and Blaine shut off his laptop and flipped off his light, turning over in bed, about to go to sleep.
There was a knock on his door and he rolled over. "Come in," he called, assuming it was Megan. He was surprised, though, when his mother entered, a small smile on her face. "Mom?" he asked, wincing as he turned the light on again.
Samantha laughed lightly and sat down on the bed next to Blaine. She was still sporting her coat, gloves, hat, and scarf from the family "replace-the-Christmas-tree-and-all-of-its-ornaments" outing that Blaine had opted out of. A pretty red flush stained her cheeks and her brown eyes glittered. Blaine was glad he looked like her, and not his dad. Cooper looked like their dad, and while he was handsome and chiseled, with that perfect jaw line and those arresting blue eyes, Samanthas face was softer, sweeter somehow, and she always looked like she was just about to laugh.
"Hey, love," she said, grinning. "Did I wake you?"
Blaine shook his head. "No, you caught me right before I went to sleep. Why?"
Samantha smiled at him and glanced over her shoulder, then reached into her pocket and produced an envelope. "Here," she said, handing it to him. Blaine turned the thick white envelope over in his hands. "Whats this?" he asked.
"Your Christmas present."
Blaine smirked at his mother. "Its not even Christmas Eve yet, Ma. What is it?"
Samanthas eyebrows rose and her full lips curled into a playful smile. "Open it and see," she said, shrugging.
Blaine knit his brows together but smiled, tearing open the envelope. As he opened the flap and pulled out what was inside, his heart stopped. "Mom...are you kidding me?" he asked.
"Why would I be?"
Blaine held the plane ticket in his hands, smiling down at it. "But...the aunts..."
Samantha laughed. "I talked to them. They said, and I quote we cant let our little Blaine be separated from his one true love on Christmas! That is not what our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ would have wanted! God bless their love!" Blaine laughed, because he had no doubt that this most definitely was a direct quote. "Your flight leaves tomorrow night, that way you can have Christmas Eve dinner with us."
Blaine felt a rush of emotion and appreciation for his mother wash over him and a few tears pooled in his eyes. "Thanks, Mom," he whispered. "This is...amazing."
Samantha shrugged. "Dont thank me, sweetie. Just have fun with Kurt and call me on Christmas morning."
"Yeah," Blaine said, "I will. I love you, Mom."
"I love you too," Samantha replied, leaning in to kiss his cheek. She stood up and flicked off the light and backed out of the room. "Get some sleep."
And he did.
--
December 24th. 9 AM. Eastern Standard Time.
Kurt stood outside Rachels door with a plate full of cinnamon muffins and a mug of peppermint hot chocolate. This was the Christmas-iest he was going to get, and he was doing it for his best friend. He took a deep breath and raised his fist, poised to knock, when the door flung open. Rachel was standing there in her pajamas, a pair of flannel pants with dancing reindeer and snowflakes on them and a matching shirt, her hair piled haphazardly on top of her head.
Kurt stumbled backward. "R-Rachel, I-I was just coming to-"
Rachel shook her head and smiled. "Its okay," she said with a yawn. "I forgive you." She brushed past him, taking the plate of muffins and the mug from his hands as she did. "What time does your dads flight get in?" she asked, turning on the coffee pot.
"Uhm...eleven. I was going to go pick him up," Kurt replied as Rachel poured herself a mug of coffee and dumped the peppermint hot chocolate in with it. She handed Kurt a mug and he poured himself a cup, too. "Ill go with you," Rachel said, smiling.
Kurt smiled back tightly and sipped his coffee, wincing at the bitter taste. He was feeling too lazy and melancholy to add anything to it, though, so he sucked it up and took another sip.
It was already starting to snow outside. Kurt could see little flurries of tiny, white flakes blowing past the window every few minutes or so, and he sighed, remembering for what was already the tenth time today that it was snowing on Christmas Eve and Blaine wasnt here with him to celebrate. Talking with him last night had made things a little better, but it didnt change the fact that they had to spend Christmas apart. Kurt sighed and turned back to Rachel. "Rach, Im really sorry about last night," he rushed out.
Rachel shrugged. "I already forgave you. Its okay," she said, and Kurt knew she was sincere, but he didnt feel any better.
"I know you did, but I feel awful. I didnt even...think about what I was saying, and...and yeah, it does suck that I dont get to have Christmas with Blaine, but you dont even have the option of spending it with Finn. I should have thought of that before I opened my big, dumb mouth and Im really, really sorry, Rachel."
His friend chuckled and walked around the counter, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed his cheek. "Its okay," she said. "Did you make these?" she gestured to the muffins.
Kurt nodded. "I got up early just to bake them."
Rachel grinned. "So does this mean-"
"I am still not celebrating Christmas without Blaine. However, you love Christmas and I love you, so. There."
His friend bounced on her toes and kissed him on the cheek again. "You temporarily shed your Scrooginess and baked me Christmas muffins. You are the best," she said.
Kurt laughed pulled her in for a hug, kissing her on the cheek, too.
--
Blaine was practically vibrating with excitement as he stuffed all his crap back into his suitcase, which was proving to be a more daunting task than hed originally thought, now that he had to stuff Kurts present from his mother in there with all his clothes. Megan was sitting on his bed, looking at him skeptically. "You know, if you folded your clothes this might go a little more smoothly," she quipped. Blaine looked up at her and scowled, and she laughed, threw a bow-tie at his head.
"I dont have time to fold my clothes, Megan Alexandra," he said. "I have to get packed so I can run out of here at 5:00 and get home to my man."
"Your man," Megan repeated.
Blaine smirked and tossed another indiscernible item of clothing along with the bow-tie his cousin had lobbed at him. "Sor-ry," he teased with a roll of his eyes.
"So youre really not gonna stay with us for Christmas?" Megan asked after a few moments of silence, her voice tinged with sadness.
Blaine turned around to find that his cousin was sitting up now, her knees pulled up to her chest and her eyes sad. Her lower lip jutted out in a pout and he softened his shoulders and sighed. "Well...no. Im sorry, Meg."
She shrugged and grimaced weakly. "Its okay, I guess. Youre in love. You deserve to spend Christmas with Kurt. I just wish you were here to save me from the rest of the cousins."
With a bite of his lip and a sad sigh, he strode over to her and sat down on the bed next to her, wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Im sorry," he said again. Then he turned to her with a teasing grin. "I know the combination to the lock on the liquor cabinet in the pool house."
Megan smirked but rolled her eyes. "Getting drunk on Christmas wont be any fun without you. But I guess I could suck it up. For my favorite cousin. Besides, I ran into your friend Sam while we were out getting the tree last night."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Blaine asked, cocking his head to one side. Suddenly, the sad glow left Megans eyes and she bit her lip. "He asked me if I wanted to go and get dinner with him on Christmas night, after both of our family stuff is over."
"What?" Blaine asked, incredulous. "Were you gonna tell me about this?"
"Eventually."
"Was Sam gonna tell me about this?"
Megan shrugged. "Probably. I dont know. But maybe Ill bring him a nice bottle of red, seeing as my favorite cousin was just about to tell me the combination to the lock on the pool house liquor cabinet."
Blaine laughed as his cousin winked at him and pulled her close, kissing her on the forehead.
He would miss her and his mother and his brother this Christmas, but for now, he was excited that he would get to see Kurt tonight."
--
December 25th-12:01 AM
Blaine pulled his coat tighter around him as he stepped off the plane. The flakes were just starting to really fall in New York, but his plane had been delayed because the blizzard had hit Ohio earlier in the day. He had been stuck in the airport for hours, and then he had landed New York at 11:45.
Presently, he was standing outside waiting for one of the many cabs that kept circling around the entrance to the airport terminal to stop for him. Relieved, he sighed when one finally stopped in front of him and grinned as he got in. He gave the driver his address and slid in, unable to keep the grin off of his face.
Oh, he was so excited to see Kurt. He could barely contain himself. He could just see himself now, climbing into bed next to Kurt while he slept and wrapping him up in his arms, and the look on his fianc�s face when they woke up next to each other on Christmas morning.
With a contented sigh, Blaine leaned back and closed his eyes, happy to finally be home.
--
No one was awake in the apartment.
No one but Kurt, and he was tossing and turning in his bed, completely unable to get a wink of sleep. It was close to one in the morning and he was missing Blaine like crazy.
Hed ended up spending a wonderful day with Rachel and his dad, unable to fight off both of their contagious Christmas spirits any longer.
But every cookie baked, every figure eight skated, every mug of hot chocolate sipped, made him miss Blaine even more than he thought he would.
Thankfully, though, the snow had held off. It was only now starting to really come down, and Kurts heart was aching with the thought of Blaine alone in Ohio, lonely and bored and looking out at the snow with sad eyes and pouty lips.
With a sigh, he rolled over and looked at the clock. One-fifteen.
He smushed his face into the pillow and groaned, then he shut his eyes tightly and drifted off into a fitful, lonely sleep.
It must have been no more than half an hour later when he was woken up by a light pressure on the mattress. He thought it might be Rachel, coming in to wake him up and tell him it was officially Christmas morning, so he reached out a hand and blindly swiped the air.
But five fingers circled around his wrist instead. A large, warm hand, much bigger than Rachels.
Alarmed now, his eyes shot open and he rolled over. A dark silhouette was perched on the other side of the bed, looming over him.
But there was something familiar about the shape. The slope of the shoulders, the sway of the hips, the perfectly gelled hair and...a bow tie?
Kurt sat up slowly and then reached to sharply turn on the light.
"Blaine!" he cried, throwing his arms around his fianc� and planting a kiss on his lips. Blaine was laughing, the sound happy and excited, and his lips were spread in an adorable grin. "Hey, handsome," he whispered, tightening his arms around Kurts hips.
Kurt kissed him lightly on the lips again before pulling away and asking him the question on the tip of his tongue, laying soft kisses on his lips after each word. "What," kiss, "are," kiss, "you," kiss, "doing here!?"
Blaine laughed again and shrugged off his coat, dropping it on the floor next to the bed. He kicked off his shoes and kicked back the covers, sliding underneath them and pulling Kurt with him.
Kurt settled his head on the pillow and curled up into Blaines arms, sighing as he inhaled his scent deeply. Expensive cologne and hair gel as usual, with a hint of peppermint and a little bit of airplane.
"Can I explain in the morning?" Blaine asked, gently pressing his lips to Kurts forehead. "Im exhausted, and Ive missed you more than you could possibly understand."
"Oh," Kurt chuckled, "trust me. I understand. And yes, you can explain in the morning." He reached behind him then and flicked off the light, snuggling further into Blaines embrace.
"I love you so much," Blaine whispered, just as Kurt was about to drift off. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," he repeated.