December 13th – A Phone Call
**on the first Day of Christmas my true Love sent to me a partridge in a pear tree**
Kurt wakes up to the phone ringing. He looks at the ID; Blaine Anderson. It had been so long since their first Christmas, back at Dalton's. Four years had passed and both of them had already graduated. They weren't together anymore but they'd kept in touch after all those years.
"Hey Blaine. Merry first day of Christmas."
"Hi Kurt. How's it going?" His voice sounds tired over the phone.
"Great. Better than you by the way you sound. Are you okay? Did you catch a cold? Are you with pneumonia?"
"No! God, no, Kurt. I'm just tired. So, anyway, are you coming to the party? Rachel and Mercedes already said yes."
"Umm, sure. But going back to Ohio just for one day? Would you mind if I cam earlier?"
"No, come! You can come any time now. Christmas has already started." Kurt smiles. Blaine is up to something. Ohio was far, but perhaps a change would be good.
Blaine hangs up. Kurt was coming earlier. Blaine still felt sorry for what he'd done two years ago. He shouldn't have cheated on Kurt. Ever since they broke up Blaine hadn't talked to anyone about it. He was too ashamed of himself.
Blaine had spent the last Christmas and the one before alone. He hadn't wanted to stay with anyone in Ohio because they'd remind him of Kurt. And if he stayed with someone from Dalton's he'd feel like he was cheating on Kurt all over again. So he'd been alone for the past two years, focusing only on his growing career. But this Christmas would be different.
Blaine starts to wonder if Kurt would come today or tomorrow but at the end it didn't matter. In any way it had to be perfect.
He grabs his coat and the car keys and goes outside. It is snowing softly, and the temperature must be around 13⁰ Celsius. Blaine drives towards a Christmas shop where they also have trees out and for free. You just choose one and take it home.
When Blaine gets back it's already one o'clock in the afternoon and if Kurt will be arriving today it would be anytime soon. So he runs to the shower takes a quick bath and starts to organize things. The visitor's room is ready when Kurt phones him.
"Kurt, what a surprise! So, when are you coming?"
"I did want it to be a surprise, so, well, I'm already here. You know, you didn't have to rush to organize things, Blaine."
Blaine walks to the door, and checks the magic eye. Sure enough, Kurt is there waiting. Blaine opens the door;
"But, Kurt, you know that I hate surprises." Kurt laughs and hugs Blaine, who laughs too. It was so sweet to hear Kurt's laugh after so much time. And Kurt felt the same way about Blaine, even though he wouldn't show it.
Both of them had been through a lot in that time. But now they were together again, not yet as a couple, but soon, Soon, Blaine thinks.
"How is it here in Ohio? Been seeing someone?" Kurt asks.
"No, I haven't. I mean, I'm still single if that is what you ask, but sometimes Artie comes to visit. Jeff and Nick come too. Remember? They were from Dalton's. And Marley comes every now and then. It's nice to hang out with friends sometimes."
"Of course I remember Jeff and Nick! And Marley, well, it seems you two became close friends. Does she live in Ohio, too? And where has Artie been? I haven't seen him since –" He stops. "Since your senior year."
"Yeah… Marley is living in Ohio too, and Artie is living in New Jersey. He usually visits during the holidays. But, I think this is the last time we are all going to gather here in Ohio, unless Marley invites us next time. I'm moving next year. Going to start a whole new year in a new town."
"Where are you going? Why would you leave Ohio?" Blaine shifts as if the matter is uncomfortable to him.
"I'm moving to Winchester, Massachusetts. I got a job nearby, a singing and acting opportunity. And Winchester is the closest town with available houses. I thought I'd always stay in Ohio, but everyone spread apart with the years, every time because of a new opportunity, a new job offer. I guess only Marley will stay, but that is because her contract allows her to record her album here."
"Well, then let's enjoy this last Christmas together for as long as we can. Mayhap we even extend it to New Year's Eve." Kurt smiles.
Yes, let's enjoy it for as long as we can. And extend it, yes, I would like that, Blaine thinks, Let's make of this the best Christmas we ever had. And let's do this together.
Chapter 2; December 14th Bad Memories
Blaine wakes up and goes prepare breakfast. As he enters the kitchen, Kurt is already there, making pancakes. Kurt turns around as Blaine comes in.
"Good morning, handsome." Blaine looks away. They had always greeted each other on mornings like that before New York. Before everything they had was lost.
"Morning. I see you are still an early bird. You went to bed pretty early last night. Is everything okay?"
"Sure. And remember, the early bird gets the worm."
"But the nightly owl has more fun." Blaine says. They laugh together like they had many times. It seemed the tension had been broken. "So, how did you sleep? I know the bed isn't that comfortable, but –"
"I slept fine, Blaine. There are no problems with your visitor's bed, so don't worry." Kurt interrupts. Blaine opens a tentative smile, not knowing exactly how to respond. "So, what are we going to do today?"
"I thought we could start decorating the tree, and after the tree the house. And then go shop for gifts. I'm thinking of doing a Secret Santa."
"Sure! And we could invite Marley to help us." Kurt suggests. It is obvious he doesn't want to stay alone with Blaine yet.
"Sure…" Blaine answers, clearly hurt. "I'll give her a call. Let's just hope she isn't busy or something." Let's just hope she is busy or something, he thinks.
*Phone Call*
"Hello?"
"Hi Marley, its Blaine. So, Kurt is here, and we were thinking of going Christmas gift shopping, do you want to come with us?"
"Oooh, sorry Blaine. I'm busy right now. Got to finish recording my album before Christmas."
"Okay, it's okay. Sorry to interrupt you then." Blaine hangs up.
Kurt is waiting at the kitchen eating breakfast. He looks up as Blaine enters the room.
"So? Is she coming?" He asks. A bit of maple sauce is on his chin. Blaine reaches for a napkin and cleans it. They look at each other for a second longer than necessary.
"No, she can't. She has to finish her album before Christmas. Have you decided where we are going?"
"Of course I've decided where we are going. Now eat your pancakes so we can leave. And don't argue with me, Blaine Anderson."
"Umm, you didn't leave me any pancakes." Blaine says, pointing to his empty plate.
"Oh! Sorry…"
"It's alright. We'll pass by the Lima Bean. And maybe one of the old guys will be there."
"'Old guys'? Who are you talking about?"
"The Warblers, Kurt. They always hang out there. It brings back memories. Lots of memories. And you wanted to see if someone else wanted to come. We can invite them." Blaine had to force the words out, because he may have said them, but he didn't mean them.
Blaine grabs his jacket and car keys. Then he remembers something and goes back into his room. Kurt waits for him outside. Blaine walks to the car and Kurt wonders what he had gone back for.
"What did you get there?"
"Just a CD. We'll go singing, just as if we were still in New Directions."
"Sure. Whose CD is it? I mean, by whom?"
"There is a mixture of music. Some of them the New Directions sang, some not. Half of it weren't even considered by Mr. Schue. Remember how he'd refuse most of our suggestions for Sectionals? But finally we'd convince him that our ideas were best because they were now more popular than the other songs?"
"Okaaay… I remember." Kurt remembered more than just that. He remembered most his duets with Blaine. Principally 'Perfect', 'Candles', and 'Let It Snow'. He remembered before he met Blaine, when he'd flirted with Finn, who became his half-brother, and Sam, who both turned out not to be gay. He remembered always going to the girls' side when Mr. Schue gave a boys versus girls sing-off. He remembered mostly the day when the boys told him to go spy on the Warblers, and he had ended up in love with Blaine. He remembered everything, every little secret Blaine would tell him, and that he would tell Blaine. He remembered everything until the day it ended.
"Let's go, then. I'm starving, since you didn't leave me any pancakes. C'mon. You wanna ride shotgun?"Blaine laughs. Of course he wants to ride shotgun, he thinks. Blaine opens the car door and Kurt gets in. Then, Blaine goes to the driver side and gets in. He puts the CD in the player and starts the car.
*Background Music Plays*
"Remember when we bought the karaoke version? Do you still remember the lyrics?" Blaine asks. Then he starts:
"Made a wrong turn, once or twice. Dug my way out, blood and fire."
Kurt continues, "Bad decisions. That's alright. Welcome to my, silly life. Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood, Miss No-Way-Its-All-Good, it didn't slow me down. Mistaken, always second-guessing, underestimated, look I'm still around."
Blaine continues, "Pretty, pretty, please, don't you ever ever feel, like you're less than, less than perfect. Go, Kurt."
"I can't. I can't do this, Blaine. We broke up, and it's done. Now, either stop the car or stop the music."
"Kurt, please. Just try. You can do this." Blaine parks the car.
"I can't. I just ca–" Blaine leans in and kisses him. Kurt slowly closes his eyelids, then opens them again to see those amber eyes staring into his. Then Blaine gets out of the car. They were parked at the Lima Bean, so he went inside to grab a mug of coffee.
Inside he met Sebastian.
"Blaine! How are you doing? I heard you were going to have a Christmas party, and that you were moving from Ohio. How is everything."
"Fine, Sebastian. Now, excuse me, I'm in a hurry."
"Why hurry? Christmas is still a fine time from today."
"Get out of my way, Sebastian. I'm really not in the mood for your pep-talk today." Blaine shuffles to pass and orders his coffee. Then he gives the waitress the money and goes away. "Keep the change."
Kurt is still shocked from what happened when Blaine gets back. Blaine had just kissed him, the way they used to kiss each other, as if nothing had happened. And I wanted him to continue, Kurt thinks.
"You were fast there. Is there anyone coming?" he asks.
"No. Remember what I said about memories? Yeah, there are lots of memories. Most of them are bad ones."
Chapter 3 – December 14th – No Happy Endings
"So, should I get a tie for Finn? Or maybe a T-Shirt? You're his brother, Kurt. Help me out!"
"It's half-brother, Blaine. And even though I know that Finn doesn't have a touch for fashion and that we should help I think you should buy a T-Shirt. He'll like it more."
This was the last shop they had to visit before they went back to Blaine's house. Kurt also wanted to visit his dad before going back, so they had to be quick.
"Okay then, the shirt it is. How much does it cost?"
"Seventy-five dollars."
"What?! The tie costs only fifteen! I don't care if Finn doesn't use it! He's probably not going to use a T-Shirt that is stamped with circles and triangles. Let's buy the tie and not just throw money away."
"Fine, Blaine. It's your gift. Now come on! I want to visit my dad before we go back."
"Okay, okay, let's go." Blaine pays for the tie and goes with Kurt. They had bought gifts for everyone except themselves. Blaine opens the trunk of the car and wonders how the heck are they going to fit all the gifts there. In the end they have to take two gifts with them.
Kurt's old house is close to Blaine's so they stop first to put the gifts beneath the tree and grab a second coat. The afternoons in Lima are getting even colder than before.
When they arrive at Kurt's house his dad is already waiting for him.
"Did you phone him or something? It's creepy that he knows we're here." Blaine whispers.
"Blaine! Of course I phoned him."
"Hey there! Are you guys going to stay out there in the cold or are you going to come in?" Burt yells.
"We're going." Kurt says. They step carefully on the snow-covered stairs, and enter the house.
It is exactly how it was when Kurt left. The same furniture, the same wallpaper, the same place. Burt goes into the kitchen and comes back with a badge of cookies.
"Dad? Are you okay? You don't make me cookies since I was four."
"Well, this is a special ocasion. It's Christmas, Kurt! And you loved to bake cookies to put with milk and leave them to Santa."
"Dad, I'm 21 now. I know you dressed up as Santa and ate my cookies." Kurt looks at the cookies."But I do love cookies."
Kurt gets one cookie and hands it to Blaine. Then he grabs another for himself. The three of them go sit on the couch. Kurt and his dad spend a lot of time catching up on things and finally it's time for him and Blaine to go.
Inside the car Blaine asks Kurt:
"Why did your dad ignore me the whole time? He acted like I wasn't even there!"
"Uuuh, I think maybe it's because I told him you cheated on me."
"Oh. Kurt, I think it's about time I ask you this; would you like to start over?"
"Blaine… I – I need some time to think about it."
"Sure. It's okay." You need some time to figure out how to say no, he thinks. By taking one look at Blaine's sad face Kurt already knows what he is thinking;
"Just because I didn't say yes immediately it doesn't mean I'm going to say no, Blaine. Let me decide. There are so many things to take in consideration; would you come to New York with me? Or would I go to Massachusetts with you? Can we restart after all? A serious relationship requires trust. I need to know, can I trust you?"
"Kurt, I'm not proud of what I did. But I promise you, it won't happen ever again. You can trust me."
*Phone Beeps*
"Is it yours or is it mine?" Kurt asks.
"Mine. Would you check what it is for me? It's in the center console."
Kurt gets the phone but doesn't say anything. He is looking intently at the message, and who sent it; Sebastian.
"Kurt, is everything all right? What happened?"
"How could you do this?! How dare you want to start over after this?!"
"Kurt, what happened?"
"You have his number? And don't pretend you don't know about this 'cause this isn't the first message."
"Kurt, what are you talking about?"
"Your little chat with SEBASTIAN!"
"Kurt, I only answered him once, then I started ignoring him."
"Why didn't you tell me about it? WHY? I thought we were going to trust each other!"
"Kurt, please. I would have told you if I had even thought that drunk messages sent by Sebastian would make you freak out like this."
"You freaked out when this happened to Chandler and now you think I'm overreacting?!"
"With Chandler it was different. You answered all his messages. And I had no idea who he was. You know Sebastian. You know how he'd love to break us apart."
"Have you even READ the messages?! They don't sound like they were sent from a drunk guy."
"No, I haven't read any of the messages except the first! Why can't you let it go? He is drunk!"
"Why couldn't you let it go when it was with Chandler?!"
"Because he wasn't drunk and the messages were all read AND answered by you. I remember during Glee club you would look at your phone and laugh and blush. You thought I didn't notice, that I wouldn't notice but I did."
"Let me read you this chat! He starts like this: 'Heey, Blaine, I missed u today. Why don't u come to the Scandals so we can spend a little Christmas together? ;).' And you answered 'Sebastian, r u drunk?'."
"So what that I answered? Can't I be looking out for a friend if he is drunk?"
"A friend?! Now you call him a friend?!"
"A lot has passed since that Grease musical. He changed. He stopped bullying. Sebastian isn't as bad as you remember!"
"The guy almost blinded you! And from what I heard from Tina, he also stole our Nationals trophy, and wouldn't return unless you returned to the Warblers."
"That wasn't him! It was the Dalton's new captain."
"I don't care!" Kurt opened the door and ran away.
Blaine gets out of the car and his eyes follow Kurt's path until he was out of sight. Blaine snatches his cell phone and throws it at the ground. Then he grabs it from the ground and enters the car again. There is no good in trying to convince him now, he thinks, Once Kurt's mind is set on something it takes time for him to consider everything else.
Blaine looks at his phone and stares at the chat.
It continues like this:
Sebastian: I'm not drunk, I'm intoxicated by u.
Sebastian: So, r u coming? I'm waiting for u.
Sebastian: What about Breadstix? We'll share our stixs if u want. ;)
And the messages go on and on.
Blaine deletes them all and deletes Sebastian from his contacts. He is going to start anew.
Kurt runs to his father's house. How could Blaine do something like that to him? He didn't know how to feel. He felt like he'd been used and was broken. But Kurt also felt that Blaine hadn't meant to do something like that. It had just happened.
"Kurt? What are you doing here?"
"It's just that I miss it here. Could I spend the night?"
"Sure. If you need anything tell me."
Kurt ran to his old bedroom. The decorations had changed but all the furniture was the same. He threw himself at the bed and cried. He wanted to get back together with Blaine. He wanted them to be a couple. But could he trust Blaine, after all?