Hey guys! Merry Christmas!
So, a little over two months ago, grlnxtdr29 asked me if I would like to participate in the Klaine Christmas Challenge. (I thought about it, then obviously said yes.)
I was so confused about what to do when I got my theme. Wrapping Paper. Like seriously, what was I supposed to do with this!? Thankfully, my big sis pulled through and had a plot idea for me. (Thank you big sis.)
So, I hope you all enjoy my contribution to this challenge.
Wrapping Paper.
Kurt Hummel loved everything about Christmas. Shopping, singing, decorating, spending time with friends and family, wrapping gifts, the whole nine yards.
But this Christmas season was so busy, Kurt just didn't have time to do the simplest things. He hadn't even had time to bake his mother's sugar cookies.
So here he was, on Christmas Eve, standing in the middle of the mall trying to remember what video game Finn had been dropping (not so subtle) hints about. Honestly, Kurt hasn't realized just how little he knew about Finn.. That would have to be a New Year's resolution.
He sighed, then picked up Halo 2. He was pretty sure he had heard Finn talk about this one before, he was also pretty sure that he hadn't heard Burt and Carole talk about it being one of his Christmas presents.
He grabbed a scarf and necklace for Carole, and a puzzle and book for his dad. In years past he remembered making fudge and buying beef jerky for Burt, but ever since his heart attack, Kurt had ended all of the unhealthy traditions. With the exception of his mother's sugar cookies.
It didn't take long for him to realize that he would never have time to wrap them all these gifts in time for tomorrow, and he certainly wasn't going to give his family unwrapped gifts. Never.
He sighed again, then ran his hands through his well-kept chestnut hair.
He would have to do it.
It couldn't be that bad, right?
Right..?
Every bone in his body was against the idea, but he had no other choice, it was just too late.
He would have to pay someone to wrap his gifts.
His mind fought with his idea the whole walk to where a wrapping station has been set up.
No, he was not losing any of his skills or dignity.
No, he didn't have time to wrap when he got home.
Yeah, they probably would spell names wrong on the name tags, but it the thought that counted.
And yes, he definitely should not procrastinate like this next year.
"I'm sorry, ma'am." He heard someone apologize. "I understand that this is wrapped poorly."
Kurt inhaled deeply. This was a bad omen for sure. He just wanted to go home and wrap these...
"I told you to wrap it nicely!" The lady in front of him shouted. "Do you really expect me to pay for this?"
"As a matter of fact, I do, ma'am." The boy who had wrapped the offending present told her. "You asked how much it would cost to have these dog toys wrapped and I told you." Kurt couldn't tell if the boy was nearing tears or if he was just done dealing with rude customers like this lady.
"My blind dog could wrap better than this!" The lady screamed. "And you think I'm going to pay for that!?" Kurt flinched as the lady slammed her fists on the counter.
The lady grabbed her things, then inhaled deeply. "I don't have time for this." She told the boy , her voice filled with fake anger and dramatics. She reminded Kurt of Rachel.
The defeated boy opened his mouth to say something, then after hesitating for a moment, he sighed. "Merry Christmas." He said.
The lady began to walk away, the boxes that had been wrapped were in her hands. "You ruined my Christmas." She tried to guilt with obviously fake sobs. "I hope you're happy."
Kurt hated petty people like her. The world didn't revolve around her, and it never would. He could feel his anger towards her bubbling in his chest, but after she disappeared in the crowd, he remembered why he was there.
He walked up to the counter, then smiled at the boy who was running it. "Hello!" He said with a grin. "Can I get these wrapped?"
The boy looked at him, his features melting into a frown. "I'm not very good at gift wrapping." He warned, nervously wringing his hands as he watched Kurt unpack the bags onto the counter.
Kurt looked up at him and straight into the boy's glowing brown eyes. They had emerald and golden flecks in them and Kurt wasn't sure how the boy had stolen them from the Goddess of Beauty, but he knew that she probably wanted them back.
"I don't mind." Kurt told him. He knew that the boy was probably trying his hardest and honestly, he knew that this was probably punishment for procrastinating this long. Hopefully he would learn his lesson.
"Well, that's good." The boy said, his words a sigh of relief as he picked up the thin silver necklace that Kurt had found for Carole. "I like actually making money." He joked playfully.
Kurt nodded, he remembered trying to come up with the money for the bus to Regionals. He remembered thinking that they weren't going to make enough money and they would have to forfeit. "What are your raising money for?" He asked.
The boy looked up from where he was fumbling with a roll of ugly green snowflake wrapping paper, but Kurt was more focused on the boy's black ringlets that had worked themselves out of the gelled perfection. That was sexy. Unlike the wrapping paper, the paper needed to be burned. "The Warblers." He answered, then sighed as he put the paper down. "Even though most of us are rich or blue blooded, and we get a lot of money from sponsors and parents, we don't really have the money for the trip to Nationals."
Kurt nodded. "What's your goal?" He asked.
The boy shrugged. "I dunno. Enough to send a bunch of boys to New York, a hotel to stay in while we're there, then the trip home." He told Kurt. "And that doesn't even count the food. Because us boys pig out on good food."
Kurt nodded, then looked down at the gift that had been wrapped. He felt his heart stop.
Maybe a blind dog could wrap better than the boy. The paper was ripped in numerous places, there was way too much tape, and Kurt felt like he could have saved a rainforest if he had just wrapped the gift himself.
The boy caught a glimpse of Kurt's face, then sighed. "Yeah, I know, I should just stick to singing.."
Kurt shook his head. He was certain that he could help this boy. "You just need help." He said matter of factly.
The boy frowned, his bushy eyebrows furrowing together. "Help how?" He asked as he crossed his arms.
Kurt grinned, then stepped behind the counter. "I'm going to teach you how to properly wrap a gift." He declared.
Before the boy could answer, Kurt had already ripped the paper off of the necklace. "Okay, first things first." Kurt said. "Burn that paper. It gives wrapping paper a bad name and it needs to die."
The boy laughed, but Kurt looked over at him. "You think I'm kidding?" He said seriously.
The laughing stopped. "No. Sorry." The boy said.
Kurt pulled out a roll of blue and white wrapping paper. "Always ask what color." He started, then began to cut the paper. "That way they can't complain about that too. "
The boy nodded, then continued to watch as Kurt's nimble hands glide across the paper as he folded it. "How are you so good at this?" Jeweled as Kurt taped down one of the sides.
Kurt looked up from the gift and grinned. "My mom taught me when I was seven." He told him, then flipped over the box and began to repeat the process . "And I have a ton of practice."
The boy nodded. "You're really good." He said.
Kurt smiled. "Thanks." He said, then picked up a large silver bow, it was literally almost the size of his hand. "Always add a bow." He instructed as he placed the bow on top of the neatly wrapped gift.
"There!" He exclaimed, then handed the boy another one of the gifts. The boy's hands were soft, yet the fingertips hand rough calluses on them. "You're turn."
The boy paled, then nodded as he took the video game from Kurt's hands. "Okay." He squeaked.
Kurt smiled as he leaned over the boy's shoulder to watch him wrap the gift. The boy smelled like gingerbread cookies and hot cocoa,not made Kurt feel warm and bubbly inside.
The boy handed him the fully wrapped gift, then smiled bashfully. "Here you go." He said, his cheeks colored with an adorable rosy blush.
Kurt took the gift from his hands. It was messy, and there was still too much tape, but it was much better than his last attempt. It would have to do.
"I'm Blaine by the way." The boy told him, his face lit up with a smiled that caused him to look as if he was squinting. It was cute.
Kurt smiled, then held out his hand. "Kurt." He said.
The two boys joked around as Blaine finished wrapping the gifts. They talked about everything, brothers, glee, Christmas traditions, the fact that procrastination would never be a good idea, and Kurt even ended up giving his mother's sugar cookie recipe to Blaine.
After they were finished talking, they swapped phone numbers.
"Excuse me," a voice behind them said, startling both of the boys. "Are you still wrapping gifts?"
Kurt smiled, then nodded as he began grabbing his things. "Yes, and let me tell you, Blaine is the best gift wrapper ever." He said, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. He grinned as Blaine blushed. "You'd think he was one of Santa's Elves."
Blaine's blush deepened to a dark red. "Kurt!" He squeaked.
Kurt just winked at the boy. "See ya, Blaine!" He said, then walked off.
•••
When Kurt got home, the first thing he was greeted with was the sound of Finn gaming in the living room. But that wasn't really much of a surprise anymore.
"Hey, Finn!" He greeted as he put his gifts under the tree. "Watcha playing?" He asked.
Finn grinned at his brother as he looked up from the game. "Hey, Kurt!" He said, then returned his focus to his game. "Just Halo 2. Not anything I've never played before."
Kurt's eyes widened and he almost dropped the gift that was in his hand. He hoped that his ears were playing a trick on him.
Did he say Halo 2?
As in the game he had just bought for him?
"What's wrong?" Finn asked, then looked up from his game again. "Wanna join?"
Kurt just stood there with his mouth open. Yeah, knowing more about Finn was definitely a New Year's resolution.
The End.
So, I hope you enjoyed! Please gave and review! I would love to know your thoughts!
Thank you to grlnxtdr29 for inviting me to be a part of this!
thanks for reading! Love y'all!
