"No, dad, I am absolutely insisting that you and Carole go on your honeymoon. You completely deserve it."
David and Blaine both looked in the direction of the voice. The pair of them were sitting in armchairs by the fire when Kurt had bustled into the common room speaking to his father on his cell phone and visibly tired from his walk around the grounds of the school. The black soles of his Dr Martens lace-up boots were caked with snow and his perfectly styled brown hair was dusted with white from the increasing snowfall. Kurt waved over at Blaine and David before strolling over to the window on the other side of the room and watching the fall of the snow on the beautiful school grounds as he continued conversing with his father.
Burt had called Kurt to verify the arrangements for his Christmas homecoming from school. He had mentioned in passing that he had received a huge order at the car mechanics and wanted to take Carole on a proper honeymoon - as they had sacrificed the honeymoon money to send Kurt to Dalton Academy - however, the only time in the foreseeable future they would have corresponding times off work was shortly after Christmas. And Burt didn't want to cut the time he could spend with Kurt short.
"Dad, I am serious. You deserve it - both of you do. You both sacrificed so much for me," Kurt insisted.
Although he knew his dad was sincere in desiring to spend time with him, but he still wanted to take Carole on a honeymoon. After another minute or so of persuasion, Burt gave in.
Kurt shivered in his wet clothes and quickly made his way over to David and Blaine at the fire to warm himself up, the latter of whom stood up when Kurt approached.
"Give me your coat, Kurt. It's soaking - you'll freeze," Blaine said as he stood behind Kurt and waited for the younger boy to unbutton his Marc Jacobs trench, before helping him out of it, causing Kurt to roll his eyes but smile as Blaine hung the coat on the back of the armchair and gesturing for Kurt to sit down.
"It's okay, you were sitting there first," Kurt told him, as there were only those two armchairs.
"Kurt, please, I - " Blaine began, before David cut him off.
"Oh my god, I am going to just...preempt this battle of manners," he exclaimed, standing up. "Kurt, take my seat. I need to go and do my packing, anyway. Damn you two and your organisational skills."
Blaine and Kurt both sat down and stared at the fire for a few silent moments before Blaine enquired: "Is everything alright with your dad?"
"Yeah, he was just quadruple-checking the time for tomorrow and making sure I've packed and everything. And um, he and Carole are finally getting to go on their honeymoon, on the 29th, so that's wonderful."
"That is wonderful," Blaine agreed, smiling at the grin on Kurt's face.
"Looks like I'll be coming back to school early then," Kurt added.
Classes at Dalton Academy ended on the 22nd of December and didn't recommence until the 15th of January, however a small number of the boarders chose to stay at the school over the winter holiday, be it for family reasons or otherwise. Kurt planned on going back to Lima until his father and step-mother left for vacation.
"Pardon?" Blaine asked, unsure as to whether he had heard Kurt correctly. "Could you not just stay at home with Finn?"
Kurt shook his head. "No, he will probably want to have Rachel over and I don't need to see that. Besides...it would just be...strange, being home without my dad being there. I think it would just depress me,"
"What about staying with Mercedes?"
"Her brother is home from college for the winter break; she doesn't have a spare room,"
Blaine pondered this for a moment before nodding and saying, "You do know that...none of us are going to be here until the 15th. I only know of a few boys in our dorm who are staying because their families live abroad and they can't go home, but there's no one in our group of friends,"
Kurt nodded and replied, "I know, I know. I'll be fine. It will be wonderful - no one asking to use my shower, no boys yelling at me to cease my constant play of Broadway show soundtracks..."
Blaine laughed gently but asked, "Are you sure?"
He noticed Kurt's eyes flicker as he assured him he would be fine.
Blaine knew that he would not allow Kurt to stay at Dalton all on his own.
"Thank you all so much for the gifts!"
Kurt was elated, surrounded by expensive presents from his Dalton friends. He looked around at the gifts he had given people. Although he had put a lot of thought and time into choosing each one, none of them were particularly pricey and all looked meagre in comparison to the designer tags on the ones he had received. But everyone seemed pleased enough.
"Kurt, I...this is just beautiful, seriously," Alexander told him, referring to the scarf Kurt had knitted himself, and had painstakingly stitched little pandas into it, knowing they are Alexander's favourite animal. "Thank you, thank you so much."
With that, Alexander grabbed Kurt's hand and stood - dragging him up - and pulled Kurt into a tight hug.
"Oh god," Wes groaned, chewing on some of his bumper-pack of Skittles. "Alex, unless you were angling for a roundhouse kick to the balls, you should really let go of Kurt,"
"What's going on?" Blaine asked, striding over to the group. They were all sitting on the floor in front of the fire, excluding Kurt and Alexander, who were still hugging.
"We're just exchanging gifts," David informed him. "We were going to wait for you but no one knew where you were and we were too excited."
"Look at what Kurtie made for me!" Alexander said, finally releasing Kurt but keeping an arm wrapped around his narrow shoulders.
"I know, I witnessed him close to tears when he thought he wasn't going to have it finished in time," Blaine commented, smiling at Kurt. "I told you he would love it."
Kurt blushed as Alex squeezed him again and Blaine looked away quickly, sitting down on the ornately carpeted floor.
"What's in the bags there, Blaine?" Nicholas asked, obviously trying to appear casual and as though he wasn't hoping for more presents.
"Oh, just some gifts for the poor," Blaine replied smoothly, without missing a beat. With that, he opened the bag, and handed a beautifully wrapped present to Alex, who had sat down across the way. Kurt sat cross-legged beside Blaine.
Alex gave Blaine a look of puzzlement and said, "But I thought you said these were for...Hey! You bitch!"
Blaine laughed good-naturedly and distributed the rest of his gifts. Alexander also handed his around.
"Oh my god. Oh my sweet god," Kurt almost squealed when he unwrapped one of his presents from Alexander - a leather Marc Jacobs bag that he was pretty sure cost about five hundred dollars. "This is divine. This is simply divine. I...thank you so much."
"Woah, that is nice," Wes remarked, "Let me see. I promise not to steal it. Maybe."
Alexander grinned so hard, Blaine thought his face was going to split open. "If you think that is good, you should open the other one," Alex told Kurt. "I almost got them for myself, but I knew you'd appreciate them more."
Kurt's eyes widened. "Them? As in...plural? Oh my god, what are they?" Kurt eagerly tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box.
And he actually did squeal. Everyone covered their ears and Blaine had to smile, despite the fact that felt a rise of...bitterness within himself.
"Oh my god, Alex, oh my god," he grabbed the studded, beige Louboutin shoes out of the box. "You did not!"
"I so fucking did," Alex exclaimed. "You said you would marry someone if they got you these, how could I not?"
Blaine found himself gritting his teeth unwillingly and his smile became forced. Something in his chest tightened as Kurt blushed but slid over to Alexander, wrapping his arms around him. Blaine looked at Alexander over Kurt's shoulder; his eyes were closed and the smile on his face was one of utter bliss. Blaine was...confused. He and Alex had been close friends for eleven years, but he was beginning to feel an unjustified irritation with him.
"Well, despite the fact that you are absolutely amazing, Alex," Kurt remarked, ending the hug. "I also told myself I wouldn't settle for anything less than a man who is actually gay."
"Damn it," Alexander cried. "Thwarted once again by my love of pussy."
Kurt coughed and returned to his place beside Blaine, who said, "Here, Kurt," and handed him his gift. Kurt smiled and handed one to Blaine. They both sat and smiled at each other for a moment, holding their respective presents, and Blaine completely forgot about what he had felt about Alexander just a few moments earlier.