Author's Note:
I wrote this Christmas story for Grlnxtdr29's Klaine Christmas Eve Challenge. The prompt words were "Santa's sleigh" and "stray". I also managed to incorporate all the words of the Klaine Advent challenge. Enjoy!
I'm dedicating Santa's Super Sleigh to VoyageAsia/ hkvoyage , beta extraordinaire and all-round wonderful friend
Chapter 1: Something Good Will Come Your Way
Blaine shivered as he got out of his car and quickly hurried to the Starbucks just opposite the shopping mall. He'd scored a barista job there for the Christmas holidays, which was great because he really needed the money. The early hours, though, had made him wince when his alarm went off that morning. Ugh.
Ten minutes later, he was taking orders, answering questions about Starbucks' vegetarian and vegan selections and making people's drinks like the seasoned pro he was, and the manager nodded approvingly and left him to it.
One hour bled into another, and way sooner than he would have thought, his shift was over, and he was taking off his apron and putting his coat back on.
By now, the mall was open, and as he walked past, he saw that it was crowded. The atmosphere was festive, though, and he could hear live singing. Curious, he ventured into the mall, and followed his ears to a roped-off area dubbed "Santa's Corner", complete with carolling elves and plastic reindeer under a glittery yoke pulling a sleigh filled with fake presents in shiny wrapping paper and gold and silver ribbons. A very young-looking Santa with an athlete's body held court there, listening to children's gift wishes while their parents took pictures.
The elves were great singers. At first listen, they seemed to be all girls, but when Blaine came a bit closer to enjoy their performance to the fullest, he noticed he was mistaken. Two of them were girls, yes, dressed in a way that would appeal both to the children and their dads. But the third elf was a guy, and from the moment Blaine clapped eyes on him, he was mesmerised.
The male elf was gorgeous, filling out his costume to perfection. Green and red tights clung to long muscled legs and a delectable booty. Green and red sleeves showed off shoulders and biceps that made Blaine drool. Well, he knew what he'd be asking Santa this year: the phone number of his yummiest elf helper.
He hummed along under his breath to the tune they were singing:
"If you never cuss or cheat or lie
And you've always been as nice as pie
Then something good will come your way
From Santa's super sleigh"
Blaine grinned, still focussed on the Yummiest Elf. I'll hold you to that, Santa!
Blaine's phone buzzed. He checked it, yelped and hurried away. He'd promised his mom to help her decorate tables for her charity Christmas dinner, and he only had a quarter of an hour left to get to the venue! Oh man, if he ran late, he'd never hear the end of it!
K&B
The next day began even colder. By the time Blaine reached the mall, his nose was running, and his fingers were so frozen that they refused to work properly. Luckily, he was five minutes early, so he had the time to blow his nose, wash his hands and then hold them in front of the oven to warm them up. When the timer dinged to announce that the pastries were done, Blaine's hands were fully functional again, and he hastened to stock the pastry case and get ready for a stream of thirsty and hungry customers.
After his shift, he made a beeline for Santa's Corner, and beamed when he saw that the same elves were there again, singing their hearts out. One of the girls winked at him, and he hastily looked away to Santa. It was an older man today, who was having his beard tugged by tiny twin girls.
Ouch, that must hurt!
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and a moment later, a tinny version of Hungry as the Wolf/Rio started to play.
Blaine sent an apologetic look at the carolling elves and hastened away, answering his phone as soon as he was outside.
"Blainey… Please come and help me? Chrissy is ill, and the girls are under the weather too. I can't deal with them all by myself. I'm drowning here!"
Blaine sighed. "I'll be right there, Coop. So what is it they have? Not a stomach bug, I hope? I can't afford to catch that."
"Chrissy has a migraine. A really bad one. She'll be out for a few days. The girls have runny noses and a cough."
"Right. See you in a few."
An hour later, piece reigned in the Anderson-Garcia household. Blaine had worked his magic until everyone but him was asleep.
Blaine passed his hand over his eyes with a weary sigh, thinking that he'd quite like a nap himself, only the sofa was full of children's toys. He cleared it, and then saw that the rest of the living room looked like a pink bomb had exploded, so he tidied that up, too. After that, he turned his attention to the table, which was full of dirty dishes and what looked like spilled milk. Blaine cleaned the table, stocked the dishwasher and started a wash cycle.
He sank onto the sofa and let the gentle hum of the dishwasher lull him to sleep.
K&B
Blaine stayed over at Cooper's place that night, to help out with the children and to make sure they didn't disturb Chrissy, who was still suffering from her migraine, and only moaned piteously whenever Coop stuck his head into the bedroom to ask if she wanted something to eat.
"I'll take that as a no, then," Coop sighed as he retreated from the bedroom at dinner time. "She's going to STARVE if she doesn't eat anything soon."
"Shhhh! Inside voice!" Blaine berated him. "Maybe you were just too loud. I'll try and get her to eat something after I'm done feeding Vicky."
True to his word, he made Chrissy a tray with a sandwich, a glass of orange juice and a bowl of soup. She whimpered when he suggested putting the light on to eat, so he lit a candle instead and helped her as best he could in the semi-darkness.
"Thank you," Chrissy whispered, and buried herself under the covers again.
Blaine dropped a kiss on top of her head and disappeared with the tray.
He made sure to be extra silent when he left for work the next day, and after his shift, he went straight back to Cooper's, without even stopping at Santa's Corner to see the Yummiest Elf again.
"Please take them out to the park or something," Cooper implored him as soon as he came in. "They've been little beasts all morning."
Blaine clapped his hands. "Okay, girls, I'm kidnapping you for the afternoon so that your mommy and daddy can get some rest!"
Blaine bundled the girls up in their coats and hats and scarves and mittens, and promised them a fun outing. He shivered when he went outside again, though. No, the park wasn't a good idea on a cold day like this. Building snowmen when Daisy and Vicky were already sniffling and coughing would only make them sicker. But maybe they'd like to go and see Santa?
That plan got a resounding YES from both of his nieces, and they set off for the mall.
Once, inside, Blaine saw that the queue to visit Santa was long, but neither he nor the girls cared. Daisy and Vicky were loud in their exuberance, though. Their shrieks made the parents in the queue send Blaine dirty looks. Blaine was quick to shush his nieces and apologise to the nearest-standing mother, who looked mollified, and asked if it was the girls' first time meeting Santa.
As soon as the woman was distracted by her own brood, Blaine zoomed in on the carolling elves. The Yummiest Elf was looking in his direction, and smiled at him.
The taller girl was now crooning Santa Baby, in a performance that was way too sexy to be child-friendly. Not that any of the children paid attention to her. Only the dads looked. And drooled.
The other elves provided backup harmonies, and sometimes rolled their eyes when the sexy elf made suggestive moves as she sang.
"And hurry down the chimney tonight!"
The parents applauded politely, and one dad cat-called, but was berated by his angry wife, who shoved a camera into his hands. "Stop being gross and take some pictures of Madelyn before her turn is over!"
Blaine bit back a grin, and when Vicky tugged at his sleeve and asked how long they'd still have to wait, he told her to listen to the elves to make time pass more quickly. "Look, aren't they pretty?"
"I can't see!" she wailed, and Blaine lifted her up quickly before she annoyed the other people in Santa's Corner.
"Oh, Uncle Blaine, the boy elf is looking at you!" she announced, still too loudly, and Blaine heard someone snigger behind him. He didn't dare check if she was right, but felt his ear tips burn with embarrassment.
The next song was All I Want For Christmas Is You, and Blaine hummed along happily, swaying to and fro with Vicky and twirling Daisy around.
The queue dwindled. Only three more children in front of them. Blaine was glad. He didn't know how much longer he'd be able to keep his nieces happy while waiting to see Santa. They were sure to start complaining soon.
And yes, when the next child trotted off towards Santa, Daisy asked, "Is it nearly our turn, Uncle Blaine?"
"Yes, sweetie. Just a few more minutes."
Thankfully, he was right. It only took one more song. But Blaine, who'd been happily singing along to Jingle Bells, had not expected the girls to suddenly get an attack of shyness when the shopping mall attendant gestured that they could go to Santa and talk to him.
Neither Vicky nor Daisy wanted to budge, whatever Blaine said to them. The parents and children behind them started to grumble, and Blaine knew the girls would lose their turn if he didn't think of a solution quickly. So he said, "I'm coming with you, okay? I'll be there with you the whole time."
He took his nieces by the hand and went up to Santa, explaining that they didn't dare talk to him on their own.
Santa laughed heartily, and joked that Blaine could sit on his lap instead of the girls, laughing even harder when Blaine took him up on the offer.
Daisy and Vicky loved it, though. Gradually, they got over their shy attack and started chattering Santa's ear off.
When they left Santa's Corner, their eyes were shining like stars, and Blaine had a hard time catching up with them in their exuberance.
He ended up taking them to the Starbucks where he worked, for hot chocolate. His manager and colleagues cooed over his cute nieces, and gave them a plate of cinnamon cookies on the house, and some paper and a pen so they could draw.
Blaine lingered at the coffee shop for a while longer, determined to give Cooper and Chrissy some more time to themselves. After another hour, though, Vicky's eyes started to droop, and he knew he had to get the girls home and into bed.
He thanked his manager for the cookies, and set off for Cooper's place with Vicky on his arm, a dead weight now that she was so tired.
Blaine wasn't sure what scene they'd be coming home to. Last time he'd taken his nieces out for an afternoon, there had been loud moans coming from the direction of the master bedroom when they'd stepped into the apartment.
Now, all was quiet, thankfully. Chrissy was in the kitchen, eating, and came to help divest the girls of their outerwear. "Thank you, Blaine. I'm feeling much better."
Blaine smiled at his sister-in-law. "Good. I think this one's down for the count. I'm going to put her to bed. Daisy, you tell your mom what you want for dinner, but keep your voice down, okay?"
When he came back, he grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and bit into it. "Where's Cooper, anyway?"
Chrissy grinned. "Out grocery-shopping. I told him he had to wait until after the children were in bed. After what happened the other time, I thought it was for the best."
"Good call!"
K&B
After his shift at Starbucks the next morning, the manager took him aside and asked if he could stay a few hours longer. "You'd really help me out, bud. Cathy just called that her son is ill, so she won't be able to come in. I asked Stephanie to take over the shift, but she can't make it here until three PM. And I'm needed at home, the missus just called. I'll pay you double time. Please."
Blaine nodded and donned his apron again. "I understand. No problem."
Now that Chrissy was better, he wasn't needed at Cooper's, and his mom would think he was still at his brother's and wouldn't bug him either, so he'd take the extra hours and the double pay gladly.
"Thanks, Blaine!" the manager shouted, halfway out the door already.
The early afternoon was pretty calm, and Blaine softly sang Christmas carols as he wiped tables, put several batches of cookies in the oven and made fancy coffees for harried shoppers.
The only notable incident was a drunk guy stumbling in and slurring, "Heeeeey… Can I get (hiccup) a cup of (hiccup) eggnog here?"
Blaine bit back a grin and answered, "No, sir, I'm afraid not."
The guy's face fell. "Oh…"
Seconds later, he perked up again. "Heeeey… You guys (hiccup) sell food, right? *Burp* Sorry! I'm so (hiccup) huuuungry…"
"We do, yes. We have…"
"I want (hiccup) latkes," the guy interrupted him. "Latkes with (hiccup) apple sauce."
Blaine shook his head, internally giggling at the guy's total lack of realism. "I'm sorry, sir. We don't sell latkes. If you want something festive, we do have a Holiday Turkey & Stuffing Panini, which is really good."
"Festive… (hiccup) Yes, that's good. Yes. (hiccup) Gimme that."
Blaine made the panini and rang it up. The money the guy handed him was sticky, and Blaine grimaced at the transaction, promising himself he'd go wash his hands as soon as this customer had left the premises.
"Festive…" the guy murmured, pocketing his change and stuffing his mouth with bread and turkey, which he swallowed without chewing. "Now what (hiccup) does that make me (hiccup) think of?"
He slapped his forehead. "The beer festival! All you can (hiccup) drink! I'm going there! Beer's (hiccup) better than eggnog!"
And off he went, in a hurry.
Blaine chuckled and went to wash his hands, after which he resumed singing and taking the orders of the occasional customer, checking the clock every now and then. A few minutes after Stephanie should have arrived to replace him, he took out the last batch of cookies out of the oven when the timer dinged.
"Can I have one of those?" a high voice behind him said. "They smell amazing! Plus a grande non-fat mocha, please."
Blaine turned around with his patented customer smile, but it quickly broadened into something real and warm when he saw who'd just placed his order. It was the Yummiest Elf! Still in costume and everything!
"What name should I put on the cup?" he asked.
Yummiest Elf laughed. "I'm the only client here at the moment, so you can't mix up my order with anyone else's, can you?"
Blaine pouted.
Yummiest Elf's eyes widened, and he breathed, "Now that isn't fair. You look like a kicked puppy! I feel awful."
"So tell me your name?"
"It's Kurt."
Blaine beamed at Kurt. "I'm Blaine. One mocha coming right up!"
A moment later, Blaine handed Kurt his mocha and the requested cookie. "Tell you what. This is on the house if you let me join you for my coffee break."
Kurt cocked his head to the side. "Like… Like a date?"
Blaine grinned. "Yes. A coffee date. As soon as my replacement turns up."
Kurt stared at him for a few seconds, and then nodded, the corners of his mouth ticking up. "Okay."
Blaine made himself a coffee, too, and frosted some snowman cookies until Stephanie arrived, out of breath and full of apologies for running late.
"No worries, Steph!"
She looked at his radiant expression. "Okay, whatever happy pills you're on, I want one too."
"No can do," Blaine sing-songed. "I haven't taken anything, honestly."
"Then what's with the smiles and the skipping around?"
Blaine looked at the table where Kurt was sipping his mocha, and felt his grin stretch ear to ear. "I've got a date. With the Yummiest Elf in the world."