A/N: Standards disclaimers apply - I don't own Glee or The Holiday.

Hi everyone! After years of Criminal Minds fanfics, this is my first attempt at Glee. Late to the party, I know. Blame some binging on Netflix. I'm working on a CM/Glee crossover that the lovely Gleeful Darren Criss Fan is betaing for me to make sure the Glee side is in character, but I got hit hard with some inspiration for this idea over the weekend. She's understandably busy right now so this is hasn't been checked over, so I'll own up to any mistakes. Its obviously seasonal so I wanted to get starting with posting ASAP. Please let me know if the characters seem really OOC.

Basically, this is my Glee spin on 'The Holiday' starring Cameron Diaz (Amanda) and Kate Winslet (Iris). If you're familiar with the movie, some of it will be similar/same and some of it I'm changing up a bit to better fit the characters I think. In this story, Kurt is Iris and Rachel is Amanda. The rest will make sense as we go. Hope you enjoy!

~Ann Parker

Kurt Hummel twirled the glass in his hand, watching the contents swirl around the ice cubes. Anything to keep him from looking around the Christmas party his employers were throwing on set. Anything to keep the costume designer from seeing him.

"Hey Boo, there you are."

Kurt smiled softly, looking up from his rum and Diet Coke to see his best friend, Mercedes Jones, standing in front of him. She was in far more of a festive spirit than he was, a headband with felt reindeer antlers on top of her head to go with her red and white sweater. "Hey 'Cedes."

She wrapped her arm around him a little. "Cheer up, it's not only our Christmas party but our wrap party. You don't have to see him after today."

Kurt sighed, wishing that was true. His life was not where he thought it would be at thirty when he had moved out to LA after high school with his best friend and step brother. They had all come out to the west coast in hopes of making it as singers, but that hadn't worked out. After just a year, Finn had given up and went to college, eventually pursuing a teaching degree. Kurt was so proud of him, even if his life hadn't been easy, particularly the past few years.

Mercedes had more success, finding work as a backup singer but she was still waiting on her big break. She was recording an EP right now with hopes of getting a deal with a record label. Yet, she still needed to pay the bills, which was how she ended her helping him.

In some ways, Kurt was fortunate to have two passions - singing and fashion. While he had never fully given up on the dream of singing, he had also come to accept that his uniqueness was both a blessing and a curse so he'd switched to making fashion his vocation. After sailing through classes at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, he'd been able to score a paid internship helping with costume design on a local movie.

That's where he'd met him - Adam Crawford. That was three years ago. At the time, Adam was just starting to become a recognizable name after a short run as a MI6 agent on NCIS: Honolulu. With his golden locks, sparkling blue eyes and adorable accent, he was a scene stealer and that's how he'd landed a role on Kurt's first movie. And in the case of Kurt, the Englishman was a heart stealer as well.

The Ohio native found himself falling hard and fast for the British actor. It had been a no brainer to him when Adam had asked Kurt to help be his personal stylist. Particularly when it often led to the pair making out in Adam's closet when they were supposed to picking out an outfit for a press event or audition. His career was starting to take off as an assistant costume designer so having a client like Adam helped get his name out there more. It may have even helped him land head costume designer for the independent film they were wrapping up today. Plus he made Adam look great, which in turn boosted his recognition and his pay. For their careers, it was a pretty good symbiotic relationship.

For their personal lives, not so much.

Kurt still remembered the day when he walked past the craft service table towards the end of their five month shoot on that first movie and heard a camera guy and one of the boom operators talking about the obvious sexual tension between Adam and one of his costars, Eli Carpenter. He stood frozen as the pair talked about how they wouldn't be surprised if the two started dating, if they weren't already. He was about to open his mouth to dispute this when Kitty, the assistant makeup artist, strode in and informed everyone in the area that she'd already caught them making out in the hair and makeup trailer.

A few hours later, Kurt had this confirmed by Adam himself. Had him confirm that while Kurt had thought they were exclusive and meant something, Adam just thought they were having fun. That he felt something for both Kurt and Eli, but more so for the latter. Yet, he still wanted Kurt to be his stylist - that he still needed Kurt.

And Kurt believed him.

Two and a half years later and not much had changed. Kurt was still Adam's stylist. Kurt was still in love with Adam. Both of their careers continued to take off. Adam still flirted with Kurt when they were alone, occasionally making out with him during their private styling sessions.

Adam still insisted he needed Kurt.

Adam was still with Eli.

Kurt's heart still broke every time he saw the new Hollywood 'it' couple together.

Yet, somehow he couldn't seem to break off contact with the London native. Every time he'd see Adam's arm wrapped around Eli, he'd hear his father's voice telling him that he mattered and he'd think about finally ending this vicious cycle of pain. Then Adam would show up at his place with take out from their favorite Thai place or send him a nice scarf, making his heart flutter and cause him to bury the pain.

Which was why he knew that Mercedes was wrong about not seeing Adam again after the party. He knew he'd let that man back in even with the heartache he caused him.

"Attention everyone!"

Kurt and Mercedes both cringed a little at the squealing noise the microphone made as the DJ cut off the music and their director, an up and coming visionary named Artie Abrams, spoke up. It took a minute, but the room finally quieted down.

"First off, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your hard work on this picture! I feel really good about our chances at Sundance this year and it's because of all of you." The room cheered and applauded for a minute before he continued. "I also wanted to wish all of you Happy Holidays; you all deserve a great break so I hope you can spend the next few weeks with loved ones." Again more cheers, although Kurt just rolled his eyes. He might spend it with Finn and the girls, but Burt and Carole weren't able to make it out this year so they were going to spend it with Carole's extended family back in Ohio. That made him a little melancholy, but the person he really wanted to spend the holidays with was also not an option either.

"Speaking of loved ones…" Artie's voice broke through Kurt's musings again. "I would like to be the first one on set here to congratulate our star...Adam, where are you?"

Kurt felt himself stand up straight, his heart sinking. He watched as his love made his way over to Artie in the DJ booth...with Eli coming with him, their hands linked.

"Ah, there you are, my man. I'd like to be the first to publicly congratulate Adam and his beau Eli here on their engagement! Let's hear it for the happy couple!"

Kurt didn't even feel Mercedes grab his hand and pull him out off the set. He didn't feel her push him into her passenger seat. He didn't feel anything.

Because if he did, it would be too much.

"Rachel! Rachel, stop!"

The fiery brunette ignored her boyfriend's protests and she continued to throw some of his things out of the second story bedroom window of their brownstone and out onto the street of their Chelsea neighborhood.

"Rachel!" Jesse ducked as one of his boots nearly took out his head. "Quit being so dramatic!"

The Tony nominated actress stuck her head out the window, stunned at her boyfriend of five years comment. "Dramatic! You think my reaction to finding out you've been sleeping with someone else is too over the top?! I think I've captured the emotion perfectly, thank you very much!" She huffed and threw another boot at him before whirling around to find something - anything - else to aim at him.

"You drove me to do it, Rachel!"

The petite actress and singer froze for a second before stomping out of the room and down the stairs, tearing open the front door, ignoring the rush of cold air that hit her skin. "Excuse me?! I drove you to it? What, I just pushed you to shove your penis inside of her or something?"

"Rachel, don't be so vulgar, you know I hate that."

She rolled her eyes. "Please excuse my turn of phrase and explain to me how in the world I drove you to cheat on me. And with an understudy no less."

Jesse grabbed her arm, getting her to meet his eyes reluctantly. "You've been distant ever since you got this latest part. For the past eight months, you're gone when I wake up and still not in bed when I go to sleep."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at him, crossing her arms across her chest. "You know how committed I am to my regimen to stay in tip top shape. I have to complete my vocal warm ups and my workout in the morning and must end the day with yoga, a hot steam and vocal rest. It's part of my drive to be the best - just like you."

"Yes, I'm determined to be the best, but there's a fine line between the drive for perfection and crazy, OCD rituals. It wouldn't hurt for you to miss a show, spend some time with me." He put his hands on her shoulders. "Rachel, we haven't been intimate since before you started rehearsals over nine months ago. What did you expect me to do?"

She quickly pushed his hands off of her. "I don't know, Jesse. Support me? Talk to me? Not cheat on me? We've been together for five years, you'd think I've earned your respect enough to stay true to me."

"If you were home, maybe we could've talked," the actor answered, clearly not wanting to accept his fault in this breakup.

"Well we're talking now and all I have to say is...goodbye." With that, Rachel stomped back up the stairs and slammed the door shut. She soon screamed, flailing her arms as she jumped and down in place. She couldn't believe this was happening!

To most people, Broadway's newest darling had lived a perfect life. When she was ten, her dads had moved to New York for their work and to also help her chances of becoming a star. It was certainly a more accepting environment than small town Ohio for the Berry family, but puberty hadn't been easy to her. She was still picked on because of how determined and abrasive she could be. She only had a few friends and most of them she shared with Jesse so who knows if they'd still be her support system besides her best friend. Well, Tina and Mike probably would because they bonded over dance and Mike was in the show with her as a background dancer. But some of the others…

Feeling tears starting to form, Rachel forced herself to push those thoughts aside. She looked around their home and realized there were far too many memories in this place right now for her to handle. She needed to escape, to get away. Thankfully, she didn't even have to worry about missing shows since they were on a two week hiatus for the holidays so the theater could do their traditional runs of The Nutcracker.

A sad laugh escaped her throat. How fitting was it that she learned of Jesse's cheating because he was 'lonely' right as she had some time off to spend with him?

She made her way back up to their bedroom, grabbing her tablet and starting to search for where she could disappear to for the holiday. Her dads were visiting family in Ohio, but she just didn't think she could handle that right now. To see the looks of pity from her extended family. Successful career didn't matter to them, but alone at thirty did.

So where to? London? No, if she was getting away, might as well go someplace warmer and work on a tan. The Caribbean? Sit on the beach, reading and drinking cocktails? No, that was likely to get boring real quick. She needed culture, civilization. The West Coast maybe? She had enjoyed LA the one time she visited, but hadn't been able to do everything she'd wanted.

Biting her lip and sighing, she took a quick break to log into Facebook. That's when she noticed a post from an old friend back in elementary school. They pair had reconnected a few years ago online, although they didn't talk too much.

Mercedes Jones: Where can I send a friend on vacation for cheap? He really needs to get away for a bit and I want to help him out.

Hmm, interesting. Mercedes was in LA so maybe…

Before she could think about it too long, Rachel opened up a chat box.

Hi Mercedes! How are you? It's been awhile, I know. Been busy, busy. Listen, I saw your post about your friend. Funny thing, I was thinking about coming out to LA for my holiday break. Do you think he'd want to come to New York? He could stay at my place and I could stay at his...like a house swap! Message me back if you're interested! Sincerely, Rachel Berry

Rachel set down her tablet, staring at the ceiling above her bed. Was she really thinking about—

The dinging noise of a reply stopped her thoughts from spiraling.

Hey girl! I'm good; how about you? I think Kurt would LOVE to come to New York. I know he's liked it the few times he's visited for short weekend trips. A house swap sounds great. He needs out of LA like ASAP and Christmas time in New York sounds like the perfect distraction. How quickly can you do the swap? His place is fabulous, you'll love it!

Rachel smiled.

Sounds like a plan! I do just have one question though — any guys there I should be worried about? I do NOT want a man around right now. Or at least one that is dating potential.

Not really. The only guys I'd be worried about stopping by his place are gay so…

Perfect! Is tomorrow too soon?

Mercedes looked over her shoulder at Kurt sitting on his couch, still crying. After she'd gotten him in the door, the shell he'd managed to crawl into since the announcement cracked wide open and he hadn't stopped since. That was almost two hours ago and about forty five minutes since she'd made that desperate post on Facebook.

Tomorrow's perfect.

She turned back to swapping contact information and addresses with Rachel before pulling up Expedia and buying Kurt a ticket to the Big Apple. She'd go with him, but she already had a cruise planned with her family for the holiday. Once all his itinerary was set, she stood up and walked over to her best friend.

"Boo, we need to pack."

Sniffs were the first response she got. "Pack?"

"Yep!" She put on a bright smile. "You need to get away for awhile so I've just set you up with a ticket to New York City!" She grabbed his hands and pulled him off the couch. "And your flight lives at 8 AM so we need get going."

Kurt blinked, wiping the tears out of his eyes. "New York? What in the world are you talking about?"

"You heard me, White Boy. My old friend Rachel lives in New York but is looking to get away to LA for a bit. You two are switching houses for two weeks so you don't have to pay for a place to stay. And I used my frequent flyer miles to get you the ticket. So you can spend your money on delicious food, taking in some Broadway shows and, of course—"

"Shopping!" Kurt pulled his best friend to him, hugging her tight. Some retail therapy was exactly what he needed. Walking around the bright lights of Time Square with a latte and some new purchases was just how he could work to forget this awful day. To put Adam behind him. "'Cedes, I love you so much."

Mercedes pulled back, kissing his cheek. "I love you too, Boo. Now, let's get you packed!"

"You sure you don't mind?"

Blaine rolled his eyes...again. "Yes, Rach, I'm sure I don't mind being here to let in this guy you've never met and give him keys to your place."

Rachel huffed. "I know this is crazy! I should just call it off."

Her best friend spun her around to face him, similar to how Jesse had just yesterday. The only difference was how much more gentle Blaine was. She knew he was the one she could count on. Not only was he the lead and her romantic interest in the play, but they'd been friends since he'd started at NYADA when she was a sophomore. They were quick to figure out they not only had similar ambitions, but also tastes in music and classic musicals. And after she quickly got over her small crush on him for a bit that winter, they had become best friends. He'd been with her before Jesse and now he'd be there for her after.

"No you shouldn't. Despite how unusual this situation is and how unlike this impulsive behavior is for you, I actually think it could be great for you. You need some time to relax, decompress, and process everything. Some time in sunny LA will be good for you." She smiled a little at his reassurance. "And besides, it sounds like this Kurt guy needs to escape just like you so it's highly unlikely that he'll rob you blind."

A laugh escaped as she gently shoved his shoulder. "Stop it."

Blaine chuckled. "Don't worry, seriously. Bas and I can stop by a few times just to make sure, if you're worried." He paused, "Well, I can. Bas has to go to Chicago for work in two days."

"Over the holidays?" Rachel asked. There was a part of her that really wasn't sure what to make of Sebastian. Blaine and him had started dating six months ago after meeting at a club, which was out of character for her bestie. But apparently the pair had bonded over their glee club pasts. They would've actually had gone to high school together but Blaine's family ended up moving to London for his last two years of high school. He said he would have complained but he'd ended up getting to do some work on a show in the West End during the summer between his junior and senior years, which helped him land his NYADA audition and acceptance.

Blaine sighed, "Yeah, I know, not the best timing, but apparently they need to reshoot some scenes and this was the only time everyone could do it." Sebastian was finally getting his foot in the door with his acting career, shooting a made for TV movie the past two months.

Rachel nodded. "Well, I'm sure he'll be back for Christmas and I'll be back for New Years. And don't worry about checking on Kurt, I'm sure he'll be fine. Unless you feel otherwise when you give him the keys when you meet."

Blaine nodded. "Sounds good. I'm sure he's a perfectly decent human being." Just then a car honked outside. "Now go, that's your ride to the airport."

"Thanks B." The pair exchanged a quick hug before she was out the door in her Uber. "Merry Christmas!"

"Happy Hanukkah!"

Kurt got settled into his seat, pulling his seat belt on and taking a deep, cleansing breath. He could do this. He could go to New York and enjoy himself. He could forget—

The chirping from his phone made him frown, knowing that custom text alert was from the person he was trying to escape. He bit his lip, debating, before caving and reading the message.

Missed you last night! :( And now I hear you're going away for the holidays? What will I do without you to help me for these holiday parties? ;)

Anger flared up inside of him.

I'm real sure you and your FIANCE missed me. You're perfectly capable of dressing yourself, I think you'll manage. Please leave me alone, Adam. You and I both know why I'm going to the East Coast.

Sighing, Kurt turned his phone off as the flight attendant started to review the safety information.

He could do this.

Couldn't he?