Title: The Best Gifts...
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Kurt/Blaine, Finn/Rachel
Summary:"What we need," Blaine started, "is something unique."
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction; I don't own the characters, just the story.
Warnings: spoilers for 3x09, adult themes
A/N: This is a fill for the angst_meme. It is also a gift for my Secret Santana.
Video Reference: on youtube /watch?v=WhwbxEfy7fg
Blaine ran his fingernail along the edge of the beer bottle's label, slowly pulling the paper away from the glass. He was tapping his foot restlessly, and his bottom lip was caught between his teeth as he tried to focus his attention on both not ripping the label and the other problem on his mind. A small tear appeared despite his best efforts; he sighed and looked back towards the stairs Finn had fled to, but the other boy was still nowhere in sight.
Christmas was fast approaching, and neither he nor his boyfriend's brother had any good ideas about what to get their significant others as a holiday gift. When he and his classmates had been throwing around thoughts earlier at school, Blaine was sure his and Artie's plan of socks was a good one. But then one of the guys nearby had snorted, and when Blaine looked up, both Finn and Mike were looking at him with expressions that seemed to be begging him to come up with something else.
"Took you long enough," Blaine remarked as Finn trampled down the stairs. "I was about to call in the Coast Guard and declare a man overboard."
"Whatever," Finn replied. "I was poking through Kurt's side of the bathroom." At Blaine's shocked look, Finn quickly added: "To see if I could get some gift ideas!"
"Oh, right," Blaine nodded. "And?"
"I don't even know what's in half those bottles."
Blaine nodded sympathetically as Finn plopped down on the other side of the sofa.
"Clothes?" Finn tried.
"Do I look like I have a death wish?" Blaine responded. "Perfume?"
Finn shook his head. "Tried it for her birthday once. She wasn't happy I picked out the same stuff my mom wears."
The boys mulled over a few more options, but ultimately decided that not one of them was likely to be appreciated, or wanted - as in the case of Finn's suggestion of a golf bag for Rachel.
"She doesn't even golf!"
"Maybe that's because she doesn't have anywhere to put her clubs!"
Two sets of shoulders slumped as the kids leaned back against the couch. The television was on in front of them, but the sound had been muted, so while they could see what looked like Justin Timberlake in drag, they couldn't hear what was going on.
"What we need," Blaine started, "is something unique."
"Yeah," Finn agreed. "Something they can't get anywhere else, like at Target," he said, motioning towards what was now clearly a Saturday Night Live skit.
"Right," the curly haired boy nodded, one of his hands gently fisting his locks. "But it can't be anything too weird or something they'll just put on a shelf. It has to be something exciting…"
"…and romantic…"
"…and thoughtful…"
"…and adventurous…"
"…and… and…" And whatever Blaine was thinking was lost as he and Finn took notice of a new sketch appearing on the television. A fireplace burned in the background, holiday stockings hung down from the mantle, and a man with ugly glasses and bad hair was talking to a pretty lady as they shared champagne.
Finn grabbed the remote and raised the volume without needing to be asked to, and they listened in as two strange men (one who - again - looked a lot like Justin Timberlake) harmonized about picking out the perfect gift.
"Something special," Blaine whispered, sitting up straighter. Finn was mesmerized by the slow, steady choreography, and briefly wondered how well the moves might translate to glee club.
When a wrapped package appeared on-screen, the two scrambled to the edge of their seats, leaning forward as if they could sneak a peek and peer inside.
A gift real special, so take off the top
Take a look inside… it's my dick in a box
It was with mouths hanging open that the teens slowly turned to look at one another, silently assessing the other's reaction. When they realized they wore matching expressions, they returned their gaze to the television, listening in as the singers gave reasons for why cars and jewelry made bad presents and watching as the ladies swooned and batted their eyes over their holiday bounty.
"It's certainly," Blaine swallowed hard, "something different."
Finn could only nod.
After deciding that there was no way they would ever be able to come up with a gift idea that would make Kurt and Rachel as giddy as the girls on TV, Blaine and Finn gathered their jackets for a quick trip to the store to buy supplies. Finn had wondered whether they should go online before leaving to pull up the video and write down the instructions step-by-step for creating their… gifts, but Blaine assured him they would be fine without.
While at the store comparing boxes, they decided they would not follow the skit's suggestions of presenting the gifts in front of any parents or in any public place. They also decided while it might make for good TV, they would each present their offerings separately.
Finn ultimately settled on a gift box adorned with little snowmen, penguins and a tight, curly red bow on top while Blaine chose a simple, burgundy-colored box with gold trim and an elaborate ribbon. Finn had made a comment about the packaging outshining the package, but Blaine brushed him off; he knew the importance of making a good first impression.
Kurt was due in 15 minutes, and Blaine could not stop pacing. Something felt off, but he couldn't determine what it was. He had spent extra time in the shower that morning grooming so that he would look his best, and he had tried on his… box… several times to ensure a good… fit. Everything was in place - he was sure of it - so he had to force himself to sit down and take a deep breath. Just as he'd released it, the doorbell rang. With one last glance at his walk-in closet, Blaine made his way to the front door to let Kurt in.
"You smell very nice tonight, Finn," Rachel commented as she and her boyfriend sat next to each other on the bed. "Is that a new body spray?"
"Yeah, Blaine got me a gift pack for Christmas. There were, like, four different ones in there," he answered, twisting his hands in his lap.
"You seem nervous," Rachel whispered, leaning in and placing her hands over his. "Are you worried about something?"
Finn beamed and a huge smile broke out over his face. "Actually, I'm excited. I think you're really going to like your present."
"My, aren't we feeling excited tonight," Kurt laughed, allowing himself to be pushed into a seated position on Blaine's bed and laughing again when Blaine practically bounded across the room only to come back and give Kurt a kiss on the lips.
"For good reason," Blaine waggled his eyebrows and grinned. "I think… no, I know… I've got you the perfect Christmas present."
"You know you didn't have to."
"But I wanted to," Blaine pouted. "Besides, don't think I didn't catch sight of that" - he pointed to the slim box poking out from under Kurt's jacket on the desk - "now, come on!"
"Ohhh!" Kurt cooed, lifting his hands to cover his eyes at Blaine's signal. The boy giggled as he listened to Blaine going into his closet. He thought he heard the clanging of a belt buckle, and his heart sped up at the thought of being presented with the sparkling number he'd been admiring at the mall two weeks ago. The anticipation was torture, and Kurt found it difficult to keep his legs from bouncing the longer Blaine took. "What are you doing?" he called.
"Don't open your eyes!" Blaine warned, his voice approaching.
Kurt blushed a little when he felt the air move around him as Blaine got closer, and he forced himself to sit up a bit.
"You can look now," Blaine's seductive voice beckoned.
"Oh," Kurt yelped when his hands fell away from his face and he found a box inches from his nose. "I wasn't expecting you to be standing so close." Blaine only smiled, and Kurt nervously looked up when Blaine made no move to back away. "Okay then. Such a pretty box," Kurt chuckled, reaching forward to take the brilliantly wrapped package from Blaine's hands.
Blaine clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I'll hold it; you just open it."
"Alright…" Kurt glanced around the room as if expecting someone to be watching the strange exchange, then settled for leaning forward so he could pull away the box top.
Kurt stared for long seconds. Blaine had the widest grin on his face, but it went unseen as Kurt didn't even shift from his position. Nearly a minute passed before Kurt's head tilted slightly to the side, and then he was slowly moving back. The teen held the box's lid in his lap with two hands and stared at the cardboard and colored paper in front him for a moment longer before looking up to meet his boyfriend's eyes.
Blaine's face had fallen slightly when Kurt hadn't reacted the way he'd expected, but he brought back a cheeky grin as his boyfriend raised his head. The smile faded as he caught the way Kurt's eyes were darting back and forth between his own. A chill passed through Blaine, and the back of his neck prickled; he had time to think this is not good before Kurt turned his body away from him, his eyes focusing intently on a spot on the other side of the room where the wall met the floor.
Blaine knew a dismissal when he saw one, and he stumbled back; he rushed to his closet, shutting the door as quickly as possible so he could extract his twig and berries and shove himself back in his pants. When he came back out, Kurt was standing next to his desk, his jacket draped over one arm and Blaine's gift in the opposite hand.
Turning, Kurt ensured that Blaine was properly dressed again before lifting his head and extending his arm to present Blaine with his offering.
"Kurt," Blaine started, wanting to say something, to explain, but Kurt cut him off.
"Here's your Christmas gift. Aren't you going to open it?"
Blaine's smile was forced, but he took the maroon-colored package from Kurt's hand. The wrapping paper was actually quite similar to the color of the gift box that Blaine had picked out, and if Kurt wasn't looking so crushed at that moment, Blaine was sure that Kurt would be making a comment on the matching color choice. Unlike Blaine's package, however, Kurt's bow and trimming was carefully put together by hand, and Blaine suddenly found himself apprehensive about what he'd find inside.
Taking the same care as he had a week earlier with a beer bottle in Kurt's living room, Blaine gently pulled away the wrapping paper from one end of the box. He raised his eyes briefly to look at Kurt; though it seemed as if Kurt was watching him, Blaine could see that his eyes were actually cast downwards.
With a flick of Blaine's wrist, the package was open, and a gorgeous, leather-bound book slipped into his hand. He didn't even need to turn the book over to know what it was - he would recognize that rich, chocolate-colored covering and gold accenting anywhere. Dropping the wrapping, Blaine ran a finger delicately over the spine of the novel.
"When we were first getting to know each other, you told me that it was your favorite book," Kurt whispered, his voice breaking the spell Blaine had found himself under. Blaine locked eyes with Kurt as the other teen continued. "You told me about a copy you had, that you used to take everywhere with you. And the bullies at your old school…"
"…they tore it apart…"
"…right in front of you," Kurt confirmed, nodding slightly. "I searched for days, looking through so many websites - even visiting the local bookstores - trying to find the one that looked exactly like the one you described to me."
"Kurt…"
"Is it? Is it the right one, I mean?"
Blaine nodded, bringing the book to his chest. "I never thought I'd see it again," he confessed.
Kurt smiled, but it was clear his heart wasn't behind it. "Did you… did you have anything else for me?" The hope in Kurt's voice was what finally did Blaine in.
"Kurt, I am so sorry," Blaine choked, setting the book down and trying to move forward to wrap his boy up in his arms, but Kurt stepped back.
"I have to go," Kurt said softly, sidestepping and hurrying to the door.
"Kurt, wait!" Blaine called, steps behind Kurt as they descended the stairs. Kurt stopped at the door, turning slightly.
"I'll call you… later," he looked back. "Okay?"
"Yeah, okay."
Kurt didn't smile, but he did regard Blaine with a look that, while not warm, wasn't angry. Blaine reached for him, but he was already out the door.
Blaine rested his head against the cool wood for several minutes before realizing that he needed to call Finn and give him a head's up that Kurt was on his way back. He slowly climbed the stairs, and about half way up, he heard his phone ringing. Taking the steps two at a time, Blaine barreled into his room, diving for his phone. It wasn't Kurt like he'd hoped, but rather the very person he had been planning on contacting.
"Dude!" Finn exclaimed, voice high and breathless. "I think we screwed up."
Thanks for reading! The sequel, ...Come From The Heart, should be posted after the new year. Happy Holidays to all!