The Mix - 7:58 AM (Kurt and Blaine, December 24, 2013)
The first thing Kurt Hummel noticed upon waking was that it was cold.
Of course, their apartment was always cold because A) it was New York in December and B) when given the choice between ample heat and ample food, anyone would choose food. That was a choice their limited college budget had forced them into, and they had suffered through the consequences.
But it was more than that, he realized as his mind wandered from its sleepy haze. He was surrounded by blankets like normal, but his bed was missing something. Or rather, someone.
No sooner had he thought those words internally when two very warm hands pressed against his hips, working their way up his side and ultimately resting across his chest. A slightly chilled nose nuzzled along his jaw line, the faint growth of stubble brushing against his cheek.
"Happy Christmas Eve," Blaine whispered in a throaty voice as he settled into their bed. It was convenient that they were both already in bed…
"'Merry,'" Kurt corrected him.
Blaine planted a chaste kiss on an exposed bit of Kurt's shoulder. "You call that a proposal?"
Still held tight, Kurt quickly shifted his position so he and Blaine faced each other, and gave Blaine a playful shove as a response.
"Where were you?"
"Coffee run." Blaine's eyes darted over towards their end table, which now hosted two white cups of glorious hot coffee. Kurt gave him a quick peck on the cheek as a sign of gratitude and closed what small amount of space was left between them.
"Your hands are so warm," Kurt mentioned as their fingers instinctively slid together.
"This room is freezing."
"I know a few ways we could warm up…" If anyone else attempted to mirror Kurt's sultry and suggestive tone (in addition to the eyebrow wiggle that shortly followed), it would be considered comical.
But to Blaine, it was one of the sexiest things imaginable.
Blaine let go of Kurt's hand and pressed his palms against the not-very-comfortable mattress as Kurt shifted his body to lie on his back under Blaine.
Kurt grabbed a fistful of Blaine's navy blue sweatshirt, closing what minuscule strip of space rested between them.
Starting around Kurt's collarbone, Blaine's lips pressed gentle kisses along the pale skin. Each touch still felt like a tiny jolt to his heart. Kurt's hand ran along the taut muscles in his boyfriend's shoulders, digging into tendons as each ripple of pleasure tore through his body.
Things progressed with their usual frenzied resolve, as if still making up for the missed moments in their year apart. Whether it was the cold, or the lingering excitement of the holidays, every little moment, every slight brush of skin seemed even more electric.
Neither of them lasted very long.
As they laid on the mattress, their breathing slowed to its normal pace.
"Ugh, can we just stay here in bed forever?" Kurt asked, even though he knew had a shift at the restaurant where he worked and Blaine had a few errands to run before their holiday party tonight.
So, Kurt began his morning skin care routine while Blaine cooked up the last of the eggs and some toast for breakfast. Once Kurt was fully prepared for his shift, the two sat at their secondhand kitchen table and ate. Blaine played footsie the entire time, Kurt pretending that it was juvenile even though both of them knew he found it cute.
"You look amazing." Blaine observed breathlessly as he finished up his breakfast. Kurt's solid black waiter's uniform fit in all the right places, and it was almost impossible for Blaine to keep his hands off it and Kurt.
Kurt rolled his eyes. "Alright, what do you want?"
There's a terse silence for just a second, and Blaine suddenly looked very serious. "I need you… to forgive me."
Kurt eyed him curiously. Over the years, that phrase had become a bit of an in-joke, but there was still always an underlying sense of fear that this time, one of them wouldactually need to be forgiven.
"I know you said no gifts this year…" Blaine stood up, walked towards a chipped, paint-covered cupboard, and retrieved a small package wrapped in colorful Sunday comics from inside, placing it in Kurt's hands. "But I couldn't help myself."
Kurt wanted to be angry, particularly because now it looked bad that he had actually followed the No Gifts rule. But the little kid in him was excited at the prospect of a present, anyway. Especially from Blaine, who was a notoriously thoughtful gift-giver.
So he carefully unfolded the makeshift wrapping paper without a word.
In seconds, the only things in Kurt's hands were a CD case and a handwritten note taped to the cover. He recognized the handwriting immediately as Blaine's scrawl.
"Dear Kurt," Kurt read aloud, getting quieter and more teary with every word. "I love you, now and forever. I chose each of the songs on this mix because they're tied to specific moments in both of our lives. Whether they're memories we share together or lived through separately, each one of them brought me closer to you – my home, my love, my life. I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do. My gift is these songs, and these ones are for you. Merry Christmas. Love, Blaine."
By the end of the note, his voice was barely above a whisper.
Kurt looked up, tears pooling in his eyes. It suddenly didn't matter that they were more or less dirt poor, lived in a crappy apartment, and couldn't even afford wrapping paper, let alone gifts.
They had each other. And that's enough.
But this obviously thoughtful gift was like the icing on the cake.
Kurt peeled open the case, immediately removing the Memorex CD. He made his way across the room, putting into the burned disc into their sound system. Their small apartment was quickly filled with slow piano playing that Kurt instantly recognized as Coldplay.
"Mistletoe," he recalled wistfully, like each note contained a molecule of that specific moment in their timeline and hearing the song put them all together again. From the thousand-watt grin on Blaine's face, he recalled that night in perfect detail as well. "I still can't believe Carole made us do that in front of my entire family."
"Well, it is tradition, Kurt. You can't break the laws of mistletoe," Blaine reminded Kurt amusedly. "It'd be against the very spirit of Christmas."
Kurt sighed fondly at the memory, "But did it have to be in front of everyone?I mean, my grandma had a front row ticket to us kissing, Blaine. That's hardly something I ever needed to experience."
Blaine laughed. "I know… but still, romantic."
Kurt shook his head. "No, Blaine, there's nothing romantic about kissing in front of your grandma."
"Well… fine. Just… keep going, look inside, "Blaine said eagerly, as if he was five years old and showing off a homemade ornament to his mother. "There's more."
On the back of the cover, Kurt found even more black ink, all Blaine's handwriting. Each track was listed next to a corresponding roman numeral along with a brief anecdote about each song. Kurt's eyes ran over each of them,
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,"he read out loud, "Kissing under the mistletoe at the Hummel Family Christmas Party (2011). "Just as he'd thought.
In the interest of saving time, Kurt skipped to the next track about halfway through the song. A version of the classic "My Grown Up Christmas List" that he hadn't heard before begins. Even though it was a male vocalist on the record, like all other versions of this song, Kurt could only hear one particular voice.
He closed his eyes and tried to recall his mother's voice singing along to the track.
He opened his eyes and whispered, "My mom's favorite Christmas song." Memories of the two of them singing along with Amy Grant as they decorated the tree played like an old movie in his mind. It was one of the moments that made him want to be a performer, not to mention one of the fondest and most vivid memories of his mother that he possessed. It had never faded with time.
Blaine smiled, bittersweet—Kurt had mentioned those fond moments with his mom whenever Christmas rolled around.
The next track came on automatically, a song from Blaine's childhood that had found itself constantly re-surfacing every time somebody suggested karaoke as a Christmas party.
"Christmas Means To Me," Kurt read on his handy little guide, "The ultimate Christmas karaoke song."
As Stevie Wonder crooned in the background, Blaine moved forward, draped his arms around his boyfriend, and whispered, "You like it?"
Kurt nodded into Blaine's chest. "Yes." When he broke away, he shot Blaine a playfully scornful look. "Even though now it looks bad that I didn't get youanything."
"Well I wouldn't say you didn't give me anything,"Blaine quipped, his mind back in their bed this morning. Kurt hummed softly in approval.
Despite all of their wishes otherwise, time had passed to the point where Kurt hadto leave the apartment if he wanted to get to work on time. Before he left, he made sure to place his gift safely in his pea coat pocket, plant a few kisses of varying intensity on Blaine, and made a mental note to pick something up for his boyfriend on his way home.
Even though the New York morning was blustery and cold, Kurt could not wipe the grin from his face.
Not even the weight of the CD in his coat pocket was enough to keep his feet on the ground.
When he arrived at the small restaurant that helped pay his rent, Kurt convinced his coworkers to listen to his personal mix instead of their usual radio station.
And as he waited tables and made small talk with the regulars, he relived each memory as if his life were a movie montage, making jump cuts with each track change…
Authors Note:
So I wrote this story with my sister and we fully intended this mix CD to be incorporated throughout this story and what made it for us so here's the track listing for your listening pleasure:
Blaine's Mix To Kurt :)
1) Coldplay - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
2) John Barrowman - My Grown Up Christmas List
3) Stevie Wonder - Christmas Means to Me
4) John Williams - Carol of the Bells
5) Billy Mack - Christmas is All Around
6) Margaret Whiting & Johnny Merce - Baby It's Cold Outside
7) Nsync - All I Want Is You This Christmas
8) U2 - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
9) David Bowie and Bing Crosby - The Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth
10) Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas