Attachment

Kurt decided to reward himself on the last day of finals with a stop in his favorite coffee shop. With the stress of his last exam behind him, he could now appreciate the nip in the air and the festive decorations heralding the holiday season. He even decided to indulge in a peppermint latte, just for fun.

After merrily returning the amazingly chipper barista's wish for a happy holiday, he walked out onto the New York streets, ready to absorb some yuletide cheer. It was nearly dark, and the windows of the surrounding storefronts all shone with twinkle lights and glitter. Perhaps that was the reason why he was too distracted to notice the young man approaching him.

Said young man had his own distractions, somehow managing to navigate a busy city sidewalk while reading a rather thick novel at the same time. He didn't even break his stride when he raised a hand to adjust his black-rimmed glasses, which had a tendency to slide down his nose whenever he walked and read (which he did a lot). Perhaps that was why he didn't see the tall young man as he exited the café, latte in hand.

"Oof!"

"Oh, what…? Ow!"

The two bumped into one another, tumbling to the ground and into the little alcove that led to the café door. One latte and one novel went flying as two strangers ended up tangled together.

"Oh, my gosh! I am so sorry!" the shorter man exclaimed.

"No, no, it was my fault. I wasn't…looking…" the other man said, his words fading out as he overcame the initial shock of falling and looked upwards at the man half lying on top of him. The man was about his age, frightfully handsome, with amber eyes that were made even more stunning thanks to the slight magnification afforded by his glasses. His thick black hair was gelled back in a style reminiscent of old Hollywood, and his cheeks bore a rosy glow, either from the cold weather or, Kurt suspected, from a bit of shy embarrassment. As for his clothes, he was wearing an amazingly soft blue and yellow cashmere argyle sweater that was – oh.

"Um," Kurt began, his hands going to the other man's shoulders. "Could you, maybe…" he gestured vaguely.

"Oh, oh, of course! I'm so sorry." The blush rose higher in his cheeks as he seemed to realize that he was effectively keeping Kurt pinned to the ground. "I'm so clumsy sometimes, I just, ah..." he rambled, stopping when he realized that he couldn't completely pull away from the man beneath him.

"Careful!" Kurt warned, immediately identifying the problem. The brooch on Kurt's jacket had snagged on Blaine's sweater, sticking firmly and not wanting to let go.

"Sorry!" came the third apology. Kurt had a feeling this poor boy did that a lot.

"I'm Kurt," he said, awkwardly moving one hand between them to offer a handshake.

"Blaine," the handsome stranger (well, not a stranger anymore) replied, taking Kurt's hand in a firm, yet gentle, hold that went on a few seconds longer than a normal handshake – not that either one seemed to mind.

"Well, Blaine, we appear to be in a bit of a predicament here," Kurt laughed lightly, glancing down at where they were connected. "Maybe if we just, kind of…" he wriggled, trying to move into a sitting position, Blaine doing the same. "Easy, the brooch is vintage," he cautioned when Blaine pulled away too sharply, "and this cashmere sweater is far too nice to damage, too," he added, stroking the fabric across Blaine's shoulder without realizing how familiar a gesture that was.

"Okay, maybe if we do this," Blaine offered shyly, reaching out a hand, pulling it back, then apparently finding his courage and reaching out once more, wrapping an arm around Kurt to pull him close. Somehow, the two managed to move together to come into a standing position without disengaging far enough to cause any harm.

Once upright, a brief awkward pause ensued. Blaine glanced away, letting out a little squeak of surprise when Kurt's hands came to his biceps and swung him to the side, trying to move out of the way of the door as another customer exited the shop. Kurt gave him a warm smile when he finally looked back up.

"Lovely as this is, I don't think we can stay like this forever," Kurt quipped.

"Oh, right, I, uh…" Blaine fumbled a bit, then raised his hands towards the brooch. "May I?" he asked politely. Kurt nodded, and held in a breath as Blaine's fingers gingerly moved around the brooch and sweater. After a moment or two, he slipped the last sweater thread off of the tip of the pin, and the two were free.

"Well done!" Kurt cheered, his hands flying to his lapel to confirm no damage was done. He then checked Blaine's sweater, finding that it had not fared as well. "Aw, it snagged," he murmured, touching the spot delicately. Glancing up, he smirked when he saw Blaine's face. His eyes were wide behind his glasses, and his lower lip had taken up residence between his teeth. Really, he was too adorable for his own good, Kurt thought.

"It's fine, Kurt," Blaine offered, stepping back and looking around. "Oh!" he cried, bending down and picking up his book and checking it over, letting out a sigh of relief when he was satisfied that no harm had come to it. That was fortunate, because not far from his book lay one empty coffee cup and a puddle. He picked up the cup and tossed it in the nearby trash. "I think I owe you a coffee, though," he said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it, Blaine," Kurt replied.

Blaine stepped forward, biting his lip briefly once more. "Please?" he asked. "Let me buy you a cup of coffee? You can tell me about your brooch," he added, hesitantly reaching out and touching the brooch with his finger and thumb to straighten it. "It's lovely."

"Thanks," Kurt said, his hand reflexively coming up to touch the silver snowflake, brushing against Blaine's fingers as they retreated. "It was my mother's."

The two looked at each other then, smiling. "So, coffee?" Kurt asked. Blaine's face lit up with happiness, and he responded by pulling the door open and standing aside for Kurt to enter.

Perhaps it was the twinkle lights, or the chill in the air. Maybe it was the soft Christmas carol being played by the guitarist in the corner of the coffee shop, or the sweetness of the two peppermint lattes that sat on the table between them. Whatever it was, one thing was clear: An attachment occurred that lovely winter day that had nothing to do with jewelry or cashmere sweaters.

A/N: Day 1 done! I will admit that I had this idea earlier today, but before I had a chance to write it, someone else wrote a story about Kurt's brooch getting caught on Blaine's sweater. I thought about scrapping the idea, but then nerd!Blaine came into play and I couldn't resist. Hope you enjoy!