This started out as a little post-Valentine one-shot. But this is something that I can definitively carry on throughout the rest of the season. I guess I just wish we could get a lot more Hummel-Hudson household interactions. I miss those. And when Sam mentioned he was bunking at Finn and Kurt's, I wanted so bad for something to make it into the show, to see Carole dealing with a sudden excess of men in her house, to see Finn and Sam having Rory over to watch scary movies, and Kurt jumping up and clutching Blaine during any scenes with vampires, to see the boys fighting over who's schedules for the bathroom in the morning.

Wouldn't that be nice?

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. It belongs to RIB, the writers, and FOX.

Nooks and Crannies (a.k.a it's going to be okay)

by HappyValentina

Chapter 1

Valentine's day sucked.

Sam had never been the biggest fan of the holiday, because it was such a consumerist holiday, and he always hated that, even back when he didn't have economic problems. It just wasn't the point of the holiday.

The point of Valentine's day was big romantic gestures, love declarations, the thrill of a mysterious valentine. Or so he was told.

But today, and a few days leading up to this Valentine, everyone around him seemed to have turned into mindless, corny piles of mush.

Impending nuptials, gorilla-grams, Rory and Artie trying to one-up each other on their quest for (some) Sugar, and Tina and Mike dancing cutely throughout the hallways of McKinley.

And what did he get? A goodbye song, and his heart ripped out.

And now he was supposed to go to Sugar's party and see Mercedes and sing with her a few love songs dedicated to other couples?

Didn't that fall under the definition of masochism?

If he was honest with himself, all he wanted to do right now was lie in bed, curled up in a ball, or eat ice cream and listen to Adele (or was that too girly?), or do something equally pathetic and wait it out until this day was over. Or maybe he'd just unload some of his frustration on a video game (he really felt like killing something) until it was time for the inevitable party.

As he reached the top of the stairs, Sam stopped and glanced into Kurt's room. Kurt was standing in front of his full-length mirror, tying a tie around his neck. He looked up from what he was doing and smiled at Sam.

"Oh hi," he said.

"Hey," Sam responded, leaning against the door frame. "I didn't know there was anyone else in the house."

"Me neither."

"I thought you'd be at dinner at the Berries."

Kurt's smile faded instantly, turning sour instead. "Not at all," he said, going back to the task at hand. "I don't want to be any part of this... thing."

Sam walked into the room tentatively. "He's your brother," he shrugged.

"Step-brother," Kurt said firmly, not glancing up.

Sam came to sit on the chair of Kurt's vanity, watching him work.

"I was under the impression you guys dropped the 'step' a long time ago," he said quietly.

Kurt sighed. "Yeah well, it comes back around whenever he does something that shows how we're not biologically related at all. Like making stupid, impulsive decisions. And not listening to reason."

"It's not that stupid, or impulsive," Sam said, sitting cross-legged on the chair. "I mean, if that were true, they would've eloped by now."

Kurt made a face.

"They're in love. They have been for a while. They think they're soul mates," Sam continued. "They might just be right."

"Yeah, right."

"I thought you might believe in soul mates."

"I don't believe in being so sure of having found your soul mate when you're still in high school."

Sam shrugged again.

"I would've assumed the complete opposite of you. Considering that you seem to have found yours."

Kurt shot him a look and grabbed a bottle of hair product behind Sam's elbow, but when he faced the mirror again and started fixing his hair, Sam saw that he was trying to hide a smile.

"I mean, what would you do if Blaine proposed to you?" Sam added casually, pretending not to notice.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I would try to talk him out of it."

He answered quickly and without hesitation, as if someone had already asked him that question, and Kurt had already thought long and hard about his answer.

Sam chuckled. "I think you would say yes. Because it's Blaine. And because you wouldn't pass up the chance to possibly beat the odds. Which, let's be honest, you two probably could."

Kurt stilled his hands over his head and frowned in confusion. "What?"

Sam shrugged again. "So what if most teen marriages end up in divorce? Some don't. What if that's you?"

Kurt didn't say anything as he put the finishing touches on his hair and looked satisfied at his reflection. He capped the bottle and put it on his vanity again, avoiding Sam's eyes as he did.

"I hate to say it, but you kind of make sense," he finally said, putting on his watched. "However, Finn is only doing this because he's not sure what he wants to do with his life, and he needs something certain, and he picked marriage. What does that tell you?"

It was Sam's turn to stay quiet.

"It's a bad decision, and it's bound to blow up in his face," Kurt continued.

"What if it doesn't?" Sam said. "What if he and Rachel stay strong forever? What if they are perfect for each other?"

Kurt made a noise like a snort. "That's not the point. He's practically throwing away any chance of greatness, just because he's afraid to fail. He's afraid to even try."

"But wouldn't giving Rachel up be like throwing away something that's great for him?"

Kurt laughed out loud.

"I never pegged you for a romantic, you know?" he said. Sam pouted.

"I've always been a romantic," he muttered.

"If that's the case, what are you doing home on Valentine's day? I thought you'd be throwing pebbles at Mercedes's window and strumming a ditty for her on your guitar."

Sam felt something slightly warm and fuzzy for a second when Kurt said 'home', but then his face fell at the mention of Mercedes.

"Yeah, well... she'll have none of that anymore," he said quietly. Kurt watched him for a second.

"You think that, but..." he started tentatively. "She's kind of a romantic too."

"I know," Sam said, but he probably didn't sound so convinced.

Kurt patted Sam on the shoulder. "Don't give up so easily."

Sam tried to smile at him, but it only came out as half a smile. Kurt pulled on a vest.

"Do you want to watch a movie or something?" Sam asked. He was reconsidering the ice cream and the virtual killing in exchange for some human interaction.

But Kurt gave him an apologetic look. "Oh... I'm meeting Blaine at Breadstix. Sorry."

Sam waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, that's fine. So he's okay now?"

"I guess. I haven't asked much, because he gets a little frustrated. But he sent me another anonymous gorilla-gram and asked me to meet him, so that I would finally meet my 'secret admirer'. He thinks he's so clever." Kurt chuckled fondly.

"Okay, well, have a good time," Sam replied, getting up.

"Do you wanna come?" Kurt asked before Sam left. Sam shot him a weird look. "Just to hang out. I'm sure Blaine wouldn't mind, and I wouldn't either. We're staying for Sugar's party, anyway. You are coming to the party, right?"

"Yeah, I have God Squad duty. But..." Sam shook his head. "It's okay, you go ahead. Go get your boy."

Kurt nodded, and smiled a little.

"Hey Sam?"

Sam stopped at the doorway and turned.

"It's going to be okay," Kurt said, with a wider, sympathetic smile.

Sam didn't respond, only smiled back and sighed. He walked out and went downstairs.

He lounged in the living room, eating Doritos and watching "Spiderman 3" (because it was the only half-decent, non-romantic film on at the time), until he could forget momentarily why he was so bummed out today. After a bit, he heard Kurt come downstairs and shout a brief 'see you later' and run out the door, and suddenly Sam realized that he was alone, and he remembered that he was alone.

He spent the next few minutes pushing Mercedes out of his mind, and telling himself that it would be okay, that maybe it was for the best. It's going to be okay.

He shut off the TV and headed upstairs again, to get dressed for the party. He'd do his God Squad job, and he'd sing some songs, and he'd find someone to dance with, and he'd have a good time.

For someone who had been planning a night of wallowing in self-pity, Sam suddenly didn't feel so bad anymore.

This should keep me alive during the hiatus.

The title, I hope it makes sense, it's supposed to refer to all the little things that go around the Hummel-Hudson household. Things that may not be all that relevant to the bigger plot, but that we all love, because it's a window into the lives of some of our favorite characters. I need my daily dosage of Burt and Carole, you know. I need a glance into the home that they've built together.

Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think.

-Valentina