Kurt survived Saturday and Monday through Wednesday of 3-hour Cheerios practices each morning. Dave spent time in the weight room and watching Kurt practice. Afterwards, Kurt worked 7-hour shifts at the shop. Dave went home and played video games and watched cooking videos, secretly working on improving his cooking skills. Kurt worked the extra hours in the shop to help cover the hours for the guys who had asked off for the holidays.
Puck did what he was told to do and stayed out of Kurt's hair when they had shifts that overlapped. He also went in early to do more bodywork on his truck. Kurt was surprised to see him so focused, but he was glad he didn't have to continually check on him. Puck had gained a semblance of self-worth by paying his bills without breaking the law and was slowly paying Paul back for the initial parts Burt installed to get his truck running smoothly. The phone counseling was helping him quite a bit. He was working through a lot of his anger issues. He read through the information he had picked up at LCC when Paul had taken the four of them for a tour and did more research on the fields that seemed interesting.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Christmas Eve was the first real day of winter break for Kurt. He had four days off in a row before the Cheerios practices and long workdays began again.
That morning Kurt woke up in his bed with Dave's arms wrapped around him. He scooted back and Dave held him a little tighter and kissed him on the back of the neck.
"Snuggling you is even better than I had ever imagined."
"Well, then I guess it's a good thing that I like being snuggled more than I ever thought I would."
"We can snuggle as long as you like before we get up."
Kurt took a deep breath and relaxed. Dave ran his hand along Kurt's right arm and continued to kiss him on the back of the neck. Kurt shivered.
"Do you want me to get another blanket?"
"No. The kisses just gave me the chills. But don't stop."
Dave laughed. Kurt words emboldened him. He moved his hand up Kurt's arm to his shoulder. He slipped Kurt's baggy thermal shirt off his shoulder a little and kissed along the top of his shoulder and then back towards his neck and up to his ear. "God, you're gorgeous." He went right back to kissing along Kurt's neck.
Kurt shivered again.
"You okay?"
"Mmm hmm. That feels amazing."
"Good. I want you to feel amazing."
Kurt wiggled a bit and slipped his arm into his shirt and in a flash, he pulled it over his head and then slipped it off his other arm, left it on the pillow above his head, and lay right back the way he had been. Dave was shocked.
"You stopped? Is it too much? Do you want me to put my shirt back on?"
Dave leaned forward enough to start kissing Kurt's neck again. He didn't know what to do with his hand.
"You can touch me. You can put your hand back on my arm or wherever."
Dave put his hand back on Kurt's shoulder, and then ran his hand down Kurt's arm gently, leaving his hand over the top of Kurt's. "You're beautiful."
"You've seen me shirtless lots of times in the locker room after games."
"Yeah, but I was always on edge then. The guys were being reasonably decent and I didn't want to upset the balance of them ignoring our relationship. I did my best to keep from gawking at you."
"If this makes you uncomfortable, I can put my shirt back on…"
"Definitely not." Dave was far too thrilled with the increase in Kurt's comfort level to say anything else.
Kurt laughed.
Dave went back to kissing Kurt's shoulder and neck. Kurt moved his hand and put it over the top of Dave's and raised his elbow. He pulled Dave's arm under his, kissed Dave's knuckles, and then he positioned their hands so they were against his chest. They lay like that for a few minutes, but eventually the urge to kiss Dave became too strong and Kurt let go of Dave's hand and turned in his arms and lay facing him instead. He gave him a quick peck and realized that a trip to the bathroom was next on the agenda, no matter how much it was interfering with his interest in kissing. He got up and relieved himself, brushed his teeth, and opened the bathroom door to find Dave standing there.
"My turn."
"Hurry then." He gave him another quick kiss. "You're my personal electric blanket. I might freeze."
Dave rolled his eyes, but he did go quickly. He splashed some water on his face, brushed his teeth and opened the door to find Kurt still standing there.
Dave looked at him.
"You have to get in the bed first or I'll have to get out again anyway. Come on."
Dave lay back down, scooted over, and turned onto his left side. Kurt lay down next to him on his right side. And as soon as Dave had pulled the covers up over Kurt's shoulders, Kurt launched right back into the kissing he had started. He slid his arm partially out from under the covers and ran his hands through Dave's hair.
"I was right."
"You usually are," Dave teased. "About what in particular?"
"How sexy your hair is when it grows out a bit."
"Oh. I usually just kept it really short because of needing to shower so frequently."
"I figured. It's not really that long now, but I can run my fingers through it."
"Which feels fantastic, by the way."
"I figured that out by the moaning," Kurt teased back.
Dave pushed forward and kissed Kurt again. "We've been talking about Christmas traditions. I want to add this to mine."
"Lying in bed kissing?"
"Yep."
"We do that fairly frequently."
"But I want to make sure we make time for it. My mom would go nuts around holidays, cooking, trying to make everything perfect, relatives would come and we'd just be crazy busy, or we'd drive to my grandparents and it would be the same thing there. People were on edge, trying to make everything fit some schedule or plan. I'm not into the religious aspect of the holiday, but I'd like to celebrate the holidays like this – spending time with the people I love and care about without all that stress and craziness of spending hundreds of dollars on gifts just because it's a holiday. I'd like it to just be simple and fun."
"I guess I never really thought about it that much. I did hear other kids talk about going to relatives' houses and stuff, and I was jealous, of course, because we never did that kind of thing. But I never thought about doing it every year. It would be like what we did here at Thanksgiving."
"Pretty much."
"I like your idea. Maybe one holiday a year could be like that, but not all of them. As much as I like being around people and performing, I'm think I'm an introvert. I know that seems crazy."
"No, it actually doesn't. I know I am." He kissed Kurt again. "I just really like this."
"Me too. I have another idea."
"What?"
"Since neither of us has an religious attachments to this particular holiday, why don't we wait and exchange gifts on New Years Day. And we just spend these two days enjoying our free time? Except that well, except that I want to give you what I got you, well part of it right now."
"Okay. I'm fine with you giving me part of mine now. I'll do the same."
Kurt pulled his shirt under the covers. Dave raised an eyebrow.
"I want to warm it up before I put it on. I have to get your present and it's cold." He sat up and put the shirt on retrieved a gift bag from his closet.
Dave had gotten out of the bed right after him and was already sitting back on the bed waiting for him. He handed him a thin cardboard gift box. "You go first."
Kurt took the box and opened the end. He tipped it and two DVDs slid out. "These are perfect. I loved the first Night at the Museum movie. I haven't seen this one yet. I did go see Half-Blood Prince at the theater. I bribed my dad with breakfast at Cracker Barrel in order to get him to take me."
Dave laughed.
"What? I couldn't drive yet and I really wanted to go. I had only seen the others on DVD. I waited until it had been in the theater for a while and then I had him take me to the earliest show on a Sunday in Findlay. That way I was practically guaranteed to avoid any of the jocks that hassled me. He dropped me off, and then went and pigged out at Cracker Barrel. And then he went to some flea market for a while until he could pick me back up."
Dave kissed the top of his head. "I never even thought about how all of that affected you so much. I never thought about what any of them did outside of school. I mostly hung out with any of them at lunch at school, practices, games, and the parties. If there were no parties on a weekend, sometimes Azimio came over and watch movies and eat pizza and stuff on Fridays or Saturdays, but over the summer, I didn't really see the others much. I couldn't drive yet and the upperclassmen weren't really all that keen on playing chauffeur for us that often. They'd rather just hang out with their own friends."
"That's one of the reasons why I struggle with the letterman jacket. I don't want to be associated with those jerks and how they behaved. I told my dad that none of the stores in the Lima Mall had what I wanted, but really most malls within an hour or so have pretty much the same stores. He just never paid attention because he doesn't like shopping. He'd just sit out in the mall area while I went in stores and then just move down to the next benches or just wait for me in the food court. But with the worst offenders gone now, and the other major offender reforming after joining Glee, it's less embarrassing to be seen wearing a letterman jacket. And seeing someone in one of them doesn't just cause me to flinch anymore." Kurt stopped talking for a couple of minutes and refocused. "I did NOT mean to get on this topic at all. The DVDs are great. Thank you. And we can watch them together sometime this weekend." He sat the DVDs next to him on the bed. He reached to his other side and pushed the bag toward Dave. "This goes along with your idea, even thought we hadn't talked about it. What's in here is really for both of us. Just open it and you'll see."
Dave reached in and felt several things wrapped in tissue paper. He pulled out the first one and unwrapped it. "The Maze Runner? I've never heard of it."
"It's new. Keep going."
Dave unwrapped another one. "Leviathan?"
"Also a new release."
"David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants."
"Also a new release that looked interesting."
"Witch and Wizard."
"Seemed like it might be interesting. I got four different genres just for the variety. The ones at the bottom that aren't wrapped are books I already had that I really like that you haven't read. I thought you could loan me a few of your books that you really like that I haven't read. It goes along with what you were thinking. Just spending time relaxing. I know it's weird that it's kind of a mutual gift, but I hope you like it."
"I do. It's actually a cool idea. And it does fit perfectly with my idea." Dave picked up Leviathan. "Pick one."
Kurt chose The Maze Runner. Dave put the other books back in the bag and handed it to Kurt. He put the bag on the floor next to the futon. He put the DVDs on top of the books.
"We need some kind of bolster. Or an ottoman."
"Interesting idea. Maybe I could build an ottoman."
Kurt readjusted the way he was sitting from criss-cross to kneeling on the bed. He put his hands on Dave's shoulders and pushed him so he flopped onto his back. Kurt moved his hands so they were above Dave's shoulders, next to his face. He leaned down and kissed Dave, licking at his lower lip, and Dave quickly got over being startled and kissed back passionately.
When they broke apart for air, Dave said, "Damn, if I knew offering to build you furniture would get you that turned on, I'd have offered a long time ago."
Kurt rolled his eyes and started kissing him again. He kissed up his neck. "I already really wanted to kiss you earlier, and then you said you wanted to spend holiday mornings kissing."
Dave said, "I have the best ideas sometimes."
"Mmm hmm."
Two raps on the door to Kurt's room sounded, followed by Burt opening the door and stepping onto the upper landing. Kurt pushed back up and sat down where he had been. Dave sat back up. They turned and pulled the covers back up over their legs.
"Morning, boys."
Kurt and Dave responded simultaneously.
"Morning, Dad."
"Morning, Burt."
Burt stopped on the lower landing and sat down. "So, plans for today?"
"Umm, reading. Kurt got me books." He held up the book for Burt to see.
Kurt showed him the one he was planning to read. "I went to the bookstore and bought four new releases and we're going to read them over break."
Burt laughed. "You two might just be the weirdest teenage boys I've ever met."
"Da-ad!" Kurt harrumphed in a two-syllable tone of aggravation.
"What? It's true."
"That may be true. BUT… We haven't knocked up any girls. We haven't stolen anything, started any fights, or vandalized anything. We got our grade reports and we both got straight A's."
Burt just laughed more. "You're right. Keep being weird. I like weird."
"I thought so."
"We're going out to Cracker Barrel for brunch at 11:00. We're taking the Nav so we can all fit."
"We're going out of town for brunch? I could just cook for everyone."
"Nope. Be ready at 10:30."
"Alright."
"Dress casual."
"To go out to brunch?"
"Yeah."
"You're the weird one. I hardly ever go out and you want me to go 'dressed casual'."
"You got it. Be upstairs ready to go at 10:30." Burt stood up and went back upstairs.
Once he heard the door at the top of the stairs close, Kurt said, "He's up to something."
"Why's that?"
"He specifically doesn't want me to dress up. So, we're going to do something I will consider messy at some point."
"Relax. I'm sure it's something fun."
"I don't deal well with surprises and he knows that."
"So, it must be something that he's certain that you'll like. He wouldn't plan something on a holiday that you would hate." He handed Kurt the book he was holding and Kurt put both books back in the bag on the floor next to the futon. Dave scooted back down in the bed and extended his arm for Kurt to lay on his chest and snuggle up. "Come on. Snuggle with me."
Kurt slid under the covers. "You're probably right. I'll try to relax." Kurt scooted over to Dave and kissed him gently and then laid his head on Dave's chest. "I can hear your heart beating."
Dave wrapped his arm around Kurt and kissed the top of his head. They lay there in silence for a while.
"What time is it actually?" Dave asked.
Kurt turned over and picked his phone up off the sewing table that he could barely reach. "9:17."
"So, we have a little while before we have to get ready."
"Maybe 30 minutes because I have to figure out what on earth to wear out to brunch that's casual, but looks fabulous."
"Of course. And me?"
"You can wear the jeans and the flannel shirt you brought and look casual and sexy."
"In flannel?"
"Yep."
"Wear whatever you like because when you feel good in what you wear, you are super sexy."
"Is that so?" Kurt asked seductively. He scooted up enough that he could kiss Dave.
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At 10:30, they were sitting the backseat of the Navigator. Kurt slid to the center position so he could sit close to Dave. They drew designs and shapes on each other hands on the 30-minute drive to the restaurant. Once they were here, they added their name to the queue.
All four of them looked around the store while they waited. Dave found a small set of metal puzzles that he thought would be good for the $5 gift Dirty Santa gift exchange the Glee Club was having New Year's Eve. He figured if no one ended up wanting the set, that he would have fun with it himself.
After they finished eating, they all piled back into the Nav and Burt set off to the unknown destination. Kurt was tense, but Dave held Kurt's hand. Burt turned on a pop station that was playing Christmas hits all day. Dave and Kurt sang along to the radio.
"The mall? We're going to the mall in Toledo and you told me to dress casual? This doesn't make any sense."
"Just go with it, kiddo." We're going to give the two of you an hour in here. We'll be back at this entrance – Entrance C – in an hour." Burt and Paul handed two $50 bills to each of them. "Get whatever you want for yourselves."
Paul added, "You know I'm a terrible gift giver, David. Even if I pick something you'd like, I'd get the wrong size or something. Or I'd buy something you already have. So, go have fun. When we pick you up, we're going somewhere else."
They put the cash in their wallets, left their jackets behind, and made a beeline for the mall entrance door.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
An hour later on the dot, Burt and Paul pulled up and Kurt and Dave hurried out and got in.
"What on earth is in those huge bags?" Burt asked.
"They're for Dave's bed so we can read easier."
"So, they're some kind of pillows?"
"Yep. We'll show you when we get home."
"Alright then." Burt pulled off and headed to their final destination, which was just down the street.
"What's Dave and Buster's?"
"You'll see. Leave your coats again."
Kurt and Dave took off jogging. They stepped inside and waited for Burt and Paul in the space between the two sets of doors.
"This looks like fun. It says 18 and up though."
"You can get in with a parent. Let's go in," Paul said.
Burt and Paul paid and they all put their wristbands on.
"So, these get you all-you-can-eat wings and a drink. And you can play all of the games. We'll be in the bar. Text one of us if you need something," Burt said.
Dave and Kurt went to look through the huge arcade.
"Now I see why he said to dress casual. How about PacMan?"
"Sure."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
"Five minutes and we're going home," Burt said as Kurt and Dave ran up the stairs to put the pillows in Dave's room.
They put the bags down and Kurt wrapped his arms around Dave's neck. He stepped as close as he could get and hugged Dave. "Have you noticed anything?"
Dave pulled back a bit to look at him. He had a dumbfounded look on his face. "What could you have changed while we were riding back from Toledo?"
"Look at my shoes."
"You're wearing Chucks."
"Umm hmm. And what am I not doing?"
"You're not kissing me and we're running out of time," Dave teased.
Kurt pressed forward and kissed him. "Better?"
"Much."
"No more time for guessing. I'm not standing on my tip toes."
"You grew."
"I did. A lot of my pants are too short, but I'm not going to get new ones just yet. I'll just wear the ones I have tucked in my boots for now because I might grow more and I don't want to waste money."
"Good plan." Dave kissed him. "If you get taller than me, that would be weird, but I guess I'd have time to get used to it because it wouldn't happen overnight."
"The doctor said that I'd probably be like 5'11 at some point. So, not as tall as you."
"Kurt!"
"Gotta run." Kurt kissed him. "I'll see you tomorrow."
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The next day Dave arrived at the Hummel's before lunchtime. He rang the doorbell and waited for Kurt to answer the door.
"You're adorable!" Kurt said. "The Santa hat is awesome." He stepped back, letting Dave step in far enough to let the storm door close. Kurt kissed him gently before he helped him out of his coat and hung it in the closet. "What's in the bag?"
"You'll see." He kissed Kurt quickly and headed into the kitchen. He put the bag down on the counter and began emptying it onto the counter. "I know your dad is grilling, but I also know that steak and baked potatoes is not your favorite meal. I don't know if this will be either, but I hope you like it." He put an insulated baking dish carrier on the counter along with a lot of small storage containers with lids.
"What is it?"
"You'll see. Where's your dad?"
"Upstairs getting ready."
Dave backed Kurt up to the counter and wrapped his arms around him. Kurt wrapped his arms around Dave's neck and kissed him. After a few minutes, Dave attempted to step back, but Kurt whimpered a tiny bit and kept his hold around Dave's neck.
Dave smiled. "Come on, Fancy. We've got lunch to serve."
Kurt pouted.
Dave laughed. "You think that's going to work?"
Kurt shrugged just a tiny bit and stuck his lower lip out a little more.
Dave rolled his eyes and kissed him. "Come on. You know your dad will fuss at us for making out in the kitchen."
Kurt kissed him one last time. "What's in all these bowls?"
"All the salad toppings I chopped up."
"Really?"
"Yep. I've been chopping and chopping and chopping."
"Thank you."
"Anything for you. You know that."
Kurt blushed. He did know, but he did his best not to take advantage of it, other than in silly ways like getting more kisses.
Dave took one more thing out of the bottom of the sack. He sat it on the counter and unfolded it.
"Oh, the bowls fit in the wire rack. That's really cool." A square bowl about the size of a dinner plate sat in the center and along the front edge and to the sides the 8 smaller square bowls fit in the wire rack. "It might be easier to set it up in here and fix our salads on the way into the dining room."
"That's fine."
They worked together and got the lids off and Kurt arranged the chopped vegetables in the stand. "This is really cool. It keeps everything together and lets people choose. Where did you get this?"
"I ordered it online."
"Well, I like it."
Dave smiled. "I made two types of salad dressing."
"Wait. You made these? Oh, I guess I hadn't noticed that the bottles didn't have labels on them."
"I used the bottles from the store-bought dressing."
Kurt started to unzip the insulated casserole bag.
"Hey, no peeking."
Kurt left it alone.
"This is exciting!" Kurt bounced up onto his toes. He turned and bear-hugged Dave. "You went to a lot of trouble and you've been learning to cook. I can't wait to taste it."
"Taste what?" Burt asked.
"Whatever is in that casserole that Dave won't let me see."
Burt laughed. He noticed the salad. "That's a cool set up. Not that I like salad much, but it's still cool." Burt opened the fridge and grabbed the steaks and went through the dining room out to the deck to stick the steaks on the gas grill. He came back in quickly. "It's warm for the time of year it is, but not that warm." He tossed the steak package in the trash, went into the foyer and grabbed a coat out of the closet, and grabbed a plate and the tongs on his way back outside.
"He doesn't seem fazed by us at all anymore. I didn't even get 'the look' for you being all wrapped up in my arms."
"He's over it. He mostly only did it to embarrass us. He's a big tease. Once we quit blushing and stammering, it took the fun out of teasing us."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
"Well, that was really good, if I do say so myself," Burt said.
"I agree," Kurt said. "Dave's 7-layer Southwest-style casserole was fantastic. And I like both of those salad dressings."
Dave blushed a bit and smiled. "Wait here. I'll go get dessert."
"You brought dessert?" Burt asked. "I figured we were having ice cream since I didn't see Kurt making anything this morning."
"So did I, but that's because Dave told me not to make anything, so I figured that he was bringing ice cream."
"Not ice cream, but I left it in my truck since it's cold enough outside." He hurried outside and came back in with a cake carrier. He sat it on the counter, opened it, grabbed a long thin knife, and carried the dessert and knife into the dining room.
Kurt looked up when he came in. "Oh, my God. You made that?"
"I did."
"It's a turtle cheesecake with a chocolate cookie crust?"
"It is."
Kurt grabbed a dessert plate and slid it down next to the cheesecake. "May I please have a piece of that most gorgeous cheesecake?"
"Of course." Dave sliced it into 8 pieces and served everyone a slice.
Kurt took a bite and moaned. "If heaven's real, this is served there for every meal." He closed his eyes as he put the second bite into his mouth. He continued to carefully place each bite in his mouth and relish the flavor of every bite.
Burt and Paul did their best not to laugh at him and just focused on eating their own piece. Once everyone had finished, Dave took the leftover cheesecake back and put it back in the carrier and put it in the fridge. Kurt got up and started putting the dishes in the dishwasher.
Burt and Paul stayed seated in the dining room.
Burt spoke very quietly where Kurt couldn't hear him. "We might as well start planning for the wedding."
Paul laughed.
"If you think I'm joking, I'm not. Your son just spent his winter break learning to cook to impress my son. He loves Kurt. There is no other explanation. He could have been sleeping all day, playing videos games, whatever. But no, he spent the time doing something to impress the boy he loves."
"They're too young."
"We'll see about that."
Kurt came back in the room with Dave following along behind him. "Do you want to leave all of the salad toppings in the little bowls?"
"Nah. Since the leftovers are yours and you like everything, let's just toss is all in and make a chopped tossed salad out of it."
They dumped all of the toppings in. Dave took the empty bowls to the kitchen and brought back the lid for the center salad bowl. Kurt put it on and picked the bowl up and shook it. Dave folded up the wire server. They left the dining room and finished up cleaning the kitchen.
Paul smiled and shook his head. "You may be right. Three months ago, he could make macaroni and cheese and cold sandwiches. He makes really simple dinners for us now, but what he made today took a lot of time and effort." He took a deep breath and let it out.
"I called them both weird yesterday when I went downstairs and they were sitting in Kurt's bed getting ready to read the books they got each other for Christmas."
Paul laughed. "They are weird. Let's go watch stuff get blown up. I can't take anymore mushy gushy talk about my teenage son being in love."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Once they finished with the kitchen, Kurt and Dave headed down to Kurt's room. Dave sat down on the futon. Kurt waited for him to get comfortable and then sat down on his lap facing Dave. He ran his hand down Dave's cheek. "Where did you learn to make the dishes you brought?"
"Well, while you were at the shop all day long, I, um … mayhavewatchedabunchofcookingvideos."
"I missed that."
Dave sighed.
Kurt laughed and kissed him gently. He ran his hands down Dave's shoulders to his hands and took them and intertwined their fingers. "A little more slowly this time."
"While you were at the shop, I watched cooking videos. I made my selection and then watched the videos like five times each to make sure I would do it right. Then, I went out and bought the ingredients and made them, while watching the videos and pausing when I needed to."
"That is the most romantic thing ever. You are so sweet to me. Thank you. Everything was delicious."
"I'm glad you liked it so much."
Kurt stood back up, and grabbed a pillow. "Will you lie down? I want to snuggle, if that's okay."
Dave turned and lay down on his back. Kurt put a pillow under Dave's head.
"Hmm. Scoot to the front edge of the futon a bit."
Once Dave moved, Kurt went in the closet and came back with a rolled up blanket and put it along the back edge between Dave and the back of the futon. He also brought the comforter back out and unfolded it and laid it out along the back edge of the futon. He turned some classical guitar music on and went back to the futon and lay down so that he was partially on the rolled blanket and partially lying on Dave. It took a couple of minutes of maneuvering to get in a comfortable position. They shut their eyes and lay together, enjoying the closeness.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
"What are you thinking about?"
"Two totally different things."
"Such as?"
"Well, my mind was wandering places it didn't need to go and I forced myself to think of the opposite type of thing and then Rachel and Jesse came to mind."
"Rachel and Jesse?"
"Yeah. It's just really weird. Why on earth would the lead singer for Vocal Adrenaline be willing to set aside his chance for a fourth consecutive national title to date a 15 year old? Well, I guess she's 16 by now, but still. She was saying something about her birthday being during Hanukah."
"Who would willingly attend a high school like McKinley when they go to Carmel in Akron? That's nuts. Who transfers their last semester of high school to be with someone they randomly met two weeks before they transfer?"
"It really makes no sense at all."
"They're looking at long distance for a long time unless he's going to college in Columbus or Toledo and that would make it a shorter long distance situation. I mean he's attractive and talented, but the whole thing makes no sense. And now we have an even more unbalanced group. We really need some more girls. Anyway, what were you trying NOT to think about?"
Dave didn't answer right away, but then quietly said, "Youwithoutyourshirt."
Kurt tipped his head up and when Dave felt him moving he turned his head to the side to look him in the eyes. Kurt batted his eyes, in a completely ridiculous way.
"Oh, really? Maybe it's your turn to be shirtless."
"You want me to take my shirt off?"
"Yeah." Kurt blushed.
"Seriously?"
Kurt pushed up just enough that he could kiss Dave. "Mmm hmm."
"Raise up then."
Kurt propped up so that Dave could move his arm and pull his shirt off. He lay back down, pulled the comforter back over them, and Kurt got comfortable again, except he kept his left arm on top of his own body instead of across Dave's chest.
After a couple of minutes, Dave turned and looked at him again. "Are you sure this is what you wanted? You're acting like I have cooties now."
"I didn't … I don't …"
"Hey, it's okay." He kissed Kurt on his forehead. "I can put it back on."
"It's not that. I just don't know what's okay."
"How about this? We'll stick to you can touch anywhere that's not cover with clothing?"
"You're sure?"
"I'm very, very sure."
Kurt moved his arm and laid it across Dave's chest the way he most often put it when they were snuggled up in that position. He moved his hand slightly, rubbing it against the hair on Dave's chest.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. You're just really …"
Dave turned and tipped Kurt's chin up and kissed him gently. "What? Really what?"
"Hot."
"Oh."
"Were you expecting me to say something else?"
"I wasn't really expecting anything, but I've never thought of myself as attractive."
"Well, me neither, but you think I'm hot, so you'll just have to trust my judgment. You're sure about me touching you?"
"I'm positive. It's on my Top 2 List of things to dream about."
"And the other thing that makes the top 2?"
"Me touching you."
"I see." Kurt blushed. "If the other guys at school look like you do with their shirts off, it's no wonder they call me a girly-boy and the other things."
"Oh, no. A few of them might have a tiny bit of chest hair and might be able to grow a mustache, but I'm definitely the odd one out. Hudson led the charge on teasing me when I starting going through puberty before all of the other guys."
Kurt had closed his eyes and focused on his sense of touch. "He should keep his mouth shut. He's just jealous – with good reason."
"Probably. I DO have the hottest boyfriend in the whole school."
Kurt burst out laughing. "I don't think he's going to think that."
Dave kissed Kurt. "His loss."
"I've wondered more recently if he's actually more homophobic than Puck. I always thought he held my jacket and bag to be nice, but sometimes I wonder if he did it to keep from having to touch me at all."
"Enough of that. We're snuggling on a holiday."
"You're right. I have a totally hot shirtless guy in my bed. That should definitely be my focus."
Dave laughed.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
After resting and relaxing for four days, it was time to return to work. Dave worked out in the weight room in the mornings for a while during Cheerios practice. He stopped by and watched them practice for a while before he left.
Dave spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday afternoon secretly building the ottoman for Kurt's room. Monday, he went to the Hummel's while Kurt was still at Cheerios practice and took measurements. He grabbed the leftover stain from when they restained the futon framed and took it with him, and then he headed to Lowe's for supplies. He took in a rough drawing and the guy who worked in the wood section helped him figure out what all he needed. He took everything back to his own house and worked on it each afternoon.
While Kurt was at the shop on Thursday, Dave took the ottoman to Kurt's room and put it under the futon to surprise him on New Year's Day. He had decided to keep the other gift he had gotten for Kurt and give it to him as an early Valentine's Day present. From there, he went straight to Sam's Club to pick up pizzas for their New Year's Eve party that evening. Kurt went directly to Dave's house when he got off. He showered quickly and changed into the clothes he had left at Dave's.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Kurt went downstairs after he was ready. Dave was in the kitchen getting the paper plates and stuff they needed out. Kurt walked up next to him, turned, and hopped up onto the counter. He spread his knees apart.
"Is that an invitation?"
"Definitely."
Dave stepped closer to Kurt and stood in the space Kurt had made for him. Once Dave got close enough, Kurt wrapped his feet around Dave and pulled him flush against his chest and wrapped his arms around Dave's neck. "Hi."
Dave smiled. "You're a monkey. All wrapped around me like this."
"Is that so?" Before he could say anything else, Kurt pressed his lips to Dave's gently, and then laid his head on Dave's shoulder. "I'm exhausted. I may not make it until midnight. Dad moved me to doing tire changes because we had so many people who wanted them. He called Puck in to help me."
"How about a massage tonight?"
"Yes. Please. Yes. How about you put those on the table and we go lie down on the couch and I take a nap on you?"
"What do I look like, a teddy bear?"
"Mmm hmm. My lifesize teddy bear. Perfect for snuggling."
"You'll have to let go of me for us to go in there."
Kurt harrumphed and let his feet and arms drop. Dave picked up the paper plates, napkins, and cups and took them out to the dining room. Kurt slid down off the counter and walked into the living room. He waited for Dave to lie down first. Then he crawled over him and lay down nearly on top of him and relaxed. He managed to sleep for a half-hour before the doorbell rang the first time.
"Come on, Fancy. We've got to answer the door."
Kurt wiggled and got more comfortable. Dave laughed at him and heard Paul open the door and greet Azimio.
"Hey, Azimio. Come on in. Put the chips on the table. I don't know where the two of them are. Feel free to look around until you find them."
Azimio looked in the den first, and then moved on to the living room. When he came in he found them lying on the couch. Dave's eyes were open, but Kurt was obviously out cold. Azimio pulled his phone out. Dave glared at him and he just cackled quietly. Dave rolled his eyes and just shut them. Once Azimio had what he wanted, Dave motioned for him to leave the room.
He ran his hand along Kurt's arm and spoke quietly. "Fancy, wake up. People are starting to get here."
Kurt stretched.
"You're adorable, but you have to get up or people are going to find you sleeping on me like this."
"M'kay." Kurt moved in a way that let Dave sit up.
Dave kissed him on the cheek. "Come on. You can do it. Up we go." Dave took his hands and pulled him to standing.
The doorbell rang again. This time Azimio answered it. Dave and Kurt made their way out to the foyer as well.
"Put the food in the dining room, through there," Dave pointed. "Just put your coats and stuff in the living room behind me."
Kurt went into the dining room and out onto the back patio to grab two of the pizzas and get them in the oven. He shut the oven door and set the timer.
When he came back into the dining room, Azimio was waiting for him.
"I didn't get to tell you, but my momma LOVED that cake. And I got some serious brownie points for cooking breakfast for her myself. You rock, dude."
Kurt laughed. How had his life changed so much in a little over three months? "I'm glad she liked it."
"I don't see any fancy desserts here tonight though, dude. That's definitely a letdown."
"Yeah, well I've not really been home much this week. I've been putting in extra hours at the shop since it's a busy season with customers wanting new tires before we start to get a lot of snow, but employees also want time off to spend with their families."
"Yeah, I can see that."
The doorbell rang again and they both went out to the foyer to answer the door.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
While waiting for more pizzas to cook, they started the evening with Dirty Santa. Since Dave was the host, they decided that he would get to go last. So, they started to his left, which happened to be Kurt.
Kurt chose from the pile of gifts wrapped in brown paper from grocery bags. He ripped the paper off revealing a large jar of Nutella. He knew that wouldn't stay in his possession very long.
Mercedes went next. She picked up the gift that Kurt had brought, which was a nice nail care kit. "I KNOW this cost more than $5, Kurt Hummel."
"I bought it last year at the 70% off after-Christmas sale. It was between $4.50 and $5."
"Well, I'm keeping it."
Artie ended up picking the metal puzzles that Dave had bought and seemed pleased. The Nutella, a large bar of chocolate, and a large box of Little Debbies Star Crunches were the most frequently stolen items.
Kurt thought he had managed to snag back the Nutella for himself, but then he ended up with a nice Art Deco coloring book when Brittany, who was sitting to Dave's right, swiped the Nutella from Kurt.
Dave had been planning to steal the Nutella from whoever had it on his turn, but he didn't have he heart to take it from Brittany when she looked so happy, so Dave picked up the last unwrapped package and opened it to find a pack of AA batteries.
"At least they're useful." Dave got up and picked up all of the paper and put it in the recycling bin.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Later that evening between movies, Santana said, "Let's play a game."
"Charades?" Brittany asked.
"Maybe later, Britt. How about Never Have I Ever?"
Puck said, "With this crowd, that will be boring."
"Let's just see," Santana said.
"No alcohol, remember?" Puck reminded her.
"Fine. We'll use poker chips or something and the loser has to um… perform 'For Your Entertainment'."
Kurt blushed and got up to go get Dave's poker chips. He brought them back down and put them in the middle of the circle they were sitting in.
"I'll go first," Kurt said as he plopped down next to Dave. "Never have I ever kissed a girl."
All of the guys except Kurt and Dave took a poker chip. So did Tina, Brittany, and Santana.
Dave said, "Never have I ever gone skinny dipping."
Brittany asked Santana quietly, "Does the hot tub count?"
Everyone tried to contain their laughter. Santana nodded. The two of them, Puck, and Matt took a chip.
"We went camping one weekend and I forgot my trunks. No one was around," Matt said.
Puck said, "Never have I ever painted my fingernails."
All the girls and Kurt took a chip. Santana and Puck made eye contact and Santana nodded just slightly. The game went around a few times and the guys kept naming things only girls generally did, like manicures and plucking their eyebrows. And the girls said things that guys would do, like leaving their armpits unshaved. Kurt ended up with a massive pile of poker chips.
"Fine. Who's got the song on their phone?"
Santana pulled her phone out and turned it all the way up and started the music.
"You asked for this. Remember that." As Adam Lambert began to sing, Kurt sang right along with him. He strutted, swayed, swiveled his hips, and practically gave every person in the room a lap dance without touching anyone anywhere.
"Holy hell, Hummel, where'd you learn to dance like you belong in a club?" Puck asked.
Kurt just sashayed out of the room.
"Pick the next movie. I'm going to go put more pizzas in," Dave said.
"You do that, Dave," Santana said, as she laughed at him.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Kurt was headed to the kitchen to get a drink of water on his way back down to the den from Dave's bathroom when he nearly crashed into Dave as he came out of the downstairs half-bath.
Dave grabbed him to keep him from stumbling, and pulled him close. "I barely made it through the song."
Kurt kissed him. "I'm sorry. I was torn between doing my best and us ending up needing a trip to the bathroom OR doing a lousy job and having all of them keep their low opinions of my dancing skills. The girls all act like I'm built like a Ken doll with no libido. And the guys all act like I'm a prudish girl. I didn't mean to get you all flustered."
"My willpower and self-restraint got their work out. God, you're sexy just normally. Dancing like that – I just spent 4 minutes doing my best to keep from needing to change my clothes. That's how you were dancing the night I brought you home."
Kurt saw Puck approaching. He stepped back out of Dave's embrace and raised his eyebrow questioningly.
"Sexy is sexy, Hummel. Nice job. You win. You're the reigning Never Have I Ever champion of Glee." He pushed past them to get to the half bath.
Dave kissed Kurt again. He spoke very quietly into Kurt's ear. "I'm not sure he's as straight as he purports to be."
Kurt laughed. "And I'm pretty sure that I was completely set up by Puck and Santana. It was more like a well-planned dare. I just couldn't back down. You're not mad at me are you?"
"No, not at all. You weren't touching anyone and no one was touching you. But now I think you have a better idea why I was so determined to bring you home that night. With you sexy dancing like that, even one of the girls might have had the idea to get you in bed."
"You have no idea how much I appreciate that you saved me from that possibly happening to me." Kurt heard the oven beeping. "Come on." He took Dave's hand to go back to the kitchen.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
At 11:30, they turned the TV on to watch the ball drop in Times Square. At the end of the count down, Kurt leaned over and kissed Dave. "Happy New Year."
Dave smiled. "With you, definitely." Kurt sat back up, and Dave stood up. "Alright. Those of you who are staying … Girls sleep upstairs in the guest room. Try to keep it down. My dad's room is upstairs too. Guys sleep in here. Anyone leaving should do so soon. My dad doesn't want anyone out driving when there's a good chance of there being drunk drivers leaving the bars in an hour or two. There are a few rules. If you get hungry, use the microwave or eat the pizza cold. No using the stovetop or the oven during the night. Follow your own family's rules about sleeping arrangements. My dad is home and if your parents ask my dad what you did, make sure whatever you're doing won't get you in trouble because my dad won't lie for you. Oh, and stay inside and keep the doors locked."
Jesse, Azimio, and Puck stayed. Finn drove Artie home. Matt and Mike headed to Mike's. Dave had brought his system down earlier and hooked it up in the den. Azimio and Puck were planning to play against the other four once they got to Artie's and Mike's.
Of the girls, Rachel, Santana, and Brittany stayed. Tina opted to let Mercedes take her home after she found out that Mercedes' family was going out of town to celebrate Christmas with her dad's side of the family early the next morning and she couldn't spend the night. Santana and Brittany grabbed their stuff from the living room and went upstairs. Jesse and Rachel went in the living room and curled up on the couch to talk. Kurt and Dave put the rest of the pizza in the fridge before heading upstairs.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Once Dave was in the shower, Kurt went in the bathroom and did his moisturizing routine and brushed his teeth. He got in bed as soon as he was done. A few minutes later, Dave came out of the bathroom. He locked his bedroom door to prevent any unwanted photography during the night like Azimio had pulled that afternoon. He turned some soft music on, flipped the light off, and got in bed. Kurt was already lying in the bed, face down in the middle.
Dave laughed. "I see your ready for the massage." Dave climbed in the bed and started rubbing Kurt's calves.
"So ready. Regionals is day after tomorrow. Coach Sue is not easy to please."
"I know. I have to reign in my desire to duct tape her mouth shut when I hear what she says sometimes."
"She's ridiculous. That's for sure."
Dave turned and worked on Kurt's shoulders for a few minutes. "Turn on your side before you fall asleep."
Kurt turned facing the center of the bed.
"Wrong way, Fancy," Dave teased.
"Nope. Your lips are over here."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
New Year's Day began with Kurt letting Dave sleep in while he headed down to the kitchen to make sure that no one set the kitchen on fire by attempting to cook. He got downstairs to find that Puck was the only one awake. He was sitting in the dining room eating a slice of cold pizza.
"Hey," Kurt said as he entered the room. He plopped down in the chair at the end of the table near where Puck was sitting.
"Hey. There's still more pizza in there if you want it."
"I'm good. I'll probably make some eggs in a bit. What was with the Never Have I Ever last night? I saw the 'moment' you and Santana had before everyone made sure that I lost. I'm sure that 'never have I ever painted my fingernails' isn't the usual type of declarations that get made in that game."
Puck laughed. "Fine. You're right. I made some kind of smartass remark about you not being sexy enough to dance with the guys on some song. Honestly, I don't even remember what song now. But Santana came to your defense and talked about how you were all kinds of sexy dancing at Strando's party after the first football game you played in. I knew you'd never do it unless it was some kind of dare or some way to save face. And she was right. I lost the bet. Thanks for that, by the way," he laughed.
Kurt shook his head. "What do you have to do for her?"
"How do you I don't owe her money?"
"She's got money. She doesn't need yours. She acts like she's from the wrong side of tracks, but she's not. Anyway, she'd be much more inclined to make you do something humiliating as her reward."
"You're like all CIA aren't you?"
"I told you. When people ignore your existence, you hear and see a lot of things. So, what do you have to do?"
"I have to detail her car."
"Oh. That's not so bad. We have all the stuff to do that down at the shop. If you can get her to bring it in, you can do it there when you're not on the clock."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. You've been doing a good job at the shop. If you ever want to study to get some of the certifications, the books are at the shop. I can show you where. You can borrow them one at a time, so long as you bring them back."
"That'd be awesome. I've been looking at some of the stuff we got when Paul took us to LCC. But I'm not sure that any kind of college is for me. I know I've got time to think still, but I think I could get into being a mechanic. I'm good at fixing stuff."
"I'd love to be a performer on Broadway, but the older I get and my speaking voice doesn't change, the less likely that becomes. So, I'm looking at other things too. No real idea what though."
"What do you mean about your voice? You're a really good singer."
"Thanks. But I'm not very masculine. I'm too androgynous to play most of the male lead roles in musicals. I'm the plucky best gay or the fashion designer or interior decorator or the hair stylist." Kurt lowered his voice. "Did Jesse ever make it to the den to sleep?"
"No, but we went and checked on them like 10 times. They were just sleeping on the couch. I don't trust him any farther than I can throw him. Rachel may be as annoying as hell sometimes, but she's our lead female singer and if he's here to mess with her – I'm not down with that."
"Me either." Kurt looked at what was left on the table. "Looks like a swarm of locusts hit the snacks."
"You're so weird. But yeah. Finn was here. Dude can eat."
Kurt laughed. "I know I'm weird. But at least I own up to it."
"Yeah, you do." Puck laughed at him. "That you do."
Kurt punched him in the shoulder.
"Hey, that stings."
"Baby."
"Dork."
"Whatever. Do you want some eggs?"
"Yeah, sure."
Kurt got up and started making scrambled eggs. He put a plate of them in front of Puck, and then went back into the kitchen to grab the two he had made for himself and Dave. He put theirs on a tray and poured glasses of juice and added them to the tray. He sat it down on the table when he realized that he had forgotten the forks.
"You always make him breakfast in bed?"
"Nope. Sometimes he makes breakfast for me," Kurt sassed. He carried the tray out of the room and he could still hear Puck laughing as he started up the stairs.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Kurt sat the tray down on the dresser when he went into Dave's room. He shut and locked the door before he walked over to the bed and kissed Dave on the forehead. "Hey, handsome. I made you breakfast."
"Mmm. Thanks." He slid up in the bed.
Kurt brought the tray over and sat it between them. "It's nothing fancy, but it beats more pizza I think."
Dave picked his plate up and ate the eggs. "It's great. Thanks." He put the empty plate back and drank the juice.
Kurt finished his and put the tray back on the dresser. He got back in bed with Dave and snuggled up. "Happy New Year."
"Do you want to exchange our gifts now?"
"Umm, soon. How about we get everyone else to go home first?"
"What time is it?"
"Nearly 10:00."
"Then, my dad will be shooing everyone out really soon. I guess we can go down and tell everyone goodbye."
"Or we can pretend we went back to sleep." Kurt scooted closer and kissed Dave. "We're supposed to spend holiday mornings kissing in bed, remember?"
"Oh, I remember. And you're very persuasive, but let's go make sure everyone leaves."
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While Azimio was in the bathroom, Dave managed to grab his phone, send the photo he had taken to his own phone and delete the image. He went back to the dining room to help Kurt clean up. In less than a half-hour, everyone had left, even Paul. He told them he'd be back for dinner and headed to his brother's for the afternoon.
Once everyone had left, they did one last sweep of the downstairs. Kurt headed into Dave's room and Dave checked the guest room.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
When Dave came in, Kurt was in bed waiting for him.
"Now, it's just us." Dave slipped under the covers and slid his arm under Kurt's neck.
Kurt rolled onto his side facing Dave. "So, snuggles? Kisses? I could give you a massage."
"Snuggles first."
They spent close to an hour snuggled up talking about whatever came to mind. The topic eventually came around to the Cheerleading Regionals the next day.
Kurt ran his fingers along Dave's bicep. "I wish I could sneak you onto the bus. It would be more fun. I'm really nervous. I'm new and if I botch this, Coach Sue will make my life a living hell."
"I think you'll be great."
"Of course you do." Kurt tickled him. "That's what boyfriends are supposed to say."
"Maybe. But I mean it."
Kurt kissed him. "Thank you."
"Of course. But I'd like more kisses. We're still going out for lunch and then to your house this afternoon. We're going to watch the Night at the Museum movie on your huge TV, right?"
"Yep. My dad's going to some car auction somewhere."
"So, let's get back to the kissing." Dave tugged him closer.
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After they finished eating the Chinese food they had brought with them, Kurt pulled out the two slices of cheesecake he had frozen the week before and put them in the fridge to defrost when Dave wasn't looking.
Dave went down the stairs first. When they got to the bottom, he said, "Close your eyes."
Kurt closed his eyes as requested. First, Dave turned some music on to block the sound so Kurt couldn't guess what he was doing. Dave pulled the ottoman out from under the futon and popped it up to its full height. He walked back to where Kurt was waiting and stepped in front of him.
"Okay. Open your eyes."
"Oh, wow. It matches the futon perfectly. Thank you."
"All we need now is for you to make a cushion for the top."
"We can go out to JoAnn's and get what we need after we watch the movie. It's perfect. Let's try it out even though we don't have the cushion yet." Kurt grabbed a small box off his shelf before he followed Dave to the futon. He sat down next to him and put his legs up. "This will be perfect for reading. You did it all by yourself?"
"I had a little design help from a guy at Lowe's. I took a drawing in with me and he helped me tweak it. And of course, he used the huge saw and cut the boards."
"We'll use it a lot, I'm sure. It's a lot more comfortable than leaning against the wall or just sitting here."
Dave's smile lit up his eyes and he beamed from all the praise from Kurt.
"So, I have your gift." Kurt handed Dave the box. "I made it myself as well."
Dave opened the box. It was a woven bracelet, made with variegated black, blue, and gray paracord. Kurt had ordered a specialized stainless steel clasp to make it sturdier than the ones made with the plastic snap buckles. Dave picked it up and examined it.
"What the design on the fastener?"
"Well, it's a secret message just for you. Everyone will be able to see it, but no one else will know what it says." Kurt rotated it 180 degrees. "It's three words with the letters all drawn inside the same circle, like they're stacked on top of each other."
Dave examined it carefully. "K…T… D… A … E … S …V … U … R"
"You found most of the letters."
"Is it a puzzle for me to figure out or are you going to tell me?"
"A puzzle."
Dave got up and got a notepad and a pencil. He wrote out the letters he had already found. He examined the engraved disc again. "What am I missing?"
Kurt looked at the paper. "What would the E be without the top two horizontal lines?"
"An L." He added L to the letters.
"And the circle around the outside is an O."
Dave added that. He looked at the letters on the page and recognized his name and Kurt's. He underlined those letters. All that was left was "S … O … L".
"A clue. Two letters are used more than once."
"Hmm."
"Last hint. The third word goes in the middle and it starts with L."
Dave smiled. He wrote out "Kurt loves Dave?"
"You got it." Kurt took the pad and pencil and put them on the floor. He rearranged and straddled Dave's lap. He tipped Dave's chin up gently and looked him in the eyes. "I love you. Will you wear this bracelet as a reminder of that?"
"Of course."
Kurt leaned down and kissed him. "Can I put it on you?"
Dave handed it to Kurt and held his left arm out. Kurt positioned it so that the letters were facing so that Dave could read them. He fastened it in place with the bolt pin. He kissed Dave's wrist and then leaned forward again. He put his hands on the sides of Dave's face and kissed him again. Dave wrapped his arms around Kurt's lower back.
"You're serious, right?"
"I would never say it if I weren't. I love you, Dave." Kurt slid his hands down to Dave's shoulders and kissed down his neck. He snuggled into Dave's chest and rested his head on Dave's shoulder, nuzzling into his neck. He spoke quietly. "I wanted to give you something personal, but I didn't want you to be uncomfortable wearing it, like a ring or a necklace. You can use the paracord if you ever need it for an emergency. It can hold 550 pounds. Just take the bolt pin out and use it to fasten the clasp to a belt loop or a key ring. I can either redo the bracelet using the original cord or I can replace it, but still use the clasp with the engraved piece on it. It's waterproof, so you can leave it on in the shower or a pool if you want."
"Sit up for a minute."
Kurt sat up and looked at Dave. He looked like he might cry.
Dave ran his hand down Kurt's cheek. "I love you too. I have for quite a while. I was just scared to tell you. I was afraid that you didn't feel the same and I'd scare you off by making you feel pressured to say it back to me."
"I've known for a while that you did. And I knew for sure last week. And I had already finished the bracelet, but then we talked about exchanging gifts on New Year's Day instead of Christmas. If you look under the cotton layer in the box, there's something else."
Dave picked the box up and removed the layer of cotton. "It's a second bracelet."
"It fits me. It's a slightly different weaving pattern, but done with the same paracord."
Dave looked at it. "It has the same tiny medallion with the letters."
"I made it a little flatter so it would fit under my dress shirt cuffs more easily."
Dave was still looking at it.
"If you'd rather me not wear it, I can wait, or just not wear it at school."
"What? Sorry, I zoned out. No, please can I put it on you? My silence had nothing to do with me not wanting you to wear it. More like the opposite – shock that you want to wear it. It's like this really amazing dream and…"
Kurt interrupted his statement by kissing him again. "Of course I want to wear it." Kurt stuck his left wrist out and rotated the bracelet. He explained how to put the bolt pin in. It took Dave a couple of tries since he had never done it before. He kissed Kurt's wrist, and then pulled him down gently so they could kiss again.
"It's perfect."
"I'm so glad you opened up to me that morning. Otherwise, I would have never gotten to know what an amazing guy you are. If you're wondering what gave you away, it was all the trouble you went to when you learned to cook just to make me something I'd really enjoy. You are the sweetest guy, David Karofsky."
Dave blushed. "I'm still not convinced I'm not dreaming. I've had some pretty crazy dreams that you starred in."
"Dave!" Kurt sounded scandalized.
"Well, there were some of THOSE types of dreams, I won't lie, but a lot of them were just me having the nerve to even talk to you and then you being willing to talk to me. I was so terrified to talk to you, but I'm glad I did. Really glad. I love you so much. Tell me how came up with the design."
"I came up with the paracord idea first because I thought it was manly enough that you might actually be willing to wear it. I tried different designs and I was going to use a rectangular stainless steel piece across the front and fasten it into the paracord, but then I thought people might want to look at it and try to figure out what it said and I wanted it to be something just between the two of us. So, I kept messing around and I just wrote 'Kurt loves Dave' putting the letters all in the same space. And I kind of liked it. I tried again with all caps and that's what I decided to go with. I used the engraver at the shop on the stainless medallions and I painted the engraved part, wiped the excess off, and let them dry. Afterwards, I put the metal clear coat on we use at the shop and I welded them to the clasps."
"I like the idea. It's something everyone can see, but it's also something private just between us."
Kurt tipped Dave's chin up. "I know you've loved me for a long time and you've been scared I was just going along with this because you were my only option. I want you not to feel that way. I could have said 'no'. I wasn't desperate for a boyfriend. I was pretty desperate for a friend and you offered me that as an option as well. I've never felt pressured by you. You've been a real gentleman. And I'm really thankful for that. I'm a romantic at heart. You made me see that you are too. You told me up front that if you had wanted an easy lay or even a fuck buddy. And you could have gotten that easily without any of the problems dating me has caused you. You knew the risk and you took it willingly. And it cost you a lot. I like the time we spend reading and playing games and watching movies and just spending time together. And I like cooking with you. And those are all things we could have done as just friends. But I really love when you snuggle up behind me and hold me close. I love slow dancing with you. I love it when you just reach out for my hand when I'm nearby or put your hand on my lower back or my leg. I really never expected to have the chance to love someone until I was a lot older and I moved away from Lima. And I love you – not because you're my only option, but because you're amazing."
Dave nodded and those tears he had managed to contain, slipped down his cheeks. Kurt reached out and used his thumbs to wipe them away.
"They're happy tears."
"I know. But I also know there's some sadness mixed in there too. It's not been a walk in the park the last three and a half months. But I'm glad you gave me the chance to get to know you and to love you." He kissed Dave gently. "You're an amazing guy and I'm proud to be your boyfriend. Do you want to go up and watch the movie now?"
Dave leaned up and kissed him. "Yeah."
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Dave was half sitting, half reclining with Kurt lying back on him like Dave was his personal chaise when the movie ended. Kurt turned over and got on all fours and allowed Dave to reposition himself. Rather than sitting up and letting Kurt sit at a 90-degree angle to him in the corner, Dave slid down more until he was flat on his back and he gently pulled Kurt down on top of him. Kurt relaxed and lay down on him. He turned his head to the side, using Dave's chest as a pillow. Kurt ran his fingers through Dave's hair. He moved his legs to get a little more comfortable and felt something pressed against his abdomen, which made him realize what his squirming had caused. He scooted to his right and squished himself on his side between the sofa back and Dave's side. Dave turned his body slightly so he could see Kurt more easily. His face was really flushed.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to …"
"I know. It's fine. It happens a lot. You're insanely attractive. Hey, look at me, please."
Kurt managed to make eye contact. "I know you're not doing it on purpose. You're not being a tease, if that's what you think I think."
"No, I just feel like I'm a let down because I'm not ready to go farther. My dad talked about how sex changes things between people. And after he and I talked, I looked at the people at school who are open about the fact that they are sexually active and honestly they don't seem happy. And I don't know why. Is it because they just randomly have sex and never feel connected to the person, like they think it will create this special connection and it doesn't happen, so they're let down by the whole experience so they try again and again unsuccessfully to make that connection? Or do they make that connection, only to have the other person beak it by cheating on them or by leaving them for whatever reason? I love you and I like how we are together. I love the closeness we have and I guess after what my dad said, I feel like if we move quickly that our relationship will become more about sex than everything else. And I don't want to lose those other things."
"I don't want us to be together just for that either. And I'm not disappointed. Just because my body reacts, doesn't mean that you have some obligation to do something about it. I was enjoying being your pillow."
"Ooh… I just remembered something. Hop up and go in the kitchen and then close your eyes."
Dave did as Kurt asked. Kurt opened the fridge and pulled out the bowl with the cheesecake slices. He took the lid off and got out a fork. He stood in front of Dave asked him to open his mouth and he put a bite of the cheesecake in. He took a bite of the other slice and ate it.
"You saved some."
"I did. I wanted to have the last piece with you today." He fed Dave another bite.
They stood there with Kurt feeding both of them until the cheesecake was gone. Kurt put the bowl and fork in the dishwasher. He turned around and Dave was staring at his bracelet.
"Please be honest. If you don't want to wear it, you can just fasten it to your backpack or keep it fastened around the lamp on your nightstand." He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Dave's neck. "I love you whether you wear it or not."
"I wasn't looking at it because it was bothering me. I was looking at it because it's really cool. And of course, I'm going to wear it." He squeezed Kurt gently. "I love you and I will wear the bracelet because I want to wear it. Are you ready to go get some foam and fabric to make a cushion for the ottoman?"
"I'm just going to run down and grab the fabric swatch that came with the futon cover. I'll be right back up. Do you know the measurements?"
"Yep."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
When they were in the fabric store, Dave left Kurt in the fabric section to go to the bathroom. He stopped on the way back to look at some really soft looking yarn in a wire bin. A boy about 11 years old walked up and started playing with the skeins of yarn, running his hands through the bin. Dave smiled at him.
"I like your bracelet."
"Thanks."
"Where did you buy it?"
"Oh, I didn't buy it. It was a gift. My boyfriend made it for me and gave it to me – today actually."
"Boyfriend?"
"Yep."
"But you're a jock. Gay boys are sissies."
"Nope, not true. Gay people come in as many varieties as people who aren't gay. There are gay football players, like me and my boyfriend. There are gay musicians, teachers, chefs, artists, anything you can think of."
"Oh."
"And just because a guy likes to do something like sew or paint or make stuff doesn't mean he's gay. What people like to do and who people love are completely unrelated."
"I think I get it. You can't tell just by looking at someone or by what they like to do or are good at."
"Exactly. And it doesn't make someone any different. And unless you want to date someone, who that person is attracted to isn't really your business because it doesn't affect your life. Think about it like this. Would you refuse to be friends with someone because they like to eat a food you don't like?"
"No, that's dumb."
"But what if you had to pair up with someone to split a meal evenly? Then would it matter what the other person likes?"
"Yeah."
"That's how it works with people. Unless who the person likes directly affects you somehow, then it shouldn't matter to you whether someone likes boys or girls."
"That makes sense."
"Does being friends with someone who likes a food you don't like make you end up liking the food?"
"No, that's dumb too."
"Being gay isn't catching. Just because someone is gay doesn't mean they can make other people gay. It just doesn't work that way."
"My grandma was in the hospital and I spent a lot of time with her and she taught me how to knit and I really like to knit and one of the boys at school found out because my sister told his sister than I made her hat. Now the boys tease me and call me a girl. But I'm not a girl. And I think girls are cute, not boys. So, I'm not gay. But the other guys tease me a lot."
"Is your mom here with you?"
"Yeah. She's looking at the paintbrushes."
"Will you please tell her what the boys at school are doing to you? Don't wait until it gets worse. Someone needs to tell them what I told you, so they can learn. What they're doing to you is wrong and it needs to stop."
"I'll tell her. I didn't want to, but I will."
"Actually, honey, I'm right here. Is that why you didn't make any hats this fall?"
"Yeah."
"I'm going to talk to your teacher and get this straightened out. Why don't you pick the one you like from that bin and go get in line?" He grabbed one. He took the $5 bill she offered him and went to get in line.
"Thanks. I know we tell kids not to talk to strangers, but I think you're just young enough for him to not be afraid of you. He'd been really sullen over the last couple of months, but wouldn't tell me what was bothering him."
"You're welcome. My boyfriend's been where your son is now. It only got worse. I don't want that for other kids. Gay or not. It got more physical in junior high, but by high school he was being tossed in dumpsters and physically bullied. The school did nothing. Maybe if you start now, things will be different by the time he's in high school."
"Are they better now?"
"Well, the main offenders got expelled after they beat me up after they found out I'm gay. My dad's a lawyer. Otherwise, I'm not sure anything would have happened."
"I see. I better get up front. Thanks again. I'm going to go talk to his teacher as soon as school starts back up." She walked away.
Dave smiled and nodded.
"There you are." Kurt smiled when he saw Dave. He grabbed his hand. "Come look at the three options I found."
