I'm right in the middle of my exams right now, and I've got another (final!) set after these ones. So I won't be updating any of my stories until they are over (mid/late November). I want to focus on them and make sure I pass, seeing as they are fairly important to the rest of my life :)

Shout outs to IttleBitz, MyPartnerInCrime, Verdandil (Thank you for the help again :D), Chuckles. Is. Me and NessySchu - but everyone is amazing and I love you all :)

Oh, and I've heard that Glee is going to do Last Friday Night? :D I was planning on putting that song in this fic too...

November 8th XD

Cold Snap

It's time for two glee clubs to get together and just relax on a cold, snowy winter's day. Featuring the loveable Belle, some just-as-loveable Warblers, insecure Wes, plotting Quinn, sneaky Klaine and a particularly special hug...

Blaine loved winter.

He loved summer as well, of course – being able to go out with friends, hang out, go swimming and all that other stuff that came with the season. But winter was fun for all different reasons. It was cold, meaning you could spend more time inside doing nothing. You could rug up and sit in front of a heater or fire and keep warm. You could snuggle up with someone like penguins. Or you could go outside and have fun in the snow, especially with friends. There were endless possibilities.

Or you could just have the worst luck and get sick.

When Blaine came down to breakfast that morning, he noticed Kurt wasn't there again. He sighed with a slight smile, sliding into a chair beside Finn (who had already devoured half of what had been cooked up in about ten minutes). Across the table were Burt and Carole, who smiled at him when he entered.

"Sleep okay?" Carole asked.

Blaine nodded, "Yeah. Kurt still in hiding?"

Burt cracked a smile at that and chuckled to himself, shaking his head, "Oh yeah. He's better than yesterday – he should be fine by tomorrow."

Blaine smiled to himself, laughing internally. He (and Finn, oddly enough, though he hadn't been living with Kurt for a long time) had just found out what happened when Kurt got sick. He'd come down with a cold the day before and spent the entire day hiding in his room, refusing to let anyone in. No one was quite sure why but Burt had been going along with it for sixteen years. Besides, the man had said when Finn had complained that Kurt had locked him out, he would come out if something was really wrong. By now, Blaine was beginning to wonder how Kurt was doing in there.

When they were finished eating, Blaine had a sudden idea. Hoping it would work, he asked, "Do you think I should take something for Kurt to eat?"

Burt shrugged, "He should eat, but he might not come out for it. He never does when I try. You can have a go though."

Blaine understood the subtle meaning behind Burt's words (and Burt was not exactly a subtle man – just like his son). While Kurt might push everyone else away, even his own family, there was a chance that the relationship he and Blaine had built would overcome that. Maybe he would at least open the door, if not come out. Blaine nodded, collecting some food together and heading down the hall. As he did, he felt something brush against his legs. He looked down to see Belle rubbing against his calf, looking up at him with bright eyes. He smiled, letting her follow him as he walked towards Kurt's room. He stopped outside the door and paused for a moment before knocking. Kurt mumbled something unintelligible at the interruption, sounding upset and hoarse.

Blaine rolled his eyes, "Kurt, I've got food. You should eat something."

There was a long moment of silence when Kurt didn't reply.

"Belle wants to see you too," he added.

Another long pause. Blaine wondered if Kurt was getting up or not, and was about to give up and leave when the door cracked open an inch. He saw Kurt eyeing the food through the gap, not having eaten since the day before he fell sick. He seemed to be contemplating the thought of food before opening the door further.

"You feeling okay?" Blaine asked with a small smile.

Kurt frowned, shrugging as he moved aside to let Blaine enter. He slipped inside, Belle following, Kurt closing the door and locking it again. They sat on the boy's bed, and he took the food and began to eat as the puppy sat at his feet, pawing at him insistently. There wasn't much – Blaine knew he didn't tend to eat very much and feeling sick wouldn't help. He ate in silence for a while, Blaine sat beside him until finally the other boy decided to speak.

"You don't look so good."

Kurt glanced up at him as he finished, putting the plate on the bedside table, "Je me sens horrible"

I feel horrible.

Blaine smiled and took Kurt's hand, "You'll be fine by tomorrow."

The boy nodded and Blaine cheered internally that Kurt seemed to no longer even think about contact. He was pretty sure it had started a little while ago, but after that incident he'd reverted back to flinching every time someone touched him. Now he was back to before, happy and confortable with Blaine's presence and touch.

Kurt sneezed, shaking his head before yawning. He leaned onto Blaine's shoulder, blinking tiredly. The ex-Warbler put his arm around Kurt carefully and resisted the urge to mess with his hair – last time he'd done that Kurt had been the very definition of mad.

"If you're tired you should get some sleep," Blaine said.

Kurt nodded, sitting up and crawling under the blankets. Blaine smiled as he pulled them up and made sure his boyfriend was warm enough – it was quite cold, snow covering the ground outside. Belle jumped up onto the bed and before Blaine could tell her off, the black puppy settled down to sleep at the foot of the bed. She curled up, nose tucked away and tail wrapped around herself. Blaine didn't have the heart to move her and Kurt wasn't bothered by her presence.

"Hey Kurt," he started, waiting until the other boy looked at him before continuing "How about we do something with our friends tomorrow? Just go hang out or something."

Kurt smiled at that, "Oui, ce serait amusant. On pourrait amener Belle avec nous."

Yeah, that would be fun. We could bring Belle with us.

"Great idea," Blaine replied "I'll call them today, see who'll come."

"N'oublie pas tes amis," Kurt said.

Don't forget your friends.

"My friends?"

Kurt nodded, "Tu ne les as pas vus depuis longtemps. Tu devrais les demander s'ils veulent venir te voir."

You haven't seen them in a long time. You should ask if they want to come see you.

Blaine smiled. It was true that he'd seen some of his friends at Christmas, but only for a few minutes before he'd had to leave, plus he hadn't seen the bulk of the Warblers for quite a while. He talked to them occasionally but it wasn't the same. And all of them had said they wanted to see him again. It sounded like a good idea, and he told Kurt so. The boy smiled, as did Blaine in return.

"I'll go call them then," he said, moving to go "I'll see you later."

But before he could take a step Kurt's hand shot out and grabbed his arm. He turned back curiously, seeing Kurt's gaze fixed on him.

"Reste?"

The question was obvious. Blaine shook his head.

"I can't. I've got work," he said, knowing Burt was probably waiting for him and Finn so they could head over to the garage. He was determined to prove to the man that he could do the job that he'd generously been given and he wasn't going to screw it up. He couldn't afford to. This was his chance to show everyone that he wasn't totally useless. As much as he wanted to stay with Kurt (and who wouldn't, with that look Kurt was giving him?) he knew he couldn't. Kurt sighed, rolling his eyes and Blaine laughed lightly, sitting on the edge of the bed and patting his shoulder.

"I'd stay if I could. You know I would. But you just get some sleep and tomorrow we'll go to the park or something with Belle and everyone else. Sound good?"
Kurt nodded, snuggling up further under the blankets. Blaine smiled and stood, grabbing the now-empty plate and walking to the door and unlocking it. He glanced back at Kurt and Belle, both curled up and either asleep or on the way. And then he left, closing the door quietly behind him.

"So how many are going to come then?" Blaine asked, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one needed his help. Technically he shouldn't to be doing this while he was supposed to be working. But Burt was pretty lax with the rules as long as work got done. And in a spare few minutes, Blaine had decided it would be a good time to organise things with his friends. He'd already called the collective members of New Directions and everyone was on-board. Now it was just up to the Warblers.

He waited as Wes called out the question to the others obviously in the room with him and there was a quiet count of hands. Then Wes came back to the phone.

"Out of the fourteen of us, five can't make it. Various reasons – family, other commitments, babysitting duties, so on. Anyway, that makes nine."

"I'm glad to see you're no longer failing Math," Blaine said dryly, hearing Wes chuckle on the other end and imagining the head Warbler rolling his eyes.

"I see McKinley has helped your sense of humour," he shot back.

It was Blaine's turn to chuckle and roll his eyes now as he replied, "Who's coming?"

"Me, David, Thad… Jeff, Nick… Trent, Cameron, Liam and… Mason," Wes said the names, sounding distracted. Blaine frowned, intrigued.

"What's going on?"

"Guys, give me a second!" Wes shouted in exasperation before returning his attention to Blaine "Sorry, they all want to talk to you. They're trying to steal the ph- for crying out loud! Give that back!"

When Wes was interrupted there was the sound of a thump and a scrabbling noise as the phone was grabbed. Wes's voice became fainter until a new voice drowned it out.

"Hi Blaine!" Cameron's voice came through cheerfully "How's things going?"

Blaine was about to reply through his considerable laughter when he heard Wes shouting again across the line, faint but furious (Give me my freaking phone back! Cameron, I swear your secret little stash under your bed is going to get sent to your parents if you're not careful! CAMERON!) Finally the phone was passed back with Cameron saying a quick, scared-sounding good bye before Wes was back.

"Sorry about that," he said "Anyway, we'll see you tomorrow?"

Blaine gave him the directions to where they would all meet up, telling him to be there about nine thirty. Quickly they said their good byes and Blaine hung up just as Burt called out to him.

"Blaine, little help over here?"

Blaine pocketed the phone and ran over to help.

Just as they'd said, Kurt was fine when he woke the next morning – proven by the fact he came out of his room for the first time in two days. When he joined the rest of the family at the table for breakfast it set knowing smiles off on everyone, especially Blaine. The whole family chatted throughout the meal, Blaine feeling more at home than he ever had before. These were people that didn't really know him very well, but had let him into the home, let him close to their boy, trusted him and most of all, believed in him. He couldn't say the same for anyone else.

Once breakfast was over it was quarter past nine already and the boys had to run to get ready. Within ten minutes Blaine and Kurt were at the door, the latter hooking a leash onto the excitable puppy's collar. A moment later Finn came down the hall, tugging his coat on.

"You're all warm enough?" Carole asked, watching the boys go.

They all nodded, Kurt a little preoccupied as he tried to keep Belle under control. The black puppy was bouncing up at Finn, barking and pulling hard in her excitement.

"Off you go then, before Belle tears your arm off," Carole smiled, waving them off as the boys said goodbye and ran out the door.

Outside was freezing, so they ran to Finn's car as quickly as they could. Inside the car was beautifully warm, so much so that Finn groaned in delight once all the doors were shut and the heat sealed in.

"I love this car."

"Allez," Kurt said impatiently from the backseat as Belle walked all over him in her haste to look out the window.

Come on.

Finn laughed, starting the car and pulling out of the driveway. It took them about ten minutes to get to the park and when they arrived they found a few New Directions members already there.

"Belle!" Tina said with a grin as the puppy tore her leash out of Kurt's hand and raced towards the girl, jumping up at her. The three boys made their way through the thick snow towards Tina and the four people standing with her. Belle ran from one to the next, barking as Finn tried to grab her leash. He went face first into the snow, missing the dog entirely. While everyone stifled a laugh as Finn struggled back to his feet, Puck bent down and scooped the leash up, keeping the dog from leaping up at anyone else. He passed it back to Kurt, who told Bell off firmly though she didn't seem to be listening. She was too interested in Mike and Rachel, and then the rest of New Directions as they began to arrive.

First was Quinn, Santana and Brittany, the latter giggling as she dropped to her knees and patted the black puppy. She was the one person who'd spent the most time with Belle apart from Kurt on the first day that the glee club had come over to meet the new puppy. The two had hogged Belle the most, running around the backyard and wearing the dog out. Next was Artie and Sam, followed quickly by Mercedes. She greeted Kurt warmly before Belle interrupted by jumping between them and barking.

"So what are we waiting for?" Puck grinned, already forming a snowball in his hands. He obviously didn't expect an answer, proven when he stared in surprise as Blaine replied.

"A few people, actually."

"Who?" Santana asked, eyebrow raised.

Blaine and Kurt shared a knowing look and smiled. As if on cue, two cars pulled up and out of them spilled a bunch of boys that were instantly recognisable as friends (by Blaine and Kurt), enemies (by Rachel, as always) and viewed with suspicion (by the rest of them).

"Blaine!" one of the boys shouted in glee, engulfing the shorter boy in a massive hug that had him lost for a moment and unable to breathe. He kicked the boy in the shin until he let go, Blaine taking a moment to suck air in again.

"Liam, seriously?" he asked breathlessly, smiling and shaking his head as the boy eyed Finn of curiously – both were of similar height and he seemed to be sizing him up, deciding who was actually taller.

Before Liam could answer, Blaine was surrounded once again – this time by all the other Warblers, excited to see him again. For a minute Blaine was trapped in a group hug of proportions the likes of which he hadn't experience since leaving Dalton for good, and that had been a crushing hug with fourteen Warblers. This was a lot smaller but just as strong.

Finally they backed off, chattering and asking Blaine a hundred questions at once.

"How are you?"

"Everything going okay?"

"Have you actually grown?"

"How's the whole public school thing going for you?"

"Slow down!" Blaine laughed "They'll think you're insane."

He gestured to the McKinley students who were staring at the Warblers in confusion, some with arms folded or eyebrows raised. Quinn was staring at one of the boys, Jeff, with a critical eye, semi-interested. Santana looked especially annoyed when she saw her latest boyfriend amongst the mass.

"You didn't tell me you were coming to Lima today, Liam" she said, looking expectantly at the rather tall Dalton boy who gave her an apologetic look in return with a shrug.

"Guys, these are some of the Warblers," Blaine said, introducing each one. Some of the McKinley kids already knew the boys – Mercedes, Kurt, Santana – while the others were still unaware. Once the boys had been introduced, Puck spoke up.

"Can I just ask… why are they here?"

"You're not the only one who's friends with Blaine," David said, eyeing Puck suspiciously. They stared at each other for a moment, trying to decide just what the other was up to. While they silently faced off, Thad explained.

"We wanted to catch up with Blaine. And Kurt. Blaine invited us down here."

"That's cool," Tina said "The more the merrier. Now, are we going to have fun or not?"

There was a moment of silence and stillness before a yelp pierced the air and suddenly David was reeling from a snowball being thrown at his face. He stared at Puck, who simply smirked and wandered off.

After that, it was an all-out war.

Sides were drawn fairly quickly and teams put together in an attempt to win the snowball fight that raged around them. Santana, Quinn, Brittany, Liam and his brother Mason were a formidable force, Santana pelting anything that moved with snow and Liam and Mason making the perfect pair as the miniature boy made dozens of snowballs and the taller one threw them, keeping the girls stocked with ammunition. Meanwhile, the McKinley boys fought their own battle against Tina, Artie, Rachel, Thad and Trent. They were hiding behind snow-coated trees, laughing and giggling as they tossed snowballs at each other. The Dalton team of Wes, David, Jeff, Nick and Cameron attacked anyone they could find. It didn't matter who they were, though Puck seemed to have a target strapped to his back as whenever he was nearby, all snowballs from the Dalton boys' team appeared to fly his way. Meanwhile, Blaine, Mercedes, Kurt and Belle did their best to avoid the majority of the snowballs and simply enjoy what the snow and the day had to offer. While they were occasionally pelted with snowballs – usually by Tina's allies – the four managed to keep away from the main battlegrounds and stick to the quitter areas of the park. As much as Blaine loved the snow, he didn't particularly love the way it dripped down his back when he was hit from behind, chilling him to the bone. Mercedes didn't have a fondness for the game either, and while Kurt seemed to be okay with the infrequent attacks, they both knew he didn't love it the away the others did.

Belle bounded through the snow, sometimes sinking rather deep before struggling out and continuing on her very merry way. There were few other people in the park – a couple, some younger kids braving the cold with what looked like an older sibling. After Belle had barked her head off at another dog being walked through the snow-laden park and it had taken both Kurt and Mercedes to drag her away, the three decided to go to a more secluded part of the park where they were relatively sure they would be left alone. When they reached the tree-shaded spot, Blaine dropped to the ground on his back, sighing with a grin as he waved his arms around in the snow.

"Tu es adorable," Kurt rolled his eyes good-naturedly as Blaine giggled like a little kid.

You're adorable.

"No, you're adorable," Blaine said, Mercedes laughing to herself in the background.

Belle decided to jump on Blaine at that moment, dragging Kurt behind her. In an amazing feat of agility the puppy managed to leap off Blaine before Kurt tripped and fell on top of him, knocking the air out of him. They lay there for a moment, breathlessly laughing before Kurt hauled himself to his feet and held out a gloved hand to Blaine. He pulled his boyfriend out of the snow and giggled as Belle leaped up at Blaine's back, making him stumble forwards. Luckily he managed to miss Kurt before he went face first into the freezing snow. He pulled himself up quickly, gasping.

"I don't think I can feel my face," he complained, standing and avoiding Belle this time. The black Labrador sat, wagging her tail and staring at him with what Blaine swore was a cheeky smirk.

"AAAHHH!"

The three jumped out of their skins as a war cry sounded, Belle barking in surprise. Wes and Cameron came running out of the trees, throwing snowball after snowball at the small group. They ducked and shielded themselves, Kurt using Blaine as a personal shield. Belle went on the offensive, barking and tugging the leash out of Kurt's grip so she could jump at Cameron's chest and knock him down. While she was a small puppy, the force of her flying through the air was enough to make the breathless Warbler collapse on the ground. He laughed as she pawed at him, barking in victory.

"Where's the rest of your team?" Blaine asked with a laugh once the attack had stopped, Wes grinning rather excitedly and trying to look anywhere but at Mercedes.

"Oh, Nick and Jeff ran off together – no, I do not know where and I don't want to – and David betrayed me. He switched teams! The cheat."

"Who's he fighting for now?" Mercedes asked, chuckling.

Wes stared at her, starstruck for a moment before replying, "Your guys."

"With Puck?" Blaine said in mock-horror "This I have to see. It can't be good."

They headed towards the last place that team had been seen, Kurt and Mercedes wandering ahead of the others with Belle. When they were out of earshot, Wes leaned over and asked Blaine a question quietly.

"Is she seeing anyone? And be honest."

"You think I'd lie to you about something like that?" Blaine said, hurt "You think I'd lie to you at all?"

"Of course not," Wes said hastily, knowing his friend better than probably anyone else on the planet other than David and perhaps Kurt "I just mean… don't sugar coat it. Don't be vague and say 'oh, maybe she is, I don't know' because I don't want to do something stupid."

Blaine smiled at his friend's worry and fear about Mercedes. It fell the moment he realised he was going to have to tell his madly-in-love friend that the girl he liked was already happily with someone else. It was going to hurt, especially as he'd already told Wes before that she might possibly be interested in him if he talked to her.

"So, is she going out with anyone?" Wes asked again, insistent with a look of worry on his face.

Blaine sighed and nodded, "Yeah. Sam – that blonde kid."

Wes sighed as well when he heard the news, sounding dejected, "The Bieber kid? That is just depressing. I mean, how do I even compete with that? It's not fair!"

The ex-Warbler rolled his eyes and patted his friend on the shoulder, "You'll be fine, Wes. There's plenty of girls out there that would go out with you. You just haven't found them yet. Oh, and don't tell anyone about Mercedes and Sam. It's still a secret."

Wes nodded, agreeing to keep the secret, "Okay. But it's easy for you to say – you've got Kurt."

"You'll find someone Wes, don't worry about it. It's just not Mercedes."

Wes sighed, "Fair enough. Come on, we better catch up to them or they'll leave us behind."

The pair raced to catch up. When they reached Mercedes, Kurt and Belle, there seemed to be an avalanche of snow and they were almost buried under the tonnes of snowballs pelted at them from all sides. Wes screamed dramatically as he tried to fight back, attacking David in the trees and racing towards him furiously. The other McKinley boys continued to pummel the defenceless three remaining until Belle jumped into the fight, leaping up and taking down Finn and Sam before anyone could even blink. And when Kurt started to shiver and grabbed Blaine like a lifeline, the deluge stopped immediately, Puck actually looking a little guilty for a moment as he briefly apologised.

"Come on Mercedes," Sam called with a grin "I know where Quinn and the others are hiding."

There was no way Mercedes was going to say no to that sort of opportunity and she waved a goodbye to her two boys before racing off with Sam, Mike, Puck and Finn. It left Blaine and Kurt alone with Belle, sat beside the two with a satisfied expression on her face (Blaine knew she was only a dog, but he swore she was more human than any animals he'd ever met).

"Cold?" he asked, putting an arm around Kurt. Both were coated in snow, freezing cold and slightly damp. Kurt was shivering and he nodded, leaning into Blaine.

"I have an idea. Come with me."

Quinn had split off from her group long ago to fight alone – and more importantly, find herself that blonde boy she'd seen from the Warblers. She hadn't noticed him before at Sectionals – perhaps she'd been too upset over her breakup with Sam – but now she had and she liked what she saw. He was good looking, had stunning hair and was probably filthy rich. After all, you kind of had to be to go to a school like Dalton Academy, right? At least, that's what she was counting on. If she could snare someone like that boy, maybe she would at the very least be able to make either Finn or Sam jealous enough to come back to her. She would prefer Finn, of course, but Sam would do. Though he'd been distant lately, doing his best to be polite which wasn't going over well with Quinn.

Well, she thought Maybe he'll be jealous of someone three times as rich as he'll ever be, and with better hair.

She wandered through the trees, searching quietly for her quarry. She was about to give up and go back to her team to fight the others again – this was getting boring and even throwing snowballs was more fun than this – when she heard the sound of a voice in the still air. She froze, listening to its position before following it, stepping carefully to avoid being detected.

Quinn found her boy alone in a wide, empty, flat part of the park. In summer it would be covered in grass and kids would be playing football or other games on here. Now it was just an expanse of white snow, and the blonde boy was on the tree line and stepping out onto it, looking around.

"Nick? Where the hell did you go?"

From Quinn's limited knowledge of the Warblers – she wished she'd been paying attention when Blaine had introduced his friends – she could name most of them. He obviously wasn't Nick. Wes and David were easy. Thad was on Tina's team from memory, as was that Trent guy. And Liam and Mason had been on her team, one of which being her friend's latest boyfriend. So that left Cameron and… Jeff. She stared at the blonde, trying to figure out which one he was. He didn't really look like a Cameron to her. Maybe it was Jeff? Kind of boring name, but that didn't matter so much.

Suddenly the boy – Jeff? Cameron? – was attacked from the trees by a flying ball of snow. He stumbled forwards as it slammed into his back and he whipped around with a yelp. From the trees walked a brunette, smirking and holding another snowball. Nick, it seemed. He made his way towards the blonde, the other backing away.

"Come on Jeff, you're making it too easy."

Jeff. So that was it. Cameron was the other blonde guy. He was of no real interest to Quinn. She watched intently from her hiding place in the trees as the blonde stumbled and had to right himself. As he did, the brunette tossed the snowball at his chest, knocking Jeff off balance and making him fall. He sat in the snow, glaring up at the other boy as the brunette held out a hand to him. Nick pulled him to his feet, both laughing.

"That was unnecessary," Jeff said.

Nick grinned, "But it was fun."

Quinn waited, wanting this Nick character to disappear so she could talk to Jeff alone. She considered walking out of her hiding place and asking to speak to him, but would that be too forward? Would he reject her for that? She couldn't afford it if she wanted to make her McKinley boys jealous. But it looked like she would have to take the chance. It didn't look like Nick was going anywhere any time soon.

But then he had to go and utterly ruin it all. Nick leaned forward and pressed his lips against Jeff's. Quinn rolled his eyes and sighed, a puffy cloud escaping into the cold air. Typical. Typical. Of course he was gay. He had to go and ruin her plan like that, didn't he?

She couldn't really blame Jeff though. The Nick guy wasn't entirely too bad-looking, and they looked happy. Of course, that thought just made her madder. These guys were happy. Kurt and Blaine were happy. Tina and Mike were happy. Even Santana was relatively happy with her boy Liam, who slept around almost as much as Santana did. Finn and Rachel were happy. Why couldn't she be happy? She'd been happy with Finn. Even Puck had been okay. Sam had been great, but nothing like Finn. Finn was dependable, reliable, kind of dumb. He was also sweet, kind, loving and fiercely loyal. If she was honest with herself, maybe she had even loved him a little. Maybe she still did.

But since when was Quinn Fabray honest with herself?

She sighed as the boys wandered off into the trees, disappearing. Well, there goes that plan.

Quinn headed back towards her team. If she couldn't get with anyone, maybe she could pelt them all with snowballs and make herself feel better.

After an hour or so of work, it was done.

"What do you think?" Blaine asked, gesturing to what he, Kurt and Belle had just created. Kurt cast a critical eye over it, frowning as he tilted his head and stared at it for a moment.

"Est-ce un lieu sûr?"

Is it safe?

"Of course," Blaine reassured him "I wouldn't let you go in there if it wasn't."

It was supposed to be an igloo. But after their first few attempts had failed miserably, Blaine had decided on something a little simpler and something Belle could easily help with. Basically, they'd dug a giant tunnel with a cosy little room at the end, far under the snow. Luckily the snow was deep enough to do so, else their plan would have failed as badly as the igloos had.

Blaine crawled inside, making his way down the short tunnel to the small room they'd created. He could already tell it was warmer in here than outside and he had to strip off his jacket to keep cool. He called for Kurt to come on in, but it was Belle was raced down the tunnel first, the Labrador shaking herself of snow when she entered before settling down at Blaine's feet. Then Kurt crawled in, still hesitant about the whole thing. Once he was inside however, he sighed and smiled at the warmth, taking off his own heavy jacket. There was just enough room for all of them, though the two boys had to huddle together in the dimly-lit 'room'. Not that they minded so much.

"Il fait vraiment chaud ici," Kurt said in surprise, leaning his head on his boyfriend's shoulder.

It's really warm in here.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Blaine replied "It's not as awesome as an igloo, but maybe even warmer."

"Merci, Blaine."

Blaine shifted to look down at him, "For what?"

Kurt shrugged, humming in contentment.

It couldn't last though. For about half an hour they stayed down there, chatting quietly to each other. Then they heard their names being called, sounding worried, so they figured they'd better go and reassure everyone that they were alright.

Outside, the chill bit into them twice as badly as before. Even Belle was shivering now, looking rather sorry for herself. The three made their way towards where everyone had gathered, frantically calling out the missing boys' names.

"They can't have just disappeared," Thad said sensibly, while Wes and David bemoaned the loss of their friend and Mercedes was worriedly talking with Sam and Puck about finding her boys.

"Hey guys," Blaine called, waving.

"You're alive!" Wes and David cried, looking ecstatic "We thought you'd been buried or something."

Kurt and Blaine exchanged knowing looks and grinned, the gesture not understood by the rest of the group.

"What's so funny?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," Blaine replied "You guys finished being crazy?"

As the previous snowball war was brought up, evil grins were shared all around and the McKinley boys – and David – groaned. Tina and her team looked rather smug as the conversation descended into how she, Artie, Trent and Thad had forced the boys into surrender when they'd ambushed them. They'd had no idea how good Artie and Rachel were as throwers and Trent was an excellent pitcher. Tina and Thad had kept them supplied, throwing a few themselves, until the boys had submitted. Santana thought the whole thing was hilarious and had filmed the entire thing on her phone. Puck was trying to get her to delete it but she was refusing, showing Blaine and Kurt the footage.

Eventually though, the cold got to all of them as they just stood around talking, and soon the chatter turned to home.

"It's getting late," Sam said "I have to get back."

"Me too," Artie added.

"And we'd better start driving if we want to make it back to Dalton before nightfall," Cameron commented, the Warblers agreeing reluctantly. Plans were made with Blaine and Kurt to catch up again sometime soon, Thad apologising quietly once again for the incident he'd accidentally caused. Then, before they knew it, they'd driven off and were gone. The New Directions members were also starting to head off. The boys said their goodbyes before disappearing in their respective cars until only Finn, Blaine and Kurt were left. Rachel waved to Finn before leaving, Santana and Brittany getting a lift in Quinn's car. Tina made her goodbyes and vanished, Mercedes taking a little longer to hug Blaine and pat Kurt on the shoulder. In a move that surprised everyone, Kurt stopped her as she moved away, grabbing her instead and pulling her into a hesitant hug. She froze, stunned, hugging back just as tentatively until Kurt let her go and smiled awkwardly at her. Mercedes took a moment to let it all run through her head before beaming widely.

"Kurt… you're amazing, you know that?"

He ducked his head shyly, smiling. Mercedes shook her head as she left, saying good bye to Finn and Blaine as well. Both were just as surprised as she was. Kurt barely even hugged his own father. Blaine was the only person he trusted enough to let close enough to touch. Now it seemed he'd extended that privilege to Mercedes. And high time too, Blaine smiled, she deserved her little bit of happiness that Kurt had given her.

"J'aurais dû faire ça il y a longtemps, mais..."

I should have done that a long time ago, but…

"I think she's just happy that you did it at all," Blaine said "It means a lot to her."

Finn looked a little upset but said nothing, leading the other two and an exhausted, freezing cold Belle towards his car. They piled in, Kurt and Blaine both taking the backseat with Belle as she collapsed on the seat in exhaustion. The boys leaned against each other, Kurt fighting off sleep.

"Finn?" he said tiredly.

"Yeah?" he replied as he pulled out of the car park and started on the way home.

"Je t'aime."

Blaine saw Finn smile to himself in the rear view mirror before sleep overcame him as well as Kurt. They ended up snoring in the backseat, Belle between them and Finn humming, rather pleased with himself.

I was actually feeling pretty awful while I was writing this, so I figured I might as well toss it in the story, and I can imagine Kurt hiding in his room in his misery - I know I felt like it ;P

Next: I'll give you a clue. Blaine's favourite holiday...