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This is Christmas Eve at the Hummel house. During our holiday, my family usually eats Christmas dinner on the 24th and not on Christmas Day. Actually it's more of a later lunch. Anyway!
A shorter chapter with a big moment. That's all the warning you're getting.
Once Kurt and Blaine reached the Hummel house, the snow began to fall again. It was still early enough in the day that there was still light and much prep work to do for tomorrow's Christmas dinner. Blaine decided to take a nap after unpacking his suitcase and bags he brought with him. While Blaine was upstairs settling, Burt had come home early for the holidays and was starting a fire in the hearth.
Kurt began to cut up celery and onions for his dressing he was going to bake tomorrow. He had planned everything out down to the minute in regards to cooking and baking. Luckily there was always more than enough food leftover that if they got snowed in, they'd be okay. Then again, Kurt slowed his chopping. He wasn't sure how much Blaine could eat.
He was ever careful not to place any pressure on his wrist and while it was healing properly as of this morning; Kurt was a bit anxious not to disturb the natural process. As he was chopping his mind drifted to various things of different importance.
Kurt was fairly sure that Blaine knew who his soul mate was and could very well be keeping himself an appropriate distance from Kurt because he wasn't it. It was fine, or would be fine as he would come to accept that. Eventually. Soon as he figured out how to have feelings again but he wasn't there. Yet. Then there was this strange happening with Broadway Spirit or Faurot, Kurt wasn't sure who was who. Broadway Spirit seemed like such a nice person who was interested in Kurt as a friend, genuine and true. Faurot on the other hand was more than a little crazy and he hoped that the detectives would find him soon. With that in mind, he was a bit nervous about the whole 'talk to a shrink' he was going to have to do. Maybe he or she would preform a hypnosis so missed details could help with the case.
Unfortunately there was the holidays to wade through and he felt a spark of warm excitement over the dinner and the presents he had for his dad and the special one he had picked out for Blaine.
He had it in his room hidden in a desk drawer where he would wrap it up for when the time came. Preferably while Blaine was still sleeping or occupied by Burt down in the living room.
"Ow!" dropping the knife on the cutting board, Kurt examined his fingers and grumbled at the clotting cut on his hand. He held it under some cold water, then patted his hands dried. At the risk of contamination, he put the knife he was using in the sink and took another from the knife block on the counter.
"Is something wrong?" Blaine surprised him and Kurt nearly dropped the knife. "Oh my god! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."
Kurt nervously laughed. "I'm fine, just a common kitchen injury. Not paying attention when I chop celery." Blaine moved closer. "Should I get a sticky bandage?" He shook his head. "I'm fine. Just finishing up these and then I need to start on the cranberry sauce."
"May I help?" Blaine offered rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm not the greatest at cooking but I can chop and rinse stuff."
Kurt wrinkled his nose in thought, pretending he was concentrating really hard on whether to accept Blaine's very generous offer. His friend had an earnest look on his face that it was hard to keep up appearances. "Alright. Have you ever made cranberry sauce? Wait, scratch that. Have you ever seen cranberry sauce being made?"
Blaine shrugged with a slight blush. "Our few holiday dinners were catered."
"Ah, well this will be interesting." Kurt examined his finger again and it looked alright enough but Blaine did want to help. "Here are the cranberries." He dug through the vegetable crisper and dropped two bags on the counter. "The colander is in the cabinet by the stove. Just follow the directions on the back of the package."
Blaine nodded and obeyed carefully reading the directions. He moved around the kitchen with surprising ease. Sugar added to boiling water and cranberries rinsed. "Do you make the jelly stuff or just the regular whole berry?" Blaine asked frowning at the simmering cranberry and sugar mixture on the stove top; he had added a couple shakes of cinnamon and orange zest and juice as directed by Kurt who was sitting quite comfortably at the kitchen table.
"Hey boys," Burt headed toward the fridge for his customary nightly beer. It was an allowance he had granted himself. Besides, it wasn't like Kurt was going to drink them. The only time Kurt had beer was a humiliating experience at Rachel's house a couple years ago. Now he only cooked with wine purchased by his dad and that was only if Kurt showed which recipe he was going to use it with.
"Hi Dad." Kurt watched him pop the top and take a sip. "Blaine's offered to help out."
"Ah, that's good?" Burt's eyes narrowed on the other boy who blinked rapidly and stirred his cranberry mess absently. "I'm not very good at it but when I get back to my house, I can make cranberry sauce on my own."
Burt snorted. "Not any time now, it's supposed to snow hard over night." Blaine abandoned his stirring and peered out the kitchen window by the sink. "It's coming down hard."
"It is… I'm glad we got here before it started." Kurt said staring out the window as he stood beside Blaine. There was a couple inches difference in heights he noted catching their reflections in the glass. Blaine returned to cooking and carefully poured the sauce into a ceramic dish and stuck it in the fridge by the small turkey. "Are you really going to cook that?"
Kurt let out a short laugh. "Of course, I do most of the cooking especially on holidays. My…mom used to do it but her last Christmas she was too ill. We weren't in the holiday mood then. Now it's better."
Blaine nodded and shut the fridge door.
With dinner preparations done, the two made some quick sandwiches to share with Burt and sat in the living room to watch whatever was on tv. Though he was the guest of the Hummels, Blaine had settled in quite comfortably on the corner of the sofa nearest to Burt as they absently ate and watched sports highlights from the various sports games that had happened and were going to happen. They got into a lively discussion about the merits of the Ohio State Buckeyes which Kurt rolled his eyes at and had grabbed a pile of magazines from his room to read. Kurt couldn't follow the conversation and settled into reading about the latest fashion trends in Vogue.
It was when the words started blurring and the photographs began to look fuzzy that Kurt felt like he should put himself to bed. "I'm going to bed now." He yawned behind his hand. "It's been a long day of shopping and I have to get up early tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Blaine asked looking bright eyed and not sleepy at all. Burt looked around Blaine and nodded. "Good night then."
"Good night, Dad. And yeah, the turkey isn't going to put itself in the oven." Kurt clutched the stack of magazines to his chest. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."
Up in his room, he quickly got ready for bed and then laid out the wrapping paper and neatly wrapped his gift. He yawned several times through the process and then tucked his supplies away. It was an exhausting day that had not turned out like he expected. He had Blaine in his house for longer than a half hour and he was going to wake up tomorrow morning and he would be there, asleep yes but still here.
It was almost like he could get used to having to cook for a third person… Kurt shook his head and pulled down the covers. He set his alarm for five-thirty knowing it would be a definite struggle to drag himself down to the kitchen.
He gasped as his bare feet slid under the blankets. It was freezing! Rolling around a little with the light still on, he snagged his wrist band on his shirt buttons and nearly yanked one off. "Shit!" He muttered unsnapping the accessory and running light fingers over his forming name. It was a little tender and…
The name had formed a little more.
And it was readable.
Stumbling, he sat down hard at the vanity in his bathroom and examined it in the light.
Blaine D. Anderson
Kurt swallowed past a suddenly dry throat.
It was real? He drew a light thumb pad over the name. It hurt a little like a bruise but it didn't smudge or smear. The blood underneath lightened but returned to a normal shade. Blaine D. Anderson was his soul mate. Kurt sat there for a long moment before glancing up and at himself in the mirror.
Did he look any different? No. He was the same on the outside but on the inside… His normally pale complexion was flushed and he caught on that his heart was beating loudly in his ears and his breath was quick. He gave his mirror-twin a slight smile and then turned bright red with unwarrented embarrassment.
He knew.
Blaine would-
Kurt stopped short and looked at the name again. Blaine might already have his name already. He always figured it wasn't any of his business but now he was wanting to know. Like right now. No, he told himself. Act like nothing has happened and then pull Dad aside and tell him. Preferably after dinner, since it'd be really awkward and weird to talk about it over dinner.
He certainly didn't want to make the holidays uncomfortably awkward with announcing he had got his soul mate's name and it was his newest friend. Plus it might be better to discuss the whole ordeal with Blaine and not have his dad threatening Blaine with bodily harm for hurting him, etc. The typical dad type of thing that he could almost imagine the Mr. Berrys' telling Finn when he officially reveals Rachel's name on his wrist. He wasn't sure if that had happened yet but maybe over the holidays.
Ten minutes later, Kurt felt exhaustion sink into his bones and he slumped in front of the vanity still waiting to wake up from the dream he was having. Shaking his head, he dragged himself to his feet and went to bed. His mind was swirling with different scenarios of how he would break the news to Blaine and then to his dad. What would it mean for Blaine? What would it mean for Kurt?
Thoughts like that delved deep into his mind and dreams as he finally drifted off to sleep.
"Argh!" Kurt woke up to his alarm blaring loudly. Sometimes Lady Gaga's Bad Romance chorus as an alarm was a bad idea and coupled with strange dreams plagued of dungeons and tables filled to the edges with food and shiny silver place settings, it was going to be one of those mornings. Nevertheless, it was Christmas Day and switching on the bed side lamp and peeking out the windows, it had snowed a lot overnight. Maybe Blaine would be willing to shovel a path to and from the sidewalk to their front door; a neighbor had a snowblower but they lived several doors down.
Dressing in clothes that felt like they were sitting in the refrigerator all night, he tugged on some comfy rubber soled slippers and with his phone in hand and a flashlight in the other, he headed down to the kitchen.
Breakfast was quick, egg white sandwich with some of the sausage patties his dad liked. He'd need his energy to get everything in. Turkey was in the oven, seasoned to perfection with the large baking pan covering the bird for the next few hours until it was removed so the turkey could brown. Yams were in the oven underneath the turkey beside the large pan of dressing he had mixed together quickly while the turkey was in the oven. He had a process and a list of things to make.
"Hey, Merry Christmas Eve, Kurt." Blaine said entering the kitchen dressed in jammies, expensive leather slippers and a bathrobe and a hand covering a yawn. "Merry Christmas, Blaine." Kurt set a large pot of water to boil on the stove. "Are you hungry? I made myself a egg and sausage sandwich."
"That sounds great, did you need me to do anything?" Blaine asked looking a little more awake. He stuck his hands in the robe's pockets and shifted uncomfortably.
"Um… the potatoes in the cupboard. I need them so I can make mashed potatoes. Gravy will come later if you're wondering." Kurt added getting the carton of egg whites out of the fridge. He made it extra fancy with some green onions and fried some tomatoes in the same pan. The sausage patty fried up nicely and while the 'fancy-smancy' bread was toasting, he flipped the eggs once and directed Blaine to start chopping the potatoes. "They cook faster if they're in smaller pieces."
Blaine nodded and got to work using a freshly washed knife Kurt handed to him while working in silence. Kurt took over chopping while Blaine ate his sandwich and sipped from a cup of freshly brewed coffee. It was a comfortable silence as the pair were in the kitchen. Blaine going to get his own knife and start chopping potatoes as well. "Don't you peel them?"
"Nope." Kurt shook his head as he neatly chopped the vegetable. "Mashed red potatoes with rosemary and because it's a special occasion, bacon too."
"Bacon?"
"Yep, it's a Christmas dinner tradition, plus my dad likes it and…it's the holidays so it's not too often." Kurt said dumping the potatoes in a colander and rinsing them before dropping them in the now boiling water. "Rinse and add yours too. It looks like a lot but they'll be smashed and since my dad loves mashed potatoes they will go fast."
Blaine grinned widely. "I could figure that."
"Figure what? Morning, boys." Burt shuffled toward the coffee maker and poured himself a mug then leaned against the counter sipping appreciatively. "Snowed hard last night. I need to shovel a path…"
"I can do that." Blaine offered running a hand through the loose curls Kurt didn't have time to appreciate while slaving away at the stove. "I brought my good boots and stuff."
Burt sipped his coffee and nodded. "Sure, I'll just have breakfast and then show you where the shovel is. We don't have a snow blower like the Drew's around the corner."
Blaine nodded. "I'll go get ready, do you mind if I use your shower?"
"Not at all," the other boy nodded and headed upstairs.
"That was interesting." Burt commented sitting down at the table. "Breakfast?" Kurt smiled thinly and set to work making the same sandwich for his dad.
Facing the eggs cooking in the pan, Kurt swallowed and tried to steady his voice. "By the way, while Blaine's out of the room, I need to talk to you."
He didn't wait for a reply nor did he turn around until the bread was toasted. "It's about the name." Burt said quietly not paying attention to the delicious sandwich place in front of him. "Or about that whack job?"
"The first." Kurt said haltingly twisting his fingers in one sleeve. "But when Blaine's out."
Burt nodded after a tense moment. The potatoes were boiling over and needed his attention.
"I don't know if you have ever done this but at this house put the snow on either side of the walk way." Burt explained as he handed Blaine the well used shovel. It was painted a bright red at one point in its existence but the paint had gradually chipped away to a shiny metal. "If you can, shovel around Kurt's SUV in the driveway, but the walk way is more important." Blaine nodded eagerly. "I'll do my best. Normally we have the gardeners do this…but since no one is at the house, there's no point."
Patting him on the shoulder, Burt only gave an awkward, 'Yeah, huh?" before Blaine headed out into the great snow scape.
Wow, that garage was cold, Burt thought grateful not to go out in the snow and shovel for the next couple of hours. Now for more pressing matters: Kurt.
He had paused momentarily to wash up in his bathroom and had dressed in a different but comfortable outfit before heading downstairs to the living room. The potatoes had been smashed and were waiting for the delicious bacons bits Kurt was planning to fry after his chat with his dad.
"Hey." He walked into the room with his wrist band firmly snapped around his wrist. Stupidly, he forgot to put it on this morning thinking that Blaine was a late riser didn't think anything of it. He was lucky that he was wearing long sleeves and didn't roll them up while Blaine was around.
"Let's see it." Burt said from his seat on the sofa. He patted it and Kurt drifted to sit only over glancing outside where he could see snow flying from Blaine's shovel. "I didn't know. I just." Kurt unsnapped the band and held it out.
"Blaine D. Anderson." Burt muttered. "Is that him?" He jerked his head at the window facing the street.
"I guess. I mean. I think it is him. I don't know his middle name though." Kurt said wiggling his fingers. "I hope it is because I do like him and… it'd be terrible to fall for him, harder than I already have and not be him."
Burt was thoughtful for a long moment. "I think that you should give yourself a few days to let this sink in. Then maybe have a discussion with Blaine about it."
Kurt nodded shortly. "I think that's best. I mean, if he doesn't turn out to have my name then…"
His dad nodded, "I think that's the best."
It was evening when they finally got around to eating the dinner Kurt served dinner. The food turned out wonderfully and Kurt basked in their praises. Yawning, Blaine and Burt offered to wash and dry the dishes, of which there were many after they finished.
They ended the night with a pumpkin pie provided by Burt who had it hiding in the garage's small fridge by the fire in the hearth. Kurt was pleasantly sleepy by the fire with a full belly. He had taken a few photos during the night and so had Blaine for his own memories.
"I think it's about time I head up to bed." Burt said pointedly glancing at the clock on the wall. "Merry Christmas, boys."
"Night Dad." Kurt rolled his shoulders and closed the vent on the fireplace. It would gradually die out as the two tidied up the living room. The tree lights were shut off and the dessert plates and cups were dumped in the sink.
The pair headed upstairs once they were finished and at the top of the landing, they paused. "Good night Kurt. I had a nice time today." Kurt grinned sleepily. "Night Blaine. I'm glad you're here too."