A/N: Shows up three months late with Starbucks and a Christmas chapter.

Chapter 12

A Merry Little Christmas

oOo

25 December 2024

Kurt sat bundled up on the couch, basking in the warm glow of his parent's fireplace and the twinkling lights from the Christmas tree in his old Ohio home. He heard the low chatter from his family wafting in from the dining room. The Berry's had joined the Hudson-Hummels for Christmas dinner just as they had at Thanksgiving, and Kurt knew the parents were still nursing their glasses of eggnog after finishing the cranberry crumble pie he served for dessert. He assumed his sister-in-law sat with them, sipping on her Shirley Temple. Finn, on the other hand, was next to him, head lolling back in a fitful nap.

He welcomed the solitude.

During the past week, his mind had been elsewhere, hardly focusing on the joys of the Christmas season, but, rather, the inner turmoil caused by the events that occurred during his friend's party just four days before.

He wished he had stayed home that day, he berated himself. Then he wouldn't have to think of just how he would hurt his friend by coming clean about what he had heard and what Travis had done. Kurt shuddered at the memory of Travis' brazenness-at his sheer and utter disregard towards other people's feelings, and, not to mention, personal space.

The fact of the matter was, Kurt had to be the one to tell him unless Dave was unfortunate enough to discover Travis' infidelity himself. Kurt nibbled his bottom lip, hoping that wouldn't be the case.

At least, as his friend, he could break it to him gently.

But he could worry about that after the holidays were over, and he was thankful he had Rachel and Finn to confide in at least.

As soon as he escaped the party that day, he went to Rachel and Finn's place. Rachel, who was completely fine despite her mild morning sickness, and Finn, the overly-worried husband, ceaselessly called Kurt for a second opinion despite Rachel saying she was fine.

And that was when he told them.

The reaction he received from Rachel and Finn was what he expected. A "man that sucks" from Finn and a sympathetic "oh no" from Rachel when he had told them what he gleaned from Travis' phone call followed by an "are you freaking kidding me?" and a wordless fuming head shake when he revealed how Travis essentially came onto him. But that was four days ago.

Four days he had to simmer in the knowledge that his friend was being cheated on. Four days of feeling guilty for not doing anything about it. The last thing he wanted was to ruin Dave's holiday.

Or their friendship.

"How are you doing?"

The soft voice interrupted Kurt's worrisome thoughts, but he smiled all the same when he looked up at Rachel who had wandered into the living room. She had changed into her brand new, blue, ugly Christmas sweater she received from Finn. It had a picture of a snowglobe that surrounded her growing belly and inside was a snowman and pine tree. Near her collar in huge print read "SANTA BABY". Finn was wearing his Christmas sweater as well, only the one Kurt bought him featured a rather hilarious and macabre depiction of "grandma" getting run over by Santa's "reindeer".

"Fine," Kurt said, attempting a smile. He knew the way he hugged his legs to his chest gave him away.

"I know you know that I don't believe that," she said, rubbing her baby bump and carefully scooting between the coffee table and her husband's long legs to sit next to Kurt. Kurt answered by sighing and burying his face into his knees.

"Only a few more hours left of Christmas, Kurt, and this is how you want to spend it?" she wailed, as she sat down next to him. Finn shifted slightly and she cringed, not wanting to wake him. He only yawned and smacked his lips, muttering something about more pie before his head rolled onto his shoulder, snoring softly. They both chuckled before settling into a somber silence once more.

"I'm not going to lie, I had been worried about you having your first Christmas since you and Blaine separated. But when I saw how much happier you've been these last couple of months without him, I stopped. But now I am starting to worry again."

"I'm okay, Rachel. Believe me when I say Blaine is the last thing on my mind," Kurt said, rolling his eyes. "But with this whole Dave and Travis thing," he could help but spit out the second name, "I'm worried about him… Dave, I mean…"

Rachel frowned but pursed her lips in understanding.

"I just keep thinking about how I'm going to have to tell him, makes me think about how I should have told him as soon as I found out, which just makes me feel guilty. And then I feel guilty for wondering if by telling him, and hurting him, am I doing the right thing?"

"Yes," Rachel said, nearly interrupting him. Kurt lifted his head to stare at her. "You are," she added firmly. "If I was cheating on Finn, would you tell him?"

Kurt, though uncomfortable answered, "Of course."

"And if Finn was cheating on me, I would want you to tell me." Kurt nodded in agreement. He hated all these scenarios that Rachel brought up, but they provided him with clarity. If any of his friends had known about Blaine's infidelity in college, he hoped they would have told him.

"I guess I'm worried that, considering our history, telling him would complicate things. The last thing I want is for him to think that I am trying to get back at him or something." He dropped his legs down only to start wringing his hands out in frustration. "The last thing I want to do is hurt him."

"It's not you who would be hurting him, Kurt. His boyfriend already did that. I'm sure he'll be upset, but hopefully, he will remember that you two are friends and that you are doing the right thing," Rachel said, looping his arm through his and giving it a squeeze. He slipped his hand in hers and squeezed it as well.

"Thanks, Rach."

"I don't like seeing my best friend upset. Especially on Christmas."

Kurt gave a meek smile, which turned into a full-blown grin when he spotted the bowl of red and white candy canes on the coffee table in front of him. He had an idea.

"I know something we can do that would cheer me up."

oOo

Dave stood next to his cousin in front of the kitchen sink, helping her wash his Aunt's "only to be used on special occasions" china set. Dave dipped his hands into the sudsy water as he lifted a plate. Using the wet cloth, he wiped it clean before running it under the scalding hot water and handing it to Evelyn to dry.

He loved being with his family on holidays. He loved helping his aunt cook dinner and hearing his nephew's delighted laugh as he opened his many presents. He loved sitting with his Uncle Peter and listening to him reminisce about his childhood with his dad. He loved drinking beer with Evelyn and her husband. And strangely enough, he liked doing the dishes after their amazing Christmas meal. It was a tradition that he and his cousin continued since their childhood when their grandparents were still alive, even before Dave moved in with his extended family. He would wash and she would dry, as he was always too nervous about dropping one of the priceless plates on the ground. And as they washed dishes he would sing whatever Christmas song Evelyn wanted to hear. And she would sing along too, usually out of tune, but he doubted he sounded any better, no matter how much she would disagree. But what mattered to him most was feeling safe, comfortable, and loved by his family at Christmas time.

Especially when his boyfriend couldn't be there to do that for him.

It didn't come as a surprise that Travis' parents canceled their travel plans to come to New York and that Travis was flying back to London to see them. Travis invited him to come along, naturally, but Dave declined as he always spent Christmas with his family. Travis had been understanding. Strangely understanding, in fact, and Dave was worried he had upset him. After all, Travis said that he could take a cab on his own to catch his flight, which was odd considering Dave usually saw Travis off on his work trips to California. But this time, Travis waved him off, saying that the airport would be too packed and how he didn't want him to deal with with the stress. So Dave gave him a peck under the blue awning of the apartment entrance before watching his cab drive away.

So, naturally, when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, alerting him of a text message, he assumed it was only Travis letting him know he landed safely.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Evelyn exclaimed as he snatched the drying towel from her hands, but only after she carefully placed the last plate on top of the stack. "We still need to do the silverware."

"I know. Hang on a sec, I got a text," he said, drying his hands off and pulling the phone out of the pocket of his jeans. He tossed the towel back to her, and she caught it with the side of his face. Dave chuckled and gave her a "my bad" as she swatted him with it.

"Really, David?" she asked, as Dave unlocked his phone, which already displayed the text messages inbox. He had opened it earlier and checked it continuously throughout Christmas dinner for a message from Travis. It was nearing 8 o'clock and he had yet to hear from him. He chalked it up to his boyfriend being tired after his flight. He was certain he would hear from him in the morning.

And he was still certain that he would hear from him in the morning, as it wasn't his boyfriend that had text him, but Kurt.

He frowned, tapping on the rectangle at the top of the screen with his friend's name, wondering why Kurt would be texting him on this day and time.

Dave read the most recent text at the bottom, and his eyebrows furrowed together.

Guess who had too much eggnog?

Before he could even think of a reply, an image popped up and Dave laughed.

"No that's fine. You enjoy yourself, and I'll do the dishes myself…" He heard Evelyn say sardonically, but he didn't respond as he was too busy enlarging the photo to see it better.

The picture, on first glance, featured Kurt snapping a selfie with Rachel peeking up over his shoulder due to her shorter stature, but on closer inspection, he noticed Finn in the background, oblivious and passed out on a couch with what looked like two peppermint candy canes hooked on his open mouth, one on his ear, and another resting on top of his forehead.

Dave shook his head, chuckling softly, the grin on his face making his face feel warm.

He panned the picture over to Kurt contemplatively. Dave had seen him this happy before, but it was different witnessing so much joy frozen in time. Kurt's cheeks were bright red, having likely enjoyed a bit too much eggnog himself. His eyes twinkled with mirth, and with that Dave experienced a painful yet simultaneously elated ache in his chest. Kurt had taken the photo and thought to send it to him. Dave stared at the image, remembering all the moments of happiness he had spoiled for Kurt years ago, and how, now, there was a part of Kurt that managed to retain and reserve some of that happiness for him.

Of all people.

"Whatcha got there?" Dave lifted his head from the photo and glanced over his shoulder at Evelyn, who was wrist deep in soap bubbles from taking over Dave's neglected duties and trying to sneak a peek at what had him so distracted.

"Just uh…" Dave said distantly, as held his thumb to the image. He pressed the save command when it popped up. "Just a friend texting me." He managed to say as he went back to the message screen to type out his reply.

Lol, that's hilarious. He sent after deciding on a better adjective than "cute".

Kurt must have been waiting for his reply because the ellipses popped up immediately.

I'm glad you got to see it before Finn wakes up and makes me delete the evidence.

"Must be a good friend if they are texting you on Christmas."

Dave smiled, "Yeah, he really is."

That would be a travesty, he responded, with a smirk.

Just as he was going to pocket his phone and return to helping Evelyn, another message popped up.

"How was your Christmas?" Kurt asked.

Dave blinked, wondering why Kurt would want to text him rather than be with his family. After all, Travis was with his and couldn't bother to make the same effort.

It's going good. Great actually. He pressed send as he continued to text, More so now since hearing from you, but then he paused, shook his head, and deleted what he typed before replacing it with, Just hanging out with my family.

"So, who's your friend?" Evelyn asked coyly. Dave hummed, barely registering her question.

Dave's phone pinged again this time with two messages, and he wondered if Kurt had hesitated in sending the second part.

Oh…

No bf?

Dave wondered how to explain being separated from his boyfriend of seven months on Christmas, and decided to just go with the simplest form of the truth.

Nah, he decided to go visit his folks. 'And didn't ask if I was interested in going,' he thought bitterly.

Without waiting for a reply that he knew would be dripping with Kurt's sympathy, Dave sent him another text that said, So I take it your Xmas is going well?

Yes, I'd say it is, was Kurt's instantaneous reply.

Dave returned to Evelyn, who raised an eyebrow as he picked up her abandoned cloth, feeling safe enough to help with drying the silverware than he did the fragile plates. Dave, remembering her question, didn't wait for her to ask again.

"It's… Kurt," he mumbled quietly, but loud enough for Evelyn to hear him as she dropped the gravy spoon that she had been cleaning in the water, causing a splash.

"Kurt? The Kurt?" she emphasized, turning on him, her hazel eyes wide with shock.

He had, after all, confided in her the events that took place his senior year. His entire family knew, which spurred them to take him in to finish his schooling in a more accepting environment-both at home and at a new school. She knew everything that took place in Lima, from his bullying to being outed against his will after his teammate caught him with Kurt at Breadstix, to the feelings he had for his friend, as well as his attempt at taking his own life. His story revolved around Kurt as much as his sexuality. The two were intrinsically tied together. So Evelyn's shock was warranted, especially since Kurt was a name he hadn't mentioned in years.

"Okay, we can drop the "the", alright," Dave said a little too defensively.

"But… You're talking to him? Since when? How did this happen?"

Dave sighed, and then explained, "We ran into each other literally just a couple of weeks ago. It's not a big deal."

"Bullshit," Evelyn said, pointing a wet fork at him that still had bits of mashed potato congealed to the prongs. "You were in l-"

"Don't," Dave interrupted her, holding up his hand, "finish that sentence. Please." He added the last word softly, dropping his head. He knew how he must have looked because Evelyn immediately looked remorseful.

"I'm sorry, Davey."

Evelyn looked and sounded like she did when they were kids. Like the time she came to visit him in Lima when he was six and she was ten. Dave remembered when she accidentally threw his football into the neighbor's yard. She had a hell of an arm-way better than him. He couldn't stop crying. It was the first football his dad bought him and she scaled the wall and hopped into the neighbor's yard to retrieve it, skinning her hands and knees in the process. She could have just gone to their front door and asked to have it back, but the alternative got him to stop crying faster. It was the same look she had when he was eighteen and she was twenty-two and she came to Lima with her parents to bring him to New York, the bruise still visible on his neck. She was the closest thing he had to an older sister, and he knew she would do anything to keep him from getting hurt, to protect him now as she did back then.

"We're um…" Dave cleared his throat, getting choked up from the memory. "We're friends now so that's… Something."

"That's good," Evelyn said, smiling gently, but still looking at him apprehensively. "I just… Aren't you worried that maybe… Talking to him would bring up bad memories?"

Dave chewed his lip, thinking about how the time he spent with Kurt the past couple of weeks had been anything but.

Instead, he said, "I could say the same thing about Kurt. He had it worse than me and much of that was my doing anyway." Dave didn't mean to sound so morose and Evelyn looked at him sympathetically.

"If he's your friend like you said, I'm sure he doesn't share that sentiment." She dried her hands, not knowing how right she was. She pulled on the plug in the sink. Dave stood there, watching the water disappear down the drain until he felt a comforting hand on his arm.

"I'm going to go downstairs and make sure my husband is keeping our son out of trouble thanks to the new scooter his uncle bought him." Dave laughed, as he pulled his cousin into a hug. She patted his back, "And I'll let you get back to texting your friend."

Dave smiled, letting her go. She kept her hands on his arms a while longer when they pulled apart.

"Love you, Ev."

"Love you too, Davey."

Dave watched her leave his aunt and uncle's kitchen and disappear into the living room before he pulled out his phone to reply to the last message Kurt sent.

You sound really excited in text format. Dave sent the text as he slid out one of the rickety, old dining chairs from the round kitchen table and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees while waiting for Kurt's succinct reply.

Shut up.

Dave couldn't help but bark out a laugh and was thankful he was alone in the empty apartment. He stared at the phone contemplatively.

I like your sweater. He dared to type, referring to the atrocious thing Kurt was wearing in the photo, which featured a cat wearing a Santa hat surrounded by numerous red bows and balls of shimmering silver tinsel. Somehow, like all the crazy things the man wore, Kurt made it work.

Rachel outdid herself this year.

Dave nibbled on his lip, as he questioned his sanity. He typed out his reply and pressed send, his heart beating unexpectedly fast in his chest.

It looks good on you.

Dave waited impatiently a full minute before Kurt managed to reply.

I should let you get back to your family.

Dave slumped back in his creaky chair with an exhale, he wanted to be nice, but he knew he made it weird. The phone pinged again before he had a chance to reply and he looked down at his hand apprehensively.

Thank you, David. Merry Christmas.

Dave stared at his phone, his mouth twitching into a smile as he watched the little Christmas tree icon pop up on his screen following the message.

Merry Christmas, Kurt. He concluded with a Santa icon of his own.

Dave stood up from the table and moved to the counter to pick up the now dry silverware to put away in the china cabinet. As he cleaned up he started to sing with a smile on his face despite his cousin not being in the room to listen.

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas, make the yule-tide gay…"

Instead, he sang for his friend more than 500 miles away and their burgeoning friendship, and the scars that had healed over the years.

"From now on, our troubles will be miles away…"