Day 21: Work
Kurt closed the door behind the last patron, locking it and switching the little window sign from "Open" to "Closed."
"Finally," he sighed. Turning back toward the café, he crossed the room to begin the process of closing down for the night.
When he'd volunteered to cover the closing shift on Christmas Eve, he'd done it a bit hastily. He had found out that his dad and Carole were going to be taking a cruise that she'd won at a charity auction. With both of their schedules, it was the only time they could go, and though Burt had offered to put it off until another time, Kurt had encouraged them to go. His dad deserved a nice vacation, after all. He'd intended to have a fun New York friends holiday, but one by one, each of his friends announced other plans until Kurt suddenly realized he'd be spending Christmas alone.
So, when one of the other baristas asked if he would switch with her so she could be home with her kids for Christmas Eve, he agreed. It wasn't like he had anything else better to do.
Now here he was, closing down a café alone on Christmas Eve. Well, not exactly alone.
"Can I help?" a warm voice asked, startling him from his reverie.
Blaine had been hired by the manager to play music during the holiday season. Four nights a week, he sat on the tall stool in the little makeshift stage area in the corner playing and singing songs for the café guests. He played Christmas songs, of course, as well as just about anything someone requested. With his neatly gelled hair and never-ending array of holiday bowties, not to mention his incredible voice, he was easily the most adorable thing Kurt had ever seen.
Not that Kurt had noticed, or developed a hopeless crush. Nope. Not at all.
But wait. Blaine asked a question and was waiting for an answer. Crap.
"Oh, no, you don't have to do that," Kurt hastily replied, going about the business of doing a final cleaning and tidying of the café as needed. "This isn't your job. Speaking of which," he added, faltering when Blaine handed him the sugar packets he was reaching for, "thank you. Didn't your set end about an hour ago?"
Blaine moved with Kurt, catching on to the process and helping as he could. "Yeah, but I thought I'd stay. No one should have to work alone on Christmas Eve. I mean, even Santa has the elves and the reindeer," he commented with a smile that nearly made Kurt buckle at the knees.
"You're ridiculous," he laughed, handing Blaine a stack of trays, "Thank you," he said quietly, hoping it was clear that he wasn't thanking him for the manual labor.
They continued working, Kurt handling the majority of the tasks but instructing Blaine on ways he could help. Before they knew it, everything was set and they were outside. Kurt locked the door and turned to Blaine. In the distance, a church bell began to ring.
"It's midnight. It's Christmas," Blaine said cheerily.
"Yeah, I guess it is," Kurt answered quietly, feeling a pang of sadness. With the café closed tomorrow for the holiday, Blaine was likely the last friendly face he'd see until the day after Christmas.
"Well, I hope you have a nice day with your family tomorrow. Try not to eat too much," Blaine teased. He regarded Kurt carefully for a moment, his expression becoming serious as he tilted his head to the side and asked, "Did I say something wrong?"
Kurt closed his eyes, cursing inwardly. "No, not at all. It's no big deal." Blaine raised his eyebrows expectantly, prompting Kurt to continue. "I'm actually, um, spending the day on my own tomorrow," he said sheepishly. He hated pity, and didn't want to see it on Blaine's face, so he studied the tips of his shoes instead.
"As it so happens, I'm on my own this year, too." Blaine's voice was soft in the cold winter air.
Kurt raised his head and met Blaine's eyes, no trace of pity to be found. "Really?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah. It's a long story – maybe I could tell you tomorrow? I bought the world's smallest turkey, but I'm not entirely sure how to cook it," Blaine offered hesitantly.
Kurt felt his mouth turning up into a smile. "I'd like that," he answered.
Maybe volunteering to work on Christmas Eve wasn't such a bad idea after all.
