Disclaimer: I don't own Glee!

A/N: Again, this is in response to a prompt by Boys Should Kiss Boys More. And many apologies to her for posting this so late. This chapter, I should mention, has spoilers for Season 3!

True Love Will Find You in the End

By ktfranceebee

Chapter 2

Kurt was not oblivious to the amount of weight he put on in the past three months. Twelve and a half pounds he was able to deduce—according to his electronic scale—that faithful morning he was unable to button-up his favorite pair of skinny jeans. He stared in abhor at the stupid analog screen between his feet after waiting impatiently for the numbers to pop up. He even went as far as to change the battery after seeing the ridiculously high number that he was not accustomed to seeing. It was a fairly new scale, but the generic battery inside it must have gone bad since the time of its purchase.

Kurt realized there was nothing wrong with the scale as he reweighed himself after switching out the battery. This epiphany only resulted in Kurt opening and then chucking the device out his second floor bedroom window and onto the lawn below with an aggravated screech.

It was him—him and the stress from his campaign for Senior Class President, Glee Club practice, and trying to get accepted to NYADA—all while trying to maintain his nearly perfect grades. It was definitely taking a toll of his physical well-being. It didn't help that Halloween and Thanksgiving came and went, making it difficult to resist the delectable sweets and warm, sugary drinks that normally accompanied the cold winter holidays. As a result, Kurt had to pull his sewing machine out from the back of his closet in order to let out some of his clothes. He thought, just maybe, he could pull off wearing outfits from his freshman and sophomore year considering he still had a layer of soft baby fat at that time. But as it turned out, he had grown more in two years than could be considered humanly possible. He would rather walk around in the nude before wearing jeans four inches above the ankle. That would just be one more "thing" to add to the list of "things" that reminded him of his ex-boyfriend.

Now that his campaign was over and done with—with him coming in second place to Brittany—there was still his father's campaign to worry about. The fact that his dad was taking on such a huge responsibility, when it was only a little over a year since his heart attack, worried Kurt deeply. The easiest way to for Kurt to cope (after singing, of course) was cooking. He always enjoyed slaving over a hot stove, a behavior that he undoubtedly learned from his late mother. So what if he partook in the edible creations he made from time to time? Cookies, cakes, muffins and tarts that he would make for his whole family, mind you.

Now that Christmas was just around the corner (not that he or anyone in his family celebrated it in the traditional or literal sense of the holiday) the need for holiday-themed desserts was at its highest. Just that morning, Finn offhandedly mentioned to Kurt of his craving for gingerbread cookies, which immediately made Kurt's mouth water at the mere thought of them baking in the oven.

It didn't take Finn much prodding because Kurt drove to the grocery store as soon as he was able to throw on a sweatshirt and lace up his black leather combat boots. Ten minutes later, Kurt was standing in the middle of the baking aisle with a basket that contained palm-sized tin cookie cutters in the shape of little men. In his opposite hand was his iPhone that was opened up to a website that had a decent looking recipe for gingerbread cookies.

As Kurt picked out a bag of flour, an ingredient he was running dangerously low on, he turned his head only to see the back of a particularly lost-looking man who was staring piteously at the ready-made boxes of cakes and desserts. Kurt scoffed, shaking his head at the poor soul who either A, didn't have any patience to make something from scratch, or B, the skill.

Kurt continued to watch the only other occupant of their heart-attack inducing aisle as he stalked towards the sugar that happened to be right next to the stranger. He went over his mental checklist, trying to remember if he needed any sugar. His memory, however, drew a blank and he came to the conclusion that he would rather be safe than sorry. The last thing he wanted was to go home to discover that he was out of sugar and have to drive back.

Kurt couldn't help but sense a slight familiarity associated with the man dressed in a black sweatshirt topped with a red and black checkered vest. He watched in amusement as the scruffy man muttered under his breath in annoyance as he picked up and inspected various boxes of cake mixture as if they had done him a personal disservice. As Kurt drew closer to the pink and white packages of cane sugar, he took notice of the discernible pair of arched eyebrows furrowing as he put one mixture down only to pick up the one next to it.

"Jesus, you'd think they'd run out of flavors of cake at one point." The man scoffed as he put the box back in the wrong place. Kurt gave a little appreciative laugh as he gently placed the package of sugar in the bottom of his basket and then froze. He looked back at the man who was beginning to grumble words to himself that Kurt could barely register like "crazy woman" and "the hell does she expect me to get?"

"Dave?" Kurt asked with a frown, inclining his head. The man-nay-teen turned his head confirming his suspicion that this was, in fact, Dave Karofsky standing in the same baking aisle as him.

"Kurt? Oh, wow, um..." Dave closed his eyes as his head rolled back on his shoulders as he laughed. He laughed at the odd circumstances of their meeting, as if this was an even stranger place to run into one another than Scandalswas a couple months ago. "This is crazy."

"I'm sorry. I guess I didn't recognize you," Dave said genuinely once he recovered. The amused smile that graced his lips met his hazel eyes, causing them to sparkle with mirth. He seemed possibly even happier since the last time Kurt saw him.

Kurt froze suddenly with worry. He adjusted the basket in front of him self-consciously as he tried to escape the fear that was niggling in the pit of his stomach.

"What, um..." He licked his lips nervously. "Why wouldn't you recognize me?"

Dave chuckled. Kurt tried to remind himself that there was no way that Dave could possibly know of Kurt's recent break up with his boyfriend and the reasons behind it. Despite how uncomfortable Kurt was feeling the past couple of months, Dave seemed blissfully unaware of what Kurt was trying to hide under his over-sized sweatshirt.

"I dunno," Dave said playfully, breaking Kurt out of his reverie. "Maybe because your hair isn't styled, for once." Dave reached out and gently tugged on a strand of hair that fell onto Kurt's forehead. Dave was right of course. Kurt wasn't planning on going anywhere that day until the prospect of fresh baked gingerbread cookies invaded his mind. And since his breakup with Blaine, he wasn't putting much effort into maintaining his usually fancy facade. When he left for the store he wasn't intending on running into anyone, let alone Dave.

Kurt's breath caught at Dave's tender action as he fiddled with the lock. Kurt was almost as mesmerized as Dave was. That is until Dave jerked his hand away from Kurt's face and stuffed it into his pocket. He looked down at his shoes. His face was an emotionless mask, as if belittling himself for his unthinking, yet rather brave, action. Immediately, the worry that perhaps his cheeks had become so chubby that Dave couldn't begin to recognize him drifted away.

"I, um..." Kurt started, taking in a shaking breath as he pushed the strand away shyly. The arm that was laced through the handles of the basket lowered to his side so that it was no longer hiding his stomach. "I could say the same thing about you," Kurt said with a tight smile. He nonchalantly regarded the products on the shelf next to him, touching the corner of one of the boxes Dave was looking at before just so he could have something to do. "Are you planning on hibernating during this winter break or..." He trailed off as Dave carefully regarded him. Dave broke into another laugh, the same laugh he emitted when Kurt said he looked like Yogi while they were under the dancing, neon lights of Lima's only gay bar.

"'S not like I'm in school right now." Dave shrugged as he ran a hand over his cheek. Kurt had a strange urge to reach out and replace Dave's larger hand with his own. Blaine's face always seemed to be shaved smooth and five o'clock shadow usually took more than a day for Kurt to produce. He could hear the scratchiness of it, even from where he was standing, and was curious as to what it would feel like under the smooth pads of his fingertips.

Dave leaned in closer to Kurt raising his eyebrows slightly, "I guess it kinda completes my whole "bear cub" look, don't you think?" Kurt shook his head in mock seriousness, trying to hide the smile behind his hand. It had been weeks since he was able to laugh this freely. It felt… Nice. For once his mind wasn't reeling with a million and one worries about school or Glee Club. So nice that he wasn't about to question that it was David that was making him laugh.

"So, would it be completely redundant to ask why you're here?" Dave asked pointing towards the basket in Kurt's arms.

"Finn wanted ginger beard cookies..." Dave frowned. "Gingerbread! Gingerbread cookies." Kurt pursed his lips as he blushed in horror. 'Anytime,' Kurt thought, 'would be a good time to stop thinking about his five o'clock shadow.'

"Um... 'Kay?" Dave narrowed his eyes slightly in suspicion, but let Kurt's little slip up go unmentioned.

"And what are you doing here?" Kurt asked, quickly changing the topic to Dave. "No offense. You really don't seem like the baking type." Kurt crossed his arms in front of him, attempting to restore his bitchy façade once more.

Dave sighed, wearily, as he leaned back against the shelves, causing the products to be pushed back slightly. "You have no idea. It's my mom," Dave rolled his eyes as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his unzipped vest again. "She wants me to bake a freaking cake for my sister's birthday this weekend. She's going like, bat shit crazy right now and freaking out because she doesn't have time to do it because of work. 'Says I should be able to do it since I'm 'not doing anything better with my time' now that I'm on break." Dave removed his hands from his pockets in order to make little air quotes with his fingers.

"You… You have a sister?" Kurt frowned. "I had no idea."

"I have two sisters." Dave corrected him and Kurt raised his eyebrows, whistling. "I know right? You wanna trade for Hudson?" Dave laughed. "'S gotta be better than being bugged all the time with tea parties and make-overs."

"I'm not so sure." Kurt giggled behind his hand at the idea of Dave sitting in a small pink chair too big for him and drinking out of tiny little teacups. "The whole "tall" thing makes it difficult to find beds and ceilings that can comfortably contain Finn. He can be pain to accommodate sometimes." Kurt's lips twitched so Dave knew that he was joking.

"I don't know about that, but you don't know hell until you've stepped on a Barbie during the middle of the night while getting up to go take a piss."

"Perhaps you should talk to my dad." Kurt sighed, his eyes twinkling as he looked at Dave. "I heard he had to deal with the same problem."

"What?" Dave gave him a sidelong glance. "You...?"

"I'm alluding to Finn, obviously." Kurt nibbled his lip slightly as he waited for Dave's reaction, which turned out to be a full-blown bark of a laugh.

"You're hilarious, you know that?" Dave said, wiping his eyes which seemed to have collected some tears.

"So..." Kurt decided not to address Dave's compliment, but still felt the warmth of his appreciation down in his belly. "What you're trying to say is that you're a terrible cook and need the assistance of world renowned chef in order to save you from the wrath of your... What was it?" Kurt tapped a finger to his chin in contemplation. "'Bat shit crazy' mother?"

"That pretty much sums it up." Dave grimaced looking akin to a sad puppy dog.

"And if I were to offer my services?" Kurt asked coyly.

"Yeah, okay." Dave huffed. Kurt waited, standing patiently in front of Dave despite his dubious tone.

"Wait. You're serious?"

"Sure, why not? It's not like I have plans or anything."

"Kurt, I just..." Dave regarded him carefully as he moved away from the shelves he was leaning against. "I don't see how this is a good-"

"Is your family going to be home tomorrow?" Kurt asked calmly.

Dave seemed puzzled by the question, but answered Kurt anyway. "My parents are going to be at work and my sisters tend to go hang out with their friends that live down the street from us. Why?"

"Here," Kurt said, already playing around on his phone and bringing up the contacts. He handed it over to Dave. "Give me your phone number and I'll call you. We can figure out a time when I can come over, okay? Nobody has to know I'm there."

"I..." Dave was stunned and he looked at Kurt with nothing more than a look of awe on his face. "You do know you don't have to do this, right? You're the last person on this planet who should be doing me a favor," Dave finished the sentence with a mumble. He swallowed thickly as he punched his name and number into Kurt's phone anyway.

"'Tis the season for giving or... Whatever it is they say." Kurt waved his hand around as Dave huffed out a little laugh.

"You know you're really saving my ass," Dave said gratefully as he handed the phone back to Kurt.

"I can only imagine. By the way, don't worry about getting any of the ingredients for the cake. I'll take care of it. Your sister likes chocolate, right?"

"What sane child doesn't?"

"Touché. So I'll call you?" Kurt asked, smiling brightly.

"Sure." Dave nodded slightly. As Kurt walked past Dave in the other direction, Dave turned around and caught hold of Kurt's forearm in a gentle grip. Kurt looked down at Dave's hand and back into Dave's face which was incredibly close to his.

"What is it?" Dave let go of Kurt's arm quickly as he couldn't help but let his eyes flicker down in the direction of Kurt's lips.

"Thanks. I just wanted to say thanks."

"You're welcome, Dave," Kurt responded in kind as he turned around and walked away from Dave once more, this time without being stopped.

Kurt ducked his head as he hid his smile from the shoppers that passed him. He didn't care what his scale told him. This was the lightest he felt in weeks.

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