K is for Keeping Secrets

"Santana, what are you doing?"

Santana jumped slightly at the loud and rather sudden voice located approximately a foot away from her ear, jerking her hands out of the dresser drawer they were currently rooting through and but not bothering to shut the drawer as she turned around, meeting the eyes of a rather irritated-looking Kurt just behind her. As he crossed both his arms over his chest, staring her down with a look that was much more amusing to her than intimidating, she shrugged, her voice and expression casual as she replied.

"Looking through your shit, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"Santana, we've had this conversation," Kurt reminded her, the exasperation in his voice clear as it also slightly increased in volume. His cheeks, she noticed, were slightly red, and she regarded him more closely, wondering to herself whether this was due to anger or embarrassment. She hadn't seen anything too incriminating in his belongings yet, but that didn't mean that nothing existed. "A lot. We all agreed that going through each other's personal belongings was rude, invasive, and completely unnecessary, and that we would stay out of each other's stuff and give each other the maximum personal space that is damn near impossible to get in this tiny apartment. We agreed, so what are you doing going through my drawers?"

"Actually, you and Rachel agreed and I stood there and nodded occasionally without actually saying a word," Santana reminded him, her lips curving into a smirk as she watched the realization dawn in his eyes. "I didn't actually make any such agreement. And anyway, these are special circumstances for a special time of the year…all privacy bets are off in the last two weeks before Christmas. How the hell else am I supposed to get any hints on what you're getting me?"

"Santana!" Kurt almost sputtered, his eyes widening further as she started to ease the drawer beneath the currently open one open as well, and he hurried forward, snatched her hand off its knob, and slammed it closed, moving to stand in front of it. "If anything, Christmas should be a time where everyone has MORE privacy! Why would you want to ruin a surprise for yourself like that?"

"So if whatever you're getting me really sucks, I can let you know so you still have lots of time to take it back, and a lot more input on my part on what I'd actually want," Santana replied nonchalantly, leaning back against the other half of the dresser and eyeing Kurt's side with renewed interest. "If you want I can just give you a list now and save time and effort on your part. Unless you already got me something, then you can just show me and I can give the red or green light and all my searching efforts can be over with."

"No! No way, that's not what Christmas is about and that's not how we're doing it here!" Kurt insisted, shaking his head and recrossing his arms over his chest with his eyes rolling up towards the ceiling simultaneously. "You get what you get and if you don't want it, you go to the trouble of taking it back. And anyway, Santana, I haven't actually gotten you anything yet, so there's no point in you tearing my room apart searching. Instead of looking for gifts for yourself, why don't you put all that effort into getting gifts for Rachel and me?"

"Nah, there's still two weeks until Christmas, that's a task for Christmas Eve," was Santana's tossed off response as she peeled herself back from the dresser, slowly straightening and stretching her arms over her head briefllyas she walked towards Kurt's curtain. "Fine, if you don't have anything, I bet Rachel the Complete Over Achiever does…AND she's not home right now. So you gots two options. You can try to stop me from looking, which would involve physical restraint that you're not capable of maintaining and would probably cause you to end up with a black eye, you can look the other way and profess ignorance, or you could join me, 'cause if she's got a gift for me, she's totally got a gift for you too. Sooo which is it, Hummel?"

Presented in that fashion, Kurt had to admit that there was only one response that really interested him. For a few moments he stood there, trying to fight his temptation, but as he looked back at the smirking Santana, he could resist no more. Blushing slightly and ducking his head, he moved to follow her towards Rachel's curtain, even as he held up a warning hand.

"Don't you dare say anything to her. You know and saw nothing."

"Likewise," Santana smiled as she held the curtain back for him, ushering him through.