Work Text:
“Love, you didn’t do right by me…”
The living room is illuminated by the television hanging from the wall, which casts flickers of light over the coffee table scattered with cut-off ends of wrapping paper, kraft gift tags, and two kinds of tape dispensers. Kurt hums under his breath, echoing Rosemary Clooney’s voice as it drifts from the screen.
“You planned a romance that just hadn't a chance, and I'm through…”
He wraps tissue paper around a sweater he got for Carole, tucks it into a box, smooths the creases once more, and then puts the lid on. He’s sitting on the rug with his legs tucked up underneath him, and a mug with the football team’s logo is full of steaming hot chocolate beside him. The lights from their artificial Christmas tree twinkle, and on the kitchen counter, near the window with the blinds open, a vanilla-black-spruce-pine candle burns.
He glances up at the screen as the camera cuts to Clooney’s silhouette on stage behind a sheer curtain, appreciating how stunning her black dress and sparkly gloves are, and slightly in awe of her smoky voice, so full of aching. He can’t help but pause to watch her sing.
“My one love affair didn't get anywhere from the start,
To send me a Joe who had winter and snow in his heart,
wasn’t smart…”
“This is what you get for making assumptions, honey! The melodrama, all because you couldn’t use your words!” He laughs to himself and shakes his head. Still, he doesn’t skip the song and never will. White Christmas will forever be one of his favorite movies.
“Love, you didn't do right by me.
As they say in the song...you done me wrong…”
Just as he’s folding down the end of the wrapping paper on one side, his heart skips, and a smile immediately follows it when he hears a key turn in the lock, and the door opens.
“Tarzan! You’re home!”
“Hiya, Dimples.”
“I wasn’t expecting you for another hour at least.” But then Kurt takes him all in, Dave’s hair is slightly damp, his cheeks flushed from the wind, his padded jacket sleeves are oddly pushed halfway up his forearms, exposing those wrists Kurt just wants to bite all the time (what is that about anyway?) but Dave's eyes are a little bloodshot and there are dark circles under his eyes. He looks exhausted. Kurt’s smile fades into concern. “Hey, babe, you okay?”
Dave tugs off his coat, hangs it on the peg by the door, kicks off his boots, and heads for Kurt. “Yeah. Just more tired than I realized now that finals are over, and I think my body finally gave up pretending it’s not held together with caffeine and adrenaline.”
He sits on the floor beside Kurt, pushing his shoulder into his in hello, and leans his head on his while slipping one arm over Kurt’s legs like he needs to touch him to find his center again.
“Mmmm… You smell like December rain,” Kurt says in a whisper, brushing his fingertips up and down Dave’s arm.
“You smell like hot chocolate.”
“There’s more on the stove, and it’s still warm. Want some?”
“Maybe, but I don’t wanna move yet.”
Kurt chuckles and kisses his head. “At least hand me the remote so I can turn the movie off. I know it’s not your favorite.”
“I don’t mind, you’re watching it, so leave it.” He nuzzles into Kurt’s neck and leaves a lingering kiss.
“Wow, you really must be tired. But thank you. It’s almost over.”
They sit like that, taking each other in and absorbing each other’s warmth for a minute or two before Dave asks, “You started wrapping gifts already?”
“I decided, why not? I was feeling festive now that finals are done and thought I’d get a start on it, because you said you’d be late.”
“I was going to be late. But then I realized I didn’t want to be.”
“Awwww… So you came home?”
Dave shrugs. “I can have lunch with the guys another day. Didn’t want to miss you like this.”
“Like what?”
“It didn’t really matter, just whatever it was you’d be doing when I came home. I knew you’d be doing something you enjoy. So I wanted to be home.”
Kurt tilts Dave's jaw, rubbing their noses together, before kissing him.
“Mmm… See? Coming home to see you with ribbons in your teeth was just a bonus.”
Kurt laughs and shakes his head. “I didn’t have ribbons in my teeth, you goonie bird! But if that’s something that would get you all hot and bothered, just let me know. I’m sure we can arrange it.”
Dave smiles and shrugs again non-committally. “I’m sure I would love to see that! But not as much as I love this! Dave waves around and nudges Kurt’s knee. “You, doing your thing, and making it feel like a home.”
Kurt swallows. The compliment burrows deep because he knows what Dave means: a home that’s full of warmth and love. Acceptance. Something Dave never had. “It’s nothing fancy, just cocoa and wrapping paper.”
“It’s everything. You always make it feel like we survived.” Dave takes a breath through his nose and exhales it slowly while kissing Kurt’s temple, and his eyes go a little unfocused as he stares at the Christmas tree. “I think I needed to be near you and take a deep breath to feel like the year is allowed to end now.”
“We did survive something. The whole semester. All of it.”
“You pulled two all-nighters last week. We barely saw each other for the last three days.”
“We still managed to meet each other in the hallway and kiss like our lives depended on it once or twice,” Kurt teases.
“That part was important.”
They both laugh, shoulders bumping, but then Dave shifts, adjusting so he’s facing Kurt more fully. His hands grip the sides of Kurt’s thighs, rubbing his thumb in comforting circles. “I missed you.”
Kurt looks down at their hands; he rubs Dave's knuckles, then meets Dave's face again. “I missed you, too. You’re allowed to say that.”
“I know. I just…” Dave leans forward and kisses him, their tongues dancing for a moment, but all too soon, he’s pulling back, shaking his head with a tilted smile. “I’m glad this is where I am. On the floor with you, even with White Christmas, and cocoa that probably has too many marshmallows in it.”
“Hey now. That’s blasphemy.”
“Babe. We’re going to have to agree to disagree forever on that.”
“It’s truly a wonder how it’s possible I fell in love with you. You don’t like marshmallows or White Christmas!”
“I’m glad you can overlook my many faults.”
“Hmmm… I suppose that’s only fair since I don’t like your favorite Christmas movie either, and don’t get me started on eggnog.”
Dave barks out a laugh at the disgusted grimace on Kurt’s face and kisses his forehead. “Somehow we’re making it work though.”
“Yes, we are!”
“Plus, you’re the reason I passed stats,” Dave says.
“Maybe, but you’re the reason I didn’t scream at my professor during my final review.”
Dave laughs. “Go, team us!”
"I have to concur! We're getting pretty good at this, a lot better than those two idiots, anyway.” He tips his head toward the screen and laughs at himself. “Want to help me finish wrapping?”
“Well… that depends.”
“Depends on what?”
“Do I get to wrap you?”
Kurt groans, tipping his forehead against Dave’s. “Babe, that’s a terrible line.”
“Oh, come on! It’s December, I’m delirious from finals, and I need sleep and real food. Let me have that one, pleeeease?”
“Ughhh! I suppose I’ll let you have it. You’re damn lucky I’m in love with you.”
Dave laughs from his belly and reaches out to cup Kurt’s face with both hands and pulls him forward, smiling against his lips. “Hell yes, I am!”
Half laughing, they smash their mouths together and playfully tumble over, melting into each other in a way that always brings relief from stressful days. It’s more than a little sloppy and tired, tastes like hot chocolate and exhaustion. It’s also a celebration of surviving another semester together. Little by little, it undoes the tension that’s been building since September, unwinding them, and somewhere in the middle, they take a truly relaxing breath for the first time in months.
Outside, the snow starts again, but they don’t notice, even as the movie plays on.
“I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white.”