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Klaine Advent Day 7 - "gift" (1200 words)

I’ve decided to go a little HIMYM with my advent fic; each one will be set the weekend of Kurt and Blaine’s December wedding.

These snippets are told in no chronological order; if they manage to hold together, I'll restring them in order once they're done, add any necessary interstitial scenes, and post the collected work on AO3.

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 Day 6

Rachel and Mercedes are clustered around his dad on the sofa, looking through one of the photo albums from Kurt's early years that he'd been threatening to bring along for months. He thought he'd made it in the clear when they made it through the rehearsal dinner without any embarrassment, but as soon as they'd had their first cup of hot chocolate his dad grinned at him and held out his hand to Carole, and the three of them had been cooing on the sofa ever since.

He's in the kitchen with Carole, staying far away from his bare baby butt and stirring up the ingredients for their next pot of cocoa, when Rachel looks up and says, "Kurt, your mom was so pretty. You definitely got your eyes from her." He dashes in one more sprinkle of cayenne before he turns and bats them at her, but she's looking at Carole now, an apologetic smile on her face. And when he looks, Carole is smiling back.

Mercedes says something a little loud, something about the old house, and Carole looks down. Kurt holds his tongue for a full 30 seconds before he says, "I'm sorry it's still so hard."

She sighs, and when she looks up at him her eyes are sad. "It's getting better – you know it is. It's just this weekend."

Kurt nods. "I know. It has to be hard. I really am so sorry." She puts an arm around him, squeezing his shoulders. "I've been thinking about him, too. There are so many things that I think he should be here for, but this is a big one."

She tilts her head to rest against his, and together they watch the cocoa come together as he stirs it. There's nothing more to say, really – they know each other now, family in every way that could possibly count, and that kind of calm acceptance has always been part of what he likes about Carole. Finn had given them all a lot of things, but his mother was hard to beat.

Carole turns his head to press a kiss against his cheek, and she pulls away saying, "I have something for you."

He watches her cross to her bag and come back, a small black box in her hand. He turns down the heat on the cocoa and takes the box, glancing up to check on the rest of the house. His dad is smiling at him, but as soon as their eyes meet he turns the page and starts narrating Kurt's 1st birthday party.

The box is old, the gilding on the edge dulling a little with age, but when he pops it open he's astounded to see a beautiful vintage dresser set – onyx cufflinks, waistcoat studs, and shirt studs, in gleaming condition.

"It was my grandfather's. Nobody's sure where he got it. It's dated from the 30s and my grandparents were never wealthy – he wouldn't have ever needed formal clothes, so I have no idea why he had it. My mother gave it to Christopher when we got married, and she said that she remembered looking at it when she was a girl, that it was always sitting on her dad's side of the dresser when she was growing up."

His fingers glide over the onyx, the smooth stone making way to the rolled golden rims of the jewelry. "Oh, Carole."

"My dad always said that my grandmother must have stolen it – she was a housekeeper for Governor Lausche in the 40s – and oh, how my mother hated it when he said that." He looks up at her, smiles at the set of her eyes, at the happy memory she's lost in. "So we'll never know, really, where they came from. I like to think it was a gift, maybe, from the Governor." She looks at him. "It's a better story than assuming my grandmother was pocketing things."

"Maybe. Either way, they're gorgeous. I love them. Are you sure?"

"I'm very sure, Kurt."

"Why not dad? He has to be in formalwear all the time now."

She looks at him, studies his face for a while. "Did Rachel ever tell you about the pocket watch?" He shakes his head, and she continues. "When Finn and Rachel were getting married, back… years ago, now… I gave him Christopher's grandfather's pocket watch. It was always meant for him, and so were these. I had to hide them, back when Christopher started getting in trouble and nothing of value was safe in our house. I wrapped them both in a length of fabric and hid them in my sewing basket, because they weren't just valuable, they were our family, our history, and I wanted them for the baby that was coming. I always knew I would give them away when that baby got married."

He nods.

"I found the pocket watch when I was going through Finn's things after, and gave it to Rachel. It belongs to her – it belongs with her, because if Finn hadn't died it would have been with her all along. But these… Kurt, from the moment I knew you were going to become part of our family, I knew these were always meant to be yours. Who else could they possibly be for?"

"Carole. They – thank you. Thank you so much." He hugs her, squeezes her tight and buries his face in her hair. He feels – over on the couch Mercedes is laughing at his mother's hairdo, and it's too much. And then suddenly, he realizes, "Blaine is going to die of envy."

Carole laughs and pulls away, brushing at her cheeks. "Well, see, that's another reason they're obviously yours – you can share them. And I'm… Kurt, I'm so happy that you found someone so wonderful to share them with." She seems lighter now, happier, and Kurt pulls her against him again, just to drop a kiss on her cheek.

She pulls back and frames his face in her hands. "Okay?"

He nods. "Okay. I'll wear… I'm not in a waistcoat, but I'll wear at least the cufflinks tomorrow."

She nods, and pats his cheeks, both of them, and smiles at him. "Perfect. Now. Finish the cocoa? I'm going dry, here."

"Oh! Coming right up," he says, and he turns back to the stove while she drifts away, leaving him to put himself back together.

He turns the heat back on the stove, stirs the cocoa, and lets his gaze drift over to the box where he's propped it open so he can continue to stare at them. He can't believe it – they're so beautiful, and tomorrow he's getting married, and the weird, heartbreaking history of his weird, heartbreaking little family will be one more thing he can share with Blaine.

When he finally cuts the heat under the hot chocolate, he snaps the box closed and slips it in his pocket before he turns around to face the group on the couch. Rachel is looking at him, smiling sadly, but Carole is leaning over her, one hand resting on her shoulder, as she stretches forward to look at the first few years of Kurt's life.

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