#spaceorphan18

“I am looking forward to a long bath, a massage, and a haircut.” Sugar announces as she straightens the magazines in the seat back pocket, blatantly avoiding the left behind trash.  “Daddy tried to get a masseuse to come to my apartment tonight, but service in this city is just not what it used to be. So I have one booked for first thing in the morning, after my private yoga session with Cassandra.”

“You booked a yoga session and a massage on Christmas?” Blaine questions from across the aisle. 

“Of course. Everything is closed that day, so they have nothing else to do.” 

Blaine exchanges rolled eyes with the other flight attendant, Marley, as she follows behind Sugar and gathers the trash. No one has been able to figure out why the young socialite took a job as an attendant, as she subjects the rest of the crew to stories of her father’s wealth. But, she’ll loudly defend her coworkers where they’re subjected to any sexist behavior, reaming the men out until they meekly find their seat and add a “please” and “thank you” to any requests for the rest of the flight and Blaine knows that she gets great glee out of making them behave.  Except for her tendency to avoid getting her hands dirty, she is a funny and reliable crewmate and Blaine always enjoys their cross country trips together. 

“Jake is coming to my mom’s home tomorrow for breakfast.” Marley confesses. 

“You’re at the ‘meet the parents’ stage already?” Sugar whistles. “Do you think he’ll propose?”

“No! That is, I don’t think so. It’s only been four months, isn’t that too soon?” Marley eyes widen.

“Much too soon,” Blaine reassures Marley. Marley has always been more reserved with her feelings and hesitant to trust in relationships and so far, Jake has been willing to take things at Marley’s pace. The two of them often shared the same flights and Blaine had shared many a midnight layover hotel room with Marley, spilling their feelings into the late night. 

“What about you, Blaine? How are you spending your Christmas?” Sugar asks. 

“It’s a quiet one this year, just me at home.” He answers, picking up a discarded blanket.

“You’re not seeing your family?” Marley asks.

“No. My parents are on a two week cruise to Greece and I couldn’t get that much time off. And Cooper is on one of those “spiritual” rejuvenation retreats in Palm Springs.” 

“You could come with me and Jake. My mom always makes plenty.” Marley volunteers, worry in her eyes.

“Nah, really, I’m good. I ordered food from the little Italian restaurant down the block and I’m going to watch all of the Christmas movies and drink hot chocolate. It’s going to be a lovely day.”

“If you’re sure.” Marley acquiesces hesitantly.

“I’m sure.” Blaine smiles. Sugar moves on to other topics and Marley drops the subject. As the much younger child of very busy parents, he was used to spending the holidays alone and while he was grateful for Marley’s offer, the awkwardness of sharing Christmas with strangers isn’t appealing either.  

They’re nearing the tail of the plane, scooping up the last of the cans and cups from the drink service, along with two cell phones and one credit card that had been left in the seat pocket. “Oh no!” Blaine says, spotting the large stuffed giraffe lovingly buckled and forgotten in one of the middle seats. “One of the kids left one of their toys.”

“Aww, that’s so cute. Somebody is going to be missing their friend tonight.” 

“Want me to run it up to the service department?” Sugar says. “I’m all done here.”

“Nah,” Blaine says, thinking about the little girl and her excitement about the giraffe. “I’ve got to submit the safety check report. I can turn in the stuffed animal and the phones with it.” 

“Suit yourself. Laters, hoes!” Sugar calls as she departs the plane. 

Blaine waits while Marley latches the last of the cabinets and follows her up to the front, where they retrieve their coats and scarves from the small closet in first class, listening while she talks about trying to do a non Christian focused celebration on Christmas. “He’s Jewish and while he says he doesn’t mind celebrating Christmas, I want him to feel part of the celebration, you know? It’s okay to serve latkes if it’s not Hanukkah, right? My mom is making homemade applesauce tonight. She’s as nervous as I am, I think.”

“It’s going to be fine. He’s going to love that you’re making the gesture to make him comfortable with your family.”

“I hope so. I think… I think I might tell him that I love him.” She confesses as she pushes through the security gates. 

“That’s great! Marley, I’m so happy for you.” 

“I’m happy for me too.” She blushes. “I wish, that is, are you happy, Blaine?” 

“Me?” He blinks, “what? I’m fine.” 

“Are you though? It’s not just Christmas, Blaine. It’s been a long time since you’ve even mentioned dating or anything.”

“I’ve been busy.” He brushes off her concerns with a reassuring smile. 

“You’ve been volunteering for extra shifts! I had to convince you not to take the Christmas shifts because you’ve worked the last 3 Christmases.”

“I… other people need that time off more.” 

“It’s okay to take time for you too.” She squeezes his arm. “Come home with me tomorrow. I’d love for you to meet Jake.” 

He stops them in front of the terminal doors, clutching the giraffe closer. “That’s kind of you, Mar, but-”

“Just think about it, okay? I’ll call you tomorrow.” She hugs him tightly and kisses his cheek, waving as she heads off to the parking garage. 

Blaine winds his way upstairs to the Alaska airline offices, where he munches on some Christmas cookies, before making his way to Sue’s office to drop off the paperwork. She’s harassing one of the desk agents and it looks like it’ll take away, so he loses himself in his thoughts, thinking about what Marley had said. Yes, he’s been working more recently, but he wouldn’t call himself lonely. He’s good friends with many of the pilots and flight attendants and will usually get a drink with the group on their layover nights. And while he’ll admit a little envy of those happily partnered, he’s also become quite comfortable and accepting of his single life. His relationship with his college boyfriend had fizzled into nothing and he was more lonely then those first few months after graduation when he realized that they had nothing in common than he is now surrounded by his chosen family. He’s gotten good at suppressing his fantasies of love at first sight, where you just know in an instant that you’re going to be together with that special person forever. That hasn’t happened yet and likely won’t ever happen, the realist in him acknowledges. 

“Did the amount of gel you use leech into your skull and eat your brain? Or do you just waste my time for fun?” Sue Sylvester, the intimidating desk agent barks and Blaine snaps back to attention. 

“Sorry, Sue. Here’s the flight status report.” Blaine hurries over to her desk. 

“You sure you filled this out correctly? I will relish calling you back at 3 this morning to fix it if it isn’t. I don’t care that it is Christmas.” She sneers, as she pulls the papers over to her. 

“Doubled checked, like always,” Blaine assures her with a charming smile. He’s determined to win her over and he swears he sees a small smile before she grimaces again.

“Hrrphm.” She tosses the papers on a pile.

“There were a couple of phones left on the flight as well. Oh and one of the kids left this little guy behind.” He waves the giraffe’s leg at her. 

“That would explain the panicked phone calls and the hysterical crying. Well throw it on the pile there. That gross … thing ... will need to be incinerated.”

He stares at her. “We aren’t going to try to return it?”

“Do I look like a delivery boy to you?”

“No, but-” 

“No buts, shaven, gay, Tom Selleck. I don’t have time nor interest to find somebody to return items to dumb children who leave their precious germ-ridden slobbery death traps on planes.”

“I can take it to them.” Blaine offers. 

“Now why would you want to do that?” She stares at him. 

“It’s Christmas.” He shrugs. “I bet they’re missing it, if they called about it. Did you get an address?”

“Becky may have written something down. I’m not paying you extra.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to. Thanks, Sue.” 

***

The address Becky had provided was on the opposite side of the city from where he lived and it had started to snow, making him question his generosity. He carefully maneuvered his little car over the slickened roads as the snow blustered across the  and down a long, dark driveway before pulling up in front of a cozy white house, lined with blue and white Christmas lights. He double checks the address before buttoning his coat and tucking the little giraffe under his arm to protect it from the flurrying snow. 

Lights are glowing from the front window, but nobody responds at first to his knock. He knocks again and is about to leave, contemplating leaving the stuffed animal on the porch, when the door flies open, the light silhouetting a tall man. Kurt was his name, Becky had told him. 

“Hello?”

“Hi, I’m Blaine from Alaska Airlines.” He starts.

“Oh my god, did you find Drizzle? The woman on the phone made it sound like it was a lost cause.”

“This is Drizzle, yes?” He holds out the giraffe. 

“Yes! Oh, gosh, thank you so much. Audrey was so heartbroken. I don’t think she would have slept tonight without him.”

Blaine smiles widely. “It’s my pleasure.” The porch light more fully illuminates the man’s attractive features and confirms that the man indeed was the handsome man he had flirted with briefly. Working with a constant stream of passengers that he greets daily means that he’s always has a sense of déjà vu when passing people in public, but this man is .... memorable and familiar and comfortable - Blaine has a deep sense that this is not their first meeting, even though that’s impossible. 

Kurt straightens, his face haloed by the porch lights. “Wait, weren’t you our flight attendant? You were, right? You helped me with our luggage.”

“Yeah, that was me. I found Drizzle when I was cleaning up the plane.”

“And you brought him all the way out here? In this blizzard?”

Blane rubs his neck and blushes. “Yeah.”

“Well, thank you again. Audrey! Audrey!” He calls through the open door. “Come see what  Mr -” He pauses, looking at Blaine expectedly.

“Blaine.”

“-Mr. Blaine has brought.” 

He hears the clattering of feet. “What, Unca Kurt, what, is it Santa?”

Uncle. Interesting, Blaine thought. “No, not Santa. But remember that nice attendant? He found you something.”

She claps her hands and reaches out for the toy. “Drizzle! You found him!”

“You gotta be careful with your toys, honey.” The man ruffles her hair fondly. “What do you say to the nice man?”

“Thanks, Mr. Blaine.” She hugs Blaine quickly, surprising him, and runs off clutching the giraffe tightly. 

“Really, thank you.” The man says again. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me and to Audrey. It was already going to be a hard Christmas. Her mom is in the hospital because of a high risk pregnancy and I promised I’d care for her for a couple of weeks, but you know how it is when you’re young. It doesn’t matter the reasons why; she just thinks her mom is abandoning her. So losing the toy was just the cap to a really trying day.”

“It’s not a problem.” Blaine reassures him, yearning to reach out a hand in comfort.

“Kurt, I mean, my name is Kurt. Would you come in and I could get you a drink?” The man asks him, gesturing to the open door.

Blaine shakes his head a little ruefully, not really wanting to leave. “No, I, I gotta go, the snow and all. But, uh, Merry Christmas, and … yeah.”

Blaine doesn’t think he’s imagining the slight forlorn frown that crosses Kurt’s face. “Oh. Yeah, you’re probably right.” He bites his lip. “Merry Christmas to you too, Blaine.” 

The snow is coming down hard now, thick flakes sticking to his hair and eyelashes, and already there’s a couple of inches accumulated on the street. He opens the door, turns on his car, and his wheels spin and squeal in the snow.

He tries again, pushing firmer on the gas pedal. The car rocks forward a couple of inches and slides promptly into the ditch. 

He’s stuck.

Blaine knocks meekly on the door again and this time it’s only a few seconds before the door opens. “I. My car is stuck, I think.”

Kurt’s smile is breathtaking. “That’s a pity. Would you like to come in and wait out the storm?”

Something inside of Blaine feels like he’s come home. “I’d like that.” He answers and steps through the door.