lonely christmas eve

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So here's what you missed on Glee:

Tabula Rasa is currently blanketed in a layer of snow, which apparently happens every year even though it's a tropical island, although this year it seems that the island's transported itself to some weird alternate Victorian universe running on steam. Kurt's adjusted fairly well - ( "I've helped lace a couple of

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One thing could be said for certain: there was absolutely no way that Kurt would have mistaken the young man in front of him- Marshall, if his memory served- with Craig Gilner. Their styles were different, for one. The way they spoke, not quite the same. But if there was anything that Kurt could center on as being the biggest divide between the two boys with wide eyes and knit brows, it was the fact that Craig Gilner seemed to be the type of soul lost in dreams, in distant places beyond the average man's imagination, accessible only in the stroke of a pen, while Marshall Gregson seemed to be someone too mired in reality, seeking to view it from each side. (It was entirely possible, of course, that Kurt was seeing things where they didn't exist at all, but he liked to think that he was somewhat perceptive when it came to things like this, and not merely fueled by the romantic bend of his mind.)

So, the fact that he could render someone like Marshall halfway to speechless went fairly far in nursing the pride which bubbled in Kurt's chest.

"Hopefully not too bummed by my choice of song," Kurt supplied as helpfully as he could, smile broad as he tilted his head, then stepped forward with an outstretched hand. "Don't think we've properly met. I'm Kurt Hummel."

[quite_a_delight]

"Not bummed. Curious, maybe," Marshall admitted, reaching out to shake Kurt's hand. "Marshall Gregson. I take it you're not in the Christmas spirit," he added with a wry tilt of his lips.

He understood the feeling. This wasn't his first Christmas on the island, but it hadn't gotten any easier, the second time around.

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"Looks like memory serves," Kurt grinned, before he could help himself. "I thought I heard your name floating around here and there, but it always seems a bit strange to ask someone else for a person's name, isn't it? No reason to sneak around to pawn introductions off of other people."

The smile faded soon after, leaving behind only the slightest quirk in his lip. What it intended to do, Kurt wasn't quite sure. Perhaps he was just trying to fight the impulse to lose all spunk and energy altogether, to find something around which to center his energy and keep his thoughts from straying too far. Or perhaps he just wanted to leave a better impression. Neither thought seemed ideal.

"But no," he sighed. "Not very much in the Christmas spirit this year, I'm afraid. Pathetic though it may seem, I... foresee myself being somewhat of a wreck without my dad here. That's all."

[quite_a_delight]

"No, it's... It isn't pathetic," Marshall admitted, "This is my second Christmas here, and I was actually more than ready to leave home, but it's... It doesn't feel right."

He missed his family. Even the crazy parts. Even the years when Buck tried to give them all handguns or when T nearly burned the whole house down, starting with the Christmas tree.

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While Kurt didn't know anything much about Marshall's home life, his words resonated. Lima had never felt like a place to linger over the years, never felt particularly right, or safe, save for when Kurt was among friends and family. Knowing that his father held fairly deep roots in Ohio, Kurt had always been aware, whether distantly or to a heightened degree, that there would come a time when he'd leave the state, and the once cherished daily process of being welcomed home after a long glee club practice would be no longer. A little over a year. That was all he had. So in a way he, too, had wanted to leave the nest.

"You're right," he admitted, a grimace on his face as he nodded. "It doesn't feel right. Even if you're ready to leave home, it's still different to know that you have the choice to go back. Or at least the option to visit during the holidays. It's supposed to be a family time."

[quite_a_delight]

"You have friends here, right? From home, I mean. In theory, that's supposed to make things easier," he said with a quirk of his lips. In theory, because having Lionel on the island made things exponentially more awkward. The idea of spending Christmas with him was about as horrifying as spending it without him.

"But I think sometimes holidays are complicated, no matter where you are."

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[ continued here ]