Hello everyone!

It's January 9th today which means it's not only been a year since season 6 of Glee aired, but it's also been a year since I started posting my first fic Burn With You. To celebrate this anniversary - here's the new fic!

A few words about it. I wrote it for a NaNoWriMo 2015 and I'm really proud of it, so I really can't wait to know your opinions about it.

The fic is based on a movie No Reservations. It follows the plot pretty closely, but there are some scenes that I came up with by myself, to make it more interesting, longer and more Klainish. I also borrowed quite a lot of quotes from the movie - they were simply too brilliant to try and replace them with my own words.

The fic is complete and I'll do my best to update every Saturday :D

I think that's all, so there we go, enjoy! A big thank you to Ida, my beta, and to Anna, for constantly cheering on me.

I don't own Glee, Klaine or the movie No Reservations.

Chapter 1

"I need those lobsters like yesterday, where are they?" Kurt Hummel shouted in the general direction of the cooks, grabbing the plates with carpaccio and the lamb and setting them on the counter for the server to pick them up. "Quinn, take care of the quails, also, we have an order for two tasting menus."

"Yes, chef." His sous-chef replied, checking on the quails, maneuvering around the kitchen quite gracefully for a woman that was eight months pregnant. Kurt turned back to the cooks, just in time to receive the lobsters from one of them, and walked to the table to put the final touches and decorations on the plate. He was just about to draw the last pattern with the sauce, when his boss, the owner of the restaurant, came up to him.

"Kurt, the Richardsons are here, they say you're brilliant and want to thank you in person." Tina Cohen-Chang said, looking at him expectantly.

"Thank you, Tina, but the kitchen is the place that needs my brilliance." Kurt said, not tearing his eyes away from the lobsters.

"Come on, Kurt, just go and say hi, they're some of my best customers." She said and walked away, making Kurt huff in annoyance, as he finished the decoration and handed the plates over to the server.

While untying his apron, he looked over his sous-chef's shoulder. "Quinn, be careful with the quails, don't cook them too long or they…"

"Or they'll get tough, I know." Quinn Fabray interrupted with a smile.

"No, dry, they'll get dry." Kurt said. "And I get tough when they're dry." He added with a smirk, walking in the direction of the kitchen door. When he reached the Richardsons, they couldn't stop complimenting him, promising to come back next week, as always, Mrs. Richardson joking that if her husband hadn't been straight, he probably would have left her for Kurt a long time ago. Kurt shook their hands with a smile and watched the old couple walk out of the restaurant, wondering if they knew that he, in fact, was actually gay. He was on his way back to the kitchen when he overheard the exchange between Tina and one of the customers.

"I'm just saying, this is not cooked properly." The guy sitting at table nine said, gesturing at his plate.

"May I ask what is this about?" Kurt asked, calmly walking up to the table, even though his insides were on fire.

"I'll handle this." Tina said and Kurt opened his mouth to say something, but the customer forestalled him.

"Oh, you're the chef, right?" He asked and, seeing Kurt nod, he continued. "Look, this foie gras hasn't been cooked long enough." He said, basically shoving the plate in Kurt's face.

"Excuse me?" Kurt asked, looking at him unbelievingly, taking the plate to take a closer look at it. One glance told him all that he needed to know.

"Let me get you a different one, on the house." He heard Tina say and looked at her incredulously.

"No. My foie gras is cooked perfectly." He said, giving the plate to his boss and glaring at the customer.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, honey. Even the best stumble over foie gras." The guy said, smirking annoyingly, making Kurt see red.

"There's nothing wrong with it. It's precisely comme il faut."

The customer looked at him, slightly taken aback, but recovered quickly. "And what is that supposed to mean?" He asked with a laugh, probably trying the mask the fact that he had no idea what he was talking about.

"Comme il faut? As it should be. Hundred and forty degrees in the oven, eighty degrees water temperature, for twenty-five minutes, not too long, not too short, with the perfect touch of pink. Honey." Kurt gritted out the last word through clenched teeth, glaring deadly at the other man.

"That's it, we're leaving." The man said, getting up and storming out, his date following right behind. Kurt took a deep breath and turned around, heading to the kitchen, walking past a furious looking Tina.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" She asked, following him into the kitchen. "You can't act like that every time someone doesn't like your food!"

"Oh, please." Kurt rolled his eyes. "He was a Neanderthal."

"Okay, but a paying one!" Tina exclaimed. "If he says it's not cooked enough, then it's not! I swear, if you weren't one of the best chefs in the city, I would so fire you tonight." She said, pointing at him angrily and storming out of the kitchen.

"One of the best? What's that supposed to mean?" Kurt called after her and looked around when he got no response. "She's just saying that to annoy me." He muttered. "Right?" He asked the other cooks as he walked up to take the food from them, looking at them expectantly.

"Whatever you say, chef." They all agreed in unison, well used to that kind of drama, and knowing better than to cross Kurt Hummel. He grinned, satisfied with their response, and got back to work, almost immediately forgetting about the unpleasant encounter.

The rest of evening passed uneventfully, at least as uneventfully as it was considered at Le Palais. Sure, there were some broken plates, some blood, a few threats from Kurt here and there, but nothing special. Just a usual day at work. Effortlessly following the routine he developed through the years, Kurt got to his apartment before midnight, glad to finally be home. Not bothering to turn the light on, headed to the bedroom, and soon enough, he was lying in his big bed, on the verge of falling asleep. Sometimes, not very often, but from time to time, he had this brief moment when he wondered if he wasn't feeling lonely. But then he remembered the restaurant, his kitchen, his kingdom and how hard he had worked for all of this, and then that feeling always went away. He had everything he had dreamed of. He didn't need anything else.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Kurt groaned loudly at the sound of the alarm clock, being pulled out of a very nice dream by the annoying sound. He opened his eyes and turned it off, glaring deadly at the clock for a few seconds and he was honestly surprised it didn't catch on fire right there. Mumbling incoherent curses under his breath, he got up and tiredly dragged himself to the bathroom.

No matter how long he'd been doing this and how much he loved and enjoyed his job, waking up at 4:30am to go to the fish market was something he would probably never get used to.

Fortunately, meeting up with his favorite and regular suppliers had put him in a far better mood. He managed to get some beautiful fresh lobsters, few boxes of seabass and sole, but what made him the happiest was the batch of golden tilefish. When Bob, one of the fishermen, opened the box and showed the fish to him, Kurt almost started squealing in excitement, but, thankfully, he managed to restrain himself and preserve his dignity. After scheduling the deliveries to the restaurant, Kurt said goodbye to the fishermen, thanking them again, and headed back home. He didn't have to go to work for the next few hours, so he busied himself with cleaning his apartment and coming up with the grocery list – his brother and niece were coming later that day and staying for a few days, and Kurt was really looking forward to it. He missed Finn and he hadn't seen little Emily in so long – well, not so little anymore since she was about to turn nine in March. He was just about to start making some lunch when his cell phone rang. Speaking, or rather thinking, of the devil, Kurt thought when Finn's picture showed up on his screen, and picked up the phone.

"Hey, bro, it's me." Finn's voice sounded through the phone and Kurt rolled his eyes. No matter how many times he told him to, his brother had never stopped calling him that, but, to be honest, it had kind of grown on him.

"Hey there, how's the road?" He asked, walking around the kitchen and pulling out ingredients.

"Not that bad, we should probably be there around nine."

"Great, I'll make sure to be back by then."

"Cool. Anyway, what are you doing?" His brother asked. "Wait, let me guess – reading a recipe, right?"

Kurt froze above the cookbook that was lying on the counter. "I do have other interests, you know."

"Name one." Finn laughed, and Kurt could also hear another laugh accompanying him.

"How's Emily?" He asked and could imagine Finn shaking his head at his not so subtle change of subject.

"Cute. She's changed so much since the last time you saw her, you have no idea."

"Can't wait to see her." Kurt said truthfully. "So, what do you want for dinner?"

"Oh, don't worry about us; we'll just grab some pizza or burgers on our way."

"Finn, I think you've known me long enough to realize that it's not an option." Kurt said, trying to sound stern, but knowing his brother could hear the smile in his voice. "What does Emily like?"

"Man, she eats anything, I swear, she definitely took after me in that department." Finn said with a laugh. "She's like a tiny, adorable vacuum cleaner."

"Dad!" Kurt heard Emily yell in the background and smiled. He really couldn't wait to see them.

"Okay, guys, I gotta go, but call me when you get closer, alright?" He said.

"Will do. Say bye to Uncle Kurt, Em." Finn replied and then Emily's voice sounded from the background. "Bye, Uncle Kurt!"

After they hung up, Kurt stood still for a second, with a soft smile on his face, and then resumed what he had been doing before he was interrupted. Between the phone call, cleaning and cooking, the time flew, and before Kurt even realized, it was time to go to work. Before he left, he made a quick call to cancel the appointment with his therapist, wanting to spend as much time with his family as he could. He rolled his eyes when he thought about his therapist. It was Tina's idea or rather a firm suggestion that he had better go to therapy or she would fire him. Why she thought he needed therapy, he didn't have the faintest idea.

Just when he locked up the apartment and took the first few steps down, he noticed his neighbor's door opening and he quickly turned around, trying to run back to his apartment before he was noticed.

"Hello, Kurt." Adam's voice sounded on the corridor.

Busted. Dammit.

"Aren't you going to work?" His neighbor asked, gesturing at the stairs with a confused look on his face.

"Yes, yes." Think, Hummel, think. "I just forgot something."

"Oh yeah, I hate when that happens." Adam nodded with understanding, completely unaware of how much Kurt wanted to get out of there. "Hey, I was wondering… Wouldn't you like to grab dinner sometime?"

Kurt sighed internally. He knew that would happen – Adam had been dropping subtle hints (or not so subtle, if you asked Kurt) for the last few months, after he moved to New York from London. "Adam, look… I have this rule." He started, hoping it would go over quickly. "I don't… I don't date the guys that live in the same building."

Adam shook his head with a sad smile. "You seem to have a lot of rules."

"Yeah, well…" Kurt said, not knowing what else to say. "I have to go. See you later." He said and was about to run downstairs when Adam's voice stopped him.

"I thought you forgot something?" He asked, nodding in the direction of Kurt's apartment.

"Right, right." Kurt said, pretending to remember and turned around, climbing the stairs back to his place. "Thanks."

"No problem." Adam said and when he closed his door, Kurt internally sighed with relief. He opened his own door and, after a few seconds, he shut it loudly, hoping he made it convincing, and then hurried down the stairs, this time without any unwanted encounters.

The restaurant was completely packed that evening, making the kitchen ridiculously busy. The tension was even more palpable than usually, the serving crew running back and forth between the dining hall and the kitchen, the cooks working efficiently, trying to make everything on time. Before Kurt knew it, it was getting late and one look at the kitchen told him that he wouldn't be able to go home as early as he had planned. Leaving now, with a complete hustle and bustle in the kitchen, wasn't the best idea so, with a sigh, he decided to stay a little longer. He was just getting started on spicing up the seabass when the kitchen phone started ringing loudly.

"Somebody answer the phone!" Kurt ordered, not looking up from the plate, when no one moved to get it at first, annoyed by the repetitive sound. "If it's my brother, tell him I'll be a little late, but I should be home before ten."

"Chef?" Rachel, one of the servers called, after answering the phone. "It's for you."

"Tell them to leave a message." Kurt replied impatiently, not having time for some pointless phone call, not when there were plenty of people waiting for their food.

"Chef…" Rachel spoke again and this time something in her voice made Kurt look up. She was biting her lip and looking at him worriedly. "I really think you should take this."

Frowning, Kurt stopped what he was doing and walked to the phone. "Kurt Hummel speaking."

"Mr. Hummel? There's been an accident…"