My first Glee fic! I hadn't written anything in ages, so it felt really good to just go ahead and write this. Plus, I may or may not be borderline-obsessed with Klaine lately.

Glee is not owned by me, and thank goodness for that, because I wouldn't be able to make it nearly as awesome as it is right now.

In the Snow

Kurt shifted his weight slightly, pulling his double-breasted Armani coat closer to himself. A puff of vapor showed clearly in front of him with each breath he exhaled. He pulled out his phone, his fingertips starting to feel the cold through their purple leather exterior. Good, he still had plenty of time before his next class.

With a small smile, he returned his phone and hand to his pocket and continued walking. The Dalton gardens were certainly a nice change of pace from the dreary McKinley school grounds. Green and brown greeted him from all around, blanketed in just enough snow to give a winter-wonderland feel to everything in sight. A few persistent flowers peeked out from beneath the white, smiling up at the passerby. They were small, composed smiles, the kind that were warm and compassionate but not quite familiar yet. Kurt returned the gesture as he strolled along the cleared pathway. He stopped to gaze for a while at a particularly strangely-shaped branch. It was twisted up around the iron lattice, climbing up to Kurt's own height. At the top it reached out in an almost pretzel-like fashion, twirling around itself in several places to form pretty little loops. In the back of his mind, Kurt's fashion-subconscious noted that the design would look wonderful as a lapel pin. His mind was in other places, though. Exploring the school grounds was a good excuse to just walk around and think about both everything at once and nothing in particular. Though, he had to admit, it was colder out than he had originally predicted; his coat, however fabulous it looked on him, wasn't quite thick enough to fully protect him from the winter's arctic air. He pulled it closer once more and moved on from the lapel-pin branch.

Things at Dalton were going well. He was happy - he knew that much - and that was certainly progress. Things weren't all rainbows and butterflies, though; he had to admit that it was a bit daunting getting used to the inner workings of the new school. Not only was it difficult trying to assimilate to the people, but his eyebrow twinged slightly at the thought of his workload; the amount of papers and books crowding his room served as a constant reminder of how different the academic standards at Dalton were when compared to his old school. However, he had finally come to accept the fact that it was the holiday season after Blaine had forced him to stop studying. Kurt smiled at the memory, his cheeks gaining a touch more color than the cold had already bestowed upon them. Singing with Blaine had been the most relaxing, fun thing that he had done since arriving at Dalton. He wondered vaguely how the other boy's performance had been. Today was the day when he sang that same song for a Christmas event outside of school. His thoughts quickly centering on his fellow Warbler, Kurt checked his phone once more, almost subconsciously. Blaine's performance had been scheduled for 2:00, and the phone in his hand told Kurt that he should be done by now. Stuffing his phone back in his pocket, he looked up at the wintry landscape that was laid out around him. Absently, he began to sing as he walked.

Without you, the ground thaws

The rain falls

The grass grows

Without you, the seeds root

The flowers bloom

The children play

The stars gleam

The poets dream

The eagles fly

Without you

The earth turns

The sun burns

But I die, without you

He twirled gracefully around a snow-dappled bush as he sang softly to the air, his hands clasped lightly behind his back. The air around him seemed to whisper back in peaceful harmony as he serenaded it.

Without you, the tides change

The boys run

The oceans crash

The crowds roar

The days soar

The babies cry

Without you

The moon glows

The river flows

But I die without you

Flowing perfectly into the silent beat where Roger's part began, a clear, familiar voice joined Kurt.

The world revives…

He started slightly but continued on with his own part, singing while turning to see a familiar figure smiling at him from a few feet away.

Colors renew…

Blaine made his way up to him as the two harmonized on the next part, Kurt's lips breaking into a smile as they sang.

But I know blue

Only blue

Lonely blue

Within me blue

Without you…

The singers weaved between the plants in the garden, occasionally stealing glances at each other through windows in the shrubbery.

Without you, the hand gropes

The ear hears

The pulse beats

Without you, the eyes gaze

The legs walk

The lungs breathe

The mind churns

The heart yearns

The tears dry without you

Life goes on

But I'm gone

'Cause I die

Without you

As they reached the end of the song, the two met each other at the end of the rows of lattice. They came to face one another, keeping eye contact as they repeated the last lines of the song.

Without you

Without you

Without you…

They stood facing each other for a few moments once their voices faded away into the winter air. Kurt spoke first, his cheeks a shade darker than they were before.

"Nice entrance. And may I ask how long you were there before you joined in?"

"Actually, not too long," Blaine grinned back. "I saw you as I drove up, so I decided to come see what you were doing… When I got closer, I heard you singing. I hope you don't mind that I intruded."

Kurt tried not to smile, but he couldn't help it. "Well… I suppose your accompaniment was nice enough for me to let you off the hook." They both laughed lightly. "So, how was it?" Kurt asked, indicating the Christmas performance that his friend had apparently just returned from.

"Fine," Blaine shrugged. "I was right, though."

Kurt raised a questioning eyebrow. "Right about what?"

"You were much better than the girl I sang with."

Kurt flushed, looking away embarrassedly, but smiled despite himself. "Well," he said, composing himself with a decidedly diva-like air, "I don't think there was ever really any doubt about that."

Blaine chuckled and nodded. "True. So, why were you out here singing, out of curiosity?"

"Oh, you know. Wanted to walk around and think about some things. Then…" Kurt's level of embarrassment suddenly rose when he realized that he had sort-of-kind-of-actually been singing about Blaine.

"… Then…?" the boy in question asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kurt cleared his throat a little, brushing nothing in particular off of his coat. "Then I felt the sudden urge to sing RENT, of course. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Blaine, knowing that there was some other meaning behind his song of choice, narrowed his eyes just slightly, but asked no further questions. "I see," he said with a somewhat-knowing smile. "Well, Mimi, would you like to escort me back to the dorms? I don't know about you, but I've got to get ready for afternoon classes."

Kurt gave him an incredulous smirk, replying, "I suppose I could walk with you."

They began back toward the school building, walking comfortably close to one another. It was at this point that Kurt remembered how uncomfortably cold it was. He buried his face into his coat collar, shivering as he brought his shoulders up in an attempt to get warm. Blaine turned to him and chuckled softly.

"I'm guessing your coat isn't as warm as it fashionable?"

"You would be correct, oh Observant One," Kurt replied sarcastically, gaze still set straight ahead. Momentarily he felt something snake around him, and turned with surprise to find Blaine's arms around him, hands rubbing gently against his coat as he walked. Kurt's face reddened at the sudden contact, and he was secretly thankful for Blaine's eyes being on the path ahead.

"Well, we're not too far from the dorms. Think you can hold out till then?" Now he turned to smile at his companion, who promptly felt his heart melt a little. … Okay, a lot.

"I… I think so, yes. Just be on call in case hypothermia starts to take hold of me."

He returned Blaine's fond smile, gazing for a moment into his mesmerizingly warm eyes before forcing himself to look away again. Blaine continued to look at him for a few moments more, smiling at something that he couldn't quite explain.

As they approached the brick building, Blaine's arm remained around Kurt, holding him a bit closer than was generally necessary. Kurt had hidden his face in his collar again to hide his growing smile, and felt a strange mixture of relief and disappointment when the two finally reached the school doors.

Thanks very much for reading! Hope you enjoyed it~