1x08: Merry Christmas, Darling - Pt 2

They decided to leave after lunch on the 21st and stop somewhere for the night so they wouldn't be too exhausted from driving for such a long time, especially because both he and Nick hadn't had their license for too long. Kurt didn't have a driving license yet, and so he and Nick decided to switch every two hours to avoid falling asleep at the wheel.

Their plans got derailed a bit though because of Kurt's apparent inability to pack light, but close to two o'clock they finally pulled out of the NYADA parking lot, the car filled with presents and Kurt's extensive luggage.

Navigating the Manhattan pre-Christmas traffic was a bitch and Blaine couldn't wait to get off the island. Why people willing drove in New York he would never understand. After cursing out yet another yellow cab, Kurt plugged Blaine's iPod in and pulled his Christmas playlist up.

"Sing with me?" his boyfriend asked to distract him, but Blaine only started to relax once they reached the Holland tunnel and entered New Jersey. Traffic let up a bit once they reached the interstate and Blaine breathed out a sigh of relief.

"You're driving us back to school," he told Nick, who was sitting in the backseat and had thought it was funny to mock Blaine's interaction with the cab drivers. "No fair," Nick pouted. "You are the oldest – you should drive in the big bad city." Blaine just rolled his eyes, because what did age have to do with the ability to drive in a big city? After all, he and Nick had both learned to drive in Ohio.

Kurt was chuckling, while he was pretty much dancing along to a song in his seat. "Don't laugh," Blaine told him. "Next year, you are driving us." That promptly shut him up, until they launched into "Baby it's cold outside."

The three of them sang Christmas songs on top of their lungs all the way into Pennsylvania. Once Nick took over the wheel, he and Kurt curled up together on the backseat, trading soft smiles between songs.

It started snowing lightly while they were driving through Pennsylvania and once visibility decreased they decided to look for a place to spend the night at, hoping the roads would be clear again the next morning.

They found a quaint motel along I-80 that fortunately had vacancies, where Nick got a room for himself, so Blaine could share a room with Kurt. He rolled his eyes at Nick when he winked at him, because, well, he and Kurt were taking it slow. Sharing a room didn't change that.

They quickly dropped their luggage off before crossing the road to a 24/7 diner for some cheeseburgers and fries for him and Nick, and a chickenburger with curly fries for Kurt. The diner was decorated in the style of the fifties and after much pouting, and pulling out the patented puppy dog eyes, Kurt agreed to split a milkshake with him.

After dinner they returned to their rooms, deciding they would leave again at eight the next morning, so they would be in Ohio before noon.

Blaine sat down on the only bed in the door on which he had dumped his luggage while Kurt was standing in front of the TV, looking everywhere but at him.

"I can take the floor," he blurted out, not wanting to make Kurt uncomfortable but Kurt's head snapped up and he shook it.

"No, you don't have to. It's fine. We can share. I mean the bed is big enough for two people, right. God, I have no idea what I'm doing," he rambled until Blaine crossed the room and shut him up with a kiss.

"Hey. I don't know what I'm doing either, so we are going to use the bathroom, get changed and then just go to sleep, okay? No expectations," he assured his nervous boyfriend trying to hide his own nerves because the only person he had ever shared a bed with was his brother when they had been younger at a family reunion.

Kurt nodded, and grabbed his overnight bag before disappearing into the bathroom. Meanwhile, Blaine sat down on the bed again, and turned on the old looking TV, but the images just kept flickering as the snowfall increased outside.

Their room reminded him of the one in Psycho, causing him to shudder for a moment, so he was actually glad he didn't have to be in it on his own. Just then Kurt yelped, and Blaine jumped of the bed and sprinted over to the bathroom.

"Kurt, are you okay?" he yelled, knocking on the door until Kurt's voice came through, muffled by the door.

"Yeah, sorry. Spider," he mumbled and Blaine's face flushed because of his own overreaction.

"Okay. You good now?" "Yeah, I killed it."

Blaine chuckled because Kurt might not look like it but from what Nick had told him, it was Kurt who had to kill the spiders that ended up in his and Jeff's dorm room.

Ten minutes later, Kurt came out of the bathroom, his hair less styled, and in sweat pants and a hoodie. "I'm not going to let my silk pajamas touch those sheets", he explained, before sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Blaine hurried through his own routine, constantly checking the floor for more spiders, before he threw on a pair of his own sweats and a simple t-shirt. His wet hair was already curling on his head but he figured that if he and Kurt kept dating, Kurt would see him au naturel sooner or later – better get it over with now.

To his surprise Kurt actually looked in awe and ran his fingers through Blaine's hair when he sat down next to Kurt. "Those are adorable," he remarked, but Blaine shook his head. He didn't gel his hair down anymore, but he was still not willing to run around with hair curly like crazy.

"Which side do you want?" he asked Kurt, quickly changing the topic. Kurt just shrugged. "I don't know. The dorm beds are too small to have a side and at home I just sleep in the middle."

"I'll take the side by the door then," Blaine replied, because he didn't have a side either, but could protect Kurt from anyone trying to come inside. They both crawled under the covers and that was when it got slightly awkward – because what did one do with their arms and legs. How close was too close and how far part was too far.

Blaine rolled over on his side to face Kurt, who looked apprehensive as well. There was enough space between them for a third person, and Blaine shuffled a bit closer and put his head on the pillow next to Kurt's. He leaned in for a quick kiss before just smiling at Kurt.

Kurt didn't make any move to cuddle with him either and so he decided it would be best if they just stayed on their own sides for now until they were more comfortable.

Blaine was woken up the next morning by someone banging on their door and he buried his head deeper into his pillow only to realize his pillow was moving. He slowly opened his eyes to assess the situation.

Kurt was still sprawled out on his back, but Blaine must have flipped over in his sleep as his head was lying on Kurt's chest, his right arm flung over his waist and his right leg tangled with Kurt's. Slowly, he tried to extricate himself before Kurt woke up and felt him, misinterpreting the situation, but he wasn't fast enough as the banging woke Kurt up as well.

"Shut up, Nick," his boyfriend groaned and the pounding stopped. "We are leaving in half an hour. Just wanted to make sure you were awake," their friend called through the door and Blaine wanted to strangle him, because surely there were other ways to wake someone up.

"Sorry," he mumbled in Kurt's direction as he lifted his leg from Kurt's and slowly moved away from him, making sure that he wasn't brushing up on Kurt. He was a teenage boy and he knew that was completely normal, but he was afraid Kurt would freak out if he knew. Luckily, Kurt apparently wasn't a morning person, because he just curled in on himself and closed his eyes again.

Blaine decided to use the bathroom first and try to get Kurt out of bed again once he was done.

Half past eight, they were back on the road, surrounded by freshly fallen snow that had fortunately been cleared from the roads during the night. After yesterday's Christmas song marathon they decided to just see what was on the radio, but they admitted defeat once they crossed into Ohio and had to go back to Blaine's iPod and top forty artists.

Around noon they reached Nick's house, who was greeted by an adorable little girl who had to be his sister, and accepted a cup of hot chocolate before Nick's mom let them get back on the road. They spent a few minutes kissing in the car before they got on their way to Lima, because they both knew they wouldn't see each other every day like they could in New York, though Blaine promised to visit as often as he could.

Maybe he could convince his dad that now was the right time to invite Kurt over for dinner. After all, he had been the one to suggest it.

Speaking of fathers – Kurt's dad was waiting at the front door as they pulled up the driveway and Blaine quickly dropped Kurt's hands, preparing himself to play the platonic best friend while around the Hummels.

It was after close to two o'clock when Blaine pulled into their driveway after dropping Nick off. Kurt had barely managed to open his door when he was pulled into a tight hug by his dad, who apparently had been waiting behind the door for their arrival.

"Let him breath for a moment," Carole admonished his dad before pulling him into a hug as well, while Blaine was unloading his luggage and carried it inside with his dad's help.

Kurt and Carole slowly followed them inside, and Kurt accepted a one-armed hugged from Finn, who had emerged from the kitchen, half eaten sandwich in his hand.

"I know your family situation isn't great from what you've told me. So I guess it'd be okay if you wanna come over for Christmas Eve dinner," he overheard his dad say to his surprise, just as he was getting ready to say goodbye to Blaine, but he quickly whirled around to face Finn when his stepbrother protested.

"Hey, why does Kurt get to bring his boyfriend when I can't have Rachel over?"

Kurt paled for a moment before sending a death glare in Finn's direction.

"Rachel is Jewish, Finn, and she and her family probably have plans," he remarked dryly, before he added. "And Blaine's not my boyfriend, Finn. He's a boy who's my friend! I can be friends with gay guys."

He could see that Blaine was trying not to look hurt and Kurt sent him an apologetic smile. He didn't want to hurt Blaine's feelings but he needed to do damage control right now.

Finally, he dared to look at his dad, whose eyes kept flickering from Finn to Blaine and then back to Kurt.

"Sorry, dude," Finn apologized to Blaine though he looked confused. Apparently Finn needed another talk about not spilling other people's secrets.

"No, problem," Blaine answered tersely before he turned to Kurt's dad. "Thanks for the invitation Mr. Hummel. I'll let Kurt know what my family's plans are once I've spoken to them."

His dad nodded before he and Finn started lugging Kurt's suitcases to his room and Kurt quickly followed Blaine outside after yelling "I'll walk Blaine out," over his shoulder.

As soon as they were outside, he quickly pulled his boyfriend around the corner of the house to a secluded spot that hid them from the neighbors and his own family.

"Sorry about that. I'll talk to Finn again," he apologized as soon as they were out of sight.

"It's okay," Blaine assured him. "I promised to give you all the time you need, and I intend to keep this promise."

Kurt pressed his cold lips against Blaine's equally cold ones for a few seconds before he led him back to the car. "I need to get back inside. Otherwise they're going to wonder what takes me so long," he pouted and Blaine pulled him into a friendly hug.

"I'll call you, so we can make plans," Blaine promised before he got into the car and drove off, while Kurt watched the car disappear into the distance.

Finn was in his own room, when Kurt went upstairs, blasting zombies, and Kurt slammed the door shut behind him after he stepped into the chaos his stepbrother called a room.

"What the hell, Finn?" he yelled, causing Finn to drop his controller.

"I'm sorry dude. I forgot you are in the cupboard," Finn shot back, and Kurt shook his head at his stepbrother's stupidity.

"Just don't do it again," he sighed exasperatedly. "I want to enjoy my break while I'm here not end up in the homeless shelter we're helping out at," he added dryly.

"Wait, what?" Finn asked surprised. "You are going there as well?" Kurt nodded. "Mercedes invited me," he explained.

"Well, call her and tell her you can't."

It was Kurt's turn to look confused. "And pray tell me, why not?"

Finn smiley widely. "One of the performers of a local Christmas show on TV had to cancel last minute and Rachel got us the gig. It's live, so you're going to have to watch from the audience," he announced.

Kurt gaped at him. "There's such a thing as a DVR Finn. I'm not cancelling on Mercedes. I think volunteering is more important than watching some show live that I can watch on TV any way."

Kurt yelped when Finn threw his controller against the wall. "God, you are so selfish, Kurt," he yelled. "It's always about you. I have to help out in the shop when I want some money but you get to go to some fancy school in New York, because you can't go to regular high school like normal people. And I flew all the way to New York to watch your stupid musical."

Kurt was quietly fuming because Finn knew why he wasn't safe at McKinley, Finn hadn't even paid attention to his show, and Finn had enjoyed his time in New York.

"No one forced you to come," Kurt shot back, "and I'd have understood if you had already had plans. I'm helping out at the shelter and that's that. There are things more important than performing."

His storm-out was diva worthy and he made sure to slam the door shut behind him.

"What's going on Kurt?" his dad asked, eyeing Finn's closed door. "Nothing," Kurt replied before he stormed into his own room and slammed the door shut as well for good messure.

There was a knock on the door a few moments later.

"Go away, Dad. I don't want to talk about it," Kurt yelled, before burying his head in his pillow. He already felt bad enough that his dad had to pay for private school – because Kurt knew that scholarship or not it still cost his dad more than it would if Kurt were at McKinley – and Finn bringing it up didn't help at all. It just made him feel worse.

"If this is about what Finn said about Blaine, I promise I'm not mad," his dad tried again, but Kurt didn't move. "It's not," he mumbled. "I'm tired, I'm going to lie down," he said a bit louder to make sure his dad heard him.

There was a sigh, then. "Sure kiddo, but know you can talk to me if you want to."

"I know. Thanks Dad."

Kurt woke up from his nap two hours later to a text from Blaine, telling him he got home all right. He immediately pulled up his boyfriend's number and pressed call.

"You can't believe what Finn said to me," he ambushed Blaine before he could even say hello, before launching into a tirade about Finn.

"Please tell me you're coming over for Christmas dinner," he finished.

"I'm sorry Kurt, but I talked to my dad and he wants me home for Christmas. In related news, you have been invited to dinner at my house after Christmas."

Kurt's breath caught in his throat. "And is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

Blaine sighed. "I think it's a good thing. He is trying, because you are important to me and apparently I'm still important to him."

"Then I'm looking forward to it," Kurt assured him, already running through outfit idea in his mind. He had looked spectacularly young in his Spring Awakening costume and he really need the second impression to be better than the first.

Just then Carole called upstairs to let him know dinner was ready. "I got to go. Talk later?" Blaine agreed and Kurt hung up the phone, mentally preparing himself for an awkward dinner.

Burt had hoped that things would settle the day after Kurt and Finn's fight – about which both boys still refused to talk to him – but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

Christmas Eve dinner was as tense as the last few days had been, the boys not saying more to each other than pass the food. Carole had no idea what was going on either, but had quietly joked that Kurt and Finn were already acting like real brothers.

"Any plans for the next few days?" he asked the boys while Carole went to fetch the dessert.

"I'm over at Pucks tomorrow night playing my new games," Finn informed him and Burt reminded him to be home on time for once, which led to another discussion about Finn's curfew, because at sixteen his stepson thought he was entitled to stay up all night.

"What about you, Kurt?" he turned to his son, who was clued to his phone yet again. "Dinner at Blaine's – his dad invited me. I thought I already told you," he replied, barely looking up from his phone.

"No you haven't," Burt told him, annoyed by Kurt's behavior. He was starting to act more and more like a real teenager and sometimes Burt really wanted to have his little boy back.

"How will you get there and back. Columbus isn't exactly just around the corner and you don't have a driver's license yet," he reminded his son.

"Blaine's going to pick me up and drive me back the next day," promptly came the answer and Burt raised his eyebrow. When Kurt still didn't react he cleared his throat.

"And you didn't think you'd have to ask my permission for that? I know you are used to doing stuff on your own now, but when you are under my roof, you will ask permission for things like that, are we clear?" he asked sternly.

For a moment it looked like Kurt was going to argue, but then he shut his mouth again and nodded.

"Good, now write down Blaine's address and I'll pick you up at ten. Call if you want me to get you earlier."

Kurt nodded again before bolting from the room, probably to call Blaine for his address. Finn excused himself as well, telling him he was going to play video games until dessert was ready. Having nothing else to do, he joined his wife in the kitchen.

"So, Kurt is invited to dinner over at Blaine's house tomorrow." Carole just nodded and he wasn't surprised she already knew. "Doesn't that sound a lot like meeting the boyfriend's parents," he suggested hoping she would take the bait, as Kurt apparently was telling her more than him.

"Oh, give it a rest Burt. I know as much as you do, but until Kurt tells you otherwise, we have to accept it when he says they are just friends. And we had him over as well for Thanksgiving – why shouldn't Blaine's family invite him?"

"Hmm. I wonder if Blaine's father knows more. Apparently he isn't father of the year, but is accepting according to Blaine."

"Whatever you are planning, don't Burt. Please, let Kurt just come to you," Carole came over and sat down next to him at the kitchen table.

"I'm just worried," he confessed, "that if they are together and no one knows, Kurt might get himself into trouble with no one there to supervise."

His wife took his hand into her own. "I understand Burt, but at some point you have to trust that you raised your kids to the best of your abilities and that they will make smart choices. And if they don't, we'll just have to be there for them when something bad happens."

Burt knew, Carole was right. Still, it was hard letting go and hoping Kurt would make the right choices, because he didn't want to see his little boy get hurt more than he already had.

In the end, he listened to her advice, and instead of trying to figure out what Mr. Anderson knew about the two boys, they made small talk about cars while Kurt got his things together.

Still, this having faith in your kid's ability to make smart choices was harder than he had thought.

Cooper had arrived the day before Christmas and to Blaine's chagrin hadn't left yet, which meant he would be there for the dinner with Kurt as well.

No one in their household was very proficient in the kitchen and so Blaine had volunteered to go and pick up dinner just to escape his brother who now was apparently a relationship expert as well. His dad was still hiding in his office and Blaine just hoped he would be on his best behavior tonight.

He put the pre-cooked dinner into the fridge before yelling in his dad's direction that he was driving to Lima now to pick up Kurt and to heat the food in 3 hours.

Luckily the roads were clear and Blaine made it to Kurt's house in under one and a half hours by going ten miles over the speed limit. Kurt was sitting on the front porch, bundled up in a thick winter coat, but jumped up and ran over to his car when Blaine pulled into his driveway.

Though they had spoken on the phone daily, they hadn't seen each other since the day he had dropped Kurt off as they had both been busy and it was a long drive after all.

"Pull over," Kurt instructed him once they left Kurt's neighborhood and Blaine quickly complied. To his surprise, Kurt looked around for a moment before he leaned over and pressed his dry lips against Blaine's. "Hi," he whispered against Blaine's lips before pulling back.

"Merry Christmas, Kurt," Blaine replied. He was happy to see that Kurt was wearing his Christmas present, an Alexander McQueen scarf he had gotten on eBay, which looked great on him.

Kurt smiled back at him and ran his hand over the scarf. "Merry Christmas to you too. Did you like your present?" he added and Blaine beamed at him.

"Oh my good yes. Thank you so much Kurt."

Kurt had enlisted Wes' help to get Blaine a meet and greet with one of his idols who would be performing on Broadway in January. He just hadn't decided yet if it would be too much to dress up as a wizard for it because if he did his friends would never let him forget it.

They plugged Kurt's iPod into the car, singing along as they drove toward Columbus, but the closer they got, the more nervous Kurt appeared to be.

"What's wrong?" he finally asked when they were only twenty minutes away from his house.

"What if your dad hates me? He didn't like me when we first met, so what if he thinks I'm totally wrong for you. Do you think I look okay?"

Blaine gave Kurt a quick once over. His hair was styled differently, making him look older than normally, he was wearing black jeans that were a lot less tight than the jeans he normally wore and even his sweater looked pretty conservative.

"You look great," he assured him, "but you really didn't have to dress down for my dad. I like you just the way you are and he has to accept that."

Kurt mumbled something that sounded like 'why jinx it' so Blaine just took his hand and gave it a brief squeeze.

"I hope it's going to be okay. But even if it's not, I don't care what he thinks, okay? I care about you and this is what matters."

He knew Kurt probably disagreed because Blaine was trying really hard to get Mr. Hummel to like him as well, because he knew how important he was to Kurt, but they didn't talk about it anymore while he drove the remaining miles to his house.

His own house was bigger than Kurt's but less cozy with only a few pictures on the wall and sparsely decorated ever since his parents' divorce. Kurt looked in awe though as they walked inside looking around curiously.

Thankfully his dad hadn't forgotten to put dinner in the oven and Cooper was setting the table as they walked into the dinning room.

"Nice to see you again Kirk," he called out in greeting and Blaine glared at him. "Don't pay him any attention. He's just grumpy for some reason," he whispered into Kurt's ear who was watching his exchange with his brother with a frown.

"Blaine, Kurt," his father's voice startled him for a moment before he turned around to face him. His father was caring the food Blaine picked up at a restaurant out of the kitchen and Blaine rushed over to help him.

Five minutes later, they were all seated at the table, his dad at the head, with Kurt next to him, flanked by Blaine on the other side, while Cooper took the chair on his dad's right side.

"You are well, I hope?" his dad asked Kurt, who answered just as politely. Blaine was relieved his dad was acting civil at least because that was already a lot better than the last time they had met.

"And what is it that your parents do?" his dad asked while Cooper was busy making coffee in the kitchen.

"My dad owns an auto repair shop in Lima and my stepmother is a secretary for a small company," Kurt replied and Blaine hoped his dad wouldn't act all snobbish about it. Fortunately, his dad just nodded before the interrogation continued.

"You said stepmother. Are your parents divorces as well then?" he asked and Blaine saw Kurt tense next to him. He shook his head hoping his dad would drop it, but it was too late.

"Um, no," Kurt answered. "My mother died when I was eight. My dad remarried this summer, so now I have a stepmother and a stepbrother who is a junior in high school as well," he continued hiding his discomfort pretty well.

"I'm sorry to hear that," his dad answered and for the first time that night he was showing real emotions.

"You wouldn't know anything about cars, would you?" he quickly changed the subject. "I have this old Chevy that Blaine and I tried to rebuild but rather unsuccessfully I dare say."

Before he knew it, his dad and Kurt were involved in a discussion about the right parts and other stuff Blaine didn't understand, so he wandered off into the kitchen to help Cooper.

"Did you hear from your mom?" Cooper asked when Blaine entered and Blaine shook his head. He had expected her not to call, but it still hurt a bit that she hadn't even sent him a card. "She's a bitch," Cooper commented and Blaine nodded again.

The two of them stood in silence for a moment before Cooper spoke up again. "I'm glad things are going well with Kurt and Dad, you know. I know I can be quite critical of you because I want the best for you, but I'm glad you are happy."

Blaine turned around for a moment to compose himself, because he hadn't expected to hear that from Cooper.

"Thanks, Cooper. That means a lot," he told him and pulled his brother into a quick hug.

Laughter from the dining room, made them grab the coffee and cookies Blaine had tried his hands on and they joined his father and boyfriend again.

"I think I owe the two of you an apology," his dad addressed him after Blaine had sat down again.

"I made assumptions about Kurt before even getting to know him and I was wrong. He is a very nice young man and if this is what you want, than I support you."

"Thanks Dad," Blaine told him sincerely and took Kurt's hand into his, putting their joined hands on top of the table for everyone to see instead of hiding them like they had during dinner.

"Could you please don't tell Kurt's dad though when he comes to pick him up. He doesn't know yet that we are together and we really want to tell him on our own terms," he reminded his dad. He had told him before the dinner that Kurt wasn't really out yet and his dad had promised not to say anything, but Blaine thought it couldn't hurt to make sure he remembered.

His dad nodded before excusing himself to his office because as he liked to say – not everyone was taking time off for Christmas. Cooper took off after dinner as well, to meet up with old friends who were in town as well, which left him and Kurt to do the dishes.

It was oddly domestic, standing side by side at the sink and washing and drying the dishes together, but Blaine couldn't say that he didn't like it.

"Do you want to watch a movie until your dad gets here?" he asked once they were done, and when Kurt nodded, he took his hand and led him upstairs to his bedroom, shutting his door behind him.

"Won't your dad mind?" Kurt asked surprised but Blaine shook his head. "He's a lot more accepting now that he had been in the past but some things he still prefers to be out of sight out of mind, like the idea that we might be kissing. And telling me to keep the door open would force him to have that conversation with me."

Kurt seemed to accept his reasoning as he sat down on Blaine's bed while Blaine accessed his Netflix account on his laptop.

So that went well, right?" he asked once Blaine was seated beside him, his arm around Kurt's shoulders.

"It went great," he replied, still a bit surprised about that. "I knew he would like you, because how can anyone not," he added, not caring how cheesy he sounded.

Kurt just gave him a big smile before he leaned in for a kiss that lasted several minutes and made them miss the opening number of 'Moulin Rouge' which didn't really matter because they both had seen the movie multiple times already.

They spent the remaining hour before Kurt's dad came by to pick him up, alternately singing along with the movie or kissing with more passion they had in the past, progressing to open mouthed kisses, though Blaine still made sure to keep his tongue in his own mouth because he didn't want to pressure his boyfriend.

The day had gone surprisingly well, and he didn't want to ruin it by moving too fast too soon.

When Mr. Hummel rang the doorbell, they decided to try and see each other for New Year'sEve and Blaine couldn't wait for it, because now he finally had someone to kiss he actually cared for not just some random pity kisses like he had had the previous year at Wes' party.

"What do you want, Finn?" Kurt asked when his giant stepbrother came into his room, barely looking up from the Vogue in front of him. Things had been tense between them since their argument and Kurt wasn't going to give in as long as Finn didn't apologize for calling him selfish and a freak.

Finn looked sheepish when Kurt finally looked up, wringing his hands. "I need your help, dude." Kurt raised an eyebrow but told Finn to continue.

"You need to convince mom and Burt to stay overnight at their party. They said they won't because they are afraid I'll throw another party."

"Which you want to do?" Finn nodded. "You had fun too during the summer," he said and Kurt had to admit Finn was right. It had brought them closer as brothers, trying to hide the party from their parents.

"What makes you think they are going to listen to me?" Kurt wondered. Finn sniggered. "You are the responsible one – didn't you know." Kurt laughed as well, because if his dad knew about some of the things he had done in New York, he wouldn't be called responsible anymore.

"So what's in it for me? Why should I help you?" A party did sound like fun, but Finn didn't need to know that – what better chance to let him stir a bit.

"I know you wanna see Blaine for New Year's Eve, but with the parents around you won't be able to do anything. I'll keep my mouth shut if you want to have him over overnight, if you help me get rid of them," Finn explained and Kurt contemplate it for a moment.

Unfortunately, Finn was right. If his parents came home after their party, Blaine would have to go home early as well and they wouldn't get to share a kiss at midnight, and now that he actually had someone to kiss, he didn't want to miss out on it.

"Alright," he agreed, his desire to spend the night with Blaine winning out.

Getting his parents to agree was easier than he had thought. He promised Carole that the house would still be standing the next day and that he and Finn would keep out of the liquor cabinet, promises that were easy to keep. If he knew Finn's friend Puck at all, he would provide all the alcohol for the party and they had agreed that people wouldn't stay the night to avoid having to deal with hung over people the next day instead of focusing on the clean up.

He waved when his dad and Carole drove away and texted Blaine that the coast was clear. Five minutes later, his boyfriend pulled into the driveway and Kurt dragged him into the house to properly say hello, before they helped Finn getting the basement ready for the party.

Finn spent most of the first two hours observing Kurt and Blaine. They weren't sitting close together like he and Rachel were, but they were still gravitating toward one another unconsciously.

He didn't really get it – the whole being into dudes thing – but Rachel's dads were kinda cool and Kurt looked happier with Blaine around than he had in the past, so he figure it was cool. And so far they hadn't really done anything gay in front of him apart from holding hands in New York, so all was good. He didn't know how he would react if they started making out in front of him, but right now that wasn't a problem because Kurt wasn't really out to anyone.

At some point, Kurt and Blaine disappeared upstairs and Finn was tempted to follow them to see what they were doing, but then Rachel draped herself over him, and he focused his attention back on her.

Puck had brought a bunch of cheerleaders and Finn chuckled when he saw one of them hit on Blaine. His brother's boyfriend either didn't realize or he just didn't want to be rude, because he inadvertently was flirting back judging by the girl's reaction. He nudged Rachel and pointed it out to her and Rachel giggled as well.

"Hey Kitty," she called out, getting on her feet a bit unsteadily. "I don't think Kurt's too happy, your hanging all over his boyfriend."

Finn grabbed Rachel's hand and yanked her back down next to him. "What are you doing? You know that's supposed to be a secret," he hissed, because that was not cool. "I'm helping," his girlfriend pouted. "Kurt looked pissed."

His brother might have looked pissed before but right now he looked paler than he had ever looked before. He knew he should go over to him and make sure he was all right, but Rachel leaned in to whisper into his ear.

"I'm bored. Can we go upstairs? I'll let you touch my boobs over the bra." Finn immediately jumped up, because Rachel usually didn't put out.

"Um, Rachel and I are going upstairs to talk," he announced before letting his tiny girlfriend drag him upstairs. Kurt would be able to handle himself and if anyone gave him shit - they would have to deal with him or Puck, who for some reason really liked his stepbrother.

Kurt froze the moment the words left Rachel's mouth. He didn't think she did it out of spite though, because the girl could barely stay upright and he had been glaring at the cheerleader who was slobbering all over his boyfriend for the past few minutes.

Blaine looked like a deer caught in headlights as well, while the cheerleader looked less then pleased. "You could have just said so instead of leading me on," she hissed and Blaine's eyes widened. "I was just being nice. I swear," he addressed Kurt and Kurt gave him a small smile to show him he wasn't actually angry with him.

Then he slowly turned around to face the inevitable, but the world was still turning. Mercedes gave him a thumbs up and the girls she was sitting with smiled as well. Most of the other people had gone back to partying already, apparently not caring much about a guy they didn't know.

He was probably lucky, Finn had only invited his glee club and none of the jocks from his team, because he knew their reaction would have been anything but nice.

He watched Finn and Rachel leave, surprised Finn had actually stood up for him to his girlfriend.

A hand slipped into his own and Kurt was faced with Blaine's hopeful smile. He smiled back tentatively and sat down again next to Blaine on the couch, but this time he moved in closer, because what was the use of pretending when the cat was already out of the bag?

It had been hard pretending that the were nothing more than friends, especially after they had both had a few drinks and so he tried to ignore the other people in the room and snuggled up to his boyfriend.

He accepted another pink drink from Mercedes, hoping that if Blaine were tipsy enough he would get a proper kiss at midnight – one like those the other couples in the room were demonstrating on their couches.

"Are you doing okay?" Blaine asked after accepting a drink himself and Kurt nodded. "As long as it doesn't leave the room, it should be fine. Apparently there are people at McKinley with half a brain."

Blaine looked thoughtful for a moment before he untangled himself from Kurt and stood up.

"Hey guys. If you couldn't mention this," he pointed to him and Kurt, "that's be great. Kurt's family doesn't know and we'd like to keep it like that for now," his boyfriend addressed the group.

Most nodded and got back to their own activities, while Puck slurred. "Don't intend to remember anything tomorrow morning anyway."

"Thank you," Kurt whispered. "If my dad finds out I want it to come from me, not some guy coming into the shop or something like that."

He snuggled up to Blaine again and they quietly enjoyed each other's presence until it was getting close to midnight.

He and Kurt were standing close together in a more secluded corner of the Hummel's basement when the countdown to midnight started and as soon as the clock struck twelve, Kurt surprised him by passionately pressing their lips together.

For a moment he forgot himself and all the other people making out around them, and swiped his tongue across Kurt's lower lip. His boyfriend only opened his mouth wider and so Blaine took a chance and slipped his tongue into Kurt's mouth. To his relief, Kurt didn't pull back though and soon there tongues were dancing together.

Had you asked him before if he expected to end the old year French kissing his boyfriend surrounded by Ohio public school kids, he would have thought people had gone mad. As it was, he was just enjoying himself, and tried to push all thoughts to the back of his mind.

When they finally pulled apart, Kurt looked like the cat who got the cream, and Blaine hoped he wouldn't regret it the next morning when he was sober again. They hadn't been drinking much, but Kurt was definitely tipsy, and people didn't always make the smartest choices when they were drinking.

Finn and Rachel had returned shortly before midnight, looking a little rumpled for a couple who only walked away to talk, and by the time two o'clock came around, he and Kurt helped Finn getting people in the designated drivers' cars.

Rachel was pouting when she realized he would be staying the night at the Hummels, but Finn reminded her that her dads expected her to come home from the party, before Kurt could get into another argument with her.

Apart from Rachel accidentally? outing them, she and Kurt had stayed clear of one another during the night and for that Blaine was glad because Thanksgiving break hadn't been exactly pleasant with them arguing the whole time.

He knew they would have to find a way to all get along if Finn kept dating her, and he at some point would become Kurt's boyfriend officially, because that would mean they'd spend a lot of time together during future breaks. But he could worry about that another time.

Once everyone was gone and they had cleaned up the worst – knowing they wouldn't want to do it before Kurt's parents returned in the morning – he and Kurt said goodnight to Finn – who looked only mildly uncomfortable when they both went into Kurt's bedroom – and took turns getting ready for bed in Kurt's bathroom.

Like the night in the motel, it was slightly awkward at first, sliding into the bed next to Kurt but instead of each staying on their own sides like last time, Kurt moved in closer and snuggled up to him. He turned over and put his arms around Kurt, holding him as close as possible, before whispering into his ear.

"Happy New Year, Kurt."

When Kurt woke up the next morning in Blaine's arms it was because his phone wouldn't stop ringing on his nightstand.

"Kurt, honey, it's Carole," his stepmother greeted him after he finally rolled out of Blaine's embrace and answered the phone. He had no idea how Blaine managed to sleep through the ring tone he had sat for his dad and Carole.

"I just wanted to let you know that we are on the road already and should be back home in about an hour, just in case you need time to clean up the house."

Kurt frantically looked at his alarm clock which told him it was only shortly after eight. They hadn't expected their parents to be home before eleven and so he was grateful for Carole's call, because the last thing he needed was being found in bed with Blaine by his dad.

"Of course not, Carole," he quickly told her. "Everything is fine here." "Well, if you say so. I gotta go, you're dad just came back. See you in a bit."

Kurt hung up the phone and immediately started shaking Blaine awake who only buried his head deeper into Kurt's pillow. "Five more minutes," he mumbled but Kurt was persistent.

"Get up, my dad will be back in an hour and we need to finish cleaning up." Blaine's head shot up and Kurt nearly fell off his bed when his boyfriend rushed to entangle himself from the blanket.

"I'm awake. What can I do?" he asked sleepily and Kurt told him to start cleaning up the rest of the basement while he went to wake his brother.

When knocking didn't help, he pushed open the door to Finn's bedroom and bravely went inside. Shaking Finn didn't help, so he put his phone directly next to Finn's ear and blasted Lady Gaga as loud as he could. Luckily it had the desired effect, though he had to fear for his iPod's life for a moment, while avoiding getting hit by one of Finn's flailing limbs.

After explaining the situation, the two brother's went downstairs to put away the remnants of the party found in the kitchen, before joining Blaine in the basement.

Fifty minutes later, they deposited the last trash bag a few houses down the road, hoping not to be caught by any neighbors, before collapsing on the couch together.

In the end, it was Finn who alerted them to something they had overlooked. "Dude, is he supposed to be here?" he asked pointing at Blaine, who paled as well. "Shit." He hadn't even thought of that.

"Maybe he came over early for breakfast," his stepbrother suggested but Blaine shook his head. "I live in Columbus and it's only nine o'clock in the morning."

Kurt was still trying to come up with a good excuse when he heard a car pull into the driveway. Instinctively, he pushed Blaine down on the couch and threw a blanket on top of him.

"Blaine, pretend to be asleep. Finn, go back to bad. If they ask, Blaine came over to watch the ball drop with us, but fell asleep on the couch and we didn't think it safe to make him drive home so far if he was tired," he quickly instructed before shooing Finn upstairs.

When he returned to the living room, Blaine was fake snoring – though still convincing – and Kurt rushed into the kitchen to get breakfast started. He had just started the coffee machine when a key turned in the lock, and a few minutes later, Carole and his dad came into the kitchen. While Carole looked surprised, his dad looked pissed – but that was to be expected.

"Kurt, is there something you want to tell us?" he asked, voice still calm. Kurt gulped. "You mean, Blaine?" His dad nodded. "Care to remind me what I told you about sleepovers only a week ago."

Kurt put on his best 'I'm a good kid – you can trust me' smile. "That I had to ask for permission first. But Dad, Blaine came over to watch the ball drop with us because he was home alone in Columbus, but he fell asleep on the couch and we didn't want him to drive back if he was tired."

His dad sighed. "Good thinking, kid. But you still should have called. And what about Blaine's parents, won't they be worried?"

Kurt shook his head. "Blaine's dad is out of town as well, and Cooper went back home. His parents are divorced," he added, not sure if his dad already knew that or not.

"Why don't you get him and your brother and we'll finish breakfast," Carole suggested and Kurt gave her a grateful smile. She might not be his mother, but it was great to have an ally in the house.

Breakfast went over smoothly, though he wasn't sure Carole actually bought their 'Rachel came over to watch TV with us and left after midnight, but Blaine was tired so he slept on the couch' story, but even if she didn't she didn't say anything.

Afterward, the three of them went back upstairs to Kurt's room, so Blaine could get changed and ready to drive home.

"Thanks, dude, for helping us with the clean up," Finn told him when Blaine returned from the bathroom. "If Kurt has to date a dude, I'm glad it's you."

Kurt decided not to take offence at Finn's choice of words, happy his stepbrother and boyfriend were getting along.

"And I'd like to make a toast to my and Kurt's brohood. We totally made this thing work last night." Kurt rolled his eyes but still raised an imaginary glass.

Finn gave them some privacy to say goodbye but came back into his room once Blaine had left.

"I just wanted to say that you can count on me to not say anything to Burt again until you are ready. I saw how scared you were when Rachel said what she said and I only realized then, that you are not just keeping it a secret so you can have unsupervised alone time with your boyfriend, but that you are actually afraid Burt will react badly. So yeah, I promise to keep my mouth shut and I'll tell you if anyone at school says anything."

Kurt was touched that Finn had actually given his situation some thought and he briefly put his arms around his giant stepbrother.

"Thank you, Finn. That means a lot."

Later that night he was looking through the pictures he and his friends had posted on facebook the past few months. Things had gotten a lot better since he had left Lima, he thought, but if he could make a wish, he would still wish for the new year to have less drama in it.

Up Next: It's a new semester at NYADA.

I should finish 'Somebody that I used to know' soon and afterward I should have more time for this story as I have promised myself not to start another one again for a bit.