AN: Sorry for the delay – I got distracted by my NaNo story. But at least you get the first part of the Christmas episode before Christmas ;)

1x08: Merry Christmas, Darling

Previously on NYADA – Freshman Year. The Hummel – Hudson family arrived in the city for Kurt's New York stage debut Tension arose when Kurt met Blaine's dad but an agreement to have dinner soon was reached. Burt remained suspicious of the nature of Kurt and Blaine's relationship, but Kurt maintained that they are just friends. Which they definitely are not, because hey, they kissed. And that's what you missed on NYADA – Freshman Year.

The weeks leasing up to Christmas break were stressful as Kurt was preparing for his first ever high school finals, which included final presentations for voice, dance and acting as well as the academic ones, while simultaneously rehearsing for the NYADA Christmas party for which he and Blaine had snagged a duet.

Most days, he, Santana, Quinn and Brittany sat together in the library where they were often joined by Nick, Jeff and Blaine as well as Blaine's best friends Wes and David, who as seniors were even more stressed out.

The time he cherished the most though was when he and Blaine spent time alone together. They often told their friends they had to go and practice their song, and if not a lot of rehearsing was actually done, who could blame him – Blaine was seriously hot after all.

Unfortunately, taking it slow meant that their kisses remained chaste and if Kurt wasn't afraid of making a fool out of himself, he would have put his tongue into Blaine's mouth by now instead of waiting for Blaine to make the first move. Not having any proper kissing experience really sucked from time to time.

As always his math homework was giving him grief when Blaine knocked on his door Sunday evening and Kurt was glad for the momentary distraction.

"You look like you could use a break," his boyfriend remarked after kissing him hello and Kurt sighed. "Yeah, but I shouldn't."

Blaine took his math book out of his hand and put it on his desk. "Come on. Put some clothes on, we are going out."

Kurt groaned. "But math," he tried to argue but Blaine cut him off. "I'll get Wes to explain it to you again when we get back. So get dressed."

Kurt let himself be dragged off his bed and put on his new Zara coat and his black riding boots, because it had snowed the last couple of days and the sidewalks were covered in dirty slush.

"Where are we going?" he asked as he and Blaine left the building hand in hand. "It's a surprise," Blaine replied, before miming zipping his lips shut when Kurt wouldn't stop badgering him about it.

It was crowded on the subway during their brief ride and Kurt was glad when they got off again. His eyes widened when he saw where Blaine had led him.

"It's beautiful," he whispered.

They were standing in front of a huge Christmas tree on Rockefeller Plaza, surrounded by tourists and New Yorkers alike.

"It's your first Christmas in New York and so far you've only seen the lights on campus. I thought it was time to show you what Christmas here is like," Blaine explained.

Kurt took a quick look around before he got onto his toes and quickly kissed Blaine. "Fortunately, no one commented and so Kurt dared to kiss Blaine again just because he could.

Once he untangled himself from Blaine's embrace his eyes roamed over the plaza until he spotted something else he found exciting.

"Can we go ice skating, Blaine? Please?" he pretty much begged while Blaine made a face.

"I suck at ice skating," he admitted, "but if you really want to, there's a bigger rink in Central Park. I really don't want all these people here watch me when I fall on my ass."

Kurt chuckled. "I'll hold your hand, promise." Blaine pretended to mull it over before he let out a fake sigh. "You had me at holding my hand."

They slowly made their way over to Central Park where Kurt got them some hot chocolate while Blaine waited in line to rent them skates.

Half an hour later, Kurt was laughing so hard he nearly fell himself because Blaine hadn't exaggerated. He did really suck at ice skating, falling over every time Kurt let go of his hand. A sharp tug on his pant leg made him lose his balance as well and he joined his pouting boyfriend on the floor.

"You promised not to let go," Blaine whined, but Kurt just patted his head fondly. "Would you have learned to ride a bicycle if no one ever had let go?" he asked still laughing as Blaine tried to get up and fell over again.

"Touché," his boyfriend replied before using his puppy dog eyes on Kurt. "Help."

Kurt gracefully got up, before he pulled Blaine up as well. They managed another few rounds, Kurt skating backward, pretty much pulling Blaine forward before they collapsed on a bench outside the rink.

"I've said it before, but thank you for forcing me to take a break," he told Blaine as they were walking back to school, crossing through Central Park. "I had a great time."

"I'm glad you liked it. Wes and David took me out last year when I was still new at NYADA and I really fell in love with the city then. Christmas isn't my favorite time of the year, but New York helped me get a new appreciation for it."

Kurt gently squeezed Blaine's hand. His boyfriend had been opening up about his family lately and Kurt was happy Blaine trusted him enough to tell him things he didn't even tell Wes or David.

"Are you going to see your mom for Christmas?" Kurt asked, once they were back in his dorm room. Blaine shrugged. "I really don't think so and as long as she can't hold her tongue around me, I really don't want her around.

Kurt nodded. "You can always come over to my house if things are bad at yours. I'm only a two hour drive away," Kurt reminded him, before Blaine left to send Wes over.

Blaine gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, I really appreciate it Kurt."

Later that night, after he had finally finished his math homework with Wes' help, Kurt curled up on his bed and called Mercedes.

"Hey," she greeted him. "I was about to call you myself." Kurt laughed. He couldn't wait to spend tons of time with her during break.

"So what's going on at McKinley," Kurt asked her after filling her in on his magical afternoon. Mercedes groaned. "Don't ask. Mr. Schuester forced us to go caroling from classroom to classroom and people threw stuff at us."

"That sucks," Kurt told her. "But I'm sure you sounded great." "Of course I did, even though I didn't get a solo again, but at least this way people weren't directly aiming at me."

"You'll get your chance," Kurt assured his best friend, "because you are fabulous and extremely talented."

"Thanks, boo. Speaking of fabulous and extremely talented. When are you coming back to town?" she asked.

"The 22nd," he told her after checking his calendar. "We have our Christmas party on the 19th and I'll probably get a bus early on the 21st."

"Cool. You should join us then. New Directions is helping out at the homeless shelter on the 24rd and we'll get to sing for the kids as well."

Kurt had never really paid attention to homeless people before because you didn't see many in Lima, but now that he was living in New York, he was well aware of how important it was to help out those who were less fortunate.

"I'll be there," he promised before they went back to gossiping and Kurt told her a bit more about his latest dates with Blaine.

He said goodbye to her with a smile on his face because he knew he would see her in person soon. Kurt had made plenty of friends in New York, but some days he wished Mercedes was here with him as well.

"Hey Nick, you got a second?" Blaine called out and jogged to catch up with the other boy.

"Sure, what's up?" Nick replied, slowing down a bit thankfully. "I was wondering how you are getting back to Ohio for break? Kurt just told me he wants to take a bus as to not burden his dad financially and I thought the three of us could get a car instead, unless you already have something else planned," he explained.

"Well, I was going to fly out, but a road trip sounds like fun," Nick replied with a smile on his face.

"Awesome, I'll ask Wes if he can lend me one of his parents' cars," Blaine told the other boy as they continued power walking down the hallway.

"So, how are you and Kurt doing? Getting ready for the big Christmas separation?" Nick joked and Blaine punched his arm lightly.

"Oh, shut up. We can spend time away from each other." When he saw Nick's raised eyebrow he quickly added, "we just choose not to. But yeah, things are a lot better now that Chandler is gone."

Kurt was a lot more relaxed now when they walked in the hallway together, not constantly looking over his shoulders anymore. Blaine had been glad he went to a school now that actually took action when a student hurt another one, unlike his old school had done.

"Cool. So, just keep me posted about the road trip," Nick answered before he took off, shouting over his shoulder, "gotta go. I need to practice for a dance final."

Blaine looked after him in amusement before he made his way over to Kurt's room to tell his boyfriend about the new plan, hoping he actually wanted to drive back together.

"You know, I would have been perfectly fine on a bus," Kurt told Blaine as they were sipping eggnog in a corner, waiting for their turn to perform. "I'm sure the stories about Greyhound are just exaggerations."

"Call me selfish – but I'd rather spend fourteen hours in a car with my boyfriend than two hours next to a possibly horrible stranger," Blaine retorted.

"But I can't help you drive and it's not fair that you and Nick have to do all the driving just because I don't want my dad to spend money we don't really have on a plane ticket so soon after their visit," Kurt tried again, but he knew Blaine and Nick were set on going on a road trip with him.

To be honest, he had been relieved when Blaine had come to him with the idea, because for one he felt safer driving with his boyfriend, and it also meant saving money, because he would only have to chip in for gas as Wes was giving Blaine one of their SUVs.

He just needed to make sure, Blaine and Nick hadn't offered out of pity, because he was NOT a charity case. Blaine had been constantly reassuring him though that he much preferred a long car ride with him to a plane ride, so Kurt had given in. There was nothing he could do about it now anyway so close to Christmas because Nick and Blaine would have a hard time scoring affordable plane tickets this late.

Most of the other members of VE had already performed and were well on their way to being tipsy thanks to the few teachers present who turned a blind I on it, by the time it was their turn to perform 'Let it snow', and thankfully their performance went off without a hitch.

Afterward, they curled up together on a couch, with Wes and David on either side in armchairs.

"So are you lovebirds happy you are from the same state?" Wes joked and Kurt rolled his eyes because contrary to what people seemed to believe, they were not always joined at the hip.

He treasured his new friendships and generally tried to make time to hang out with his girls, sometimes with Blaine, but more often without him because Santana loved asking inappropriate questions when they were together.

"I'm sure we would have managed either way," he retorted. "Thanks for lending us your car though," he turned to Wes who waved him off.

"No problem. I have no idea why my parents even need all those cars anyway when they usually just hire a towncar to get around."

Kurt as always tried not to gape at Wes because he really should have gotten used to the fact by now that the Montgomery's were apparently filthy rich, like those people on Gossip Girl. Hanging out with the wealthier students often made him feel like the Humphreys must have felt when they started private school on the Upper East Side. So he just smiled at Wes awkwardly, not knowing what to say to that but luckily David quickly changed the subject.

"And you are sure you won't be back in time for Wes New Year's Eve party?"

Kurt shook his head. "My family wants me to stay home the whole break. It's okay though if you and Nick want to drive back earlier," he addressed his boyfriend who also shook his head.

"Nick has party invitations in Chicago where his older brother is in college and I want to spend New Year's Eve with you if possible." Blaine wiggled his eyebrows, causing Kurt to burst out laughing.

"I suppose it's all right," he joked back.

Just then a familiar face approached them and Kurt tensed. Blaine looked up when he noticed Kurt's reaction and scowled at the newcomer.

"Relax. I just want to talk," Sebastian told them and Wes and David quickly excused themselves.

"What do you want Sebastian? My answer is still no."

Sebastian sat down in one of the armchairs Wes and David had vacated and Kurt moved even closer to Blaine, holding his boyfriend's hand tightly to show meerkat face who Blaine belonged to – so to speak.

"I know," Sebastian sighed," and I wanted to apologize. Chandler crossed some lines even I know you shouldn't cross and I don't want to end up like him. So I'll leave you alone as long as you are dating him. Don't expect me not to ask you again when you break up, because contrary to what you might think I actually care about you, Blaine."

Blaine shifted next to Kurt and gave Sebastian a curt nod. Sensing he wouldn't get more than that Sebastian stood up and left them alone.

"Well, I didn't see that one coming," Kurt remarked. "Christmas miracles apparently are possible."

Blaine just looked stunned. "I didn't think Sebastian could care about anyone but himself."

Kurt put his head on Blaine's shoulder and looked up at him. "I don't have to worry, right?" he tried to joke, though his heartbeat sped up.

Blaine gave him a fond smile. "Of course not. I have never been interested in him and I doubt that I ever will."

Kurt leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to Blaine's lips, reveling in the fact that he could do that in public without getting called ugly names.

"Good. Because now that I have you, I don't intend to let you go any time soon."

Part 2: Road trip, Kurt clashes with Finn, Burt makes some observations and Kurt gets invited to the Anderson house for dinner.