December!

Kurt loved December. He loved winter. So many chances to accessorize, so many scarves to choose from, and believe it or not, he still liked the snow. It'd probably get really old in a couple of years, but for now, snow was still fantastic. He and Blaine were bundled up on one very cold, snowy December night, walking hand in hand down the sidewalk to the nearest park. Everything was calm and quiet except for the crunch of their feet on the snowy path, their warm puffs of breath disturbing the cold air, and they only had Christmas lights and moonlight to light their way.

"It's beautiful," Kurt commented into the night.

"Yeah. It really is," Blaine agreed softly. Little did Kurt know, Blaine wasn't really taking in the scenery around them. He only had eyes for Kurt, beautiful Kurt, whose face seemed to glow in the sparse light, whose cheeks and nose were an adorable shade of red, whose hair had bits of visible snow stuck on a few strands. He looked flawless in his Chanel coat that Blaine had given to him last Christmas, paired with a vibrant red scarf and he just seemed…so at peace.

The world seemed so much…less. It was so quiet and the spirit of Christmas wrapped them up in its arms. It was like, at least for a little while, they could do just this; they could walk hand in hand down a street and stare lovingly at each other and it didn't matter that they were two boys, it didn't matter that they were young. They could simply be in love.

The couple reached the park and climbed warily up the playground equipment. Blaine graciously brushed off a mountain of snow and they placed themselves at the top of the slide, underneath a small covering. Blaine sat behind Kurt, his slightly taller boyfriend between his legs and both of their legs stretched out in front of them. Kurt felt Blaine's arms slip around his waist to pull him closer against his body, closer to his warmth. Kurt sighed happily as Blaine pressed a featherlight kiss to his neck.

They stayed like that, breathing in the soft scent of the snow and the warm scent of each other. Kurt smiled into the delicate stillness of the night. He felt Blaine's cold nose nudge at his earlobe as he settled his head on Kurt's shoulder. He twined his fingers with Blaine's that were wrapped around his middle, letting a finger brush against the cool ring wrapped around Blaine's finger, the one that represented them.

Blaine began singing softly, his warm breath tickling at Kurt's ear.

I'd say you make a perfect

Angel in the snow

All crushed out on the way you are

Better stop before it goes too far

Don't you know that I love you

Sometimes I feel like only a cold still life

That fell down here

To lay beside you

Don't you know that I love you

Sometimes I feel like a cold still life

Only a frozen still life

That fell down here

To lay beside you

Kurt smiled slowly, his blush deepening the already red tint of his cheeks.

"Can we stay like this forever?" Blaine asked quietly, as if he was scared to disturb the beauty of the moment.

"Yeah," Kurt replied just as softly, not having the heart to make a witty come back to such a ridiculous question. Because at this second, he was thinking the same thing. "We can."

Blaine nuzzled his cold nose into Kurt's sweater, breathing deeply and relishing the familiar scent of the boy he loved. Kurt leaned back into him, allowing himself to be held and cared for and loved. They both knew they really couldn't stay like this forever. They'd promised Kurt's dad that they'd only be gone for an hour at most. But it was nice to pretend for just a little while that they had all the time in the world to simply sit and enjoy such a perfect night together.

"Are you going to Paris again this Christmas with your parents?" Kurt felt the need to ask.

"No," Blaine said. "We'll be staying here."

"Oh good," Kurt said with a grin even though his boyfriend couldn't see it. "Maybe your parents can come over for Christmas dinner since they didn't get to be there at Thanksgiving."

Blaine was quiet for a moment or two and it made Kurt a bit uneasy. He didn't want to feel uneasy. He wanted to keep the sense of a perfect December night. He didn't want to get into an argument or anything.

"Actually, my grandparents will be visiting for Christmas. I don't think my parents would be okay with just leaving them behind for a night," Blaine finally said.

"Oh!" Kurt perked up immediately at the thought. "So I'll get to meet more of your family."

The silence between them was more than uneasy. It was terrifying to Kurt.

"…No," Blaine spoke softly. "You won't."

Kurt turned around in his boyfriend's arms.

"…Blaine? What are you saying?"

Blaine's eyes were focused on their entwined hands. "You won't be meeting my grandparents," he said in a…a sort of dead tone. "You probably won't meet any more of my family."

"I don't – I don't understand."

"What's there to understand?" Blaine shot back a little too harshly. "You will only ever meet my parents and that's that."

"Why are you acting like this?"

"I'm not acting like anything. I'm just telling you what won't happen. There's nothing beyond that fact. That's the end of the story."

Blaine released his hold on Kurt and stood abruptly, turning and walking back down the playground structure. Kurt sat, frozen to the spot, his entire body becoming instantly cold at the loss of Blaine's warmth. What was going on? There was obviously something Blaine wasn't telling him. Actually, Blaine never talked about any family except his mother and father. It wasn't that they'd avoided the topic itself, it just never really came up. Finally Kurt stood as well, brushing off any stray snow he found on himself and looked around for Blaine.

He caught sight of his lover sitting alone on the swing set, his hands grasping at the cold metal chains, his head angled down, and his legs pushing him to and fro. Kurt made his way down the steps of the structure and walked silently over to the swing next to Blaine. He shoved off the snow and seated himself. He didn't say anything, he didn't look at Blaine. Kurt simply kicked at the snowy ground and swung himself gently back and forth.

After a few long, agonizing minutes of strained silence, Blaine finally spoke.

"I'm sorry for snapping," Blaine said, his breath visible in the air.

Kurt didn't respond.

"You won't be meeting any more of my family because none of them know that I'm gay."

Kurt's eyes widened and his head snapped around to look at his boyfriend. But…but Blaine was so proud of who he was. Blaine had always been the epitome of the out and proud gay teen to him. He'd never had any problems telling any of the kids at school or any of their teachers. He'd never had a problem displaying his affection for Kurt in public or around either of their parents. Blaine even owned one of those 'Legalize Gay Marriage' shirts.

"They don't know and they won't know," Blaine continued to say. "Because they aren't like my mother and father. And they most certainly aren't like your parents."

Kurt's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and a bit of shock.

"But…I don't understand. You're…you're so proud of being you," Kurt said, having a really hard time understanding this new concept.

"I'm very proud of who I am. But Kurt…my family…they come from an entirely different world. If you thought I was wealthy…god, my grandparents have more money than most people would deem decent. My dad's parents have…so much money. Their house is a castle and when I say that, I mean it literally. They don't…it isn't the same. They aren't liberal, they aren't accepting, they're all for tradition. My being gay would literally be tarnishing their…family record or something."

"It just…doesn't even seem like you see them very often. I don't understand why them knowing, even if they kept it to themselves, would be such a big deal," Kurt admitted.

"I had an uncle," Blaine explained, "who came out to my father's parents when my mother was pregnant with me. He was stripped of his inheritance and…kicked out of the family basically. He lost everything. My grandparents made him leave and the only things he had were the clothes he was wearing. I don't know where he is. I don't even know if he's alive. I never…I never even met him."

Kurt's heart was crushed. How could someone do such a thing to their own flesh and blood?

"But your dad…it was his brother, right?"

Blaine nodded. "He tried to contact him. My uncle was younger than my father, he was still in high school while my dad was living with my mom. He didn't know what happened until days later. My dad never knew why my uncle didn't try to call him or see him or anything. He just left."

"When did your parents tell you about him?"

"When I told them I was gay. They told me that they didn't mind and that they still loved me all the same, but they advised me to not tell my grandparents or any other members of my family because it might get back to them anyway."

Kurt couldn't stand to see the look that was etched on Blaine's face. He reached out and slid his hand over Blaine's, one that was still gripping the metal chain, effectively pulling them closer on the swing set.

"What would you lose if you told them anyway?"

"I don't know," Blaine admitted quietly. "I'd rather not find out."

"But what about-" Kurt cut himself off.

Blaine finally turned to meet his eyes. "What about what?"

Kurt swallowed audibly. "What about when you – if you get married?"

Blaine worried his lip between his teeth. "I haven't thought that far ahead, I guess."

"Blaine…you're not linked to them in any way besides blood."

"But what if…what if something happens to my dad?" Blaine asked, his voice barely there but still full of fear. "What if they think he's…he's a bad person and that – that he spawned evil or something awful like that?"

"Baby," Kurt said softly, the night nearly swallowing the term of endearment he so rarely used, the one Blaine was so fond of. "You're not evil. We're not evil."

"I know," Blaine nodded shakily. He brushed away a tear that had slipped down onto his cold cheek. "I know. But that doesn't change what they think. No matter what anyone says, it isn't going to change their minds."

Kurt didn't know what else to say. Suddenly, the world seemed more complicated than ever and the fact that Blaine kept this from him for so long made his heart ache with something he didn't really understand or recognize. He simply slid his hand down the chain until it reached the base, where it met the swing itself, pulling them even closer. He pushed his feet on the ground, swinging them slowly.

The night had turned from one of calm romance to one of subtle terror.

"When I'm older," Blaine said after a while, "I can effectively cut myself off from them. My father won't have to say anything to them about me. He can make up some story, I don't even care what it is. Just as…as long as he doesn't get…I'll lose my inheritance and I'll never be able to see them again, but it won't matter. As long as my dad is safe. And I'll always have my mom and dad. They'll still love me. And they're the ones that matter. And we – I mean I – I can just live my life the way I want."

Kurt heard the slip. Blaine wanted them to be together in the future. He thought about, he dreamed of it, he simply didn't speak of it, at least not since the day he gave Kurt the promise ring. Senior year was a wake up call; it was the end of high school, the end of a comfortable era that they'd grown used to. Eventually they were going to have to enter the real world that scared them and things were going to get even more difficult.

But for right now, they had each other and they had December and they had the snow to keep them company on a cold, quiet night.

When Blaine left his house the next day (he promised his parents that he'd be home to help decorate the Christmas tree, as per tradition) Kurt gave his father a long, fierce hug. He was actually very reluctant to let go, but Burt pried Kurt's arms from around his neck.

"Kurt? What's wrong?" his father asked, concern laced in his voice.

Kurt shook his head. "Nothing. I just…I really, really love you, dad."

Burt's eyes searched Kurt's face. "I love you too, kid."

Kurt smiled at his dad and then turned and left the room. He was so incredibly lucky.

"My parents bought your parents a gift," Blaine said casually on their last day of school before winter break. They had just returned from having coffee during their off period.

"They…did?" Kurt asked, lifting a perfectly arched eyebrow.

"They did," Blaine said.

"What is it?"

The corner of Blaine's lips turned up into a small grin. "I can't tell you. It's a secret."

"But it isn't a present for me."

"Just tell your parents that they need to take the first week of January off work."

"What?" Kurt squawked. "Did they-"

"Ah! I refuse to say anything else!"

Kurt grumbled as he slammed his locker door shut and jumped back in surprise to find Jared standing there.

"Jesus, don't do that," Kurt said, pressing a hand to his chest.

"Sorry!"

After getting a better look at Jared, he saw that the boy was hopping excitedly back and forth on his feet, his eyes lit up with excitement and his hands behind his back.

"What are you-"

"I got you a present!" Jared blurted. "Well, it's for both of you, actually."

Kurt and Blaine shared an amused look.

"Okay…" Kurt drawled. "What is-"

"Here!" Jared said enthusiastically, bringing said gift from around his back to hold out to the couple.

And in his hands…

He held a plant.

A potted plant.

"Is that…a fern?" Blaine asked, doing his best to stifle his laughter at the odd look on Kurt's face.

"Yeah!" Jared said with a happy smile. "It's a love fern! Like from that movie 'How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days'!"

"Thank you, Jared," Blaine said, taking the plant out of his hands.

Great. Now he was going to have to keep up with the thing during Glee.

"You like it, you like it?"

"It's lovely," Blaine said.

"I thought it was a really cute idea and you guys are cute so I got one," Jared explained. "Just don't let it die, like in the movie."

"We'll do our best," Blaine promised. "Won't we, Kurt?"

"Our very best," Kurt replied, biting down on his lip to keep from laughing.

"Cool!"

"I – haven't got anything for you, Jared. None of us planned on exchanging gifts until after Chri-"

"That's okay! I just won't be around for the holidays so I wanted to give it to you now."

"O-okay," Kurt said.

"I have to go, my parents called to get me out of school early, but Merry Christmas!"

Jared shot down the hall without waiting for a response. Kurt and Blaine locked eyes, paused, and started cracking up.

"Stop it!" Blaine said in between giggles. "It's a nice gesture!"

"I know but – oh my god – I can't breathe!"

The pair doubled over, laughing so hard that their stomachs hurt.

"I couldn't – oh god, it hurts – couldn't tell if he was serious or not in the beginning but-"

"Oh he was serious," Blaine said, wiping away the tears in his eyes. "Dead serious."

"I can't take care of a plant," Kurt told him as they composed themselves and walked towards the choir room. "I can barely take care of Klaine."

"Oh my god, we have to name the plant."

"We are NOT naming the plant."

"Please, Kurt, pleeease?" Blaine begged as they walked inside to join their friends.

"We are not NAMING the plant. You'll get attached to it. And then it will die. And you will be heartbroken."

"But Kurt, YOU CAN'T LET OUR LOVE DIE!" Blaine said dramatically, dropping his bag and setting the fern on the chair before falling to his knees. He grabbed the bottom of Kurt's coat with both of his hands.

"Blaine!" Kurt hissed loudly. "Get up!"

"NOT UNTIL YOU SAY THAT YOU WON'T LET OUR LOVE DIE!"

"Ohmgod, FINE. I won't let our love die!"

"You're so good to me, Kurt!" Blaine continued with the theatrics, wrapping his arms around Kurt's legs, almost causing him to fall down. "Please can we name our love fern?"

"You can do whatever you want with the damn thing, just as long as you GET. UP!"

Blaine looked up at Kurt, a big, goofy smiled plastered on his face.

He looked like a fucking puppy.

Kurt gave in and sighed, patting the top of Blaine's head. "You are such an asshole."

"But you love me," Blaine reminded him, finally getting off his knees to sit in his chair, fern on his lap.

"Alright, guys, I don't really have much for us to-" Mr. Schue stopped himself midsentence. "Is that a plant?"

"It's our love fern!" Blaine said happily, petting the long, fluffy-like leaves.

"Ohmygod," Kurt groaned.

"I'm calling him Herman," Blaine smiled up at their teacher.

Mr. Schue gave Kurt a look, as if to ask 'has your boyfriend lost his marbles', but Kurt just shook his head.

Blaine Anderson was one adorable, ridiculous human being.

"Best Christmas present ever," Blaine declared as he set the newly-named 'Herman' on his desk in his room that afternoon after school.

Kurt snorted and flopped down on Blaine's bed.

There was a knock on Blaine's bedroom door and Blaine's mother poked her head in.

"Blaine, honey – oh hello, Kurt, darling, I haven't seen you in ages!" the woman said, pushing the door open and entering the room.

Kurt sat up on the bed quickly. He'd actually had very few encounters with Blaine's parents and he always wanted to make a good impression on them for some reason. Cassandra Anderson made her way over and pressed a chaste kiss to Kurt's forehead.

"You always dress so well, Kurt," Cassandra commented. "Blaine, dear, you know you could always-"

"Mom," Blaine stopped her.

"Merely a suggestion," his mother said with a wink to Kurt. "What in the world…"

Ah. She spotted the fern.

"A gift from one of our friends," Blaine said proudly. "It's a love fern."

"How…charming," his mother finished, an amused glint in her eye.

"I've named him Herman."

"Precious," Cassandra humored him with a smile. "Do tend to it, Blaine, you wouldn't want it to die. You always become so attached to any living organism. If I recall correctly, you cried for nearly a week after that squirrel died from eating your brownies."

"Mom, I was seven."

"Darling," Cassandra said affectionately, her hand settling on Blaine's arm, "you forced us to hold a funeral for the poor creature."

"He deserved a proper burial!" Blaine countered.

Kurt snorted loudly. "You neglected to tell me that last bit."

"Oh, he cried for days," Cassandra told Kurt, seating herself next to him on the bed. "He curled up in his bed, bemoaning a life cut short." She turned to face Blaine. "You named him Parsnip."

"You named the squirrel you murdered?" Kurt asked in disbelief.

"I didn't murder him! Not on purpose!" Blaine defended. "And I named him before he died."

"Oh my god, I'm holding this over your head forever."

"Mom can we not stroll down memory lane?"

"Do you just name every thing?" Kurt had to ask.

"He named that teddy bear one of your Glee friends gave him," Cassandra said in a mock whisper.

"Mom!"

"But you'll have to find that one out on your own."

Kurt smiled and eyed his boyfriend, who stood with his head in his hands.

"And so I've strayed from my initial reason for interrupting you boys," Cassandra said, standing up once more. "I only wanted to inform you that your father sent a car to pick up your grandparents from the airport."

Blaine's head shot up. "I thought they weren't coming in until tomorrow."

"They seemed to have changed their flight at the last minute."

"O-okay."

The light, fun atmosphere in the room died quickly. Not wanting to make anything awkward, Kurt stood.

"I should go, then," Kurt said. "Wouldn't want to interrupt the family reunion."

Cassandra took Kurt's hand in her delicate one and nodded sadly. "I think that would be best, Kurt, darling." She turned back to Blaine. "They should be here within the hour."

"Okay, mom."

Blaine's mother gave Kurt one more smile before leaving them alone.

"I'm sorry," Blaine said.

"Don't be," Kurt replied, stepping over to Blaine to wrap him in a hug. "It's okay, I understand."

Blaine heaved a shuddering sigh and lifted his head, his hazel eyes boring into Kurt's. "I won't be able to see you until they leave."

"I know," Kurt assured him. "It's okay, Blaine."

"I love you," Blaine breathed between them.

"I love you too," Kurt returned, pressing a gentle kiss to his lover's lips.

Blaine returned the kiss with as much affection as he could possibly give in one simple act of love. When he pulled away, Kurt kissed his forehead before Blaine turned around to pull something out of his nightstand drawer.

"This is the gift for your parents," Blaine told him. "Give it…give it to them as soon as they get home, okay? I was going to say wait until Christmas, but…I think it'll make you happy too. And I feel like a horrible person right now, so-"

"Don't," Kurt said softly. "You aren't."

Blaine gave a small nod to appease him, but Kurt could still see the pained expression on his face. "Just give it to them."

"I will," Kurt promised. "And I'll see you next weekend."

"Yeah."

"You'll call me every night?"

"Every night," Blaine said. "And I'll text every moment I can spare."

They shared one last lingering look before Kurt left.

Kurt walked into his house, looking around to see if either of his parents were home yet.

"Oh, hey Finn," Kurt greeted when he saw his brother on the sofa watching TV. "Are mom and dad home yet?"

The tub of ice cream nearly fell out of Finn's lap.

"What's wrong with you?" Kurt asked upon seeing the shocked expression on Finn's face as he made his way around the sofa to sit next to him.

"Y-you called my mom your mom."

Kurt froze. "I-I'm sorry, I wasn't – I wasn't…"

"No it's – it's cool," Finn stuttered.

"I didn't mean to-"

"Dude, no, it's okay. I just wasn't like, expecting you to say that."

"Are…you sure?" Kurt asked, finally seating himself on the sofa.

"Yeah," Finn said, digging into his ice cream once more. "I've called Burt 'dad' before. It was on accident, but…I mean, I still did it."

"It's okay," Kurt said quietly, "if you want to call him your dad too."

"…Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, they seem pretty happy together, so it looks like we're in this for the long haul. Seems kind of silly to avoid it."

Finn nodded, focusing on the TV screen once more. "Cool, dude."

Before they could say anything else on the matter, both Burt and Carole walked through the front door.

"Hello, boys!" Carole greeted happily. "How was school?"

"Meh," Finn shrugged. "Kurt got a plant."

"A plant?" Burt asked, shrugging off his coat and hanging it on one of the hooks by the door. "Who the hell got you a plant?"

"My friend Jared," Kurt said, his tone oddly defensive of Herman. "And it was for Blaine and me."

"Weird," Burt mumbled, relaxing in his recliner.

"It was a very nice gesture," Kurt said, echoing Blaine's words from earlier. "Blaine's taking care of it. He became attached to it."

"That's sweet," Carole said with a smile.

"Oh!" Kurt stood, rushed into the hallway to pull the envelope Blaine had given him out of his bag. "This is a present from Blaine's parents," he said when he returned to the living room. "He told me to give it to you now and that you should take the first week of January off from work."

"What?" Carole wondered aloud, taking the envelope out of Kurt's hands.

"It's for both you and dad," Kurt explained.

Carole shared a glance with Burt, who shrugged in turn, before ripping the envelope open.

"Oh my god," she gasped when she pulled out what was inside.

"What is it?" Kurt asked. "He wouldn't tell me."

"They're…it's…two plane tickets to Maui. There's an itinerary detailing the flights, a booked hotel suite, and travel from the airport to the hotel."

"They're sending us on vacation?" Burt questioned in disbelief.

Carole nodded, still staring at the contents of the envelope, a hand over her heart.

"For an entire week. Kurt, we can't acce-"

"Don't," Kurt said, holding up a hand. "I know them and they won't take it back."

"But-"

"Seriously. It's not going to happen. Just accept it, go on the trip, and invite them over for a really nice dinner when you get back."

"Kurt, something like this costs…well, a lot of money."

"They're probably grateful that you look after their son so much when they're away on business," Kurt put in.

"We could never pay them back," said Carole.

"And they won't expect you too."

"A single dinner can't be enough to-"

"So invite them over for more than one. Trust me, they will appreciate it."

"But-"

"Honey, maybe we should just go," Burt finally said. "If we don't, then they wasted the money anyway."

Carole still had an uneasy look on her face.

"Just go," Kurt ordered. "They obviously feel that you deserve the break."

"I…I guess we could. Will you two be okay for an entire week by yourselves?"

"What are we supposed to eat?" Finn asked in desperation.

"Finn, I am perfectly capable of cooking meals," Kurt reminded his brother.

"Oh, right. Duh. Yeah, you guys should go. We'll be fine," Finn told their parents.

"I'm sure mom and dad are glad to know that that's all you'll be worried about in their absence," Kurt said, purposefully using the titles.

Finn grinned. "Mom and dad should be glad that we're very responsible adults."

Kurt watched their parents share a strange look at the use of the words 'mom' and 'dad' coming from both boys' mouths.

"If we come home and this house is trashed," Burt warned, "I'm not afraid to ground either of you."

"We'll be perfect angels," Kurt promised.

Burt and Carole disappeared into their bedroom and Finn turned to Kurt.

"Please tell me we can have a party."

"Only if you clean everything up the next morning," Kurt replied.

"Deal," Finn agreed immediately. "Can I get like, an actual bro-fist for that?"

Kurt tried to keep himself from grinning, but he failed and pounded fists with his brother.

"Your boyfriend's parents are the coolest people ever."

Instead of agreeing, Kurt looked around the living room, mentally filing away all the breakable things he'd need to hide.

The first week of Christmas break completely and utter sucked, for lack of a better word. Kurt hadn't spent this much time away from Blaine since last Christmas when he joined his family on their trip to Paris. Yeah, sure, Blaine called every night just as he'd promised, but it wasn't the same as seeing his smiling face every day at school. On Christmas day, after all the wrapping paper from their presents had been cleared away, Kurt settled himself on the sofa, clutching his phone. He hadn't received a text from Blaine all morning which was really weird, considering he'd been texting Kurt every single day this past week at eight am precisely. Apparently his grandparents expected everyone to eat breakfast together every morning at eight thirty sharp, no exceptions, so he always texted Kurt when he woke up. It was nearly ten thirty now and Kurt was grumpy.

Finn was busy in his room playing one of his new video games and his dad was in the garage organizing his new tool set.

"Mimosa?" Carole offered, handing him a glass.

Kurt looked warily at the thing. He hadn't had a drop of alcohol since the whole drunken, drugged fiasco in the fall, but he loved mimosas. He took a tentative sip and sighed internally. So freaking delicious.

"What's got you so bummed, honey?"

Kurt shrugged.

"Does it have to do with Blaine?"

"He hasn't texted me at all today," Kurt explained.

"We haven't seen him all week. Is he in trouble for something?" Carole wondered.

"No," Kurt sighed. "Nothing like that."

"Well it's obviously something, otherwise you wouldn't be sitting there looking like someone killed your fish."

Speaking of Klaine, he should probably feed his pet soon.

"Kurt?" Carole prompted gently.

"I-I didn't want to say anything because it's really not my story to tell," Kurt began cautiously. "Blaine's grandparents are in town and…"

"And?"

"No one besides his parents knows…that he's gay."

Carole was quiet for a minute. "I see."

"It's a long story, but they pretty much can't know about me. His parents are fine with him being gay but…"

"No one else in his family would be," Carole finished for him. "So you can't be around each other while they're in town."

"Yeah," Kurt nodded, his eyes looking at his phone screen.

"I'm so sorry, honey."

"It's okay," Kurt replied quickly. "I mean, I understand why it has to be like this. I just…I wish things were different."

"I know it's hard," Carole said, emotion thick in her voice. "You should simply be able to love who you love and that should be the end of it."

Kurt nodded sadly.

"On the bright side, your dad and I will be gone in a few days. And don't tell Burt I said this but," she leaned in to him, "I expect you boys to have a bit of fun while we're gone." She winked.

"Such a good role model," Kurt snorted.

"I'm the cool step-mom."

"I knew that from the beginning."

At that moment, Kurt's phone began ringing and Blaine's name showed up on the screen.

"I'll leave you to it," Carole said, patting his knee before standing with her mimosa and leaving the room.

"Hello?"

"Kurt, I'm so sorry," Blaine apologize immediately. "I woke up late and my grandfather chewed my ass out for being ten minutes late to breakfast. I didn't have time to text."

"It's okay," Kurt said, happy to hear his boyfriend's voice.

"They're leaving tonight, though," Blaine told him. "So if you wanted to come over or you wanted me to come over-"

"Head over as soon as they leave," Kurt ordered.

He heard Blaine laugh on the other end of the line. "I will. I'll bring your present with me."

And then Kurt proceeded to tell him about the party Finn and he would be holding while his parents graciously took advantage of their Christmas gift.

"Wait, will there be drinking?" Blaine made sure to ask.

"Probably. That doesn't mean we have to, though. Plus, I'm drinking a mimosa right now and I don't seem to be dying from alcohol poisoning."

"I'd rather you didn't drink at all."

"It's not going to kill me to have one drink," Kurt said in exasperation. "And you'll be there to stop me if things take a downward spiral."

"You forget that I had to carry your unconscious body to my car the last time you drank. Forgive me if I'm a little worried."

"I know," Kurt said gently. "But I'm pretty sure that no one in our Glee club is going to drug me."

"Noah might. If only to get us going at it in front of everyone."

"He does seem into that, doesn't he?" Kurt responded.

"Just…promise me you'll be careful," Blaine said, refusing to be led off topic. "Please."

"I promise."