Too soon, the madness of the holidays set in and they became caught up in it. The school was putting on a Christmas pageant that Blaine had to prepare for and the magazine was as busy as ever, business booming as it continued to grow. More often than not, they were unable to have dinner together or watch a movie. When it came time for the pageant, Kurt, Jen, and Finn came, packing cameras and camcorders so that they could send copies to the grandparents. Afterward, when the crowds thinned and he was no longer needed, Blaine took them on a mini tour of the school, ending up in his classroom. Sophie ran to the table she normally sat with, tugging her father and Blaine along with her as she showed Kurt her favorite spots.

Neither was aware at the time of Jen snapping the camera as they sat next to each other on the floor Sophie curled on Kurt lap as he read from a book she had brought over. Later, when Jen showed it to him, he was struck with sudden inspiration as to what to give Kurt for Christmas. He had been agonizing over it for a while and now? Now he knew.

888

The weekend before Christmas weekend, Jen volunteered to watch Sophie so that they could have a date night. After a nice dinner, they stepped into the cold night air.

"So..."

"So..." Blaine replied, smiling.

Kurt rolled his eyes, smacking Blaine's arm lightly before hooking his own through it. "So what do you want to do now?"

"Would you like to come back to my place for a nightcap?"

Kurt snorted. "'Nightcap'? That's what you're going with?"

"Hey, it's a real thing!"

"You're cheesy," Kurt murmured, leaning over to kiss Blaine's cheek. "Adorable, but cheesy."

Blaine smirked. "Delicious cheese."

Kurt rolled his eyes and allowed Blaine to lead the way to his apartment. Neither man minded the cold as it let them snuggle close to the other, though, thankfully, the flat wasn't too far away. Once they let themselves in, Blaine pulled Kurt over to his liqueur cabinet.

"So what would you like?"

Kurt glanced over the selection. "Would you mind if we just had some hot chocolate?"

"I wouldn't mind at all." They turned to the kitchen and Blaine made their drinks while Kurt talked to him. Afterwards, they settled on the couch to talk. It wasn't long before Kurt cleared his throat nervously.

"What are your plans for Christmas?"

Blaine shrugged. "Take away and old movies probably, why?"

"Well, I was just thinking, I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, it's totally okay if you say no, I mean, I won't get mad or anything-"

"Kurt. Kurt. Kurt, take a deep breath," Blaine told him, grinning as Kurt did as he was told. "Okay, try again."

"I wanted to know if you wanted to come with us to Delia's house for Christmas," he said in a rush.

Blaine blinked in surprise. "Oh."

"I won't be upset if you don't wa-"

"No, Kurt, I was just thinking." He shifted a bit. "Are you sure your family- Do they know? About us?"

"No, and not because I'm ashamed or anything."

"Well, why didn't you then?" Blaine asked, frowning.

Kurt shrugged, looking down at his hot chocolate. "I don't know. I guess I'm just worried."

A hand came in his view, stopping his fingers from tracing the lip of his cup. "Worried about what?"

"About, about us, if we'll last. I didn't want to hear lectures if things didn't work out and then Thanksgiving happened and-" Kurt sighed. "I just want to wait, before I tell them."

"Kurt, look at me." Kurt looked up to find Blaine smiling gently. "Kurt, we said we were taking this slow and if you're not ready to go public with this, I'm perfectly okay with that. I just want you to be comfortable. Okay?"

Kurt leaned forward, kissing him softly and then pulling back, resting their foreheads together. "Thank you for understanding. And I'm not uncomfortable with us, you know?"

"Sh, I know, I know," Blaine whispered. "That's not what this is about, okay? This, this is about us and if we want to keep this just between us until our we- until years in the future, then that's that and screw what anyone else thinks."

Kurt laughed lightly, leaning in to kiss Blaine. "Thank you."

"And if you really want me to, I'll come with you to North Carolina," Blaine mumbled against Kurt's lips.

"Mmm, I really," kiss, "really," kiss, "want you to."

888

The following Wednesday found them once again at the airport, bound for North Carolina and Delia's house. It hadn't been easy to secure a last minute ticket for Blaine but they lucked out when a couple never showed and Blaine had been allowed on. The trip to the airport had been even worse than the first time when they went for the Fourth of July and the nervousness permeating the air was multiplied tenfold. Though he and Finn had remained friends and still got together whenever the Buckeyes played, Blaine was understandably worried about Burt's reaction, despite Kurt's constant reassurance that his father didn't hate him.

Still, he tensed whenever they met up with them at the airport. Carole, predictably, pulled him into a tight hug and lamented about how much she missed him and demanded that he not lose contact with her again. But Burt…

Burt stared at him for a long moment, his face unreadable. Blaine tried not to fidget under his gaze, holding his breath. If Burt was angry with him-

"How about those Buckeyes this season?" Burt asked him gruffly and just like that, the tension in his shoulders dissipated as he shook his head, engaging in a lively conversation with both him and Finn. Though he hadn't grown up in Ohio, Blaine's mother had come from there and taught him to love the team, much to his fathers' annoyance. They made their way through the airport and then to a different hotel from last time, which meant that Blaine and Kurt wouldn't have to share a bed.

Not that it stopped them.

The next morning, they were up early and driving to Delia's house after a quick stop for breakfast and a hardy lunch was set out for them by the time they arrived. Blaine once again stood nervously off to the side, his arms wrapped protectively around his chest as everyone else hugged in the cold driveway outside of Delia's house. It wasn't until she cupped his cheeks in her icy hands, tilting his face from side to side, that his stance loosened slightly.

"You're too thin," she remarked. "Come on, before the barbeque gets cold."

After lunch, they took their bags to their rooms, the same ones from the year before, and unpacked. The time between that and dinner was spent catching up, especially with Blaine, since they hadn't seen him in more than a year. Afterwards, they crashed, the out of state travelers exhausted from their trips. The next morning, Kurt and Sophie were the second ones down, right after Delia and Blaine, who had already started breakfast.

"Good morning," Kurt said just as Sophie dashed in front of him, yelling for Blaine, who turned around, scooped her up and twirled her around in the air as she giggled. Kurt smiled softly at him, his eyes trailing from Sophie down the strong hands gripping her tightly, to his biceps bulging under the thin fabric of his shirt from the strain of holding her up. He swallowed, tearing his eyes away to find Blaine smirking at him as he propped Sophie on his hip. Kurt rolled his eyes, grabbing glasses for the adults and a plastic cup for Sophie and filling all four with milk.

After breakfast, Kurt, Blaine, and Sophie headed out. Since Blaine wasn't prepared to give gifts to anyone besides Kurt and Sophie, he needed to pick some up for the rest of Kurt's family.

"Hey, can we stop by the music shop, too?" he asked, wincing when Sophie, set up on his shoulders, tugged at his curls.

"Oh, yeah, sure." Kurt snaked his arm around Blaine's back and tucked one of his hands in Blaine's pocket, earning him a smile from the other man. Getting gifts didn't take long and soon they were at the book shop, browsing through their record selection.

Blaine dug around until he found another Christmas record, laughing when Kurt just rolled his eyes. He picked out a few other records before Sophie started yawning and they headed back to Delia's house so she could lie down. As the day dwindled down, Delia insisted they play Pictionary, telling Blaine it was tradition.

They broke into teams: Blaine and Burt, Finn and Delia, and Kurt, Jen, and Carole, since there was an odd number. It turned out that Blaine and Burt conquered them all, which was shocking because both of them were appallingly bad artists. After everything was cleaned up for the night, Burt clasped him on the shoulder.

"Where have you been all my life, kid? Delia's been whooping my behind for years!"

Blaine blushed. "Uh, in a cupboard?" Kurt let out a snort and explained the Harry Potter reference to everyone else as they headed upstairs to bed.

The next day was Friday and they spent a better part of the day decorating the house for the holiday. When Blaine asked why Delia didn't do it before they got there, he was informed that she hated decorating and instead coerced the family into doing it every year. After a delicious dinner of homemade chili, courtesy of Blaine, Carole got Kurt and Finn to sing Jingle Bells, "for old times sake," which turned into Kurt and Blaine singing Let It Snow and ended with all of them around the piano, singing whatever song Blaine played.

Saturday had Kurt, Carole, and Delia up early baking cookies for the homeless shelter in North Carolina that they volunteered at when they spent Christmas at Delia's. Once they were cooled off, everyone helped decorate them, Finn assisting Sophie and succeeding in making a big mess. After they finished and ate a quick supper, they loaded into the rental and Delia's car and went to the shelter. Kurt enjoyed watching Blaine volunteer, watching as he poured all of his enthusiasm and joy into helping those less fortunate and his smile never leaving his face. His heart pounded in his chest and it felt like a million butterflies were playing games in his stomach.

Oh, god, this was love, wasn't it?

He knew he cared for Blaine, knew he liked him and wanted him, but this was something totally different, bigger and softer and more.

Blaine looked up then and smiled softly at him, making the butterflies move faster before settling into a warm glow in his chest. He smiled back until someone cleared their throat politely and he was forced to pay attention to the line that had formed in front of him. Once the second wave of volunteers came in to relieve them, they went back to Delia's for a Christmas movie marathon. Sophie only lasted halfway through How The Grinch Stole Christmas before she fell asleep. Burt carried her to her room when he and Carole went to bed after the movie ended. Delia was next, after A Christmas Carol ended and then Jen and Finn, who started yawning halfway through It's A Wonderful Life.

And then it was just Blaine and Kurt, curled up together as they watched Jingle All The Way. Blaine waited until he was sure everyone was asleep to turn to look at Kurt, capturing his lips in a soft kiss. He felt a small puff of breath against his lips as Kurt chuckled and pressed closer, his hand coming up to cup Kurt's neck.

"I've missed you so much," he murmured, peppering kisses around Kurt's mouth before kissing him again. "I've hated not being able to kiss you."

Kurt hummed, one hand falling to Blaine's waist. "Me, too; it's been horrible." Blaine shifted closer as their lips moved against each other slickly. Kurt worked his hand under Blaine's shirt, rubbing the smooth skin of his lower back and causing him to gasp and arch forward. Kurt moaned as Blaine's half hard cock bumped his thigh.

Blaine pulled back, panting. "Shit, shit, I'm sorry."

"Sh, no, it's fine," Kurt said, tugging at Blaine until he was straddling Kurt. He ducked down, keeping himself balanced with a hand on either side of Kurt's head against the couch, and swept his tongue along Kurt's bottom lip. He moved away, not allowing Kurt to kiss him as he trailed down his jaw, feeling the rough stubble catch his lips before sucking lightly on the hinge. Kurt was panting softly, huffs of breath hot on Blaine's cheek as he moved further down, nipping at the skin of his throat. His hands clenched, nails scrapping against Blaine's back and making him buck down and causing both men to gasp as their cocks bumped.

"I want to go to your room," Blaine murmured, pulling back to look at him.

Kurt searched his eyes for any hint of hesitation. "Okay," he breathed.

They cleaned up the slight mess in the living room and turned off the telly before linking hands and quietly making their way upstairs. Blaine didn't even pause, opening the door and pulling Kurt in behind him. He let go of his hand and crawled into the bed, patting the spot next to him.

"Care to join me?"

Kurt laughed softly before walking to the end of the bed and crawling up it to Blaine, who was grinning as Kurt hovered over him. He twined his fingers through the fine hairs at the nape of Kurt's neck and tugged him forward with a playful, "Com'ere."

Kurt giggled against his lips as he shifted closer, bracketing Blaine's thighs between his knees but not actually sitting on him. He kissed him softly for a moment before moving to kiss the tip of Blaine's nose, dragging his lips lightly as he kissed each eyelid, then his cheeks, down to his earlobe, which he sucked into his mouth, tugging gently with his teeth. Blaine's breathing had turned slightly erratic, his fingers tight in Kurt's hair as he tilted his head to give him better access. Kurt took his time, teasing Blaine until he was writhing beneath him.

Frustrated, Blaine grabbed Kurt's thighs and pulled him down, making them both hiss at the friction when their cocks rubbed together. Blaine's hands trailed up the backs of his thighs before settling on his waist as Kurt began rocking his hips down.

"You feel so good," Blaine whispered, stretching up to kiss Kurt, thrusting his tongue alongside Kurt's as he rolled his hips. Kurt moaned, sucking on Blaine's tongue as he fist his shirt. "Fuck, Kurt."

Kurt pulled back, resting their foreheads together as he worked his hips faster. "Fuck, Blaine, I can't- I'm not going to last- Fuck," he panted.

"Been too long," Blaine groaned in agreement, holding him steady as their pace became uneven, their cocks sliding together and feeling so good even through the material of their pants that Blaine wasn't sure where he began and Kurt ended and fuck if he didn't care. He moved Kurt's hips fast, neither man bothering to try to keep kissing, their eyes locked as they speed towards their climaxes. Blaine slid his hands down, grabbing two handfuls of Kurt's plump ass and squeezing and then Kurt was shuddering, his mouth slack as his eyes slammed shut and he came, a small whine emitting from the back of his throat.

Blaine watched in awe as Kurt came undone, the shallow breaths, the red flush that overtook his face and went down his neck. He wanted to see how far down that flush went, wanted to explore every inch of the glorious pale skin, trace a path down it with tongue, teeth, lips, fingers. He thrust twice more against Kurt and let go, coming with a muffled groan against his neck.

They lay there for several minutes as their heartbeats slowed and their breathing evened out. Kurt grimaced at the sticky feel of come in his boxer briefs and heard Blaine chuckled underneath him.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing," Blaine said, turning so their faces were closer. "Hi."

"Hi. That was amazing."

"Mmm, I definitely want a repeat performance." He shifted uncomfortably and wrinkled his nose when Kurt laughed. "Shush, you. Come on." He smacked Kurt's ass lightly when he rolled off of him. Blaine leaned in to kiss the corner of his mouth. "I better get back to my room," he murmured.

"Wait." Kurt reached out, grasping his arm as he moved to climb off the bed. Blaine looked at him questioningly. "Would- Do you- Will you sleep in here with me tonight?" He looked so nervous that Blaine couldn't even tease him about it.

"Of course." He kissed him again and climbed off the bed. "I'm going to go to my room and clean up and change and then we can go to sleep, that sound okay?"

Kurt yawned and nodded, sitting up. "That sounds perfect."

"I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

Blaine flashed him a smile before he quietly closed the door behind him and tiptoed to his room, anxious to get his come-filled boxer briefs off and get back to Kurt. He couldn't believe what they just did. He had thought about them moving to the next level, considered it half a dozen times when they were making out but now.

He grinned to himself as he tossed his dirty clothes in the corner and grabbed his pyjama pants before walking to the bathroom. Cleaning his crotch, he thought about how much closer they were now and how much more he wanted. Not right away, of course, but now that the option was there... He pulled up his pants, tossed the wash cloth in the towel hamper and tiptoed back to Kurt's room. He was lying on his bed under the covers, his eyes half closed as he waited for Blaine.

Blaine couldn't help the warmth that spread through his chest at the sight. His eyes roved over the outline of Kurt's body before he flipped off the light switch and walked over to the bed, using the moonlight streaming through the window to guide his way. I'm falling hard for this man, he thought as he curled up next to Kurt. He felt for Kurt's arm and brought his hand up so he could kiss the palm before twining their fingers together on his chest. He felt Kurt snuggle up against him, the fabric of his shirt soft against Blaine's bare back, and press a kiss to his neck.

"Goodnight, Blaine."

"Goodnight, Kurt."

Falling or already hit the ground, Blaine thought as he drifted off to sleep.

888

Kurt woke up to Blaine snuggling up against him, his nose buried in the back of Kurt's head. We must have turned over, he mused, burrowing back into Blaine's warmth. His mind flashed to the night before and he grinned. It had been amazing and-

"Mmm," Blaine moaned, shifting until his morning wood was pressed against the curve of Kurt's ass. "Mmm, Kurt."

Kurt twisted around, his morning greeting cut off by a snort when he realized that Blaine was still asleep.

"Mmm, baby, you feel so-" Blaine jolted awake when Kurt arched back. He scooted back, his face red. "Oh, fuck, Kurt, I'm so sorry I-"

"Sh, Blaine, it's okay," Kurt whispered, putting a finger to his lips.

Blaine took a moment to look around them and let out a sigh of relief when he remembered the night before. He flopped back down and smiled shyly at Kurt. "Good morning."

"Good morning. I would kiss you but-"

"-morning breath," they said at the same time. Kurt chuckled as he stretched lazily. "I should get up, Sophie will be awake soon."

"You just relax, I'll get her after I put on a shirt," Blaine told him, leaning over to kiss him, their mouths firmly closed. "You come down whenever you're ready."

"Are yo-"

"Yes, I'm sure, go back to sleep." After one more kiss, Blaine crawled off the bed and left, giving Kurt a prime view of his muscular back and the low riding pyjamas that seemed to be held up by the glorious swell of Blaine's ass. He bit his lip, waiting until the door closed with a near silent click before turning over and squealing into his pillow like an adolescent girl.

Blaine went to his room, pausing outside of Sophie's door and hearing the telltale signs of her waking up. He quickly grabbed a long sleeve shirt from his borrowed dresser and opened the door to find Sophie standing in the hallway, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She spotted him and immediately walked over, holding her hands up.

Blaine picked her up and murmured, "Good morning, Miss Sophie. Did you have a good night?" He felt her nod against his shoulder as she yawned. "Come on, let's go get breakfast started."

"Oh-tay," she sighed.

To his surprise, Delia was already awake and pulling out a bag of chocolate chips to put in the pancake batter she was mixing. She greeted them enthusiastically (perhaps more so than necessary, Blaine thought) and set Blaine to work on cooking the bacon. They were nearly done when Kurt came down, yawning and grinning as he stooped down to pick up Sophie.

"Good morning, sweetie," he cooed, slobbering obnoxious kisses all over her cheeks and laughing when she squealed. He looked up to see Delia smirking at him knowingly and when he glanced at Blaine questioningly, the other man just shrugged. "So, uh, what can I do to help?"

After being reassured that he wasn't needed, he sat at the table with Sophie and watched as she coloured. The rest of the family followed not long after and they all sat down to eat before heading to the living room to open presents. Much like the year before, everyone arranged themselves around the living room, Kurt and Blaine sitting next to each other in front of the couch with Sophie in between them. Burt and Carole began sorting through the presents and handing them to the corresponding person.

Everyone unwrapped their gifts, exclaiming over this and that and watching with glee as the others opened their gifts. Blaine helped Sophie give her present to her dad, one they had made in class and kept secret. It was a picture frame wreath ornament made from a small paper plate wrapped in green yarn and covered in glitter. Inside was a picture of Sophie, taken by Blaine one day during class, her hair in puffy pigtails as she cheesed at the camera. The other students had done the same but Blaine had kept Sophie's, promising her they could surprise Dada with it later.

Kurt blinked back tears; Sophie looked so much like her mother's baby pictures sometimes. "Thank you, baby," he whispered, gathering her in his arms as she giggled.

"Welcome, Dada." She gave him a kiss and went back to play with her toys. Kurt smiled tearfully at Blaine and mouthed 'Thank you.'

"Now, for your present," Kurt said, handing Blaine a heavy wrapped square.

He tore it open to find a first edition copy of Peter Pan and his jaw dropped. "Kurt, this- I- what-" He shook his head disbelievingly.

"I know you've been looking for it and I found it buried under a bunch of old copies of crappy teen vampire books in a second hand shop."

"Kurt, this is amazing, just- Thank you, so much." He leaned forward, pulling Kurt into a tight hug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, honey," Kurt murmured back, his voice quiet so the other wouldn't hear.

Blaine pulled back and let out a bark of a laugh. "I don't want to give you yours now; it seems so silly in comparison now."

"Oh, come on, that's not fair," Kurt pouted. "Give it to me! Please?" Blaine rolled his eyes but dutifully handed over the small package. Inside was a picture frame made of Popsicle sticks, artfully decorated with his, Sophie's, and Blaine's names in delicate script at the bottom. In the frame was the picture Jen had snapped of them the night of Sophie Christmas Pageant.

"I know it's not much, but when Jen showed me the picture, I thought it would be cute and I was kind of inspired by the ornaments the kids did but it's stupid and-"

Kurt listened to Blaine babble for a moment before reaching out and laying his hand on his arm. "I love it, Blaine, thank you so much."

Blaine's mouth snapped shut and his dark skin flushed slightly. "You're welcome."

Kurt's family watched the exchange silently but with much interest.

888

Two days later, they were packing up to go back home. Kurt had caught Delia looking at him like she knew something over the past couple of days and finally he asked her about it as they were making dinner the night before they were to leave.

"I saw him."

"What?"

Delia leveled her gaze at him. "I saw Blaine sneaking out of your room Christmas morning." Kurt was pretty sure his entire body turned red as he racked his brain for an excuse. "Oh, don't bother, kid, I'm not that dumb. How long have you two been together?"

"A few months. I didn't want to hear lectures or anything if this didn't work out."

Delia dropped her spatula and hugged him. "Oh, sweetie, we wouldn't lecture you. We just want you to be happy, just like we told you at Thanksgiving. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out and we won't rub it in your face or lecture you or anything."

Kurt sighed. "I know, I know. I'm just being stupid."

"Yes, you are. When do you plan on telling Burt and Carole?"

Kurt shrugged. "I don't know. Blaine said he doesn't care if we never tell anyone, as long as I'm happy, but I don't want to keep this from Dad."

"Well, you're secret is safe with me." She squeezed him one last time and returned to her cooking, giving Kurt a lot of time to think.

A few days later Kurt slowly swayed with Blaine in contrast with the fast beat playing on the TV while they waited for the ball to drop on Times Square.

10...

9...

Kurt pulled back so he could look at Blaine's face.

8...

7...

"I love you."

6...

5...

Blaine's breath caught in his throat.

4...

3...

"I love you, too."

2...

1...

Their lips met.