Blaine is determined to see Kurt the next day, even for a Christmas Eve, because it is such a rare occasion for them to go even a day without spending time together. The phone call the day before just wasn't the same and he wanted everything to be perfect. He grabs his guitar and puts it into his car- the one he had driven as a teenager and his parents had kept, without good reason. Dressed in a suit with his curls gelled back, he looks as perfectly clichéd as he had hoped.

Blaine A. About to head on my way. Wear something nice ;)

Kurt H. Should I be worried?

Blaine A. Of course not. See you in two hours or so. xx

He practices his song a few times along the drive, though he mostly sings along with whatever is on the radio, not overthinking it too much. He pulls up in Kurt's driveway and takes a moment to adjust his tie on Kurt's doorstep. He rings the doorbell and waits, to find that Burt is the one to answer. "Hey, kiddo," Burt greets, "you look awfully fancy. Is that why Kurt spent so long to get ready?"

Blaine chuckles. "Probably. Could you get him for me?"

"You don't wanna come in for a bit?"

"Thank you for the offer, but we're on a tight schedule for the evening."

"Can I ask about all the romance, first? Is tonight a big night, or..?" Blaine blinks at Burt blankly for a moment before he realises what it is that he might mean, emphasised by Burt's gesture at his ring finger.

"Oh! No, no. I mean, I love Kurt, and I want to be with him forever, but no. We never went on a proper first date, so that's what we're doing. I'm not proposing to him, sir." Blaine says, speaking too quickly in places.

Burt pauses for a moment before he replies, "I'm not sure whether I'm meant to be happy for how you love him or mad because you don't wanna marry him."

"They didn't cover that in your papa bear class?" Blaine jokes, and thankfully Burt laughs. Burt had been plenty overprotective of his son when he had been around Blaine, and both are clearly relieved to have some of the tension gone from their own relationship.

"No, they didn't." Burt turns behind him and calls, "Kurt? Are you coming?"

"Of course! Hold on two seconds!"

"Your boyfriend's waiting!"

"Then be nice to him!" Burt laughs again and turns back to Blaine.

"Sorry. He'll look nice, though."

"He always does." Blaine replies, without even hesitating.

"Yeah, I know, kid." Burt sighs, looking up at the stairs. It seems as though sometime over the last day or so Burt has resigned himself to the fact that Kurt is growing up- has grown up, even.

"Yet," Blaine says. Burt looks at him confusedly. "I don't want to marry him yet." He receives a knowing smile from Burt as Kurt walks gracefully down the stairs, dressed as nicely as they had predicted in a simple grey suit, fancier than his everyday dress but not totally out of place. He smiles at his dad and greets Blaine with a kiss on the cheek. "Oh! These are for you," Blaine says, producing a bunch of flowers that Kurt accepts, blushing softly.

"Thanks," he says, wordlessly passing them on to his dad, who simply walks back into the house with them. "What's the occasion?"

"No reason. Get in the car and I can explain everything." Kurt raises an eyebrow at Blaine as he links their arms together and walks towards the car. Blaine opens the door for Kurt before half-jogging to his side and sliding in behind the wheel and starting the car.

"So," Kurt states.

"You must remember our first date, right?"

"Which one? The coffee date, or the argument, or something after that?"

"After that. When we were going to go on a date, at my planning, and then we ended up making out at your apartment instead so we could avoid Rachel." Blaine recounts.

"Yes... that was a nice date, wasn't it?"

"But it wasn't really the first date I had in mind. So we're going to do some first date-ish things to make me feel better."

"How utterly romantic of you," Kurt teases, "and you'll kill it by staying over, won't you?"

"That's the plan." Blaine winks, and it is visible to him that Kurt is scolding himself. Blaine guesses that it's for the positive reaction he had had to Blaine's teasing behaviour. The more they let it, the more it felt like a first date. It had all the right awkward vibes, even though they had been dating for a while now. They both feel fluttery and light, even before leaving the car.

They don't drive far until Blaine parks the car, outside a small but nice restaurant. Kurt throws him a questioning look before looking down at his outfit, realising how overdressed he is for the place, but Blaine chooses not to respond, dressed himself more formally than Kurt is. They walk inside and are shown to their table, one of the nicest in the place. Blaine pulls Kurt's chair out before he sits down himself on the other side of the small table. Even on short notice Blaine could pull together amazing plans. "This still isn't exactly what I had in mind," Blaine explains, "but it was the best I could do on such short notice. Even for Ohio this is my third choice, but my grandma's garden is back in Westerville and we weren't going to drive all the way there, and I couldn't endorse breaking into high schools."

"How did you set this up, though?"

"The owners are family friends. They love me. They're still probably a little upset that I'm not marrying Poppy, their daughter, but the last I heard she was living happily with her long term girlfriend."

"Okay. This is a little much for a first date, don't you think?"

"Kurt, I have a secret: it isn't really a first date."

"And the guitar is in your car because...?"

"I found my song. I'm going to serenade you." Blaine winks again. He knew Kurt would guess as much, but he refuses to give away anything more about what the song could be all through their dinner and dessert. They ask each other cliché first date questions, but both realise that they had never actually sat down to dinner on an official first date with anyone. They were both judging what to say and do off old movies. At the end of their meal Blaine pays and they walk arm in arm back out to Blaine's car, waiting until they are in the car to hazard a kiss, each smiling about their second attempt at a first date. Even without the first date awkwardness that should be there, it felt like a first date. They just looked across the table at the person they knew they loved, instead of a person who was that potential.

They drive straight back to Kurt's house and Blaine retrieves his guitar from the backseat. They sit in the garden, deciding not to go in just yet, despite the cold night air. The TV is on in the living room, audible even from where they sit, but barely more than a low hum. It was tranquil enough that Blaine could sing without too much disturbance. Kurt sits on the grass opposite Blaine, who sits cross-legged, propping his guitar on his knee. Wordlessly, Kurt nods to Blaine to encourage him to begin.

"This time, I'll go anywhere my love, as far as I need to drive, though distance ain't on my side, I'll go anywhere for love." Kurt smiles at the lyrics. Usually they weren't even driving distance apart, but two hours was in fairness quite a way from one another to be. Blaine smiles too at his reaction, enough encouragement to sing a little louder.

"It's not long 'til both of our paths align, our fingers and hearts intertwined, and then with our steps in time, we'll go anywhere, my love." Blaine watches as Kurt can't resist pulling up his sleeve enough to ghost his fingertips over the long faded zeroes of his countdown. Their aligned paths. Their fingers, hearts and lives wrapped around one another.

"Anywhere our steps are led to fall, I'll walk, I'll run, I'll crawl, three sets of footprints through it all, I'll go anywhere my love, we'll go anywhere for love." Kurt smiles down at his hands, seemingly avoiding meeting Blaine's gaze. He is in his own little world, and just needs a moment to process it all. Blaine understands, and keeps his eyes locked on his boyfriend as he continues.

"An old car, small towns and dusty roads, people to get to know, we'll go where the wind says go, we'll go anywhere my love." Kurt cocks his head at Blaine. "Anywhere?" he mouths, and Blaine nods. He would do anything for Kurt.

"Let's take all we have, our hearts and the years left, and leave all the rest that ties us to our death, and take on the road, 'til God calls us home, let's see where we can go." Blaine repeats the chorus again, and fades out. Kurt claps softly, and looks up at the backdoor behind Blaine long enough to notice his dad standing in the doorway, though Burt quickly ducks back inside before Blaine can turn around. Kurt shuffles forward and takes the guitar from Blaine's hands, putting it down on the grass beside them, and replacing it with himself in his arms. He kisses Blaine as he adjusts to Kurt's weight on his lap, but doesn't hesitate to comply. Eventually they settle down on their backs beside one another, looking up at the starry night.

"It's a little too cold for this," Kurt says, "as much as I'm enjoying it. Can we continue inside?" Blaine agrees, and they pick themselves up and brush the grass from one another. Inside the pair warms up together the best way they know how- body heat. They don't hear from Burt for the rest of the evening, not even as they head to bed together in Kurt's bedroom and fall asleep.

Blaine wakes up an hour or so later and remembers that he had agreed to his mom's Christmas plan, which only involved being there in the morning for presents. Having slept he feels as though as it's too late to drive all the way back to Westerville, but he knows he can't keep everyone happy. He attempts to wriggle out of Kurt's grasp and eventually manages to slide away from him, stepping out into the hall to call his dad. It is only eleven, and he expects one of his parents to be awake still- and his dad was usually the safer bet. Phillip answers promptly. "Yes, Blaine?" he says, being as no-nonsense as ever.

"Hey, dad," Blaine starts, "I'm still at Kurt's, but I'll be on my way home soon. Don't wait up, but I'm not sure I have a current house key."

"Oh, we'll have to do something about that. Do you know where the spare is?"

"Is it still behind the loose brick?"

"Yes. I won't leave the door unlocked then, I trust you'll be able to make it inside. Just set the alarm when you do, okay?"

"Sure. See you in the morning, dad."

"Good night, Blaine." Blaine waits for Phillip to hang up first, which doesn't take particularly long. He dreads the drive back to Westerville, but he knows that it's necessary to everything working out. He was planning on being in Lima again the next day- if he had thought about it, he would have planned a day time date with Kurt rather than a dinner date, or he would have brought something with him to change into. He creeps into Kurt's room and bends down to kiss him, though he still sleeps. As he kneels down on the bed Kurt yawns and reaches for Blaine.

"C'mere," he mumbles, "what time is it?"

"Late. I've got to go home now, baby."

"No. Stay here." Kurt demands firmly, even as he is just waking up.

"No, I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, okay? But I really do need to leave."

"Let me come with you then, or something. I'm still dressed?" Kurt checks, and they had fallen asleep on top of the covers, indeed fully clothed, "I'm still dressed." He affirms. "I'll just grab some things and we can go."

"Kurt, it's nearly two hours to Westerville. You don't want to come when you can be sleeping." Blaine insists.

"I can sleep in the car. I just don't want you to go."

"Are you sure?"

"Mmhmm. Give me a moment to wake up." Kurt stretches a bit before standing up, letting himself adjust to being awake again. He begins to pack his bag for the night, and Blaine gently reminds him they'll only be gone for half a day before he promises to go and make coffee for them. He is just pouring the coffee into travel mugs when Kurt appears in the kitchen with his overnight bag. He writes a note briefly to explain their absence, and then they leave. Kurt stays awake the whole drive, keeping Blaine engaged so he is functional enough to keep driving. When they get to Blaine's house they simply stumble up the stairs and land in bed together, sleep coming very easily.

Blaine wakes the next morning when his mother walks softly into his room to check on him. "Morning," he says, sitting up as much as Kurt's weight on him will allow.

"Merry Christmas, darling. What time did you get in?"

"I don't know. We left Lima about a quarter past eleven."

"Ah. It's about eight now, you can go back to sleep. Better not wake up Kurt. We've left your presents downstairs, whenever you want to open them. I think Santa brought you something too." He notices how easily his mom takes Kurt's presence into her stride, since he hadn't even warned his dad about Kurt coming with him the night before.

"Really, mom?" Blaine says, rolling his eyes at her.

"Don't sound so upset, you're getting another present," She winks at him. "We might see you after church, but if you're gone by then, then have a nice day. There's a pie in the kitchen you can take with you to the Hummel-Hudsons."

"Thanks. I'm sorry for missing the gift giving, even if I was technically here. I know that was the only thing you wanted to do with me."

"That's fine, B. We're just glad to have you here." Kurt snuffles and nuzzles into Blaine, causing both Blaine and Marie to giggle lightly. Blaine can't help but notice how his boyfriend would manage to make himself the centre of attention, even in his sleep. "And Kurt, too. You were right when you said I would love him."

"I'm so happy you think so, mom. I don't think he's going anywhere for a while." Marie smiles and hesitates for a moment, before she blows a kiss at Blaine and leaves the room. He snuggles back down beside his boyfriend and allows himself fall back asleep.

Kurt wakes Blaine up a couple of hours later, already dressed, and tells him that they should leave to make it to Lima in time for lunch. Blaine rolls out of bed and makes it neatly behind him before getting dressed quickly and turning to Kurt. "Could you pick something out for me for tomorrow? I need coffee and I know how much you love to-" Kurt cuts him off by kissing him forcefully.

"Yes! Okay, what did you bring with you?" Kurt asks rhetorically as he opens up Blaine's suitcase and looks through everything while Blaine just chuckles and crosses the room to leave.

"Oh, and Kurt? Merry Christmas."

"Right, Merry Christmas, B. I'll meet you downstairs in ten." Kurt was in the zone now, and was hardly heartfelt in his sentiment. Blaine knew it wasn't worth disturbing him- it was exactly the same way once he got really into a sketch or sewing, and he really could snap.

Blaine makes himself a coffee and sits in the living room, looking at his small pile of gifts. He was too old for getting presents from most of his relatives, so there was a stack of cards to one side that he could open later, assuming they contained money at the most, and maybe vouchers. Usually his presents got sent to his apartment anyway, so he isn't surprised by the lack of things. There were three parcels in the stack- one from his parents, one from Santa, and one from his grandma. He started with his grandma- she had made him a quilt, and he knew that he would need to write her a thank you note before he left for New York. His parents' box contained a Nerf gun, and Blaine guessed they had sent Cooper a matching one. His mom remembered the fuss they had made at Thanksgiving last year, the first holiday in years that they had both been home for, when they discovered their old guns had been gotten rid of. He suspected they had probably made a tidy little deposit to his bank account, too. The last box is the one from Santa, and when Blaine's opens it, it's an iPad. His parents got him an iPad, just because he was visiting them in Ohio for Christmas. He is still trying to comprehend that when Kurt joins him. He always knew that he was from a family that was well off, and he had had plenty of expensive gifts before- but never like this, in addition to everything else.

"What did you get?" Kurt asks, sitting down beside him.

"Um, a quilt, a Nerf gun, iPad. Whatever else is in all these envelopes, I guess?"

"Not bad. When do you want us two to do presents? Because I didn't really think about bringing mine with me last night."

"Whenever. I'm not fussy."

"We can wait until we're at my place then, with all the others. Unless it's something inappropriate?"

"No, no. We can do that." Kurt smiles and kisses him, this one a lot more delicate than their earlier. "Don't be disappointed, we can always add sex onto the agenda." Kurt laughs a little, which makes Blaine grin broadly.

"Merry Christmas, Blaine."

"Merry Christmas, Kurt."

They arrive at Kurt's house just before lunch and the house smells amazing. Blaine offloads his pie to Carole right away, and she thanks him, telling him to thank his mom for her. Everyone else is sitting in the living room chatting, and all of them perk up when Blaine and Kurt step inside. Finn has clearly been impatient about waiting for presents and food. Burt begins to hand out the presents, and Blaine is surprised to find a few presents end up with him.

Kurt ends up with an interesting assortment of accessories from his family members, no one completely sure what would and wouldn't pass the Kurt test, but unsure what to get him if not clothing. Someone else had clearly given Finn the idea of what to get him, but he didn't mind that. Rachel gives Kurt a complete restock of his skin products, all exactly matching his current regime, and he is glad that she did so. He had given her a vegan cookbook in the hopes that she would make something for herself on occasion.

Kurt sits on Blaine's lap, looping his arms around his boyfriend's neck. He leans in and says softly into Blaine's ear, "Your present is like a treasure hunt. You won't get far today, alright?" Blaine nods, and then Kurt hands him a small gift. Blaine unwraps the present to find a Katy Perry CD. "it's only the start," Kurt explains, "and also a functional gift."

Blaine then passes Kurt a small gift too. "You didn't set up a gift hunt too, did you?" Kurt checks, and Blaine laughs and assures him that he didn't. Kurt is thrilled with the Broadway tickets inside, and he doesn't even stop to check which show they are for, but he just doesn't care at that moment.

Lunch is filled with lively chatting, with usually two conversations happening at one time. Eventually the chatter settles down to just one conversation, which Finn manages to steer to being in his control. "We have news," he says, looking to Rachel. Everyone, sans Blaine, rolls their eyes gently, having been subject to a few too many mealtime announcements beginning similarly. "We're engaged. And we've talked about it a lot, and we know exactly how we can make it work out this time. We haven't decided on anything yet, but we're going to get married." Everyone offers their congratulations, and Burt waggles his eyebrows at Blaine a bit. He laughs, knowing that Burt was just joking about the awkward conversation they had had the night before on the doorstep.

The afternoon is spent indulgently, Christmas specials constantly playing on the TV and people only watching occasionally, Christmas carols playing in the kitchen while Carole and Kurt cook for dinner, and they sing along. Rachel and Finn went to visit some people with the promise of keeping to themselves until dinner. Blaine floats around the house, splitting his time between the living room with Burt and the kitchen, helping where he can. His phone buzzes on the counter while he is chopping carrots, and he carefully places his knife down, as Kurt had been scolding him for not doing, to check it.

Santana L. I've been trying so hard not to open your present for me yet.

Santana L. Oh, screw it. I'm opening it.

Santana L. Can I call you? I'm calling you.

He receives a call from Santana while he reads the last text and immediately makes sure that he isn't in the way while he answers it. "Hey, Ta-"

"You got me a fucking chocolate fountain?! Blaine, you gorgeous human being!"

"So you like it then?" he replies with a laugh.

"You're kidding, right? B, I just... you weren't even here for us to use it for the annual chocolate breakfast!"

"We'll just postpone it a bit! We don't have to have it on Christmas."

"You're totally right. You should open your present." Santana suggests.

"I'm in another state, Tana. It isn't happening."

"Can I do it? I'll just tell you what it is then."

"Fine, okay."

"I got you a microwave, since the old one is screwed and it was selfish present because we'll both use it and we needed another one anyway. And you got me a chocolate fountain!"

"Calm down," Blaine laughs, "I'll use the fountain too. When have I ever missed an occasion that you might possibly use it for?"

"Okay, point taken. You win. Thanks, B. Merry Christmas."

"You're welcome, and um, thank you, too. Merry Christmas."

"Love you!"

"Love you too. See you." Blaine hangs up and returns to his carrots, but doesn't miss the way Kurt glares at him questioningly.

"Who do you love?" Kurt asks teasingly.

"Um, you?" Blaine suggests, giving Kurt puppy dog eyes that he knows will earn him a kiss, and is rewarded accordingly.

"Good try. Who was on the phone?"

"Oh, right, Santana. She opened my present. She likes the chocolate fountain."

"Santana?" Carole asks.

"Blaine's girlfriend," Kurt clarifies jokingly.

"My roommate," Blaine translates, "before Kurt came along she was sort of an all intents and purposes girlfriend."

"Ah," Carole says. Blaine recounts the rest of their phone conversation until Kurt tells him that he has to stop talking so he can cut better, since his carrots were all wrong when he was distracted. Blaine apologises, and soon the carrots are done to Kurt's standard, when he is politely excused.

Dinner follows a similar pattern to lunch, without any grand announcements. Though lunch seemed to be all about Rachel and Finn, dinner seems to be all about Kurt and Blaine. Burt asks them questions about their date without prying for too many details, and they happily comply. They share a little bit about how their relationship is in New York during the working week, since they work together. Kurt mentions that their boss is pregnant, which puts him into the potential line up for filling the position, at least while Quinn was on some form of maternity leave. He is congratulated accordingly, and no one at the table hides their pride in Kurt.

After dinner they all end up watching TV together, until Kurt breaks the silence saying, "Rachel, you are the least Jewish Jew I know." She takes some offense at that, at which stage she acknowledges that she visited her parents earlier in the day to wish them a happy Christmas, despite the fact that it had never been the holiday she had celebrated with them. Kurt knew that weddings made her delusional, and they were months away from her wedding. It would be a long time to live with her.

Kurt and Blaine go up to bed together fairly early to avoid a repeat of the night before. This time they change out of their everyday clothes and into their pyjamas, and they make it under the covers on Kurt's bed before they fall asleep. They lie awake for a while together, just talking about their trip so far and what they have left to go. Though both of them realise that they could be using their intimacy for something more than cuddling and talking, neither wants to risk it. They doubt that anyone would walk in on them, but Burt had placed the 'no funny business' rule on them, and it was a conversation that was plenty awkward to have without it having happened. If he overheard them, they were just asking for a stern talking to at breakfast. They settle for a late night make out session before they finally decide to go to sleep, and let Christmas pass over them.