Blaine

            “I’m not sure about this,” confided Blaine. He was sitting at his kitchen table across from his mother, clutching a cup of tea in his hands.

            On their way home from the hospital, Blaine told his mother all about his day with Kurt and his conversation with Sierra. He was surprised when his mother encouraged him to share more about his day and convinced him to sit with her and continue the conversation.

            “No, Blaine. I think you’re plenty sure. You’re nervous,” she said pointedly.

            “Maybe I should just wait to go over,” said Blaine. “Until I get to know him better.”

            “And how would you get to know Kurt without actual face to face interaction, hmm?”

            Blaine mother raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a look.

            “Um…” Blaine faltered. He was being kind of silly about this. Of course he’d love to meet up with Kurt instead of just talking on the phone. He just didn’t want to seem too eager and make a bad impression.

            “I just don’t want to make him think I’m too clingy or anything,” he said, worriedly.

            His mother laughed from across the table. “Honey, I’m sure Kurt would love to see you. He’s not going to think you’re clingy. Kurt was practically unconscious the whole time you were with him today, it’s not like you were having a scintillating conversation for hours. I’m sure he’s dying to get to know you more just as much as you want to get to know him. Friends want to be together Blaine; it’s not that big of a deal.”

            “I don’t want to just be his friend, mom…” said Blaine softly.

            “I knew that from the second I walked into his hospital room, sweets. But these things take time. You’ve never had a boyfriend, and while I can’t say anything for Kurt, I’m sure Lima has just offered him plenty of opportunities to get a boyfriend,” she said sarcastically. “Take it slow, if anything, you want to be his friend right?”

            “More than anything,” said Blaine wistfully. She smiled at him fondly across the table.

            “From what you’ve told me, it seems like you need each other. You’ve told me yourself how you’ve wished to have a friend who could completely understand you. Kurt can be this person for you Blaine; you just need to have a little courage.”

            Blaine looked down into his mug of tea thoughtfully. His mom was right. It would be nice to spend time with a person who he could easily relate too, someone who knew exactly what he had gone through at one point in his life. He just wasn’t sure what to do…

            “Call him tonight Blaine, I’m sure he’s looking forward to hearing from you,” his mom said, seemingly sensing his uncertainty from his body language.

            Blaine nodded and sighed. His mother’s encouragement gave him a boost of confidence. He was a little nervous, but he figured he had nothing to lose. He walked into his bedroom and picked up his Blackberry off of his bedside table and started a new text message to Kurt. His heart started to pound as soon as he hit the send button. Before long, his phone dinged indicating a new message. Before long he was texting back and forth with Kurt, feeling more relaxed about the situation. After a while, the texting conversation was starting to irritate him. Blaine sucked with words. He’d rather sing, or at least speak. So he asked Kurt if it was okay to call him and he said yes.

            So he called Kurt and they talked for hours about everything. Blaine would have never thought he would have so much in common with another person. Both boys talked about things that had hurt them, Kurt talked about his mother and how she died when he was 8, how scared he was to come out to his dad and how relieved he was when his father said he knew since he was 3 years old and loved him just the same. Blaine’s heart ached for Kurt, for the loss of his mother, for the bullying he had to endure every single day. But there was a little twinge of jealousy hidden in the back of his mind. He had only wished his father could accept him just as Burt accepted his son. Blaine couldn’t even imagine what he would do if he had lost his mother. She was the sole family member who accepted Blaine’s sexuality and love for music, theatre and books. While she wasn’t around as much as Blaine would have like and wasn’t terribly involved in his life unless something of importance was happening, Blaine still loved her. Blaine talked about how much he loved being at Dalton and singing in the Warblers. He even told Kurt about the fear in the back of his mind that he was going to lose Sierra one day.

            Over the 2 hour conversation, Blaine moved from the chair at his desk, to the padded seat right under his window, to walking aimlessly around his room and then finally crawling under his duvet on his bed and settling onto the pillows as the conversation continued. The conversation had progressed to the songs that they both wished to sing in Glee club.

            “I was thinking something from Maroon 5. I don’t know how the council will feel about it. I was thinking something simple like Sunday Morning, but Wes would probably eat me alive. The Warblers are used to more upbeat songs for Sectional/Regional performances, but maybe for one of our Nursing Home or Hospital performances. What do you think, Kurt?”

            Blaine paused to wait for Kurt’s response and heard nothing.

            “Kurt?” If Blaine listened carefully, he could hear slow, deep breathing on the other side of the line. Blaine smiled to himself. Kurt must have fallen asleep.

            “Night Kurt, sweet dreams,” he carefully whispered into the phone. For good luck, or something, he thought. After he hung up, he sent Kurt a quick text, having a feeling that Kurt would be upset that he fell asleep when he was talking to Blaine. He didn’t blame him from falling asleep, though. Kurt had had a long day and they had talked on the phone until one in the morning. Blaine placed his phone next to him on the bedside table and snuggled deeper under the covers. He fell asleep quickly, remembering Kurt’s melodic voice in his ear.

            The next morning, Blaine is woken up from his mother entering his room and opening up the shades to let the sunshine in. She placed something on the bedside table next to Blaine’s head and plopped down on the bed next to him.

            “Morning, Goose.”

            Blaine grumbled from his position lying on his stomach, head buried between the crease of the two pillows he kept on his bed.

            “Why are you waking me up?” he mumbled, still between the pillows.

            “It’s 11 o’clock, love,” she replied, smoothing her hand through her son’s curls.

            Blaine yawned and turned over. He rubbed his hands over his eyes, trying to wake up a little.

            “Is it really?” he said, his voice still rough with sleep.

            “’Fraid so, Goose. I brought you coffee. Figured you were either up late, you didn’t sleep or you slept really well. Either way, I brought you coffee.”

            “Thanks mom,” said Blaine. He kissed her cheek and sat up straight, leaning up against his headboard and grabbing the mug of coffee off his bedside table.

            “So which is it?”

            Blaine blushed instantly as he remembered the conversation he had with Kurt, long into the night.

            “I might have been talking to Kurt on the phone until 1am.”

            His mother snuggled close to him and gave him a face splitting grin.

            “Oh really now? And what did you talk about?”

            “Everything.”

            “That’s lovely dear. Are you feeling a little better about the whole situation now that you’ve talked with him?”

            Blaine realized he wasn’t feeling as weirded out about the whole thing now that he’s shared so much with Kurt. It might have only been a conversation over the phone (a long one at that) but he felt more at ease now about their relationship. He knew they were friends now. You wouldn’t share as much as they both had last night without being friends.

            “A lot better,” he replied.

            “Good. Now what time are you planning to go over to his house this afternoon?”

            “Maybe 1 or 2 o’clock. I’m not sure.”

            “Alright, well, whenever you come home, don’t expect us to be here. We were invited to the Johnson’s annual New Year’s Eve Gala in Westerville. Dad’s planning to get us a hotel for the night, so we won’t be home until tomorrow.”

            “Oh, okay,” said Blaine, trying not to sound disappointed.

            “You didn’t make any plans for tonight, Blaine?” his mother asked him.

            “No, um…a lot of my friends have gone on vacation or are with family for the holidays so no one made any sort of plans.

            “I’m sorry, love. I’d hate to know you’d be all on your lonesome on New Year’s Eve. I would have invited you along had I known.”

            “Thanks Mom, but galas aren’t really my thing.”

            She laughed. “I knew it, although you do play the dapper son part very well.”

            “I try,” said Blaine, smiling.

            “Well,” said his mother as she got up from the bed, “Maybe you’ll be lucky and Kurt will include you in his New Year’s plans.”

            “Mom, stop putting ideas in my head!”

            “Sorry, love!” she said, laughing as she slipped out the door.

            Blaine couldn’t help but think…maybe.

            An hour later, Blaine bounced down the stairs and into the kitchen where his mother was reading the newspaper.

            “What do you think?” he asks, twirling in a circle to show off his outfit choice.

            His mother observes her son’s outfit for a minute and says, “Understated, but refined, approachable and cozy, but sexy in a dapper kind of way, well done.”

            Blaine looks at her confusedly, “Um, alright? Sure. Thanks mom. I was just looking for, looks good, but whatever you said is good too,” he said with a laugh. Blaine settled on his navy Burberry cashmere sweater (his mother had picked it up for him last time she was visiting his grandparents in London) with black trousers and a gray wraparound scarf around his neck. He took Kurt’s advice and used about a dime sized amount of gel that he ran through his curls to avoid complete afro frizz. He also shaved to get rid of any stubble he had on his face.

         Blaine walked over to cupboards next to the fridge and took out his favourite box of cereal. After pouring himself a bowl and adding milk, he plopped down next to his mom and started to eat.

            He was planning to leave for Kurt’s house soon. He hadn’t yet texted him today and was a little worried about showing up unannounced. Even though Carole knew he was coming and had probably told Burt of his upcoming visit, he felt as if Kurt would feel uncomfortable with Blaine being in his house, or even his bedroom, without really knowing each other.

            “Will you stop worrying? You’ll have frown lines by 25, I swear,” said his mother, jokingly. Blaine kept eating his cereal, lost in thought.

            “I’m just—“

            “Blaine, love, if you say nervous or worried one more time, I will drive you to Kurt’s myself.”

            “Is that your way of saying, suck it up?” he asked.

            “Precisely,” his mother replied.

            Blaine pushed his chair back, got up and put his cereal bowl in the dishwasher.

            “I guess I’d better go then, I’d rather not be embarrassed by my mother driving me to my friend’s house.”

            “Haha, very funny Mr. Anderson. Like I could ever embarrass you!” she said, seriously, with a smile on her face. “One more thing before you leave though.” She took Blaine’s hand and led him upstairs to his bedroom. She went into his bathroom and grabbed a plaid-patterned bottle of cologne off the counter. She took off the cap and spritzed it a couple of times into the air and instructed Blaine to walk through it several times.

            “Now you’ll smell nice. Kurt will find you irresistible!”

            “Sure mom, whatever you say,” replied Blaine, laughing. “Have you ever considered that you have an obsession with Burberry?”

            “I’ve come to accept it, Goose. Nothing I can do about it. Just don’t show dad my credit card bills and all will be well,” she said with a wink.

            Blaine mimed zipping his lips and went to his closet. He pulled on his black peacoat and put on the black leather driving gloves his grandfather had sent for Christmas. He tucked his Blackberry and iPod in his coat pockets and grabbed the DVDs he has set out the night before in preparation for going over to Kurt’s house. He tucked them into his all-purpose leather bag and set off towards his car.

            “Bye Mom,” he said, kissing her cheek as he swept out the door. “Have fun at the gala!”

            “Oh, I surely will,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Have fun at Kurt’s, Goose. Give us a call with any change of plans, alright? I expect a phone call when you get home, as well.”

            “Sure,” he said, nodding. And then he was off.

            Blaine’s fingers were tapping restlessly on the steering wheel. He was thrumming with nervous energy and willing the drive to go by faster. He mentally thanked his parents for living in Lima instead of Westerville, where he went to school. Blaine didn’t mind living in the Dalton dormitories and visiting his parents during the weekends and holidays, but if Blaine had to drive 2 hours to get to Kurt’s house instead of 20 minutes, he surely would have keeled over and died from the anxiety already.

            After a lot of aimless humming to the songs on the radio and triple checking the address that Carole had written on a slip of paper, Blaine made it to Kurt’s house. He parked in the driveway behind what he assumed to be Kurt’s Navigator. He chuckled underneath his breath. Never in a million years would he pair slight, delicate Kurt with a big, black SUV. He grabbed his bag from the backseat of his jeep and closed the door. He took a deep breath, willing his heart to slow to a normal beat and walked to the door. He knocked on the door 3 times before the door whipped open. Carole stood behind the door, smiling widely and pressing a finger to her lips.

            “Hi, Blaine,” she whispered. “Kurt is holed up in his room blasting Broadway. He probably didn’t hear you knock, but keep your voice down.” Carole ushered him into the foyer and wrapped him up in a hug. “I’m so glad you could come, Blaine. Kurt’s not feeling particularly happy at the moment. He doesn’t have any plans for New Year’s Eve and I think he’s kind of lonely. Also, I think he’s kind of mourning the loss of his extensive wardrobe. Skinny jeans do not pair well with casts. Nor do designer tops.”

            “Ah,” said Blaine, knowingly.

            “Well, I’ll bring you up to Kurt’s bedroom. I’m sure he’ll be ecstatic to see you.” After Blaine hung his coat and bag on the hooks close to the front door, Carole led him up the stairs to Kurt’s bedroom.

            Through the thick wooden door, Blaine could hear the distant notes of “Popular” playing and what he assumed to be Kurt’s voice singing along to the esteemed Kristin Chenowith. Carole knocked on the door 3 times and practically leapt down the stairs, deserting Blaine. He heard her soft laughter as she went down into the family room.

            “Come in!” called Kurt from inside the room.

            Blaine swallowed loudly, his heart pounding. His brain was telling him to run, but instead, he gripped the doorknob and opened the door.

            Kurt was lying on his stomach on the bed, his legs crossed at the ankle. He was flipping through a magazine and hadn’t even looked up to see who was at the door. Blaine swore his palms felt damper than usual. Kurt’s soft brown hair was swept across his forehead instead of swept up in the style he was wearing yesterday. He was wearing what looked like the comfiest gray knit sweater and a lovely blue scarf was wrapped around his neck, not too different from his own. Did he deliberately pick that scarf out to match his eyes? Is he trying to make everyone fall hopelessly in love with him, or what?

“Yes?” Kurt asked, nonchalantly. He casually looked upwards at the door to see who was standing there. Suddenly his eyes went incredibly wide, his lips forming a tiny “O”.

            “Hi Kurt!” Blaine called out.

            Kurt was so surprised he practically fell off the bed.

            Blaine gasped and hurried into the room. “Are you okay?”

            Kurt stood up and hurriedly brushed off non-existent lint off his outfit. “I’m fine!” he called out, breathlessly. “Hi Blaine, I didn’t expect to see you here,” said Kurt with a voice higher than usual. He had a blush high on his cheeks and his lips were upturned into the biggest smile Blaine had ever seen (he swore). His un-styled hair was flopping into his eyes a little and he flicked it away with a practiced wrist.

            “W-well, um,” Blaine stuttered, anxiously. “Carole invited me over yesterday before I left to go home with my mom. She wanted it to be a surprise. I’m really sorry if I’m overstepping, it’s just she said it was okay and that you wouldn’t mind and we talked for so long last night and I’m really sorry I didn’t call you back this morning, I was in the shower, see and I knew I was going to come over and I really wanted to see you anyway and…”Blaine paused and took a deep breath. His rambling always got the best of him.

            “It’s okay,” said Kurt, assuredly. “I thought you might have been busy with your friends, seeing as its New Year’s Eve and all.” Kurt’s smile faded a little. Blaine picked up on it immediately and stepped closer to Kurt.

            “Don’t worry,” he says, “All my friends are with family or on vacation to faraway places. My parents are going to a Gala tonight. I didn’t have any plans. And if I did, I think I would have been thinking about you all night, wishing you were there.”

            “Really?” said Kurt, raising an eyebrow.

            “Honest,” Blaine replied, nodding.

            “Well, thanks for coming. It means a lot to me,” mumbled Kurt, looking down at his feet. Blaine just looked at him from where he was standing. Kurt looked restless and fidgety. He went to clasp his hands together until he realized he couldn’t.

            “Hey,” said Blaine softly, moving even closer to Kurt. Kurt raised his head, looking at Blaine from his gloriously long lashes. His eyes were a little bloodshot and rimmed red. If Blaine paid even close together he swore they looked a little wet. “What’s the matter?”

            Kurt sniffed and let out a watery laugh. “It’s nothing Blaine. It’s just that this whole thing has been incredibly rough. And that’s saying something, as I’ve been harassed by Neanderthals every single school day. My dad had to help me undress and put on my pajamas last night; my step-mom practically saw me naked this morning because she had to help me shower. I can’t wear most of my normal wardrobe because suddenly my skinny jeans have become my own personal hell and I don’t even want to try to attempt to style my hair for school because I fear it I’ll make it look worse than it is right now. My closest friend didn’t bother to invite me over for New Year’s because she knew I was injured and my step-brother is gone to his idiot friend’s house and it’s really just been one of those days. Everything I normally cling to, my clothes, my appearance, even my driving has all been taken away from me. The only light I’ve been able to see at the end of this miserable black hole is the fact that I have a chance to be friends with someone I’d never thought I’d ever meet. And you completely surprised me and I swear meeting you has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me for a long time, even though we only met yesterday.” Quite like Blaine, Kurt paused and took a breath after rambling out his emotions.

            Blaine said nothing and Kurt stood still. Casually wiping tears from underneath his eyes and sniffling still. He had no idea how to respond to what Kurt had just told him. The last two sentences of Kurt’s little monologue shocked Blaine straight to the core. He didn’t know what he was feeling. Elation? Happiness? Relief? Or all these things combined into one, tinged with sadness and the need to comfort his friend. To tell him everything was going to be okay. To tell him he wasn’t going anywhere and how he’d felt exactly the same thing.

            Blaine said nothing, but instead opened his arms wide. Kurt looked at him, slightly confused.

            “Come here,” he said quietly. And suddenly Kurt rushed into his arms so fast that he almost knocked Blaine over. Kurt squeezed his arms as tight as he could around Blaine’s midsection. Blaine wrapped his arms around his friend, burying his face into the softness of the cotton scarf around Kurt’s neck. The boys held each other for a while, not saying a word. It’s like they were trying to translate the flurry of complicated emotions whirring through their minds through physical contact, through soft breaths against each other’s necks, arms gripped tight and Blaine occasionally rubbing Kurt’s back to soothe his shaking frame.

            Eventually, the boys separated, looking sheepishly at each other. In that one moment, Blaine so badly wanted to tell Kurt how he felt. Yet, the reality of the past two days kept him grounded. He knew he should actually be friends with Kurt first before trying anything.

            “Thanks,” said Kurt quietly, looking down at the ground.

            “Anytime,” said Blaine, stepping forward and bring Kurt into his side for a quick hug. “I promise.”

            “I’ll keep you to that, Blaine Anderson.” Kurt said, jokingly. “Don’t get mad if I need to call you in the middle of the night!”

            “Well, that’s what friends are for, aren’t they? To be there for you; even in the middle of the night.”

            “I guess so, yeah,” said Kurt, nodding.

            “Well that’s settled then. How about we watch a movie? I brought a bunch of the classics with me just in case,” said Blaine excitedly.

            “And what makes you think I don’t own the classics myself?” Kurt said, winking.

            “Okay, then I’ll go get my DVDs downstairs, and we’ll compare. Deal?”

            “Deal.”

            Blaine rushed down and back up the stairs in a matter of seconds and in a matter of minutes, Blaine’s and Kurt’s collection of classic musicals and movies were spread around them on the bed. They bantered back and forth between which movie to watch, until Kurt finally relented to watch Singing in the Rain with him, seeing as he had only seen the movie once when he was younger. Kurt set up the DVD on his TV and him and Blaine settled back onto the pillows stacked against the headboard to watch the movie.

            As the day went on, Blaine and Kurt worked through most of the handful of movies that Blaine had brought along, most of them being shared favourites between the two of them. Blaine shared a wonderfully lunch with Kurt’s family, talking to Burt about football and his business and asking Carole about her job. Blaine would have thought Kurt’s family would have a little intimidating, but he felt as comfortable, if not more, than he did with his own parents. As evening approached, Kurt and Blaine decided to take a rest from watching movies, instead picking up their conversation from last night. They talked more about their underlying emotional issues, feeling comfortable enough with each other to confide deep hidden thoughts and events.

            Near 11pm, hours after Blaine shared another, more traditional meal with the Hummels (We always order Chinese on New Year’s, Blaine. It’s been a tradition since I was old enough to understand what New Year’s Eve was.) Blaine’s phone went off with a  soft “ping”, hidden in the depths of his bag. He and Kurt were lazily flipping through Kurt’s Vogue collection, talking about fashion. Blaine slowly got up from his position on Kurt’s bed and picked up his bag on the floor. He figured it was his mom texting him, wondering what he was up to.

            Text from Mom: Taking a pause from this mind-numbing conversation. What are you up to?

            Text: I’m still at Kurt’s house. We’ve had a wonderful time together.

            Text from Mom: That’s wonderful darling, you’ll have to tell me all about it tomorrow:) xo

            Text: Will do, have fun at the Gala;)

            Text from Mom: You’re just lucky I didn’t drag you along. Text me later, your father has found me and has brought me champagne.

            Blaine laughs at his mom’s last text and puts his phone back in his bag.

            “My mom,” he explains to Kurt, who is looking up at him curiously. “My parents were invited to a fancy gala and my mom absolutely hates going to these kinds of things. But she goes along because she had to keep up with the image,” says Blaine, accentuating the last word with finger quotes.

            Blaine sits back down on the bed next to Kurt. Kurt shuffles around and sits up, crossing his legs and facing Blaine. “I just don’t get it, you know Kurt? She goes along with all this stuff my dad does and never says a word about it. Being around your parents today has really made me realized how weird the relationship is between my parents. It’s like they don’t even love each other. I never see them doing anything affectionate, whether it’s holding hands or kissing or hugging even. My dad never does anything nice for her, except for buying her expensive gifts. If I really think about it, I never really see them together. But it might be because I’m always away at school, it’s just weird. I told you about my dad, right? How he rebuilt a car with me last summer in an attempt to make me straight? My mom was always the one who supported me, no matter what. She encouraged me to accept myself and my sexuality. She encouraged me to participate in the arts and she was the one who convinced my dad to send me to Dalton after the attack. I just don’t understand how you can be with someone if they don’t understand things the same way you do.”

            Blaine paused and sat silently. He really hadn’t known where this little outburst had come from. Well, in all honesty, he questioned this more often than he thought. Kurt sat across from him; brows furrowed slightly, elbows rested on his knees.

            “Blaine, how long have your parents’ been together?”

            Blaine thought for a moment, trying to remember the number on the card from their last anniversary. “Twenty years I think, maybe a little less.”

            “That’s a long time,” said Kurt, thoughtfully.

            Blaine nodded, “Yeah, I guess so.”

            “Have you ever thought that maybe your parents acted a lot differently when they were younger, before they even had you? I mean, when did you start to notice this kind of behaviour between the two of them?”

            Blaine thought back to his younger childhood years, before he had even an inkling of his sexuality. They had been a cozy, happy family once. His mom didn’t work as much back then and his dad was always home by five o’clock on weeknights. Weekends were spent playing catch and building forts and helping his mom cook. As he got older, his parents started to work more. And when he came out…well…

            “I think it was when I came out. Around then. Maybe before.” Kurt looked at him sadly.

“Maybe it was because they didn’t have the exact same views about homosexuality,” Blaine realized.

“Maybe,” agreed Kurt. “How would you describe your relationship with your dad?”

“Non-existent,” said Blaine quickly. It was the first thing that came to his mind.

“Really?” said Kurt, looking a little shocked. He looked like he found it hard to believe that there was such a thing. “Why?”

“Well, first of all, I never see him. Ever. I’m either away at Dalton, or he’s out of town on a business trip. If by some rare chance we are both home at the same time, we talk about school or how my car is running. He never asks me anything personal. We usually spend time in our own rooms. You know, I can’t even remember the last time he hugged me? Or even just showed any affection towards me at all.” Blaine looked down, suddenly. He was getting more emotional than he thought he would.

He felt Kurt shuffle closer to him and pressed a soft hand over the fists he held over his lap.

“I’m really sorry Blaine. No one deserves that kind of treatment from their father.”

“Thanks, Kurt. I know the situation could be a lot worse, at least he never kicked me out of the house or anything.” Kurt just tilted his head sadly.

“I hate that,” Kurt mumbled under his breath. “I hate that people have to go through anything like that, that they all can’t have a dad like my own.”

Blaine sighed, “I know.”

Kurt squeezed Blaine’s hand and stood up from the bed. “How about we change the subject and distract ourselves with Dick Clark’s cheesy pre-show in Times Square.”

Blaine agreed excitedly. “I love watching the Ball drop! I hope I get to see in person one day!”

“The feeling is mutual,” said Kurt. “Trust me. I’ve been dying to go to Times Square for New Year’s Eve ever since I started watching it! Now, let’s go downstairs. I’m sure my dad and Carole are watching it in the living room.”

Kurt led Blaine down the stairs into the cozy living room. There was a fire burning in the fireplace and Burt and Carole were sitting on the couch in front of the TV.

“Hi Dad, Carole,” Kurt called out. “Mind if we join you?”

“Of course not! Burt, shove over and give the boys some room.” Kurt and Blaine settled on the couch next to Carole. The couch was pretty big, but four people was a tight fit. Blaine didn’t mind much. His arm was pressed closed to Kurt’s, the warmth distracting him completely from the show on the screen. As the time came closer to midnight, the excitement thrumming from the television was translating through the screen.

Blaine and Kurt were quietly discussing the co-host choice of clothing, when Burt checked his watch and cleared his throat. He got up from the couch with a grunt and went into the kitchen. The countdown at the corner of the screen showed less than five minutes until midnight.

“Where’s he going?” asked Blaine. “The ball is going to drop soon!”

“Oh, you’ll see. It’s another part of the Hummel’s New Year tradition,” said Kurt, cheekily.

Blaine chuckled and playfully cuffed Kurt’s shoulder. Blaine could hear the chinking of glass coming from the kitchen. With a little less than 2 minutes left on the countdown, Burt re-entered the living room holding a bottle and four champagne flutes.

“Champagne?” said Blaine, eyebrows raised.

“Sparkling cider,” Kurt stated. “There’s no alcohol in this house.”

“Trust me Blaine, it’s not without trying. I’m dying for a beer. But these two here won’t let me touch a drop of alcohol,” said Burt, nodding towards Kurt and Carole.

Blaine looked up at him questioningly, confused.

“The heart attack,” explained Kurt. Kurt had talked about his dad’s heart attack last night on the phone. The light in Kurt’s eyes dimmed a little as he remembered the difficult time in his life. Blaine squeezed his shoulder lightly, smiling at him.

“I think you’re doing a good thing, Kurt,” whispered Blaine into Kurt’s ear, encouraging him. Kurt smiled wide at him in thanks.

Suddenly, a count down from ten was shouting from the TV. “It’s almost time!” exclaimed Kurt. Kurt grasped for Blaine’s hand, Carole gripped onto Kurt’s bicep and Burt held hands with Carole.

“Five, four, three, two, one, HAPPY NEW YEAR!” The sound of confetti blasting from the TV filled the room. Everyone on the screen was hugging and laughing and kissing. Burt had brought Carole into his arms and kissed her. Blaine and Kurt were standing awkwardly next to them, looking at each other. Blaine really wasn’t sure what he wanted to do in this situation. Obviously he can’t kiss Kurt. That would be totally uncalled for.

Kurt moved closer to him and tentatively wrapped his arms around Blaine’s shoulders and pressed his lips lightly to Blaine’s cheek.

“Happy New Year, Blaine,” said Kurt, a little breathlessly into Blaine’s ear.

            Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt’s waist, reciprocating the hug. Before Kurt pulled away, he leaned in quickly and pressed his lips to Kurt’s cheek, as well.

            “Happy New Year, Kurt.”

They both blushed as they pulled away, Blaine laughed lightly under his breath. Burt and Carole were looking at them both amusedly.

Burt popped the cork on the bottle of sparkling cider and poured four glasses and passed one to the each of them.

“A toast!” Burt announced. He held up his glass and the others followed. “Here’s to a brand new year, filled with love, happiness and continued good health. Cheers!”

“Cheers!” everyone called out as they clinked glasses. They all took a sip of their drink as they toasted the New Year.

Blaine looked over at Kurt and smiled. It was going to be a good year.