The house smelled like cookies and douglas fir when Kurt opened the door for a snow-covered Blaine. "Oh, thank God. I was starting to worry youd gotten stuck in the freak snow storm." There was something about Kurts concerned voice that had Blaine melting even faster than the snow in his hair.

"Im fine. Main roads werent bad. Your neighborhood, though…. well, youre lucky I like you so much," Blaine said with a wink, leaning in for a quick kiss before wandering over to set the little bag of gifts hed brought under the tree. He took his overnight bag up to Kurts room so it was out of the way, then slipped into the kitchen where the rest of the family was gathered.

Carole was sitting at the table looking over recipe cards while Burt grumbled at the sports section of the paper. Kurt was fixing coffee, while Finn stuffed his face with cookies. Some of those cookies were soon passed to Blaine, who couldnt resist the temptation and just barely managed to look a little more dignified than Finn as he devoured a fair number of the sweet treats.

The arrival of Kurt at the table, along with two cups of coffee, one of which was fixed just the way Blaine liked, brought a toothy grin to his face. It was because of this amazing boy that Blaine hadnt even thought about how his parents werent there for another holiday. He hadnt even gotten very upset when he got the package in the mail- some fancy Parisian cologne that Blaine thought stunk and a card telling him of the extra money theyd put in his personal account so he could treat himself. Because buying love was totally a thing now.

He hadnt felt that normal loneliness, though, when he packed his things into his car and drove over to his boyfriends house. Instead, Blaine had been full of excitement like little kids at this time of year. He couldnt help but lean over against Kurt, resting his head on the taller boys shoulder after taking a long sip of his coffee. "Thanks, baby," he said, eyes drifting closed as he welcomed the warm contentedness that flowed through his entire body. He missed the way Burt looked from him to Kurt when he heard the pet name.

"No problem, sweetheart." They all sat in the kitchen for a little while, munching on cookies and talking about what time Rachel would be coming over the next day, since she didnt celebrate Christmas with her dads but wanted to for Finn. Kurt held his tongue, only whispering to Blaine about how Rachel sure did a lot of Christmas stuff for a Jewish girl. Blaine had laughed at that, then Burt announced that he was going to watch some Deadliest Catch and Finn said he was late for a Call of Duty run with Puck.

Carole looked over at the two remaining boys and smiles warmly. "So what are you two going to do until dinner? You know tradition says Christmas movies and one gift each after that, so you better get in your fun well before then." Blaine was pretty sure she winked at them, which made him blush a very deep red.

"Were just going to watch a movie in my room, Carole. Nothing too risque," Kurt laughed, winking right back at the woman. A few minutes later had Blaine closely following his boyfriend upstairs while Kurt muttered about missing his old basement bedroom where they would have had much more privacy.

Even with the bedroom door cracked, as Burt required, the two had plenty of time to cuddle while they watched Moulin Rouge. They laughed and wiped each others tears at the saddest parts, singing Come What May together and looking deep in each others eyes on the lines proclaiming their undying love. It was perfect and overwhelming and Blaine was thankful for the sad storyline to cover up the real source of his tears. He was in love with this boy, and he would do anything to keep him forever.

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Dinner was a small affair with home-made chicken noodle soup and biscuits that Carole prepared. It was the perfect comfort meal for the occasion, and the Christmas dinner for the next day wouldnt be anything like it, so they wouldnt be disappointed with either meal. Kurt complimented his step-mother, who thanked him for making her such a better cook, and Burt and Finn both agreed that between Carole and Kurt they would never go hungry.

It was a lovely meal which then turned into a lovely evening with cookies and hot cocoa in front of the TV which showed Rudolf and Frosty and all those other Christmas classics that they all sang along to and commented at as if they could convince the reindeer to be nicer to poor Rudy or make the Bergermeister embrace the power of the yo-yo.

Blaine had never had this kind of experience with his family. It was wonderful, absolutely incredible. When he suddenly had a gift thrust into his lap, he gasped and looked over at Kurt who just grinned and gave his own gift a little jostle. "You all get one of your gifts from us tonight," Burt said, sitting down only for Kurt to get up and toss a present at his father while Finn grabbed one and handed it to Carole.

"Alright, alright, time to open!" Carole said, sounding like a little girl more than a mom. Blaine found it adorable, and he slowly opened his present, being careful with the paper and bow. Finn had already torn into his and come out with a fancy new controller for his xbox, which hed been needing since Kurt mashed the buttons too hard last time and got the A stuck pressed down. Burt also had his present open pretty fast, and was grimacing at one of those fitness counting bracelets.

Kurt just gave his dad a pointed look so that the man wouldnt complain, then finished carefully unwrapping his own present to reveal a small box, in which sat five plane tickets to New York City. His jaw dropped and he gaped at his father and Carole.

Burt cleared his throat and gave his son a pointed look. "Those are not just for you. I know you want to go to the city for school, and you need to start applying pretty early next school year, so we really need to visit these places and figure out which ones deserve your time. Rumor has it you arent the only one in this room looking forward to college in NYC…" Knowing eyes scanned over both Finn and Blaine, and the two other boys mimicked Kurts open-mouth gaping. "Of course Carole and I want to come along to see where our sons feel the need to educate themselves and start their adult lives. As far as Im concerned, youre our third son, kid. So get ready for a plane ride and a few days off from school."

The shock wasnt anything Blaine was prepared for, and he couldnt hold back the tears that crawled down his cheeks. "I… just… holy… Are you serious? I mean… I just… thank you so much!" Burt reached over and clapped Blaine on the shoulder with a little laugh. He told him to calm down, that it was alright, and that he needed to breathe now and open his own gift.

He finally finished opening his present and his eyes clouded with tears again when he spotted the bow tie with little statues of liberty dotting it. "I noticed you wearing them more and Kurt said you were fond of them. I hope its okay." Caroles voice was soft and sweet and Blaine couldnt hold back anymore. He got up and launched himself at both her and Burt, hugging them tighter than hed ever felt the need to hug his own parents.

Burt just patted his back and told him he was a good kid, but Carole held him a bit longer, as if she could feel how much he was feeling just then and felt the need to show him that it really was okay. That he was good and worth all of this and more. That she cared. It was so touching, and nobody needed to say anything more about it when Blaine sat back down by Kurt and leaned into his boyfriend with a happy smile on his face.

Finally, Carole opened her gift, gasping at Finn when she spotted a heart necklace with three birthstones along one side of the heart. "Its Burt and Kurt and me. The birthstones, I mean. You know, your, uh, family. So you always have us with you…"

"Wow, Finn, Im impressed. He did this all on his own, for the record. I can honestly say I had no influence," Kurt said, looking at his brother in a sort of awe. Finn grinned proudly as Carole put the necklace on and offered her son a watery thanks.

They finished another round of cocoa and one more movie before Burt turned off the TV and said it was time for bed. The man went over to Kurt and Blaine and gave them a strange look before sighing and grabbing his cap from his head, running a hand awkwardly over his scalp and steeling himself for his next words. "Alright, since its Christmas and youre both great kids and I trust you… Blaine can sleep in your room tonight and tomorrow."

Kurts eyes went wide and Blaine did a double take, which made Burt laugh and roll his own eyes. "No funny business though, got it? You boys mess this up and it wont happen again. Ill say it again, Im really trusting you guys. Dont let me down, alright?"

With that, he went off to join Carole in their room and Kurt and Blaine wandered up the stairs, ignoring the odd look Finn threw their way as he trudged from the bathroom to his own room. The door was closed that night, but there was no funny business. The two of them just cuddled close and comfortable, so happy and secure in each others arms. And if there were whispered "I love you"s exchanged for the first true time in the middle of that warm Christmas Eve night, well, that was only for Kurt and Blaine to know. To cherish. Just as they cherished each other.

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Christmas morning brought cookies and coffee, and Kurt didnt even bother his dad about his increased sugar intake of late. It was a holiday, after all. They were bullied into present time fairly early by Finn, who turned into an absolute child around Christmas, apparently. It all just made Blaine feel warm and happy inside.

He was glad to see that his gifts went over well. Burt tried to give back the set of tickets for OSU home games (which included multiple football, baseball, and basketball games, two tickets for each one so Burt could take Finn with him) but Blaine just shook his head and muttered something about having more than enough money to spoil his adopted family. Carole was touched by the term for her family, and she immediately wrapped the cashmere scarf about her neck, preening in a pretty way.

Finn was pretty psyched when he unwrapped some new drumsticks and a bunch of classic rock CDs Puck had been railing on him for not owning. It was Kurt who had the best reaction, though.

"Oh my God, Blaine, you dork," he said softly, a thickness to his voice that only made Blaines heart stutter. "Now my gift is going to look so… material." The brunette was clutching a coupon book that Blaine had worked on creating for him. There were tickets for movie dates, shopping weekends, time devoted to planning their future in New York… There were even a couple tickets for pampering spa days. He hoped Kurt would like it, but he wasnt prepared for just how much. "This is too thoughtful and perfect, Blaine. You suck so much…"

The shorter boy had little chance to open his own gifts just then, because his lap was suddenly full of Kurt, who clung to him and laid a sweet kiss on the side of his neck. "Thank you," Kurt whispered, leaning back when Burt cleared his throat.

Blaine opened his own gifts then, shocked to see that there were more from Burt and Carole. Hed not expected more than the bow tie and the inclusion in the trip to New York! He was thus very surprised to open gifts from Burt, Carole, Kurt, and even Finn. Kurts gift to Blaine, though not the same kind of home-made, was still home-made and still made Blaine squeeze him almost too tightly before kissing his nose, making the countertenor giggle.

"This is the same fabric as the lining of your favorite vest! This is…. Kurt," he breathed, immediately removing the Christmas bow tie from his neck and tying the new on Kurt made him in its place. "And I know you sewed it for me because you told me you had to find that fabric special and remake the back of that vest just cause it was too boring the original way."

It was true, and made Kurt blush that Blaine had remembered the little anecdote. Thanks were given to the others as well, and they were all left with some nice new items.

Finn got Blaine copies of some of the older games he and Puck played online sometimes, while Kurt got a collectors framed poster from Wicked which Finn confessed Rachel had found, but he at least knew it would mean a lot to Kurt. There were other clothes and games and music-related things, and then Kurt joined Carole in the kitchen to help get dinner started since it would take a little while.

Blaine joined the pair in the kitchen for about two hours before deciding hed done all he could really do and joined Burt in front of the TV. They bonded over the standings of the different bowls, watching the talking heads on Sports Center whenever a good game wasnt on or was at commercial or half time. It was a great bit of bonding, honestly, and Blaine was pretty sure Burt wouldnt be bonding this way with him unless he really did like him. Approve of him for Kurt. That was really important to Blaine.

Dinner was loud and fun and Rachel was there, too, which meant Finn kept spilling stuff on himself and getting all nervous, which was odd since the two of them had been together and apart and together again so much already that it would seem they shouldnt be awkward around each other anymore. It was amusing, at least, especially when Finn almost splashed grease on Kurt, who threatened his brothers life.

Delicious pies filled the table once the meal was finished, as did fresh coffee, and by the time everybody was ready for bed, they were all so full and content that a happy buzz seemed to fill the whole house. That night, Kurt and Blaine slept wrapped up in each other, and if their hands wandered a bit in the middle of the night, and if Kurts room was full of soft moans and whispered pleas and praises, well, no one else was the wiser. And if Blaine woke up the day after Christmas with some discomfort in his pajama pants but a very warm, very satisfied Kurt draped over his bare chest… well, that just made this the perfect Christmas of Blaines young life.