The next couple of weeks flew by. With the holidays came numerous people wanting to make sure their insurance was up to date before they traveled and the increasing number of airline tickets being sold meant Kurt had been called in to work extra flights. Blaine being busy at the office and Kurt flying out of town more than usual left little time for them to actually spend time together, so they were both equally as excited to finally be on a flight to Ohio, happy to escape the stress of their job for a couple of days.

Burt had picked them up at the airport, and they finally arrived home around 8:30 on Christmas Eve. It wasn't long before Blaine found himself in an apron, working alongside Kurt to make the perfect cutout Christmas cookies. They left them without icing—that could be done the following day once they were cool—and slowly made their way upstairs around 11:30. Kurt pulled Blaine straight into his room this time, leaving the guest room that Blaine had occupied over Thanksgiving untouched.

Blaine liked being back in Kurt's hometown and around his family. He enjoyed watching Kurt scold Burt every time he tried to eat something he wasn't supposed to and loved how much he seemed to care for his dad. Blaine loved the motherly charm that Carole seemed to possess, not only towards her own son, but even those she considered her children. He had known her for barely a month, but she had pulled him into a huge hug and kissed his cheek as soon as she'd seen him that night. When he was around Carole, he felt like he had already become a part of the Hudmel family. Blaine also liked the comments Kurt teasingly threw towards Finn, and he even enjoyed the dramatics of one Rachel Berry. In Ohio, everything seemed perfect. His world seemed untouchable.

He and Kurt quickly passed out on his bed after snuggling under the covers, and when Blaine woke up the next morning, the space beside him was unoccupied. He reached over, wishing Kurt was there for him to wrap his arms around, and noticed that the bed was still warm. He hasn't been gone for too long, I guess, Blaine thought to himself. He rolled out of bed and threw on a hoodie before making his way down the stairs.

"Hey there, sleepy head." Kurt stood up from where he was sitting by the tree and made his way towards Blaine. They wrapped their arms around each other and Blaine buried his face in Kurt's neck, taking in the smell of him—the sweet way Kurt always smelled, but this time it was mixed with a hint of pine. "Good morning." Kurt kissed the tip of his nose and joined their hands to pull Blaine along into the living room.

"Hey, dude. It's about time you woke up. We've been sitting here for over an hour," Finn complained from his spot on the couch.

"What?" Blaine looked confused.

"Kurt made us wait for you," Rachel explained.

"What?" He turned to Kurt. "Why? You could've woke me up."

"Finn survived the wait. I didn't want to wake you. I don't think you slept very well last night. You kept mumbling in your sleep and I think you woke up a few times. Were you having bad dreams or something?" Kurt squeezed his hand.

"Um… n-no. I guess it was just one of those nights." The truth was he had had a bad dream, more like a nightmare, but he shoved all thoughts of his plane crashing aside and forced a smile on his face. After all, it was Christmas, and being caught up in a dream about dying in a plane crash wasn't the ideal way to celebrate.

"Why don't you sit down, bud?" Burt motioned to the open seat on the couch.

Kurt sat down and pulled Blaine onto his lap; there wasn't much room with Rachel and Finn also on the couch. They spent the next forty five minutes taking turns opening their presents. Rachel nearly knocked Blaine off the couch when she all too excitedly threw her arms around his neck to thank him. Finn kept shoving cookies into his mouth the entire time. Carole and Burt thanked Blaine for his present, claiming he'd spend way too much, but Carole eagerly modeled her new dress for all of them to see. Kurt opened each of his presents and scolded Blaine when he opened the one from him to find out Blaine had spent entirely too much on him. He had purchased an entire outfit from a new line that Kurt has seen in a magazine at the beginning of the month, one that was close to $1500 total. Kurt made a mental note to try to take a few things back, but had a feeling Blaine wouldn't let him. In return, Kurt gave Blaine his gift, an expensive leather briefcase he'd seen him eyeing in the mall which he had filled with gift cards to various unhealthy places such as the frozen yogurt place they had gone to on their first date and Blaine's favorite bakery in New York City.

Blaine enjoyed seeing the reactions to not only the presents he picked out, but the ones everyone else had purchased as well. Christmas morning with Kurt's family felt completely different from the mornings he had growing up. The atmosphere was filled with love, gratitude, and genuine happiness. However he still couldn't shake away the unsettling feeling he had every time his dream made its way back into his thoughts.

Once the space beneath the tree was void of any presents, Blaine politely excused himself to go take a shower and Kurt followed him up. He gently closed the door behind them and finally gave Blaine the good morning kiss he'd wanted to give him for the past hour.

"Merry Christmas," he said against Blaine's lips.

"Mmm'erry Christmas yourself." Blaine kissed him back forcefully as a smile played on the corner of his lips.

"You shouldn't have spent that much money on me, Blaine. That was entirely too much and I can't accept it."

Blaine silenced him by placing a finger over his lips and kissing his forehead. "I actually have your real gift up here." Blaine walked to Kurt's dresser and opened the bottom drawer, moving aside some old t-shirts and pulling a present out. He handed it over to Kurt with a nervous smile on his face. "Well, open it." Blaine gestured to the package in Kurt's hands.

Kurt began undoing the tape and tearing the reindeer-printed wrapping paper away to reveal a book. The Complete Shakespeare Collection. Not exactly what he'd been expecting. "What… my real present is a book?" He tried to look enthusiastic, like he actually enjoyed reading Shakespeare. He didn't want to disappoint Blaine, especially when he'd seemed so excited to buy Kurt's present a few weeks earlier.

Blaine laughed and shook his head. "Not quite. I think I know you well enough to know you wouldn't willingly read anything by him. Open it up."

Kurt did as told, only to find out the book was actually hollowed out and found another small object wrapped in paper. He picked it up and ran it through his fingers before tearing it open as well, revealing a shiny, silver key. "W-what… what is this?"

Blaine moved forward so that he was just inches from Kurt. "I know it's clich�, but it's a key to my apartment, and something a little less tangible. My heart. I'm not saying you have to actually use it. I mean, you can if you want to, but it's a symbol. It's a promise. I want you to know that no matter what, I'm going to be here for you. Even if you feel like you don't have anywhere to go, I want you to know that you do." He sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the space next to him, motioning for Kurt to join him. "To be honest, I thought I would've run by now. I thought I would eventually get scared that I felt so much for you and run away before I risked hurting you, but I don't want to. I… I'm not scared because I'm happier than I've ever been in my life. I know that sounds stupid because we've only been together for a few months, but I just want you to know how real this is for me and I've never wanted anything more than this with you." Blaine finally gained enough courage to find Kurt's eyes and noticed that the other man was on the verge of crying, his beautiful eyes filled with unshed tears. He reached up to wipe them away before they could fall. "Why are you crying?" he asked sweetly.

Kurt only shook his head and smiled. "I just… no one has ever given me something that actually means something. It's usually just a gift card to go buy clothes or something." He looked down at the key in his hands and clenched it tight between his fingers. "Thank you, Blaine. You really have no idea how much this means to me." He leaned forward to give him a quick kiss. "Before you stepped onto that plane, before you slammed the bathroom door into me, I had little hope of ever finding someone I actually wanted to be with. It wasn't for me, and it wasn't something I wanted. Or at least I didn't think I did, but you changed all of that. I couldn't stop thinking about you, and maybe that was my first sign that deep down I wanted more. I wanted more than the few dates I had with random guys. I want this with you just as much as you want it, and I'm going to do everything in my power to make this work. I know it's hard. You can't tell your family because it'll threaten your job. I can't tell my co-workers because it would be frowned upon. But this is all worth it to me. Because one day, we will be able to tell people. There will be a day when you can walk onto that plane and I can give you a kiss before taking your seat and no one will care. No one will frown upon it or look at us with disgust. That is what I'm looking forward to."

They were unable to tell who made the first move when they met each other in the middle for another kiss, this one much more intimate than the first. Their lips remained together for a few minutes until Blaine pulled away, their breaths heavier and less steady.

"Kurt, I…" he paused, if trying to find the right words and the strength to continue. "I-"

They were suddenly interrupted by the sound of Kurt's phone. He quickly apologized before retrieving it and silencing it once he checked to make sure it wasn't important. "It's just a wrong number I think." He set it on the night stand and returned close to Blaine's side. "What were you saying?"

"It… it was nothing," Blaine sighed. The moment was gone. It was too late and was beginning to think that maybe he wasn't meant to tell Kurt how he felt after all.

A few hours later, after they had showered and Blaine had given enough time needed to get ready, Kurt took his head and led him down the stairs. He didn't tell Blaine where they were going and Blaine didn't ask. Somehow, deep down, Blaine just knew.

"Hey, Dad. Can we borrow your car for a few hours?"

Burt knew where he was going, but was honestly surprised by Kurt's use of the word "we." In the ten years he'd been going alone, he'd never taken anyone with him. Not Rachel. Not Finn. Not Carole. Not even Burt. "Sure, Buddy. Take your time. Keys are on the table by the door."

"Thanks, Dad."

It had only been a few months since Elizabeth left their lives. They didn't know how to act. Was it too early to smile? Was it okay for Kurt to have fun with his friends? Were they supposed to go to the movies without her or throw out the shampoo that she would never use. Burt tried to be the best dad for Kurt. He tried to show him that life still goes on and that it was okay to live his life as he had before anything happened, but sometimes that was harder than he wished it was.

It was Christmas day. Kurt had already opened his presents from Santa—he no longer believed, but he didn't have the heart to tell his dad that. The two of them sat in the living room together. Kurt pretended to enjoy putting together outfits for the paper dolls he'd asked his mom for back in September. "Maybe you can ask Santa to bring them to you for Christmas," she had said before slipping them into the cart when Kurt looked away.

"You okay, bud?" Burt closed the cover of his new sports book—something that his grandparents had helped Kurt pick out—and leaned forward in order to see Kurt a little better.

Kurt sat a paper dress down and folded his tiny hands in his lap. "Mommy told me she would help me put together the perfect outfits."

Burt's heart broke and he pulled Kurt into his arms. He contemplated helping Kurt out himself, but he didn't know a thing about fashion. He would probably put stripes with plaid and make things even worse for Kurt. He held onto his tiny son for a few minutes while Kurt began to slowly cry. Burt choked back his own tears. He wanted to be strong for Kurt. He wanted his first Christmas without his mom to be as normal as possible.

"Go grab your coat and gloves." Burt slid him off his lap and pointed him towards the front door.

"Why?" Kurt began to do as told and pulled his coat off the hook behind the door.

"We're going out for a bit."

And that's how they found themselves at his mom's grave for the first time since she was lowered into the ground. They'd tried to visit a few times before, even made it so far as the front gates, before Burt would turn around and take him out for ice cream instead.

"What are we doing here, daddy?" Kurt could see his mom's name on the stone in front of them. He recognized it from the notes she used to sign that gave him permission to go to Rachel's house after school. He recognized it from the labels on the boxes of her stuff that were in their attic. He recognized it from the notes she would leave for him in his lunchbox every day. He recognized it from the magazines she continued getting in the mail every month. The magazine subscriptions that Burt couldn't bring himself to cancel.

Burt knelt down onto the damp ground in front of the grave and motioned for Kurt to sit on his knee. The two of them sat there in silence for a few minutes before Burt was able to speak up. "I know this is hard for you, Kurt. I know you want your mom to be here with you, and I wish you could see her in person, but she's here. She's always going to be with you in here." He took Kurt's little hand in his andplaced it over his heart. "Your mom is always going to look out for you, and I know this is the first time we've visited her, but I want you to know that whenever you need someone to talk to, whenever you have something to tell her, or whenever you're missing her, you can come here and talk to her. She's never going to stop being your mom." He paused and forced a smile, trying to make Kurt feel a little better. "I want you to promise me something. Next time you're missing her, I want you to tell me. I don't care what I am doing or where we're at. If you want to see her, we will stop whatever we're doing and come visit her, okay? Can you promise me that?"

Kurt nodded and rested his head against Burt's chest. "Mommy?" Kurt looked from the headstone and up to Burt, waiting until his dad nodded before continuing. "Mommy, I miss you. Daddy's cooking isn't very good." Burt laughed and pulled Kurt tighter against him. "He made me macaroni the other day and almost forgot to put the cheese in. He doesn't know how to make the right cinnamon rolls either. The ones with extra icing." Kurt bit his lip and wrapped his arms around Burt's side. "But he gave me my paper dolls today! The ones that I told you I wanted. I guess he told Santa that he was getting them for me instead. I named one of the boys Carl and he's dating the other boy, Steven. They're going to get married like you and daddy are. That can happen, right? Two boys can get married, just like a boy and a girl? We talked about it one time, but I can't remember if you said it was okay."

Burt froze when he heard what Kurt was talking about. He'd never heard his son talk about marriage between a boy and a girl before, let alone a marriage between two boys. It wasn't until Kurt continued talking to his mom that he realize how little he really knew about Kurt. How little he had talked to him. He was never good with communication. That was Elizabeth's thing. Elizabeth was the one who would know how to deal with what Kurt said next, not him.

"Mommy, I think I'd rather date a boy. My friend Rachel says that's okay because she has two daddies and not a mommy. Her daddies are nice. I want to be a daddy with another boy."

Burt cleared his throat and attempted to change the subject, not because he wasn't comfortable with what Kurt was saying, but because he had no idea how to react to what he was saying. "Why don't you tell her about what Mrs. Collins said about your Christmas drawing you did in art class," he suggested.

Kurt did as told; talking about school, his friends, and the things he did at home. The two of them remained in the cemetery for almost an hour before they were finally ready to leave, but only after Burt promised they'd come back soon. And he kept his promise. On that cold Christmas afternoon, Burt hadn't thought that one day Kurt would be going without him, but not alone. He never would've expected that eighteen years later, his little boy would take the man he was in love with to meet Elizabeth for the very first time.

Kurt remained in the car and let the engine roar around him. The heater was blowing in his face, but he didn't seem to notice. It wasn't that he found it hard to visit his mom. Not anymore. For the first couple of years, he would barely make it out of the car before he started crying, but it had been eighteen years. He knew his mom wasn't coming back, but visiting her made him feel like she was there with him, and that's all he could ask for. What was keeping him from turning off the ignition and stepping out onto the snowy ground was the man staring at him from the passenger's seat. The man who would be meeting his mom for the first time. The only person Kurt had ever taken with him to see his mom, apart from his dad of course. Blaine was patient, though. He reached over to grab Kurt's hand and squeeze it tight, offering a warm smile.

After about ten minutes, Kurt pulled the key out and opened his car door, meeting Blaine on the other side. After taking a deep breath, he felt Blaine's arms wrap firmly around him and they made their way to his mom's gravesite.

The stone had started to show its age. The words were a little weathered, the corners were chipped, dirt filled the engravings, and there were a few cracks on the side. Kurt knelt down in front of it and Blaine didn't miss the way he strategically turned his head away as tears started to fill his beautiful blue eyes.

"Mommy," he said softly, pressing a hand over her name. "Merry Christmas, Mom." Blaine kept his distance, not wanting to intrude on the time Kurt had with her, but Kurt reached out and grabbed his hand to pull him closer. Blaine knelt down and rubbed Kurt's back, trying to resist the urge to kiss his pale lips. "Mom, I want you to meet someone. This…. This is my boyfriend Blaine." He leaned into Blaine's side and rested his head on his shoulder. "I know you would have loved him, mom. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Blaine couldn't help it anymore. He leaned down and gently placed his lips against Kurt's in a sweet kiss. I love your son, he wanted to say. Instead, he said "Your son is the best thing that's ever happened to me as well, and I'm going to do everything in my power to give him everything he deserves. You did a wonderful job raising such an incredibly compassionate man." Blaine surprisingly liked talking to Kurt's mom, though he felt like the epitome of cheesiness. He continued talking because he knew it was the closest he would ever get to meeting her, and in a way, it felt like he really was meeting her. During the next half hour, he saw Kurt at his most vulnerable moment. A moment he rarely let anyone else see. A moment when he talked to his mom as if she were standing right in front of him. It was in that moment that Blaine promised to do whatever it took to make sure Kurt never experienced any more pain in his life.

"Hey, guys We're home." Kurt called out. Blaine threw Burt's keys on the table by the door; he had driven home to give Kurt a little time to think. It was nice, though. Kurt had rested his head on Blaine's shoulder and intertwined their hands during the ride home. Just the feeling of ease and belonging made Blaine happier than he'd ever been.

They walked into the living room, happy to see that Rachel, Finn, and Elizabeth were still there. "Hey, sweet girl." He leaned down to kiss Elizabeth's smiling face, finding it hard to believe she was already two months old. People weren't kidding when they said time flew by, and she wasn't even his daughter. He didn't know if he was ready for her to grow up that quick. He scooped her off of the blanket she'd been laying on and into his arms.

"It's actually time for her to be fed if you want me to go make her a bottle," Rachel suggested.

"I've got it," Blaine offered.

"Are you sure?" Kurt asked without taking his eyes off of Elizabeth.

"Positive. I used to babysit Carla when she was a baby." He kissed Kurt on the forehead and hurried to the kitchen to get Elizabeth's bottle ready.

Burt and Finn had gone outside to look at something on Finn's car and Carole had followed them, leaving Kurt alone with Rachel.

"Let's see, here." Rachel scooted over on the couch so she could rest her head against Kurt's shoulder. "You found a man who has a steady job with a great salary. He's kind to you. He lives in New York. He's gay. He knows how to take care of children. And he's completely in love with you. I told you it'd all work out at some point, didn't I? You just had to be patient."

"Rachel, I don't think he's in l-"

"Kurt, you have to be oblivious to not see how much that man adores you. Why else would he agree to come home with you to visit your wacky family when he could be with his own for Christmas?"

"He… he just likes it here better. He feels more welcome."

"Mhm." Rachel turned away and grabbed her new sweater from the coffee table. "Did you help him pick this out?"

"Just the sweater. He actually picked out the scarf and the necklace on his own. I was impressed." Kurt sighed. Blaine really did care about his family and sometimes, Kurt didn't think he took enough time to appreciate it. "I was actually going to put both of our names on everything I got, but he insisted on getting everyone something himself."

"He really is a great guy, Kurt. I'm glad you found him. You deserve it."

"He kind of bumped into me." Kurt looked in the direction of the kitchen. "I'm glad he did, though. It's hard sometimes. We can't see each other on weekends like normal couples, and he has to hide our relationship from his friends at work. He's scared that if his dad found out, he'd accuse him of being unprofessional and I don't want cause any problems between the two of them. "

"But you love him." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah, I do. A lot."

Blaine chose that moment to walk in, the warm bottle in one hand and a cookie in the other. He sat down on the edge of the couch next to Kurt. "Here you go. One fresh bottle for Miss Lizzie."

"Blaine," Rachel said sternly.

"Sorry. Elizabeth," he corrected.

"I see you got yourself something too." Kurt pulled Blaine in for a kiss; one that left a few of the cookie crumbs in the corner of Blaine's mouth on his own lips.

"Mhm. You wanna taste it?" Blaine leaned in and kissed Kurt again, teasing his tongue against Kurt's lips.

Kurt pushed him away. "Blaine, that's gross."

Rachel sat in silence, a look of clear disgust on her face. "I don't want to see that, and especially not in front of my daughter."

Blaine took another bite of his cookie. "You're just jealous because I took the last m&m cookie," he said with a full mouth.

"Blaine, honey. Chew with your mouth closed, please." Kurt wiped a crumb away from Blaine's chin and kissed the corner of his mouth.

Blaine leaned into Kurt and stared down at Elizabeth. "So, are you going to feed her, or what?" Blaine handed over the bottle and watched as Elizabeth started sucking the milk out of the little plastic nipple.

"I'm going to check on the others. Will you two be okay in here?"

"Of course. Go on." Kurt wrapped an arm around Blaine and pulled him close. Kurt held Elizabeth in one arm, while Blaine held the bottle up for her.

Rachel made her way out of the room but paused in the doorway. She looked in on the three of them—Kurt, Blaine, and Elizabeth—and couldn't shake the feeling that someday, she would be watching them feed their own little girl.

"Come on. Hurry, Blaine. Hurry Hurry Hurry." Kurt was practically bouncing up and down in the middle of Time's Square, waiting for Blaine to tie his shoe. "You're going to miss it!"

"Kurt, you still have three minutes," he laughed and stood up, taking his boyfriend's hand in his.

"I just can't believe this is actually happening. I'm in Time's Square on New Year's Eve. You're making this come true and I love you for it." Kurt practically launched himself into Blaine's arms. Everyone around them was packed like sardines. They were nearly unable to move, dozens of them were drunk, and the smell of sweat was starting to fill the air; but Kurt didn't care. He was finally going to be able to cross one thing off of his bucket list, and there wasn't anyone else he'd rather have there with.

"Are you happy?" Blaine pulled him away just enough to look into his eyes.

"Do you really have to ask that?" Kurt leaned forward for a kiss, which Blaine happily returned. They didn't care that there were thousands of people around them. It was New York, and all it took was a quick glance around to see that they weren't the only gay couple there.

"You aren't supposed to kiss me yet. It's not midnight," Blaine joked.

"Watch me." The quickly kissed again and pulled away when those around them started counting down. Kurt looked up at the enormous screen, seeing that there were only Fifty-three more seconds until the New Year. Fifty-three seconds left of the year in which he'd met the love of his life. Fifty-three seconds until he could start living the next year of his life with that same man by his side.

"Is this all you thought it would be?"

"Shhh. Why aren't you counting down? Thirty-eight seconds." Kurt felt Blaine's arms wrapping around him from behind, but it didn't stop him from jumping around.

"Twenty-six seconds until I can kiss you again," Blaine whispered in his ear, sending chills down Kurt's spine, "and this time everyone will be so wrapped up in their own kisses, that I can really kiss you."

"Nineteen seconds until I get to see the ball drop in person," Kurt squealed.

They continued counting down the seconds, finally reaching the final ten.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Blaine rested his chin on Kurt's shoulder and squeezed him tight. They looked up towards the sky as the ball began to sparkle.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

The ball fell and Blaine felt the smile on Kurt's face. He literally felt it. He felt the way Kurt's ears moved and the way his stomach tightened with excitement. He felt Kurt's sharp intake of breath as he watched the ball drop in front of him before turning the slightly taller boy around in his arms.

"Happy New Year," Blaine said with a grin."

"Happy New Ye-" There wasn't time for Kurt to finish his sentence before Blaine's lips were on his, his fingers buried in Kurt's no longer styled hair. Blaine pressed their bodies as close together as they would go and moaned into the kiss. "Blaine," Kurt tried to get out.

"Mmmm'o talking." Blaine slipped his tongue inside, but Kurt quickly pulled away. He reached up to grab Blaine's hand from where it was buried in the hair at the base of his neck and started weaving his way through the crowd. "Kurt, what are you doing?"

Kurt turned around to face Blaine. "We're going home because I have a couch that is much more comfortable for making out than this crowd of people." He kissed Blaine again, and that's all it took for Blaine to eagerly follow after him.