“Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!” Kurt groaned and rolled over, pulling his pillow over his head only to be pried off as his mattress bent under the weight of someone climbing on. Kurt groaned, turning his head toward the figure and opening his eyes to see Annie, already dressed, kneeling on his bed next to him.

“Happy birthday, Bugsy!” Annie said with a big smile, dropping her hands to her knees. Kurt dropped his scowl into a little smile as he rolled over and sat up, rubbing his eyes with the back on one hand.

“Mmm what time is it?” Kurt asked.

“Half past nine. Your step brother called, said he’s going to be home in an hour.” Kurt nodded. “And Rachel’s coming over.” Kurt rolled his eyes.

“Okay. I’ll be out in a few minutes.” Kurt said, shooing her. She left with a smile as Kurt checked his phone. As expected, he had a text from Blaine.

Happy birthday Kurt. Can’t wait to see you @ 6. Have the best birthday ever. You deserve it. Love you a ton. Welcome to the 17+ club ;)-Blaine.

Love you too. See you tonight, can’t wait. –Kurt.

He smiled and slid his phone shut, climbing out of bed to get dressed. He chose a light blue oxford and another pair of tight jean capri-style shorts that went right to the top of his knee. Looking in the mirror, he decided to wear his hair down like he used to.

There he was. Kurt Hummel, freshly seventeen. Sure, he was the baby of the Glee club, but now he was back on par. Seventeen. With a boyfriend he was moderately sexually active with and loved, the satisfaction of having overcome his most dangerous bully, and a newfound confidence that others could shake but not shatter.

It was all a lot more than when he had stood here a year ago, wondering if he could pass his road test and be able to drive his Escalade to school without his Dad walking to and from the shop to ride with him as he drove.

And in another year he would formally be a man. Not a gay boy, a gay man. A gay man who would hopefully be going off to school in New York to pursue his dream.

What would his mother say if she were here? Kurt closed his eyes, remembering his mother as she had been before she had gotten sick. Her long, flowing light brown hair, her sparkling eyes and her perfume stood out to him. Happy Birthday, Kurt. You’re another year older, Mommy’s little man… it was what she had said on his eighth birthday. There hadn’t been flowing hair, then. Her eyes had done the best to smile, but Kurt knew even then that she was trying for him.

Birthdays were hard. If there’s any day you should talk to your mother, it’s the anniversary of the day she gave birth to you. But there’s no point in talking if she’s not there.

Kurt thought. His mom would be proud of him over the past year, he knew it. She’d like Blaine, another gentleman like her son. She’d be proud of him for coming back to McKinley. She probably would have gone after Karofsky herself, and Kurt almost laughed at the vision. She and Burt were two of a kind.

“Love you, Mommy.” Kurt whispered, berating himself inside for being silly, but feeling better having said it out loud.

He finished getting ready and went out to the kitchen, making breakfast to eat with Annie. Digging into her waffle she scolded him for cooking on his birthday, but he rolled his eyes as she started going on about how good they tasted. He frowned when she stopped eating halfway through the waffle.

“I’m full. It was delicious.” She said while patting her face with her napkin. “Here, let me do the dishes.” She said, picking up her plate and walking to the dishwasher.

“You’re not touching my waffle press. I know how stupid you are about kitchen stuff.” Kurt said, still eating.

“Just tell me how to wash it, then?” She asked, picking up a washcloth from the sink.

“No. I’m going to do it.” Kurt said, finishing his waffle and standing up.

“Control freak.” Annie said, leaning back against the sink.

“Shouldn’t you not be calling me names on my birthday?” Kurt asked, walking over.

“Shouldn’t you not be cooking and cleaning on your birthday?” Annie retorted. Kurt ignored her and went about cleaning up his waffle press.

“So your stepmom’s name is… Carole?” Annie asked. Kurt nodded.

“Carole. And she did take Dad’s name, so she’s a Hummel. And her son is Finn. His last name is Hudson.” Kurt explained. Annie nodded.

“What are they like?” She asked.

“They’re nice. Carole’s really sweet, and I think being with Dad has done a lot for her. Finn’s the school quarterback and one of the captains of the glee club. He’s kind of an idiot, but a nice guy. I actually had a crush on him like forever ago.” Kurt admitted, looking down.

“Oh boy. That has to be awkward.” Annie said. Kurt shrugged.

“We kind of got over the issue. We found out we had more important things to worry about than feelings I grew out of.” Annie nodded.

They went back into the kitchen and watched TV until they heard the door to the garage open. Finn came into the living room first, carrying his pads in one hand and his bag in the other.

“Happy birthday, man. I’ll be right back down.” He said, nodding in Annie’s direction before noticing Annie sitting beside him. “Oh,” Finn said, looking unsure how to go about this. “You must be Kurt’s cousin Annie, right?”

“Right.” Annie said quietly with a small smile.

“I’m Finn, Kurt’s stepbrother. I’ll be right back down to do this right. Nice to meet you.” He said, walking up the stairs as Carole entered the living room.

“Annie, nice to meet you! I’m Carole, Kurt’s stepmother. Sorry I wasn’t here to greet you when you got here!” She said.

“It’s alright, Ma’am.” Annie said, smiling. “It’s very nice to meet you, thank you for letting me stay here this summer.”

“No problem. You’re related to Kurt, you’re related to all of this. Go ahead and call me Carole. Kurt, happy birthday!” She said brightly.

“Thanks Carole.” Kurt said.

“I’m going to go put this bag down. You wouldn’t believe how exhausting those boys are. I’m completely worn out. I have to go pick up your cake later, too…” She said, her words trailing off as she started up the stairs as Finn bounded back down.

“Dude, you wouldn’t believe what happened at camp Sunday.” Finn said. Kurt raised his eyebrows, waiting for his stepbrother to go on. “Jake Remington got a concussion. He had one during the season, too, so he’s out.”

“How did the kicker get a concussion, Finn?” Kurt asked, confused. Finn shrugged.

“He was running contact drills and ended up getting hit. But that means that the position of kicker is open again. And you seem to be over your conflict with Karofsky, and even if you weren’t I’m a captain now so I can go to Coach Beiste about anything, and she wants you back on the team, too."

“You played football?” Annie asked, looking at Kurt with a confused expression. Kurt nodded, still looking at Finn.

“There’s no way. Not after what happened at prom. I’m not putting myself in a bad situation.”

“What happened at prom?” Annie asked. Kurt ignored her.

“Dude, Coach Beiste will kick anyone off who starts trouble. You know she will. We need you to play.”

“I’m sorry, Finn. It’s not happening.” Kurt said, turning his attention back to the television.

“Hi.” Finn said, turning his attention back to Annie. “Like I said, I’m Kurt’s stepbrother Finn."

“Nice to meet you, Finn. I’m Annie.” She said, shaking his hand.

Finn’s phone went off and he checked it quickly.

“Rachel?” Kurt asked slyly, but Finn shook his head, seeming to lose interest in the message.

“Hey Mom?” He called. Carole reappeared in the hallway.

“What?”

“Sam just texted me. Can I stay over at his place Saturday?”

“Yeah, sure.” Carole said, waving her hand and walking back to her room.

“Sam?” Kurt asked, surprised. Finn shrugged.

“Puck’s gonna be there, too.”

“Which makes it completely more normal, seeing as what’s happened between you two.” Kurt said. Finn sat down in Burt’s chair.

“We’re trying to get over that. Neither of us is with Quinn right now, so it’s not like it matters.” Finn said, putting his phone back in his pocket.

“Except for the part about making out with Rachel.” Kurt said, looking over Annie at his stepbrother.

“Wait, Rachel cheated on you? That doesn’t sound like her at all.” Annie said.

“It was a reaction to something I had done. And I’m just trying to move on. I’m just going to set the drama aside, go back to how things were, and if it happens again I’m done with it.” Finn said solidly.

“Whatever you say.” Kurt said, crossing his arms. Just then, the door knocked.

“That’ll be Rachel.” Finn said, standing up to get the door. He paused with the door open for a while before leading Rachel inside, holding her hand. Rachel skipped ahead of him when she saw Kurt sitting on the sofa.

“Happy birthday!” She said, dropping Finn’s hand and going over to give Kurt a hug. “Since Blaine has you tomorrow night, Mercedes and I want to have a sleepover Saturday. You can come too, Annie.” Rachel said, acknowledging Annie for the first time since entering the room.

“Great!” Kurt said. “Your place?” Rachel nodded. “You’ll have to come, Annie, we have the greatest sleepovers.”

“Okay.” Annie said quietly. “Sounds like a plan.”

The four sat around watching television until noon, when they made a couple of frozen pizzas and Rachel ate a salad. Kurt had offered to make something else, but they all shut him down from cooking. They spent the afternoon filling Finn in on the concept of the musical, which he seemed less than enthusiastic about.

“You mean the only guy parts are to be, like, princes and things?” He asked, scratching his head. Kurt nodded.

“Well, there’s a bear, but I think that’s going to be Blaine, so yeah.”

“Why would Blaine be a bear?” He asked, confused.

“Because the bear turns into a prince and marries Snow White.”

“Which is the part Kurt wants.” Annie explained.

“Got it.” Finn said.

“Blaine might bring the script when he comes over for dinner.” Kurt said, checking his phone. It was just after four-thirty, he knew he was going to be getting a text from Blaine saying he had left soon.

“So he’s taking you out tomorrow?” Finn asked. Kurt nodded.

“He’s taking me to Della Sorella and then the botanical gardens.” Kurt said proudly, sitting up straighter in his chair. Rachel’s mouth fell open and she looked at Finn begrudgingly.

Finn gave a falling whistle, raising his eyebrows. “That’s a lot of cash, man.” Kurt shrugged, blushing.

“I wonder what he got you for your birthday.” Annie mused. “You know he bought you something, too.”

“Let’s… not talk about it.” Kurt said, blushing more. He was curious, too, but he didn’t want to speculate. Blaine was Blaine: the least superficial aspect of his life. Everything Blaine did for him was extra.

“Kids, I’m going to go pick up Kurt’s cake.” Carole’s voice carried as she walked into the living room around five. “Burt’s going to be home soon, and Blaine should be on his way in no time. Oh, hi, Rachel, good to see you dear.” She said, waving to Rachel before continuing on her way out of the house.

“Your mom okay?” Kurt asked Finn.

“She’s tired. We had a pretty rowdy week. She didn’t get much sleep.” Finn said. Kurt raised an eyebrow. “The first night we were there a couple guys stole all her clothes, so spent most of the week finding them in weird places.”

“That’s horrible.” Kurt said. Finn nodded as Kurt’s phone went off.

On my way Mr. Birthday. See you in just around an hour if I drive fast enough ;) –Blaine.

Be careful, dummy. –Kurt.

“He’s on his way.” Kurt said with a smile.

“I better go, then.” Rachel said, standing up. “I know it’s an hour from Marion, but I’m sure you have something or other to get ready before he gets here. Happy birthday again, Kurt. Annie, see you tomorrow. Finn, call me tonight.” She said, giving Finn an awkward kiss on the cheek and leaving.

“Yupp, totally back to normal.” Kurt said after the door shut. Finn scowled.

“Sorry I don’t know how to act with a girlfriend who I dated for months and now have been dating for days.” Finn said.

“Did you at least tell her you missed her while you were at camp?” Annie asked, and Finn looked at her, surprised. “She’s in your choir and all that, so you’re used to being around her so it’s not like it’d be weird for you to miss her.” Kurt considered her words, nodding.

“Well, I, err… I told her I was glad to see her.” Finn said, scratching the back of his head. Kurt sunk his face into the palm of his hand.

“Finn, this is Rachel, remember? She’s not going to put up with your shit just for the title of your girlfriend like Quinn did.” Kurt said.

“Which is why I’m back with her!” Finn said, a little angrily. “I’m just bad at this stuff. I’m gonna play Call of Duty, I’ll come back down closer to dinner.” Finn said, going upstairs in a huff.

“It’s not going to work.” Kurt said quietly when he heard Finn’s door shut.

“Not exactly the type of guy I would expect to be dating Rachel.” Annie said.

“He’s really impressed with how genuine she is. His ex-girlfriend is a lying, conniving teen queen. Plus, Rachel has talent that goes past high school, where Quinn’s greatest talent is cheerleading.” Kurt explained.

“No, I mean… him. He seems really… average. That’s never exactly been Rachel’s style with anything, has it?” Annie said, hushing her voice. Kurt shrugged.

“He’s the quarterback and other glee captain. Really, in Lima, that’s as good as it’s going to get.”

“Which is why you looked elsewhere.” Annie said with a smirk.

“I didn’t look, I stumbled.” Kurt said with a laugh. It was a surprisingly good metaphor, he decided. He stumbled, and fell...

“I don’t see how everyone just stumbles into things. I can never seem to manage.” Annie mused.

“It’s not about managing, it’s about not expecting it.” Kurt said.

“I’m sorry, is the atheist talking about fate?” Annie asked, cocking her head. Kurt shrugged.

“Blaine came into my life right when I needed him the most. I’m not saying I didn’t try for him once he was there, but I didn’t try to pull him into my life to start with.” Kurt said, frowning at his inarticulate words.

“You’re not making any sense.” Annie advised.

“I know.” Kurt said, his ears perking up as the door to the garage opened and he heard his father’s heavy footsteps.

“Happy birthday, kiddo.” Burt said, entering the living room. Kurt smiled up at his dad. “Your stepmom go get your cake yet?”

“She left just a few minutes ago.” Annie answered. Burt nodded.

“Dad, Rachel invited me and Annie to a slumber party at her house Saturday.” Kurt said.

“You kids have been having a lot of slumber parties lately.” Burt said, and Kurt tried not to blush.

“Well, it’s summer…”

“Yeah, you two do that for Saturday. So you know Rachel, Annie? Between Kurt and Finn she’s kind of a constant presence.” Burt said with a smile.

“Yeah, we were in the same class a lot as kids.” Annie said with a smile. Burt nodded.

“And Blaine’s on his way, I take it?” Kurt nodded and Burt headed up the stairs to his room. “You’re gonna let me have some cake, right kid?” Burt asked jovially. Kurt grinned.

“Maybe a little piece. You’ve done pretty well lately.” Kurt called. Annie smiled.

“Yeah, has he been alright? We were pretty worried.” Annie said. Kurt nodded.

“He gave me a scare.” He said with an empty laugh. “But I’ve been pretty harsh with him, so he’s done well.”

“I know this is a bad day to bring it up, but it’s still weird to be here without Aunt Elizabeth.” Annie said quietly. Kurt sighed.

“It’s okay, I’ve already been thinking about her today.” Kurt said. “Can I tell you something stupid?” He asked, turning to her.

“Don’t you always?” Annie said softly. Kurt smiled.

“You know how she used to say that my middle name should be Elizabeth since I was just like her? I tell people that’s my middle name sometimes.” Kurt said, blushing and looking down. Annie giggled silently, looking over at Kurt kindly.

“But your middle name is Nathaniel.” Annie chided. Kurt shrugged.

“No one questions it. I guess they think it’s fitting that the gay kid would have a girl’s middle name.”

“You’re crazy, Kurt Hummel. But your secret’s safe with me. I won’t go around calling you Kurt Nathaniel if you don’t want me to.” Annie said with a smile. Kurt gave her hands a squeeze.

“Good, I don’t want my cover blown.” Kurt said with a grin.

They went back to watching television, but Kurt’s mind was still on his mother. This is how birthdays usually were for him, a mixture of happy and sad. Carole got back with the cake, but wouldn’t let Kurt see it or help fix dinner. He was even threatened with a spatula at one point, so he decided to steer clear.

Just as Carole was putting the finishing touches on the chicken, Kurt heard a rap on the door. Bouncing up, he went and opened it to see his smiling boyfriend standing in the doorway with three small, wrapped present boxes stacked on top of each other and tied with a ribbon.

“Hi.” He said, a big smile plastered on his face.

“Happy birthday.” Blaine said softly, stepping up into the doorway and kissing Kurt softly. Kurt took Blaine’s free hand and led him into the house. Burt was standing in the living room and smiled when he saw the boys.

“Good to see you, Blaine. Here, let me take those.” He said, taking yellow paper-bound presents in their dark blue ribbon and carrying them into the dining room.

“Hi, Annie.” Blaine said with a smile as Kurt led him into the living room. Annie scooted over to make room for the boys, and Blaine ended up sitting next to her with Kurt perched on the armrest.

“Hi, Blaine. How’s your day?” Annie asked, cocking her head up sideways.

“Eh. Marion’s all the same. It’s when I get away to Lima that I can enjoy myself.” Blaine said with a wink. Annie giggled.

“How’s Jessie?” Kurt asked, putting a hand in Blaine’s hair and playing with his curls.

“She’s great. Oh, she said to tell you happy birthday.” Blaine said, looking up at Kurt. Kurt beamed, bopping up and down.

“I passed the little sister test.” Kurt informed Annie, and she nodded.

“What about the parent test?” Annie asked with a smirk. She instantly regretted it when she saw Blaine’s face fall.

“Blaine’s parents…” Kurt began.

“Are assholes.” Blaine finished, turning back to Annie, trying to look as self-assured as he could with his boyfriend’s hand on top of his head.

“Oh.” Annie mouthed, tucking in her lips. Blaine shrugged.

“The little sister test is the important one anyway. I’d hate to see the result if Kurt had failed.” Blaine said with a smirk. Kurt tugged Blaine’s hair and the older boy swatted at him.

“Boys, Annie, Burt, dinner!” Carole called from the dining room, and Kurt sprung up, grabbing Blaine by the hands and pulling him up with him. Blaine laughed as he nearly toppled on top of Kurt as Annie stood up gracefully, laughing at the boys. Finn came down the stairs and greeted Blaine warmly with a thud on the back, and the ensuing recap of football camp became the first topic at dinner. Luckily for Kurt, Finn didn’t press the issue of his rejoining the team.

The topic moved fluidly as they ate, and finally they put aside the food and moved to the living room. Kurt and Blaine sat on the sofa while Carole and Annie cleared the table and Finn joined Burt for his after dinner walk.

“So do you feel any older?” Blaine asked, putting his arm around his boyfriend. Kurt shrugged.

“From the birthday or from what we’ve been doing lately?” Kurt asked, stretching his neck out. Blaine snickered.

“Your call.” He said, pressing a kiss to the base of Kurt’s neck. “I like this outfit on you, it makes you look older.” He said, running a finger down the lapel and making Kurt take deeper breaths.

“Why on earth would you want me to look older?” Kurt asked, turning toward Blaine. The older boy leaned back over the armrest and peered around the corner toward the dining room to see that Carole and Annie were still busy before looking back at Kurt mischievously.

“Helps remind me you’re not as innocent as you look.” He said, his voice low as he sat back up and kissed Kurt hard on the mouth. Kurt moaned quietly into Blaine’s mouth, sliding his arms around Blaine and kissing back, his mouth opening and Blaine’s tongue sliding in. Blaine braced Kurt’s back and kissed him harder, nibbling slightly at his lower lip. It took all of Kurt’s focus to remember where he was and not climb onto his boyfriend’s lap.

“So that’s two.” Blaine said quietly as he broke the kiss. Kurt cocked his head sideways, confused.

“You get seventeen birthday kisses.” Blaine said, trying to repress his grin as he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against Kurt’s lips. “Three.” He kissed Kurt for longer this time, his fingers grasping Kurt’s back. “Four.”

“Time out.” Annie said, and the boys jumped apart as Annie stood in the doorway from the foyer, giggling.

“Uh, time for cake?” Kurt asked, a guilty smile on his face.

“You’re acting like I’ve never seen boys kissing before.” Annie said, coming in and sitting on the armrest of Burt’s chair. “Finn and Uncle Burt are still walking. Which is probably lucky for you.” She said, nodding her head at Blaine.

“So I’m not the only one who gets that protective vibe from him.” Blaine said, scratching his head. Annie shook her head.

“He gets that way about me, too. In third grade he was chaperoning a field trip and he caught Noah Puckerman chasing me around trying to kiss me and flipped out and called Noah’s mother that night.” Annie said, and Kurt laughed.

“Well, Puck hasn’t changed.” He said.

“Is that who Finn was talking about earlier?” Annie asked. Kurt nodded.

“He’s in the glee club.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.” Annie said, rolling her eyes. Kurt shrugged.

“He’s not bad. And he’ll probably end up doing the musical with us, actually.” He said, working his hand over and linking his fingers with Blaine’s.

“Fantastic.” Annie said before remembering that was their title, making all three of them laugh.

“Finn and Burt are on their way up the yard.” Carole said, appearing in the doorway. “I have everything set up for cake if you all would like to get seated.”

They followed her into the dining room, where Kurt retook his seat at the head of the table with Blaine at his right and Annie at his left. The front door opened and Burt and Finn came into the room, taking their seats as Carole carried the cake box to where Kurt was sitting, opening it to reveal a beautifully designed cake done in lavender and a grey lace design with grey writing, reading “Happy Birthday, Kurt.”

“It’s gorgeous!” Kurt exclaimed as she tore down the sides of the box. Carole smiled and nodded at Blaine.

“Blaine went and picked it out last week, and I sent the payment. I knew he’d know best.” She said, and Kurt looked over to see Blaine gloating.

“You’re kidding.” He said, but Blaine shook his head.

“You showed me some of your sketches last week, and I based it off that.” Blaine said with a shrug. Kurt laughed.

“I haven’t had a Cinderella cake since I was four.” He said, scrunching his face. Blaine and Annie laughed.

Carole started sticking candles into the cake and Kurt blinked. He didn’t realize how, but he had forgotten about this part. A wish? He remembered standing at this table a year ago. With a quick flick of his eyes over to Blaine, his unwhispered words came back to him. I wish that next year I’ll have a boyfriend to celebrate my birthday with. Glancing around the table, he had so much more. He had an entire family to celebrate his birthday with, not just his dad and the memory of his mother. And he had Blaine. How many teenage boys actually had their birthday wishes come true in such a wonderful way?

And how do you go about coming up with a wish when the thing you’ve been spending your birthday wish on since you were a preteen comes true?

Carole started lighting the candles, and as she finished, Kurt knew what he was going to wish. He smiled as those assembled sang Happy Birthday to him, Blaine playing it up a little to make him giggle. When they stopped Kurt took a deep breath and used all of his breath control from New Directions practice to blow the candles out. His breath faltered on the last one, but the candle quickly snuffed. Kurt looked up, confused, to see Blaine wink at him. Kurt couldn’t help but blush the tiniest bit.

Carole cut the cake and they ate, Kurt insisting that Burt get one half the size of a normal slice. Somehow the topic came up of when was the last time Annie was there to celebrate Kurt’s birthday.

“It was my twelfth birthday.” Kurt said, flipping his fork over as he spoke. “Just after sixth grade.”

“That summer was so awful.” Annie said, thinking back. “If I ever have kids, I’m making sure never to move in the summer. There’s nothing more lonely than moving somewhere and having no way to meet new people.”

“Not to mention my favorite cousin was leaving me!” Kurt said. Annie laughed. Burt was an only child and Kurt and Annie’s aunt Jane was a lesbian, so Annie was his only cousin.

“Well, we didn’t know it was happening at your birthday.” Annie said. Burt shook his head.

“We adults did. Just not you kids. Annie, your mom just couldn’t stand Lima with Elizabeth gone, especially after she got offered the job in Champaign.”

“Yeah.” Annie said, nodding.

“Do you remember what you wished for that year, Kurt? I remember for my twelfth birthday I wished Brittany Pearce would kiss me. I got it, but it was probably a mistake to wish for that…” Finn said, making Kurt and Blaine laugh.

“Yeah, I remember what I wished for.” Kurt said.

“Did it come true?” Annie asked.

“Yeah. But it was pretty vague.” Kurt said, blushing.

“Come on, what was it?” Blaine asked.

“To get a boyfriend. Took a few years.” Kurt said, trying not to giggle and blush. Blaine swallowed his cake quickly, running his tongue around his teeth before smiling up at Kurt.

“Really?” Blaine asked. Kurt nodded, giggling a little bit.

“You’re adorable.” Blaine muttered, reaching under the table and squeezing Kurt’s free hand.

“So, Annie, have you talked to your parents since they got down to Arizona?” Burt asked loudly.

“Only right after they landed. Dad didn’t take his cell phone since it’s the agency’s, and I think Mom forgot her charger.” Annie said. Burt nodded.

“Mary and Elizabeth were together the most forgetful people I’ve ever met.” Burt said, laughing. Kurt looked up, his heart swelling to see the joy on his dad’s face when he talked about his first wife. “Doesn’t surprise me at all. Well, tell Mary and Mark hello for me when you get ahold of them.” Burt said.

After cake came the presents. Kurt opened Annie’s first, a biography on Coco Chanel. Finn gave him a new copy of A Star is Born, since Kurt had stepped on his and broken it a few weeks ago. Carole handed Kurt the yellow presents tied in blue ribbon that Blaine had brought, and Kurt delicately undid the wrapping of the first to find an Alexander McQueen bowtie.

“Blaine!” Kurt said, putting the box down and wringing his hands in a napkin even though he hadn’t touched any of the food on the table with his hands.

“Two more.” Blaine said quietly, and Kurt shook his head, opening the next. It held a regular Alexander McQueen tie.

“Blaine!” Kurt said, but his boyfriend just shook his head.

“Third box.”

Kurt sighed and opened the third box, laying his eyes on an Alexander McQueen scarf.

“Blaine Anderson…” Kurt whispered, pulling the scarf from the box. Even Burt and Finn, who knew nothing about clothes, could tell that Kurt was holding a very nice piece of cloth. Kurt looked at it all, knowing that he had over three hundred dollars worth of designer accessories in front of him.

“Happy birthday.” Blaine said, leaning over and kissing Kurt on the temple.

“You’re spending too much money on me.” Kurt said, but Blaine shook his head.

“Trust me, I’m not.” Blaine said, reaching over and putting his hand over Kurt’s. Kurt looked up at his dad, who quickly turned his attention out into the hallway.

“You know, Finn, I think there’s a dent in…” Kurt stopped listening to his father’s self-diversion and instead leaned over and kissed Blaine quickly.

Kurt opened his present from Burt and Carole, a new set of pots and pans to use around the kitchen and then take off to college the next year, and then he excused himself and Blaine to the backyard.

Years ago Burt had fixed a two-seater swing to the branch of a tree facing perpendicular to the house behind the guest bedroom, and as soon as the weather had turned warm Kurt and Blaine had marked it as their familiar spot to sit where no one would overhear them.

“So what did you wish for?” Blaine asked as they sat down, digging the heel of his shoe into the ground and pushing the chair to swing a little bit.

“Not telling! If I tell you, it won’t come true!” Kurt said, tucking his feet up on the swing and Blaine rocked it back and forth.

“Oh, come on.” Blaine said. “Unless it’s in my best interest for it to come true, I’m going to keep bugging you.”

“Do you really think I would wish for something that wasn’t in your best interest?” Kurt asked. Blaine smiled.

“A hotter boyfriend?”

“How about you just shut up and we get back to those birthday kisses.”

“So it is in my best interest.”

“I can’t give you hints! I don’t want to ruin it!” Kurt said, shoving Blaine’s chest playfully. Blaine leaned in and pressed his lips to Kurt’s, holding them softly before letting go.

“Five.”

“I thought it was six?” Kurt said, not opening his eyes.

“It doesn’t count if you kiss me first.” Blaine said, moving back in for the true number six, followed closely by seven, eight, nine and ten.

“So how does this birthday stack up to those previous?” Blaine asked, his forehead against Kurt’s.

“Blows them out of the water.” Kurt said with a smile.

“Good. And we’ve still got tomorrow. Wear one of those new ties I got you.” Blaine said with an extra big grin.

“You don’t have to spend all this money on me, Blaine.” Kurt said seriously. Blaine shook his head.

“My parents don’t see my bank statement. They’ll never know. Besides, I never spend my allowance money anyway. I promise, it’s not a big deal.”

“You’re too good to me.” Kurt said softly. Blaine smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

“I want to be good to you. I want to see you smile. I want this to be the happiest birthday you’ve ever had.”

“You know I can’t really have a completely happy birthday, right?” Kurt asked softly. Blaine nodded.

“I can always tell when you’re thinking about your mom, Kurt. I can see it in your eyes. And, you know, you should think about her on your birthday. Just know she’d want you to be happy.”

“She’d like you. A lot.” Kurt said. “I’ve been thinking about it.” Blaine smiled at Kurt's words.

“I’ll take that as the highest compliment.” Blaine said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I should probably hit the road before too long, and you still have six kisses left…”