Thanksgiving passed, uneventful, with a frozen turkey dinner; the gash on Kurt's side turned into not much more than the scar he knew it would become; and most importantly, Blaine never brought up that day in the bathroom again. Kurt just assumed that every time Blaine asked him how he was, he really meant, 'how is that gigantic and incredibly suspicious wound on your side?' and Kurt answered appropriately with a shrug of his shoulders until he could respond with okay or good.

December had begun to roll in and the walls of McKinley were littered with an obscene amount of red and green decorations. Kurt hadn't been a fan of the upcoming holiday for many years. He had experienced three kinds of Christmas in his life. There were the Christmases before his mom died. He would get up with the sun and run upstairs and just stare in awe at the numerous wrapped boxes under the tree; most of them for him. And then he'd run into his parent's room and shake his mother until she woke up before running back to the living room and waited patiently for her to wake up his father and for the both of them to join him. Kurt would sit next to his mother on the floor in front of the tree while his father started the coffee pot, seemingly uninterested. But Kurt knew that it was only early morning grog that kept his father from matching his excitement. And by the time he had his first cup of coffee he looked happy, truly happy, as he joined his family. Later they would get dressed and go see Grandma Hummel while she was still around.

After Kurt's mom died, Christmas became a little less exciting for Kurt. Once the notion of Santa was obliterated, Kurt wasn't in a hurry to get up on Christmas morning. The number of presents was less, mostly because as he got older and his taste improved, clothes and things became more expensive. But once presents were over, Kurt and his dad just hung out. Usually in comfortable silence as Burt watched the game on TV and Kurt curled up on the couch, sketching. It wasn't that Christmas with just Kurt and his dad wasn't nice, it was. But it was missing that key thing, that key person, that had once made everything complete.

After his dad died, Kurt really didn't have Christmas. The first year, Uncle Tim gave him a gift card for iTunes because he clearly had no idea what to get Kurt. That was the first year Kurt didn't want a new pair of boots or that vest that was sitting on the mannequin in the window of one of the stores in the mall that he knew would look amazing on him. That year, he just wanted his parents. It was the Christmas before he came out and all he wanted was to know someone was in his corner. It was then that Kurt completely understood the cruelty of the world. It was that Christmas, and one other that Kurt spent with Rachel and her dads. Since then, Kurt spent each Christmas in his bedroom, entertaining himself while a playlist of Christmas music played quietly from his headphones. Uncle Tim never seemed to bother him on Christmas.

"We've got a problem," Blaine said as he approached his locker, turning the dial before turning to look at Kurt.

"What did Rachel do now?" Kurt asked trying his best to pull himself out of the dreary thoughts of Christmases past.

Blaine chuckled, "It's not Rachel."

"Then what's wrong?"

"A pipe burst at The Lima Bean," Blaine explained, "I drove past there this morning and there were workers surrounding the place. They are closed until further notice. And our project is due next week."

"Then we'll just have to find somewhere else."

"I'd offer my house, but we're remodeling our kitchen and its super noisy and we won't be able to get anything done."

Kurt knew the next thing Blaine would say. He knew Blaine would suggest going to Kurt's and the idea scared him. By some twist of luck, years late, Uncle Tim managed to get a job. Not only did Uncle Tim get a job, but he got a job working overnights. It was definitely not something Uncle Tim was happy about, but it meant that by the time Kurt got home from school, Uncle Tim was gone. And when Kurt left for school in the morning Uncle Tim was nowhere to be seen, probably sound asleep in his bedroom. Kurt knew that Uncle Tim was forced to take the first job he was offered; he knew that if social services noticed that Uncle Tim had been unemployed for too long, they would have to come out and check on everything since Kurt was still a minor But never did Kurt think he would be able to catch such a break as to finally get to spend the hours after he got home from school without fear and worry. He could make himself a real meal, one that wasn't cooked in the microwave. The one, rather civil, conversation Kurt and Uncle Tim had about his new job was simple: no one was allowed in the house and the house should be clean when he got home. It was like suddenly, Kurt was able to breath.

But he and Blaine still needed somewhere to finish their project and it was the last Tuesday before it was due. This was why the words were out of his mouth before he had a chance to change his mind.

"We can do it at….my house," Kurt said, the words 'my house' coming off his tongue as if they were a foreign language. He'd never considered the house he lived in his.

"A-are you sure?" Blaine asked and Kurt wondered for a moment if Rachel had told Blaine about Uncle Tim's rule.

"Yeah," Kurt said, "My uncle will be at work. There won't be anything to distract us. This is our last chance to get it done."

"All right, cool," Blaine said, "I'll, uh, meet you out front after school and follow you there?"

"Yeah," Kurt said nodding, "Sure."

Kurt walked to class trying to pretend he wasn't absolutely terrified.

Kurt was thankful he and Blaine weren't unexpectedly greeted by Uncle Tim as Blaine pulled in behind Kurt in the driveway. Kurt led Blaine inside the house, hoping more than anything that Uncle Tim hadn't left it a complete mess just so that Kurt would have to clean it up. He was relieved when the house was still in the same immaculate state Kurt had put it in the previous afternoon. It was perfect for guests.

Kurt immediately jumped into perfect host mode, ushering Blaine into the kitchen and offering refreshments. In his New York dreams, Kurt had an apartment, a place he could finally call his that wasn't Uncle Tim's or a dorm room. Sometimes in his dream future, there was an apartment, and friends. And every other month or so Kurt would host a get together with pretty much everyone Kurt knew. He'd be the perfect host and it was the get togethers at Kurt's that would be what everyone looked forward to the most. The night would always end with some story that he and his friends would talk about repeatedly until the next party rolled around and a new story was created. Kurt hadn't been able to play host since the last time Rachel had been over, and Kurt wasn't sure how long ago that was anymore. So when Blaine smiled and thanked Kurt as Kurt put the glass of water down in front of Blaine at the kitchen table, Kurt relished the feeling of being appreciated.

The boy got settled into across from each other at the kitchen table, becoming engrossed in their respective parts of their project as an overwhelming silence fell over them. At The Lima Bean, there were usually other customers chatting around them, the sound of the blenders and grinders coming from behind the counter. Never before had the two boys been forced to listen to just the sound of their pens scraping against the paper or the sound of other person breathing. It had been a lot easier for Kurt to focus on homework and not Blaine's presence before. But now Kurt was hyperaware of all things Blaine. He'd never though the sound of someone breathing would have him so unfocused but he'd gone five minutes only starting at his book while listening to the sound of Blaine's breathing, as if he was trying to memorize the sound.

"Do you think we could but on some music or something," Blaine said startling Kurt, "It's actually hard to focus when it's so quiet in here."

It was like Blaine had been in his head.

"Yeah," Kurt said standing, "I'll be right back."

Kurt hurried down the hall and disappeared into his bedroom, emerging a moment later with his iPod dock from his desk, setting it on the table between the two of them before plugging it in. When he settled back down into his seat, there still wasn't any music playing.

"Do you mind?" Blaine said lifting up his iPod.

"As long as you don't have a secret obsession with gangster rap," Kurt said with a smile, "Be my guest."

Blaine laughed, "No, no gangster rap. Could you imagine me rapping?"

Kurt chuckled, "Yes, actually. Although, even in my imagination, I'm dying of second hand embarrassment."

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad?"

"Oh, but it is, Blaine. It's a performer's nightmare."

"Well I don't have anything that resembles that on here. Wes and David, they were my friends at Dalton; they might tell you that there is too much Katy Perry, but you won't find anything incriminating on there."

"Do you talk to them often?" Kurt asked casually, "You're friends from Dalton, I mean."

"Sometimes. We all vowed to keep in touch but most of it has been through Facebook. But Wes and David want to get together over winter break, so I'm looking forward to that."

"That sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun," Kurt said.

"Definitely."

Blaine hit play on his iPod and both boys went back to their work, the sound of Katy Perry filling the room on more than one occasion from Blaine's iPod. It wasn't for another half an hour before Kurt started humming along with to the song that he was playing. He paused suddenly recognizing the song, it was kind of old.

"Really, Blaine?"

"Huh?" Blaine questioned looking up from his book.

"Hanson?" Kurt questioned judgingly, "I thought you said there wasn't anything embarrassing on here?"

"Hanson isn't embarrassing!"

"It is too. This song is almost as old as we are."

"But you knew what it was, so you don't have any room to judge," Blaine said playfully, "Plus most of the Broadway songs we listen to are older than our parents."

Kurt's face fell instantly and Blaine's eyes widened at the realization of what he'd said.

"Kurt, I'm sorry—"

"No, no, it's okay," Kurt said waving it off, "I'm fine. Let's just finish this project and we can continue our witty banter about your terrible taste in music later."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Blaine asked feeling incredibly guilty.

"Yes," Kurt said, "Macbeth, on the other hand is not okay. Focus on him."

Blaine nodded silently and turned back to the pages of source material in front of him.

An hour later, Kurt had moved to the other side of the table and was sitting next to Blaine as they combined their individual efforts into the whole of their project.

"I can type this up this weekend and it will be ready to turn it in this weekend," Blaine said as he tucked the collection of their notes into his folder.

Pleased with their accomplishment, Kurt smiled wide looking into Blaine's eyes which twinkled with excitement. And then, just like he'd done when Kurt had told him he'd gotten into Parsons, Blaine moved forward, wrapping his arms around Kurt's middle, hugging him close. Blaine was warm against him and while it was still a shock, Kurt quickly recovered and wrapped his arms around Blaine and squeezed him just a little tighter. He'd missed this, the feeling of closeness with another person, companionship, friendship, and all the things he'd been keeping himself from. But the new freedom that Uncle Tim's new job had given Kurt had also given Kurt something he didn't expect to feel while still in Ohio. Hope. There was hope that maybe he could try to live as normal of a teenage life as he could while he still had the chance. He'd pushed Rachel away, he knew that he'd never get her friendship back, he didn't deserve it. But he thought, maybe, just maybe, he could let himself be something with Blaine. He didn't know if it meant exploding with every feeling Kurt had been feeling towards Blaine, the feelings he was once certain he shouldn't have, he couldn't have. Or maybe, he could continue to repress those and just be Blaine's friend. Because that's what he'd missed the most the last year and a half, having someone he could rely on, someone he could tell his secrets to. And while the secret about Uncle Tim would never cross his lips, he wanted to tell someone that he missed performing. He wanted to tell someone that he could just eat cheesecake as a meal if someone let him. He wanted someone else to know all of his quirks that made him who he was. And he sure as hell didn't want to wait until June to have that. Not when he thought that maybe he could have that now.

Blaine pulled away slightly, but didn't removing his arms from around Kurt. Kurt looked up, his blue eyes meeting hazel orbs that were sparkling as they gazed at him openly. Kurt could feel the color rising to his cheeks as he watched the way Blaine's eyes darted across Kurt's face, as if he was reading, as if he was trying to read Kurt. Their bodies were still tangled, and Kurt's head was spinning and he was pretty sure that his heart was going to beat itself right out of his chest.

Kurt's eyes glanced quickly at Blaine's lips, pink and firm. The heat in his cheeks rose and he looked away to try to get some relief, but his eyes were drawn back immediately. He had no idea what he was doing, but he wanted to feel Blaine's lips against his own. But he was so close to Blaine and he'd never found someone's lips so mesmerizing before. He couldn't help but stare at them, wondering if there were really as soft as they looked. Wondering what they would feel like against his own. He forced himself to look away from Blaine's lips once more, moving his gaze upward to Blaine's eyes that were looking at Kurt with wonder, amazement and a little bit of confusion. Because what the hell was Kurt doing? He didn't even know. It was like he was being controlled by some part of him that wasn't computing with his brain.

The only parts of himself that Kurt could register were the hammering of his heart, the shaking of his breath and a certain something else. Kurt knew what that feeling was. He'd watched the musicals, and the movie; he'd heard it in the songs. But now, this feeling, of wanting another person the way he wanted Blaine in that moment, Kurt had never expected it would feel the way it did. It was overwhelming in the best way possible.

Kurt wasn't sure who had closed the gap, but the second Blaine's lips touched his own, it was like he was wide awake, conscious of how incredibly soft Blaine's lips actually were as he felt them with his. It was like something that Kurt had been keeping locked up deep inside himself had been unleashed and had launched an attack on his nerves, and his emotions. When Blaine's hand came up to cup Kurt's cheek in his palm, as he leaned deeper into the kiss, Kurt was certain there wasn't a single cell in his body that wasn't on fire and all he wanted to do was burn.

When they broke apart a minute later, Blaine rested his forehead against Kurt's and let out a breathy laugh.

"What's so funny?" Kurt whispered not moving. He wasn't sure he could if he wanted to.

"I didn't think you—"Blaine mumbled.

"I do."

In response, Blaine leaned in and placed his lips against Kurt's. Kurt was certain that he was going to drown as the feeling that coursed through him as Blaine kissed him, and when he kissed Blaine back. And he wanted nothing more than to let those feelings take him down. This was so much more than the feelings a movie or a song could invoke, this was what real emotions felt like. It had been a long time, but Kurt was pretty sure that it was happiness that he was feeling. Happiness that he was finally letting someone in again, happiness that he finally wanted to, happiness because Blaine had accepted him even though Kurt hadn't always been so receptive of Blaine in the past.

When they broke away, they were both silent, looking at each other, but both of them clearly unsure what should happen next.

"I should go." Blaine said ducking his head bashfully.

Kurt panicked for a moment, because all he could think about was the fact that he'd kissed Blaine and Blaine had kissed him and now it was like Blaine was running away.

"Y-you don't have to," Kurt said finding his voice, and some courage, "You could stay; we could watch TV or something."

"Yeah," Blaine said nodding, "Yeah. Okay."

Kurt hadn't watched television regularly in a long time. He caught up with some of the drama on the internet, but he hadn't sat down in front of the big screen Uncle Tim had purchased two years before in almost as long. But he walked into the living room, Blaine following behind him, grabbed the remote off the coffee table and settled down onto the luxurious cushions of the couch. So many months of sitting on either his bed or his desk chair made him appreciate the comfort that was offered. Blaine sat down next to him, not far away, but enough so that their bodies weren't touching. Kurt wondered for a moment if that was Blaine's way of putting distance between the two of them. Like he was suddenly taking back the kiss at the table. But when he looked over and saw the smile on Blaine's face, Kurt eased a bit. Maybe he knew as much about what was going on between the two of them as Kurt did. Maybe he was just as uncertain about what was next.

When Blaine's hand reached over and entwined his fingers with Kurt's, Kurt's entire body vibrated. Maybe neither of them knew what would happen between the two of them, but Kurt glanced at their joined hands and knew that they'd figure out what this was, together.

And that made Kurt feel the thing he'd longed to feel the most.

Free.