I woke up the next morning to the sound of knocking on my bedroom door. My eyes opened just in time to see Finn burst through the door, leaning into the room and balancing his weight on the doorknob.

"KURT, IT'S CHRISTMAS, COME AND-"he became silent once he saw Blaine and I in the bed together. Finn's face froze, and he sputtered a bit as he took in the way we were cuddled under the covers.

"Finn, what do you want?" I said groggily, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"You...y-y-you're both...I...I umm...I'm just going to um...come back later...when you're not...kay," He backed out of the doorway as quickly as possible, shutting the door with a click.

"What was that?" Blaine stirred beside me, his voice raspy from sleep.

"Mooooooooom!" I could hear Finn's muffled yell as he went up the stairs. "Moooom, they're naked! I can't do it! I can't talk to them while they're naked!"

Blaine started giggling next to me, his eyes still closed as he nuzzled his face into the pillow. "Your family is fantastic."

"Oh, I'm glad you think so," I replied sarcastically. Blaine sniggered some more in a sleepy haze. His arms rewound themselves back around , me and he rested his head on my shoulder, his leg tangling around mine under the covers.

My eyes widened as I felt more of his skin all over my side. This was way too intimate for two people who are supposed to be pretend-boyfriends. Hell, having hot sex is way too intimate for two people who are supposed to be pretend boyfriends. What am I doing? I can't just snuggle naked homeless men because they're hot! There's still the overwhelming underlying factor that they're homeless. What the hell is wrong with me?

Still, I couldn't bring myself to move away from his embrace.

A knock sounded on the door before Carole popped her head in. "Hey honey," she whispered. "Are you boys awake?"

"For the most part, yes," I said as I sat up a little, the blanket sliding lower on my chest. I blushed deeply at the fact that she could see us cuddled this way. I don't think it would take her very long to figure out why our chests were bare.

"Alright, well, I think we all know how Finn gets on Christmas. You might want to hurry up a little before he starts ripping open presents without us. Breakfast will be ready soon as well."

"Okay. Thank you. We'll be ready in a couple of minutes."

Carole nodded and closed the door quietly. I poked Blaine's side experimentally.

"Blaine?"

"Hmmrrrff."

"You have to wake up now." 

"Don't wanna," I lifted the comforter off my body, moving off the bed in spite of the fact that Blaine was clutching onto me. "Where're you going?"

 "As comfortable as you may be, I'm not too fond of not having clothes on," I hissed at the soreness of my ass as I slid off the bed. God, why did I actually encourage Blaine to be so rough last night?

"You okay?"

I looked at him for a moment, furrowing my brow. "Yes, I'll be fine as soon as I'm able to moisturize and caffeine is in my system."

"No, I mean your..." He gestured towards my butt as I covered myself with a shirt that was on the floor. "assets."

"My...ass is fine," I grabbed underwear from inside my dresser and tugged it on quickly "though I appreciate the concern."

Blaine got up from the bed, rubbing his face and walking around aimlessly for a minute before moving towards the shopping bags. He literally had no shame, his business hanging loose for all to see. "So do you think they know?"

"What, that you're a hobo or that we had spontaneous sex."

"I would be referring to the latter, although if you keep on repeating the fact that I'm currently homeless they'll probably overhear." 

"Yeah, well, it's not exactly something that just breezes through the mind," I said as I pulled on a pair of pants.

Blaine squinted his eyes at me as he found a pair of boxers. "You really are completely repulsed by that small detail, aren't you?"

"It's not just a small detail, Blaine. It's a very big detail. In fact, it's one of the most important details ever."

"Oh, okay," he replied sarcastically, "so social class is drastically more important than personality - or looks - or morals."

"Well...no...but...I..." I pulled a shirt over my head, walking over to the mirror to start my moisturizing routine. "I didn't mean it that way."

"Right, sure you didn't," Blaine huffed and turned his attention back to his clothes. "You know, I'm kind of glad that I got to be homeless. It really puts the importance of life in a different perspective. You really learn to appreciate people for who they are."

"What are you suggesting, Blaine? That I don't value people for what's on the inside?"

"Oh, I never said that. I'm just simply stating my thoughts and recalling my life philosophies."  

"Okay, listen to me," I said as I spun around in my chair, facing Blaine. "I don't have anything against you. I think you are a wonderful person. I just think that this situation is very, very odd. Also, the fact that it involves me lying continually to my family and friends is kind of putting me on edge. Now, if we can put an end to this conversation and enjoy Christmas, that would be amazing."

"I...okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay." 

Ten minutes later Blaine and I walked up the stairs together and came into the kitchen, where Burt and Finn were waiting at a small table.

"What's for breakfast?" I asked.

"French toast," Carole settled a platter down in front of Burt and Finn. Blaine started beaming, his grin positively wide and adorable. "I'm guessing you approve?" she said, smiling at Blaine.

"It's his favorite," I added, giggling a bit at the excited look on his face.

"Yes, it is indeed," He said as he sat down eagerly next to Finn. Soon everything was on the table, and we all started to dig in. Blaine ate almost double the amount that I did, a huge grin of contentment on his face the whole way through.

Burt and Carole discussed things about work and I took a moment to whisper to Blaine.

"So are you enjoying yourself?"

"Oh god," he swallowed the bit he was chewing. "I haven't been able to have these in such a long time."

"Well I'm happy if you're happy."

Blaine raised an eyebrow at this, looking at me curiously. Well shit, Kurt, you wasted a perfectly good lovey-dovey moment on a time when absolutely no one else can hear you. I blushed at the endearment, hoping that he wouldn't actually address it with words. Instead, he just smirked and nudged me in the side with his elbow, turning back into his plate of food.

"So Kurt," Burt said, putting down his cup of coffee, "how did you decide to have Blaine move in with you?"

"Oh, well I um..."

I looked over at Blaine, who had ever-so-conveniently chosen to put another forkful of French toast into his mouth. Oh you smug bastard, you.

"Well he was always, you know...around. So I decided to adopt this...puppy of my own," I said with a fake-swoon, lifting my fingers to play with a little bit of his hair.

He stilled his chewing and stared at the middle of the table, obviously a bit freaked out. Blaine turned his head to the side a little, mouthing ‘Puppy?' at me.

"I thought you already adopted a dog," Finn said.

"What?"

"Last night Blaine was telling us about your dog...Reptar?"

"Hector," Blaine corrected.

Seriously? What the hell kind of dog's name is Hector? "Yes, Hector," I tried not to visibly gag at the terrible choice as I spoke. "I guess I have two new little companions in that apartment of mine."

Blaine turned towards me, looking me in the eye. "You just compared me to a canine, think about that."

I smiled, because yes, he is the spitting image of a Labrador retriever.

"Have you had any major fights yet?" Finn asked abruptly.

"Finn!" Carole exclaimed, "That's not exactly the best Christmas conversation."

"I don't see why not. I mean, lots of couples have really big fights, especially on the holidays." Finn looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to answer. He had this overconfident smirk that he usually only wore when he was up to something or was trying to trick someone. It usually never works out as planned, but he sure does like to try.

"You don't have to answer that, Kurt," Carole said.

"Oh, no, it's fine," I turned to Finn, wondering what the hell he was trying to get at. Whatever it was, I'll be damned if I let it get the best of me. "We have some disagreements sometimes, but we work it out. We've never really screamed at each other or anything like that."

"I think we both try to keep the conflict to a minimum," Blaine chimed in. "So far it is working splendidly."

"I couldn't agree more," I smiled at Blaine, and then looked back towards Finn. I'm sure that my eyes were giving him all kinds of assorted bitchy death glares.

Ten minutes later we were all gathered around the Christmas tree, giving our gifts to each other. There's something very sentimental about opening gifts on Christmas morning with family. Everyone seems to be happy, and there's an overwhelming sense of gratefulness and love in the air. Tons of hugs are dished out as we open the gifts, all of us excited over our new items. Carole and Burt got me mostly gift cards, which I am very thankful for, because New York City prices are disgustingly high. Finn handed me a square box, which I opened with hesitation.

"Pajama Jeans..." I said, trying my best not to sound horribly confused and appalled. "I...thank you...Finn...this is...a present. I...it was so nice of you...to think of...this..." Oh god, he got me pajama jeans.

"Yeah, I mean I figure you really like fashion and usually all those pants you wear look super uncomfortable. So I figured with pajama jeans," he flared his hands out, trying to make the present seem more grandeur.

Good joke, Finn.

"...you can be comfortable and you know...still look good and all."

"Yes, that's excellent logic." I really was trying to sound genuine, really. "Thanks Finn," I got up to hug him, suffering through him awkwardly wrapping his arms around my sides.  Blaine was watching from a spot next to me on the couch, trying very hard to hold in obnoxious fits of laughter.

"Looks like we have one here for Blaine," Carole said as she handed a gift bag over to me. I smiled and handed him the red bag, watching a surprised look sprout on his face. The tag on the side of the bag read, ‘To Blaine: From Kurt.'

"How did you..."

"I snuck out of Banana Republic while you were in the dressing room. Go ahead, open it."

Blaine smiled as he lifted the items out from the red tissue paper. Inside the bag were a bunch of guitar accessories. There were brand-new capos, neck straps, picks, strings, and even a portable miniature amp. "Kurt."

"I know we already exchanged gifts in New York," I said for the sake of my family's curiosity. "but I saw the music store and just couldn't resist."

"Kurt...I," Blaine kept looking back and forth from the things in his hands to my eyes, trying to come up with something to say. After a moment, he put the items back in the bag and moved close to me. He trapped my chin in between his finger and his thumb, leaning forward and kissing me sweetly on the lips. "Thank you, Kurt," Blaine said as he pulled away. "It's amazing."

"No problem," I said airily, still holding my breath and sitting as stiff as a board on the couch. It was very hard to breathe. Blaine just simply looked at his new items as if it was the norm, no signs of hyperventilation found anywhere. How does he do that? He has this ability to kiss someone with so much spontaneous passion, but then turn completely back to normal a second later. I stared at the ground, my lips tingling as they held on to the feeling.

Some people were coming over for our annual Christmas game session. We basically make a bunch of appetizers and snack on them while playing board games. I told Carole that I would make the food, giving her a break so that she could relax for the night. The holidays are the only time of the year that I allow myself to pig out, and I took full advantage of the situation. The amount of cheese that I've eaten this weekend is absolutely disgusting, but also so, so good.

"Kurt, can I talk to you for a minute?" Finn asked as I pulled the artichoke dip out of the oven. He had his hands in his pockets and looked a little nervous as he walked into the kitchen.

"Um, sure, if you can get started on the guacamole for me," Finn nodded, looking at the vegetables on the counter in confusion. "The avocados, Finn..." he still looked perplexed, "...the dark green egg-looking ones."

"Oh! Right," he grabbed a cutting board and two avocados, "where's Blaine?"

"He's in my room trying out the guitar things I got him, I believe. Why?"

"Are you two like...?"

"...in a relationship? Yes, that's kind of the reason I brought him here."

"No, I mean is he...abusive?"

My mouth dropped open and I stared at him dubiously, although I was laughing inside my head. What the hell is he talking about? What did I even do to make him that this relationship was abusive? "What?"

"Well, I mean, you act really strange around him. Sometimes you seem really nervous and your cheeks look like they're about to catch on fire. Like, you never kiss him, and when he kisses you, you get really tense and anxious. And then there are other times when you seem really happy and smiley. I mean, I don't think you're bipolar or anything so..."

"So obviously it must be rape," I started cutting bell peppers and carrots for a vegetable platter.

"I'm not saying that he rapes you, I just...the relationship seems kind of...forced."

What, what? No! He's not allowed to think that! He can't think that! Everything will be ruined if he thinks that! "You think my relationship is forced? You do realize that Rachel made you sit through ‘The Sound of Music' with her at least once a week all throughout during high school, right?"

"Yeah but I'm okay with all that stuff," I gave him another unconvinced look. "Really! And sometimes if I sang that song about aging with her she would make out with me after. I mean, I had to calm down her crying fits when that dude became a crazy Nazi, but still it was worth it."

I nodded and pretended like I understood what he was saying, just in hopes that he would forget what we were originally talking about. How does Finn of all people notice this? I think the universe is trying to play my life into some kind of twisted comedy.

"So am I right?"

"About what?" I replied.

"Is he abusive?"

"No! What the hell, Finn? Of course he's not freaking abusive. Do you think I'm that much of an idiot to bring a violent boyfriend home to Burt Hummel of all people?"

"Well I've been trying to read between the lines and it just seems odd."

"Finn, since when do you read between lines? I said the exact words ‘I'm honestly in love with you' to you in sophomore year and you thought I was talking about a song title."

"Fine, whatever Kurt, I believe you," he grunted, "why are these damn avocados so hard to cut?" I looked up to see Finn trying to actually cut his way through the entire whole avocado. "It was so easy at first but there's this super hard part in the middle..."

"Finn, that's the pit. You're not supposed to cut through the pit of the avocado, it's basically wood."

"Oh."

"Look, Finn, I'll finish the guacamole. You can go back to...whatever you were doing before. People will probably be here in life fifteen minutes."

"Cool, Kurt. Thanks," Finn walked away from the counter, stopping in the doorway. "So...not abusive, right?"

A small huff of amusement left me. "Not abusive."

I definitely need to step up my game. If it was obvious enough for Finn to notice that I was uncomfortable, it's basically a miracle that the whole family hasn't given me an intervention by now. My fondness meter needs to go way up, and quick.

Aunt Alice, Molly, and Rachel had arrived, and the only person we were waiting for was Puck. We all sat down in the living room, munching on appetizers and deciding amongst ourselves what game we should play first. I chewed thoughtfully on a carrot as Blaine came up and sat down very close to me on the couch.

"Hey babe," Blaine said with a knowing smile, leaning over and planting a kiss on my cheek. I willed myself to stay nonchalant. Goddamn it, I will force myself to get used to this, even if it kills me.

"Hey...you," I tried very hard to control my pitch. My arm linked itself around his and I crossed my legs, nestling into his side. Blaine looped an arm around comfortable around my back, softly rubbing his thumb casually on my upper hip.

We deserve an Academy Award.

"So are there any Christmas evening traditions that I should know about?" Blaine asked.

"Well, we usually just play games, eat food, and decorate cookies," I said, looking over at him. He always looks so calm. His level of coolness doesn't even seem logical. I mean, I'm the one who should be calm. I'm the one at home with my family and friends. He's a stranger who has to prove to a bunch of other strangers that he's head-over-heels for yet another stranger, and thus far he's as cool as a fucking pickle. "Oh and we also have our annual blood sacrifice, so watch out for that, we'll probably have to pick you this year."

He smirked. "Oh you and you're insanely creative mind..."

"I'm creative am I?"

"Yes, very."

I smiled, leaning the side of my body against his so that we were practically canoodling. All of the sudden, Puck walked into the room, throwing his jacket on the floor as he sat down next to it. "Sup guys, sorry I'm late. Had Jewish things to do, you wouldn't understand."

"I beg your pardon?" Rachel squeaked from beside Finn.

"You know, Puck, there's this new thing called a doorbell..." Burt said.

"Yes, it's the shiny button by the door that you ring before you enter a house," I added. Puck looked up at me, a smirk showing on his face once he noticed Blaine.

"That your new fuck buddy, Kurt?" Burt glared at Puck with a look brimming with pure hatred. "...I mean...sex friend..."

"Oh my god, Puck," Finn mumbled.

"...I mean...significant...person...other..."

"So anyways," Aunt Alice interrupted, "Puck, this is Kurt's boyfriend, Blaine. Blaine, this is Puck. He went to high school with Finn, Kurt, and Rachel."

"Nice to meet you, Blaine," Puck bowed a little and tipped an imaginary hat. "Alice, Molly, lovely as always."

"I don't know if you can define relentless-pursuing as ‘lovely'," Molly said.

"Yes, but it is amusing," Alice replied with a laugh. She scooted closer to Molly, throwing a possessive arm around her waist.  "As long as it stays innocent. Which it will, I can assure you."

"I don't think you can use the words ‘innocent' and ‘Puck' in the same sentence," Rachel said.

"Puck has a really big thing for Molly, and he refuses to accept the fact that she's a lesbian," I whispered to Blaine, who nodded in understanding. 

"I take it that Puck is a little...improper?" he whispered back.

"Improper is an understatement. You'll see what we're talking about soon enough."

Carole pulled out a game called ‘The Game of Things'. It's basically this board game where you write down scenarios on a piece of paper and people have to try and guess who wrote it. We split up into teams; Burt and Carole, Blaine and I, Finn and Rachel, Alice and Molly, and finally Puck with himself.

"Alright, seeing as I'm a ninth wheel, I'll start the game off," Puck said as he pulled a card from the deck. "Things you wouldn't want to be allergic to."

Blaine looked at me, smirking, our pen and paper in his hand. He leaned forward to whisper in my ear, "Music?"

I raised my eyebrows, shrugging when I couldn't think of anything better. Blaine wrote it down, folded the paper in half and passed it along to Puck.

"Alright," Puck said, looking the papers once everyone had handed theirs in, "things you wouldn't want to be allergic to...condoms...lube...music...beds...and boobs."

Sniggers went all around the room and I glanced at Blaine, seeing a small smile on his face. This game turns sexual 99.9% of the time, maybe I should have warned him about that...

"Well at least one of us strayed from the sexual path," Molly laughed, "and I'm guessing that it would be Burt and Carole. You guys had ‘music', right?" Blaine and I exchanged amused glances as Burt and Carole shook their heads, both with shy grins on their faces.

"Mr. H!" Puck bellowed, "You dirty dog!"

"Okay, before I excuse myself to go vomit," Finn said, "you guys had ‘bed', right?"

"Yes, we did," Carole laughed.

"Oh thank god."

I waved at Puck, trying to get his attention, "Lube?"

"Damn it, I thought everyone would assume that it was yours," He replied.

"Yes, like I would play the word ‘lube' with my whole family present."

"Well, Finn played the word ‘boobs', didn't you Finny?" Alice said with a triumphant grin. Finn and Rachel nodded in defeat. "I know my boobs."

"So that means you guys had ‘condoms'?" Blaine asked Molly.

"Yes sir and you ‘had music'. I commend you for keeping it G-rated. That's a hard thing to do in this game."

An hour later we decided to stop playing the game after an extremely vulgar contribution from Puck. Carole turned as red as a beet when she read it and refused to say it out loud. I think it had something to do with a vegetable peeler and a shower-head. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more confused I get.

Everyone just hung out for a bit, walking around and eating food. The radio was turned on again and a little sing-along began as we talked. I was asked tons and tons of questions about New York, and what it was like to actually perform on a Broadway stage. Frankly, it feels great, but it doesn't feel as good as it can be...yet. I mean, Wicked has an insanely large cast, and I can't help but feel like I'm only part of something much, much bigger than myself. Nevertheless, I'm tremendously grateful for the opportunity to be there every day. The Gershwin Theatre is honestly one of my favorite places in the whole wide world.

I found Blaine a little while later, talking with Finn and Rachel. Now was my chance to show Finn exactly what this relationship really is. I mean - not exactly what it is, what I want him to think it is.

I put my hand on Blaine's hip from behind, coming up beside him. "Hey Hun," he said, turning his head towards me. I leaned in quickly to place a short kiss on his lips, ignoring the heat in my stomach when I unconsciously made a ‘mwah' sound as we pulled apart.

"Hey yourself,"

"So Blaine," Finn said, "what school do you go to again?"

"Columbia."

"Do you like it?"

"Well, yeah. It's great, I mean, it's...Columbia," he replied with a huff of nervous laughter.

"What are you majoring in?" Rachel asked.

"Music education and conducting, with a minor in music management."

"Wow," she replied, "You're quite the musician, aren't you?" Blaine bowed his head sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"He's really good, you should hear him play," I added, "His voice is outstanding."

"Oh, no, I'm really not-"

"He's just being bashful. Really, he has a lot of talent."

Blaine looked at me with mystified eyes. "You really think so?"

"Of course I do!" I said with a smile, "I have an amazing boyfriend, and I want to show him off."

Blaine continued to look at me for a moment. Well if that doesn't convince Finn that I'm completely head-over-heels for this guy, I don't know what will.

"You're a songwriter, right? You should play something for us!" Rachel said, her eyes widening with excitement.

"Me? Play? No, you guys really don't want to-"

"Yes, we do! And Kurt is pretty judgmental when it comes to music, so if he says you're good, then you really must be good."

"No pressure or anything," Blaine murmured under his breath.

I smiled, actually really wanting to hear one of his songs. He was very private with his personal music, and he only ever played covers of other artists out loud. "Go on, get your guitar," I said as I nudged him lightly and gave an encouraging smile.

He went down to the basement and returned with his guitar case in hand. We all gathered around him as he opened up the case, pulling the instrument out and setting the trap over his head. "So um, who do you guys want to hear? I know some P!nk...Katy Perry...Neon Trees..."

"Sing one of your originals," Rachel said, "you do write songs, right?"

"Um...yeah I do...but I..." Blaine looked up around at everyone in the room, then finally at me. "Okay."

Blaine began picking at the strings, playing a sharp progression, and then began to sing.

"New life decides to come through the front door,
and makes us wish we'd shown respect before.
Though I don't have much of a choice,
I'll resolve to regain my voice.

If I only just begin to understand it that's because,
every time I start to change my mind again,
it gets me back to where I was.

New life decides we never had a clue.
The two of us, deciding what to do.
Though my hands are all but tied,
I rebound so I can say,
at least I tried."

We watched while he sang in an engaging, almost bittersweet voice. I realized that these lyrics were a piece of Blaine's actual life, something that I knew nothing of. Blaine's reality was completely foreign to me, and I narrowed my eyes into empty space, trying to decipher the words. Whether I knew it or not, I was very curious about this complex person. My mind wanted to know him, to understand how his life was ever able to become so tragic. There was also a small, tiny, imperceptible part of me that wanted to fix everything that had ever gone wrong.

"And long as I'm allowed,
I'll change my mind
that's what it's for.
I'm getting older but I'm still the same,
I'm just not thinking anymore

If I only just begin to understand it that's because,
Every time Is start to change my mind again,
it gets me back to where I was..."

Everyone clapped as Blaine ended the song. His head snapped back up, as if he was just remembering that others were in the room.  Blaine blushed, lifting the guitar strap off his shoulders and putting the instrument back in its case.

"You're really gifted, Blaine," Alice said. "That song was amazing, really."

"Yeah, I mean...wow," Rachel said, "it would take me forever to write a song like that. I mean your use of metaphors is just...insane."

"Thanks, guys."

Carole asked if we wanted to decorate cookies, and we all obviously agreed. Everyone shuffled out of the living room, and I stayed behind to wait for Blaine.

"You really are an amazing musician," I said, walking closer to him. "I'm glad that you let everyone hear one of your songs. I mean, I know it must have been personal..."

Blaine came closer to me, putting his hand on my arm and planting his lips on mine. I gasped into the kiss, relaxing a moment later and letting my eyes close.

"You're awfully good at this," he said as he pulled away.

"At what?"

"Acting."