“I take it you three are enjoying your new socks?” Kurt asks as he finishes his sewing from the couch, side eyeing the three little borrowers with a smile.

“Definitely!” Rachel squeals in excitement as she slides to a stop, grabbing a hold of Blaine’s arm for a moment in the process to keep her balance.

“Just don’t hurt yourselves, okay?” Kurt warns, “Otherwise Quinn will never forgive me.”

“We’ll be perfectly safe,” Rachel holds up her right and as Blaine get a running start before he slides across the table. “Scouts honor.”

No sooner do the words leave her mouth does a small bang sound from the table followed by a small “oof!” Rachel winces and Kurt looks over to see Santana leaned over Blaine who’s sitting on the table, gently rubbing the side of his leg.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, I promise!” he laughs, waving over at Kurt. “Really!”

Kurt gives him a slightly disapproving look, but smiles nonetheless before he gets back to sewing, the three borrowers sliding back and forth across his dining room table. It’s not long before he’s so wrapped up in his work that he doesn’t notice when the front door opens.

“Uhm…”

He looks up to see Mercedes and Puck standing halfway between him and his dining room table, eyes wide and staring. Blaine, Santana and Rachel have the same expression on the tiny little faces, frozen in place.

“What the hell are those?” Puck asks, and Rachel squeaks, foot slipping from underneath her and falling down on the table. Blaine and Santana seem too shocked to be able to help her, but Rachel doesn’t seem to mind as she continues to stare up at Puck and Mercedes from her now seated position on the table.

“I can explain,” Kurt jumps from his seat and makes his way to the table. “They’re friends, okay, trust me. They won’t hurt you.”

Blaine is the first to break the silence, stepping forward, cautiously, and Kurt isn’t sure if it’s because he’s scared of Puck and Mercedes or scared because he’s afraid of falling in his socks.

“I’m Blaine,” he says softly, wringing his hands together in front of him, much like he did like the first time he met Kurt. “And these are my friends Rachel and Santana,”“Don’t tell them my name!” Santana hisses from behind him, and Kurt can see Puck’s eyebrows rise to his mow hawk.

“We’re friends of Kurt’s,” Blaine ignores her comment and continues.

“And we’d really appreciate it if you didn’t squash us!” Rachel pipes up from where she sits, earning a hearty laugh from Mercedes.

Kurt gives her a warm, relieved smile and relaxes as he feels Blaine smiles up at him.“Do you have time for a story?” Kurt asks, hopeful, and Mercedes beams back at him as Puck’s lips pull into a grin, peeking over Mercedes’ shoulder as Rachel stands up with Blaine’s helping hand and gives him a small, sheepish wave.

“I’ll go make the popcorn.”

--

The next day at work Kurt makes his way to his office, sipping on his non-fat mocha before he adjusts the strap of his bag on his shoulder.

“So how’s Blaine?” comes the sing-song voice of Mercedes to his right.

“And good morning to you, too, Mercedes,” he replies, giving a small eye roll in her direction before he sips his coffee once more.

“Oh, stop,” she bats his arm playfully, “He’s adorable. I can’t believe you didn’t tell us about them all sooner.” She says before she takes a sip of her own coffee.

“Right, because that’s a perfectly normal topic of conversation,” he reports, opening the door to his office as she follows him, grinning. “Hey, Mercedes, I’ve befriended the tiny people that I have living inside of my walls. Want to go on a shopping spree? Meet you in five!” He waves his free hand before he sets down his bag on the floor and leans on his desk, crossing his ankles.

“Boy, you need to not be so hard on yourself,” the girl smiles and Kurt sighs. “I would’ve thought you were crazy, but you know damn well I would’ve listened.”

Kurt knows she’s right, but he also knows it’s more than that. He takes another sip of his coffee and swallows hard, but he smiles up at Mercedes nonetheless.

“Thank you,” he says quietly and she reaches over and pinches one of his cheeks lightly.

“You’re welcome,” she says before she turns and heads out to her own office, leaving Kurt with a heavy mind and a churning stomach full of coffee.

--

“You can come out from behind the salt shaker,” Kurt says as he pours water from the tea kettle into the cup on the counter. Blaine’s laugh, small and timid, sounds to his ears as he appears rubbing the back of his neck, seemingly nervous.

“Sorry,” he apologizes. “I just wasn’t sure if you were busy or not. I didn’t want to intrude.” He wrings his hands in front of him again and Kurt’s beginning to wonder if it’s a nervous habit.

“Not at all,” Kurt insists and lets his tea steep as he leans against the counter, crossing his arms across his chest loosely as he smiles down at the tiny borrower. “What’s going on?”“Santana pushed Rachel during bath time, and she fell in the sink and almost drowned so now everyone is fighting.” Blaine rushes out in one sort of awkward breath and Kurt blinks before he laughs as he pictures it all in his mind.

“Did she deserve it?”

Blaine down casts his eyes as ears go red and he nods slightly before he looks back up at Kurt, a smile tugging lightly at his lips.

“A little bit.”

Kurt hums in agreement before he picks up his teacup and takes a sip.

“So what about the whole bath situation?” he asks and Blaine shrugs his little shoulder. “Wait until later, I guess.” He plays with the bottom of his shirt for a moment before he shrugs again. “It’s no big deal.”

Kurt places his tea cup on the counter along a large, empty coffee mug in front where Blaine is standing on the counter before he walks away, leaving Blaine blinking and confused. He returns a moment later carrying a small container of what appears to be soap.

“What is that?” Blaine inquires, eyeing the bottle curiously before Kurt places it on the counter.

“Bubble bath!” he says happily before grabbing the bottle again and the tea kettle, holding them both above the coffee mug and pouring until the mug is full with warm water and white, sudsy bubbles.

“There!” Kurt beams, and places the kettle and the bubble bath down before his hands find their way to his hips in satisfaction. “Your very own personal bubble bath, courtesy of Kurt Hummel.”

--

Blaine sits in the coffee mug, completely submerged in the bubbles the surround him, save for his head.

“Comfortable?” Kurt smiles down at him as he sips his tea, and smile beams up at him, water reflecting off of his eyelashes.

“Very!”

“It’s not too hot?” he asks and Blaine shakes his little head, the water in the mug shaking slightly with his movements.

“Not at all, it’s great!” He brings his arms up the play with the bubbles, his tiny shoulders peeking out from between the white froth as he takes some in his hands, and Kurt swears the tiny borrower is more like a small child than an adult as he watches Blaine takes in a deep breath and blows the suds away.

“This is a lot better than what usually happens at Quinn’s,” Blaine says after a while, but he’s still smiling as he bats at what’s left of the bubbles with his tiny, pruning hands.“Why’s that?” Kurt asks, getting a few small washcloths ready on the counter for when Blaine decides to step out.

“It’s never just me time, y’know? It’s always sharing with Santana or Rachel, or both…” he trails off, “It’s not like I don’t mind, they’re both great, it’s just. Sometimes I wish I could do more things for myself without it being so… hectic.” He waves his hand, trying to get his point across, before he gently plops it back in the water as he smiles softly up at Kurt, who returns the gesture.

“C’mon,” he says, holding up the washcloth. “You’re as wrinkly as a raisin in there. Let’s get you out.”

With Blaine all dried off and cozy in his pajamas, they settle down and watch a movie for the rest of the night with the tiny borrower snuggled up in the pocket if Kurt’s shirt.

--

“There’s something I need you to do for me,” Kurt says as he walks into the guitar shop the next day, taking the hood off of his head from the rain outside, and Puck raises an eyebrow.

“Hello to you, too,” Puck says from behind the counter and Kurt sighs and crosses his arms. Puck does the same.

“I’m serious, Noah!” Kurt presses and Puck smiles as he uncrosses his arms.

“Fine” He says, “What do you need?”

Kurt puts the paper down on the counter.

“Can it be done before Christmas?”

--

“Where were you today?” Blaine asks from his perch on Kurt’s refrigerator, and Kurt laughs.

He grabs a water bottle from the fridge as Blaine pouts down at him.

“Concerned about me?”

“Quinn was asking.”

“Sure she was.” Kurt smiles up at Blaine and offers him a hand. The little borrower steps carefully onto it, holding onto his thumb as Kurt moves him to the counter space.

“Fine,” Blaine sighs, “I was bored. The most exciting thing I did today was play fetch with the lady bug that lives in the plant in Quinn’s window. And that got boring real quick.” He steps onto the counter and straightens out his shirt before he crosses his arms. “So what did you do today?”

“I was visiting a friend,” Kurt says and takes a sip of his water as he leans against the counter.

“One of the two from the other day?” Blaine asks, raising his eyebrow before the light flickers and goes out completely, leaving the apartment in darkness.

“Well that’s no fun…” Blaine pouts, blinking, and Kurt uses the light on his phone to find the candles and matches.

“I didn’t think the storm was that bad,” Kurt says after as he sits in a chair in the kitchen checking his phone for the weather while Blaine sits on the counter next to a candle with his feet dangling off the edge. “But apparently the power is going to be out all night.”

Blaine hums in acknowledgement as he watches the candle burn above him. Kurt places his phone on the counter and sighs before he stands up and starts rummaging through his cabinets.

“What’re you looking for?” Blaine asks.

“These,” Kurt smiles and places two bags of marshmallows on the counter near Blaine with a box of toothpicks.

“What’re we going to do with these?” he asks, and Kurt leans over and turns on the stove, the flame rising up.

“Roast them!” he says with a smile and Blaine looks up at him curiously. “We might as well make the most of this, right?”

--

“Not too close!” Kurt warns, concerned, as Blaine sits near the stove, holding his speared mini-marshmallow close to the open flame with a smile on his face.

“Trust me, I’m close enough! It’s really hot over here.” Blaine laughs and wipes his forehead with his hand real quick before grabbing the toothpick with both hands before the marshmallow falls down.

“Do you need me to turn it down?”

“No, don’t worry about it,” Blaine smiles up at him and Kurt continues to roast his own marshmallow on the open flame below.

“Thanks,” Blaine says after a while as he picks at the marshmallow, his little hands sticky from the treat. Kurt smiles softly as the lights come back on.

“You’re welcome.”

--

Sitting in his bed after the storm, curled up in his pajamas with his skin regimen completed, Kurt settles down with a book. His bedside lamp, now that the power is back on, is the only source of light in the small room, and not including the sounds outside and his breathing, the room is silent. Only when he flips the pages of his book does anything really make any real noise.

He’s about halfway through the book, about to flip a page when he feels something touch the back of his head, tiny and solid.

“Hi Blaine,” he says before he turns the page and keeps on reading. He hears Blaine laugh behind him and feels the hairs on his head being tugged as the little borrower fully and securely finds his way, so Kurt doesn’t dare move.

“Kurt, your hair is like a jungle,” Blaine says as he starts to walk from the back of Kurt’s head to the front, and Kurt can feel each step he takes, can feel each foot as Blaine steps on his scalp.

“Finding any animals up there?” Kurt asks and smiles while closing his book, the sensation of Blaine on his head sends tingles down his spine.

“Not yet! But is sure does smell like hair spray up here. I might just die from the fumes!”
Kurt rolls his eyes and smiles.

“Like anyone could even walk through your hair if they tried, with all that hair gel you put in it.” He waves his hand dismissively, not like Blaine can see it, because he’s in the middle of the top of Kurt’s head at the moment, fully engulfed in his hair.

“Ha ha ha,” Blaine jokingly laughs and keeps walking forward and Kurt keeps smiling, picturing Blaine doing the same. “Has anyone ever told you how thick you hair is, Kurt? Seriously, I don’t even know where I am.”

“Well you’re almost to my forehead now, if that’s any help,” Kurt looks up, slightly tilting his head back as Blaine’s foot reaches his forehead as he speaks.

“Found you!” Blaine smiles, and all of a sudden Blaine’s small, smiling face is in his line of vision, his little hands gripping onto locks of Kurt’s hair as he bends downward, with his tiny feet at Kurt’s hairline, as hazel meets blue.

“You certainly did,” Kurt smiles and Blaine smiles back, crinkles forming at the edges of his eyes. “But I better not find any marshmallow in my hair from earlier, Blaine Anderson!”

“You won’t! Blaine giggles as Kurt holds out his hand and Blaine climbs into it, slowly letting go of Kurt’s hair before he’s scaling down Kurt’s nose, one foot in front of the other, arms stretched out to his sides before he reaches Kurt’s hand.

“I hope not,” Kurt lowers his hand to the blanket covering his lap after Blaine hops into it and Blaine climbs out onto the fabric and sits down, getting comfortable.

“Today was fun,” the little borrower smiles up a Kurt.

“It was,” Kurt agrees and Blaine traces little patterns on the blanket with his fingers.

“I’m glad that we got to spend time together… The two of us like that. It was nice… It reminded me of stuff like Coop and I used to do.”

Blaine pays attention to the way his finger trails along the fabric, not looking at Kurt’s face now, but Kurt can still the feint trace of a smile on his lips.

“That’s kind of why I thanked you earlier. It’s just nice to have that feeling again, y’know?”
Kurt smiles down softly, and there’s a sinking feeling in his stomach as he watches as Blaine slowly stops his pattern making on the blanket and looks back up at him with a weak smile.

“Well, any time you want to roast some marshmallows again, my stove is always open for business.” Kurt smiles.

“Promise?” Blaine asks, the corner of his mouth tugging into more of a smile and the butterflies in Kurt’s stomach multiply.

“Promise.”

--

“So I have that thing you asked me for,” Puckerman says before he takes a bite of his bagel and rips it with his teeth, and Kurt is torn between making a face of disgust or kissing him on the mouth from across the table.

“Are you serious?”

“You asked me for it, didn’t you?” Puck says, and Kurt’s surprised he actually has he decency to speak after he swallows his bagel.

“Are you talking about Blaine’s Christmas gift?” Mercedes asks and Puck turns in his chair to fetch something from his coat pocket.

He places the little box on the table and Kurt just stares, holding his coffee between his hands.

“Well?” Puck asks, “Aren’t you at least gonna take a look at it?”

Kurt glances up at Puck, before he leans back in his seat and sighs.

“I don’t know! This is all so nerve-wracking!” He admits, “It just… it needs to be perfect.”

“Questioning my skills, bro?”

“I’m sure that’s not what Kurt means, Puck,” Mercedes eyes Puckerman before she puts a comforting hand on Kurt’s shoulder. “I’m sure what Kurt means is that it’s a special gift… and it’s just something that has higher expectations than normal. Right?” she sends Kurt a soft smile and Kurt nods, before he leans forward.

“Just open the box.”

--

“You know, I still haven’t figured out where you hid my Christmas presents,” Blaine says before he takes a bite of his special tiny-sized cookie as he sits on the kitchen counter. He looks over at Kurt who takes the final sheet of cookies out of the oven and places the rack on top of the stove to let them cool.

“Who says I even got you a present?” Kurt laughs as he puts saran-wrap over the already cooled cookies, small and large to give to Quinn and the others for Christmas.

“You definitely got me a present.”

“Let’s go watch a movie,” Kurt changes the subject and the brown haired borrower simply rolls his eyes before he agrees and hops into Kurt’s outstretched hand.

“Fine.” He says, “But you know I’m going to find them eventually.”

--

About halfway through the movie, there’s a little yawn from the pocket of his shirt, and Kurt looks down the see the little borrower slouched down, droopy eyed and dozing off.

“You okay in there?” Kurt’s lips pull into a smile, and so do his heart strings.

“Just a little slweepy…” Blaine says as he rubs his eyes with his tiny, clenched hands. He yawns once more and cuddles closer to the warmth of Kurt’s chest through the fabric, nuzzling his nose into Kurt’s torso to hide his face from the light.

There’s a smile stretched across Kurt’s lips as he watches Blaine get comfortable, and he turns his attention back to the movie after a few moments. But by the time the movie is over, the TV screen blue as he presses the stop button the remote, Blaine’s breathing is slow and even and the tiny borrower is fast asleep nestled inside the pocket against Kurt’s chest.

Biting his bottom lip, Kurt gets up carefully from the couch, his movements slow. He doesn’t want to wake Blaine up, or frighten him by moving around too quickly, so he simply does a quick but efficient (and especially quiet) skin care and bedtime routine.

He skips changing into his pajamas, although he does feel a bit un-clean for doing so, (and he’ll definitely have to iron his pants two times over the next time he wears them) he figures Blaine will appreciate the favor if the slight snoring coming from his pocket is any indication already.

Before getting into bed he props up all of his pillows, cocooning himself in a pillow-type throne, then he turns off his light and he slowly and carefully gets into bed, one hand cupped over his shirt pocket to keep Blaine from moving prior to settling down and pulling the blankets over his legs and up to his chest, right up the bottom of the chest pocket of his shirt.

With his head rested back against the pillows, Kurt’s eyes dart down to where he can feel Blaine try and inch closer to his chest, tiny hands gripping into the fabric, before he closes his eyes.

“Goodnight, Blaine.”

--

I told you, it’s safe here, bro!

Despite all of Puck’s reassurance, Kurt isn’t entirely sure that Blaine’s gift is safe. Sure, Puck is trustworthy. It’s just… this is important.

Somehow I don’t believe you.

He takes a sip of his coffee as looks over his shoulder to check for Quinn in the busy coffee shop before his phone buzzes on the table.

I made it for him, didn’t I?

Touch�.

He types back before Quinn is pulling out from the spot across the table, coffee in hand and eyebrows furrowed.

“What’s wrong?” he asks and she sighs.

“Nothing,”

“Clearly it’s something.” He presses, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the table.

“What is it?”

She pauses, taking a long, hot sip of her coffee that clearly doesn’t do any favors for her taste buds, before she purses her lips.

“It’s Rachel,” she admits. “We’ve been fighting a lot lately… more than normal,” she clarifies and Kurt raises his eyebrows in understanding as he takes a sip of his own coffee.

“I just wish she would see there’s more to life than Broadway,” she sighs and Kurt rolls his eyes.

“I’ve known Rachel less than six months and I know that's a slim chance,” he says, but he takes Quinn’s hand gently across the table. “But what I do know is that she cares about you as much as she cares about the big ol’ Way.” He smiles and Quinn visibly softens.

“Really?”

“Really. You want to know what she said to me the other day? And I quote, ‘I bet the models you design for are pretty. But not as pretty as Quinn. Quinn is the prettiest girl I have ever met.’” Kurt does his best to imitate Rachel’s voice and Quinn is smiling from ear to ear from across the table, “‘She could do great on Broadway, you know. She’s very talented. Not as talented as me, of course, but very talented for sure.’” He finishes and pats her hand gently as she wipes away a stray tear with the back of her other hand.

“See? You have nothing to worry about. You and Rachel are going to be fine.” He reassures her and she smiles at him, giving him a light hearted laugh.

“And consider that one of your Christmas presents because I am never doing that again,” he says as he leans back and sips his coffee again, Quinn’s laughter filling the coffee shop.

--

“Do you think he’s dead?” Rachel’s voice sounds to his ears and it takes Kurt a moment to register that he’s still lying on his back on his bed, having fallen asleep while packing for his trip home to Ohio for the holidays. As he feels three sets of feet walk on the mattress around his head, he lies still, faking his sleep.

“Should we poke him or something?” comes Blaine’s voice next, followed by Santana’s distinctive sigh.

“He’s sleeping, you dimwits” she says and it’s all Kurt can take to keep calm and remain still as he lies on his back and keeps his breathing steady.

Slowly, he opens one of his eyes and looks over to see Santana with her arms crossed, presumably looking over at Blaine and Rachel, before he closes it to not give away his position.

“But his room is messy, Santana,” Blaine says somewhere near his right ear, “His room is never messy.” He can feel Blaine shift a bit, stepping closer on the mattress. “It’s kind of creepy, actually…”

“You think we could take this time to look for our Christmas presents?” Rachel pipes up from behind his head someplace, slowly making her way towards the left side of his head where Santana is located. “They must be here somewhere in all this mess!”

“Not even close.” Kurt says then, startling all three borrowers, earning him Rachel’s scream directly in his left ear.

“What the hell, Hummel?” Santana winces as she covers her ears, looking up at him as he sits up, turning to face them all.

Blaine starts laughing from where he’s seated on one of Kurt’s folded shirts, having fallen backwards, and Rachel’s tiny foot is sticking out from a pile of clean socks behind Santana.

--

“So what did you mean they’re not here?” Rachel asks later, finally out of the sock pile as all three borrowers sit on Kurt’s vanity table.

“They’re not here,” Kurt smiles and folds another shirt before putting it in the suitcase on his bed, slowly but surely dwindling the pile. “You can search all you’d like,” he says, “But you won’t find them until Christmas.”

“Well you’re no fun,” Santana crosses her arms, her ponytail falling across her shoulder.

“Just one little peek… pleaseeee?” Blaine begs, pouting out his lips and swinging his little legs.

Kurt rolls his eyes and packs a few more shirts and a couple pairs of socks as he ignores the constant badgering from the tiny human beings on his vanity table, much to all of their disappointment.

--

Boxes litter the floor, tissue paper scattered across the rug and Christmas music gently croons from the speakers of the stereo of Quinn’s apartment. Kurt hangs another brightly coloured bulb on the Christmas tree in a carefully selected place, not too close to the other ornaments on the tree, but not too far away.

“Decorating is in art,” his mother had once told him as a child, “You have to handle it as such,”

His dad had always roll his eyes with a smile, but Kurt, starry eyed and impressionable, had taken his mothers words to heart, and had always followed through every year, making their tree look better and better every year, even with her passing. As well as getting to decorate his own tree once he eventually gets back to Ohio, he admires his carefully placed ornament with a small smile.

“This one next!” says Rachel from arm stand of couch, and she holds up a bright purple bulb to Quinn who takes it gently from her little arms, smiling.

“Brittany, you’re supposed to string the popcorn, not eat it!” Santana sighs as she sits on the side of Brittany’s knee who sits cross-legged on the other end of the couch, bowl of popcorn in her lap. “It’s to hang on the tree!”

“But why does the tree get to eat the popcorn and not me?” Brittany looks down at her inquisitively before she pops another piece in her mouth and Kurt watches as Santana rests her head in her hands in defeat.

He and Quinn exchange a smile before Blaine’s voice grabs their attention somewhere in the midst of the tissue paper.

“Hey, guys, are you sure we’re going to have room for all of these?” he asks as he scans the ornaments that are scattered across the couch, boxes still left unopened that are filled with decorations.

“We’ll just have to pick the ones we like the most,” Quinn says as she hangs the purple ornament Rachel had handed her on a more open spot on the tree.

“When are we putting up the star?” Rachel inquires, her eyes wide and sparkling, the lights from the tree reflect off of them as she looks hopefully up at both of them.

“You mean when are you putting it up?” Santana pipes in, and Rachel gives her a shooting glare from across the couch, crossing her tiny arms across her chest.

“Yes, Santana, like I do every year. Just because it is a significant metaphor for my life doesn’t mean you get to mock me… Especially so close to Christmas!” she huffs.

“Now, now, you two play nice,” Kurt smiles as he hangs up the blue ornament Blaine hands him, “Or I’ll put up the star myself.”

“You wouldn’t!” Rachel gasps, throwing her arms to her sides, stamping her little foot on the arm rest. “I put it up every year, Kurt it’s my job—”

“Rachel, relax.” He laughs and pats her tiny head before he takes the green ornament from Blaine’s outstretched arms. The other borrower bites his bottom lip to keep his smile contained at Rachel’s expression and he turns back to choose another ornament to give to Kurt.

“I’m only joking.”

Kurt can’t help but laugh at her expression and Quinn giggles softly next to him, hand pressed gently to her mouth to try and stop the sound as an embarrassed Rachel’s cheeks match the shade of pink of the ornament she picks out next and hands to Quinn to hang up on the tree.

--

“A little more to the left!” Blaine says from Kurt’s shirt pocket, watching as Rachel fumbles with the star at the top of the tree. Quinn stands watch on the step ladder, looking over her to make sure to catch her if anything goes seriously wrong.

Rachel’s got her tongue between her teeth as she pushes the decoration into the exact, perfect position on top of the tree, her feet planted on the branches below her.

“Perfect!” Blaine shouts to her, and Kurt can see her smile from where he stands as Quinn scoops her up and brings her down the ladder on her shoulder.

“Now Santa will know exactly where to put the presents,” Brittany beams and Santana rolls her eyes with a smile from her perch on the blonde’s shoulder, but there’s a fondness in her eyes.

“Thanks, Rachel!”

--

Once everything they didn’t use is picked up and packed away back in the closet, they’re all sitting back in the living room, sipping hot chocolate and eating cookies, the radio still playing music quietly in the background.

Brittany is snoring softly, sprawled out face down on the couch as Quinn and Kurt sit on the floor at the coffee table as Rachel, Santana and Blaine are warming their hands on the candles.

“Do you have everything packed for tomorrow?” Quinn asks before she takes a sip from her mug, holding it tightly in her hands.

“I think so,” Kurt says, eyebrows raising before he takes a sip of his own. “I hope so.”
Rachel picks a piece of wax off of the candle nonchalantly before she steps around it and sits on the table in front of Quinn.

“You dropped off everything you needed to, right?” Quinn asks, and Kurt knows she’s referring to the presents that were hidden in her closet, tucked away so the three little borrowers now on the table couldn’t sneak their way into the hiding place.

“Yep, everything is there.” He says and takes another sip of cocoa, letting it warm him from the inside. The lights from the tree and the candles illuminate the living room and he smiles, knowing that he’ll get to have this feeling with his family back in Ohio soon enough.

“You miss them, don’t you?” Blaine asks, and Kurt looks down to see the little borrower sitting in front of him much like Rachel is doing to Quinn. Santana is leaning against one of the candles, watching Kurt.

“I do,” he admits, and Santana’s eyes go back to watching Brittany sleep. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to miss all of you when I’m not here.”

--

“Are you sure you can’t stay with us?” Quinn asks the next day as they stand on the sidewalk and Kurt smiles as he gives her a hug, holding her tight.

“I’m sure,” he pouts and gives her shoulders one last squeeze before he lets go, letting out a sigh. “But I’ll see you in two weeks. I promise."

“I’ll hold you to it,” she smiles and pinches his cheek lightly before they part ways, Kurt’s taxi waiting to take him to the airport back to Ohio.

Once he’s settled, he watches the buildings from the window, tall and reaching towards the sky as small snowflakes gently flurry from the sky. As the taxi drives slowly into the city, Kurt makes a mental check list. He knows he dropped off Mercedes’ gifts, and Puck’s. He left Quinn, Brittany, Blaine, Rachel, and Santana’s gifts all at Puck’s apartment so he could bring them over to be opened on Christmas morning. All of his family’s gifts have been mailed, and the few small ones he bought are in his suitcase…

While he’s making a list to make sure he hasn’t forgotten anything else important for the fifth time at the airport, his phone rings in his pocket, jogging him from his thoughts.

“Hey kiddo,” His dad’s voice sounds in his ear when he picks up his phone. “You at the airport yet?”

“Just about,” Kurt checks his watch and the traffic in front of him, “I should be there in about ten minutes. Why?”

He hears his dad sigh on the other end.

“I’m sorry, bud, but they’re keepin’ us late here, things are backed up a few days, and I can’t get out of it this time, I—”

“You have to cancel Christmas this year, don’t you?”

There’s a moment of silence and Kurt can practically see his dad scratching the back of his bald head in his fancy suit he looks so out of place in. They haven’t spent a Christmas apart in twenty-three years. Ever since his mom died, they’ve made it more and more important to stick together, to make the holidays count…

As he grew older it got more and more difficult, with Glee club, his dad getting his job in the office, and then going off to college in New York. Growing up didn’t mean they had to grow apart, and for the most part they’ve stayed close, which is more than anything Kurt could have dreamed. They share a close bond, and Kurt knows that this is the most difficult thing his dad has ever had to do.

“You know I wouldn’t unless I absolutely had to.”

“It’s okay, dad,” he swallows, his hand gripping tighter around his cell phone. “I understand. Don’t worry about it.”

“We’ll get together soon okay?” He can almost hear his dad’s heart breaking on the other end, the sick irony making his stomach twist, like his father would rather have him be angry about the situation than understanding about the whole thing.

“Tell Carole and Finn Merry Christmas.”

“Will do, bud. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

--

After he ends the call with his dad and tells the taxi driver his change of plans, slightly wincing at the cancelation fee for his plane ticket as he clicks “confirm” on the screen of his phone, Kurt finally makes it back to his apartment without too much damage to his wallet. With a sigh, he lugs his suitcase up the stairs and places it next to the door inside, hangs up his coat and tries to ignore the empty feeling that’s sitting in the pit of his stomach.

He knows his dad didn’t mean it, and he knows that, truly, at the moment it’s not quite helping his nerves.

With a quick check in the bathroom mirror at his reflection, he heads out the door again and goes next door. He can hear music coming from inside, Quinn and Mercedes’ laughter and the sound of muffled voices on the other side of the door.

When he knocks, the voices get softer, and the footsteps of whoever is coming to greet him become louder as they reach the door.

It ends up being Quinn, who looks at him with confused, wide eyes as she takes in his appearance at the doorway, probably having expected him to be on his flight back to Ohio by now. But her expression softens as she seems to understand, and he smiles back with slumped shoulders and she pulls him into a warm hug that he graciously returns.

“Come on in.”

Quinn leads him into the living room, arm linked loosely with his, and when they round the corner to the living that’s room lit with low-lit Christmas lights and the brightly lit tree in the corner, they're also greeted by the surprised but smiling faces of Puck, Mercedes, and Brittany.

"We have a surprise guest," Quinn smiles gently up at him before she turns to the rest of the room and lets go of his arm. A half-hearted smile tugs at his lips and he twiddles his thumbs in front of him, slightly bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Mercedes gets up from her seat on the couch with a mix between a pout a smile on her lips as she makes her way over to him, and she wraps her arms tightly around him, squeezing him tight.

“Welcome back, boo,” she says into his ear, and Kurt hugs her back with a gentle laugh.

“Hey, bud,” he hears Puck say as he feels a hand clap him on his shoulder. “I’ll get’cha a beer, yeah?”

Mercedes pulls back and rolls her eyes as Puck makes his way to the kitchen, but Kurt smiles as his name is called from the other side of the room.

“Kurt!” Brittany smiles over at him as she kneels on the floor in front of the brightly lit Christmas tree that’s in front of the window on the other side of the living room.

“Wait, it’s only Lady-Hummel?” comes a slightly smaller voice also in Brittany’s general direction. Out from behind Brittany’s neck, Santana pokes out her head. Brushing away locks of Brittany’s blonde hair out of the way, Santana makes her way to stand back on the blonde’s shoulder where she must have been before Kurt had knocked.

“Hey there, Doll Face,” Santana grins and gives him a little wave. “Long time no see!”
Kurt goes to make a comment about how she looks phenomenal in the black and white dress he sewed for her before—

“Wait, Kurt’s here?!” Chirps in another voice from the general area and Kurt spots the golden star on top of the Christmas tree rustling before Rachel emerges from behind it, her tiny arm starts waving at him vigorously.

“Hi, Kurt!” she shouts down to him in her bright green dress and Kurt gives her a little wave before his eyes happen to come across two hazel ones staring at him from the center of the tree.

“Kurt!” Blaine says excitedly as he sits atop a rounded, blue ornament hanging from one of the branches. “You made it!” he smiles as one of the pink lights wrapped around the Christmas tree gives him a pink glow.

“I thought you were back in Ohio with all of the other unicorns!” Brittany pipes in again, and Kurt tears his gaze away from Blaine to look at her. Even though there’s a tight flip of his stomach from his disappointment, he smiles at Brittany’s innocence and accepts the drink that Puck (somewhat forcibly) places in his hand.

“Change of plans,” he shrugs. “So I came to celebrate with all of you.”

“Perfect timing, too,” Quinn returns to the living room holding multiple brightly coloured bags on her arms. “We were just about to open presents!”

--

Quinn and Mercedes are fawning over their new scarves and boots while Puck is gawking over some new leather jacket Quinn found at a thrift store that was “totally bad ass, dude!”

Brittany is sitting in the center of the room, taking all of the bows off of the wrapping paper and is sticking them in her hair. She’s smiling from ear to ear as Santana and Rachel watch from the table, laughing from behind their hands.

Blaine looks over his shoulder, watching the scene and laughs before he turns back and looks at Kurt. He swings his feet lightly as he sits on the edge of the table and smiles.

“Last year she tried to wrap herself back up in the leftover paper and mail herself to the North Pole,” Blaine tells him and Kurt smiles, laughing a bit as Brittany sticks a bow on her nose.

“It didn’t work out so well.”

“I can imagine,” he says, and rests his elbows on his knees before he pauses for a moment and reaches beside the couch, next to the tree and pulls out a small box topped with a bow and hands it to Blaine.

The little borrower raises his eyebrows curiously before he takes a hold of it in his arms and places it in his lap, balancing it carefully.

“For me?” he asks, looking down at the box and then back up at Kurt.

“Nothing too special,” Kurt shrugs his shoulder, rolling his eyes a bit nonchalantly with a smile. “Open it.”

Blaine blinks a few times before he shakes his head and laughs, shrugging his shoulder.
“Okay. Okay, fine.”

It takes him a few moments as he sits back fully on the table, maneuvering the box to sit in front of him, before he finally manages to get the box open.

When he does, Kurt bites his bottom lip in anticipation, fingers laces together as Blaine simply stares into the box, eyes wide.

“…So?” Kurt asks, stomach clenching. “Do you like it?”

“Kurt…” Blaine says looking up, eyes misty and wide, “I… I love it.” He smiles, bright and beaming before he reaches down and takes the small, shining guitar out of the box. “I really don’t know what to say…”

“Merry Christmas, Blaine.” Kurt says and Blaine smiles as he strums the strings of the guitar lightly.

“I don’t want to take away any of my boy’s thunder here, but, that’s one of my best works,” Puck interjects as he leans over on the couch from beside Kurt, and Blaine’s smile couldn’t possibly get any wider unless it stretched off of his face.

“I just… how?” Blaine asks, admiring the handy work of the small instrument and Puck laughs.

“It was tough,” the other man admits. “But Kurt here insisted that it be done for you, so of course I couldn’t let him down.” He says and he bumps his shoulder lightly into Kurt’s before Kurt pushes him back lightly.

“Because to you know I would’ve kicked your ass.” He says as he pokes Puck in the shoulder pointedly.

“Okay, okay, that, too.”

“Can you teach me?” Blaine asks Puck, and Kurt takes it as his cue to go talk with the girls with a smile.

“Of course, bud,” he hears Puck say as he sneaks away, standing beside Quinn as he watches Puck show Blaine how to properly hold the guitar.

“I’d say Christmas was a success after all,” Mercedes says and they all nod in agreement as Brittany places one of the present bows on top of Rachel’s head, much to her displeasure. A hearty laugh from Santana sounds across the room as Rachel stamps her foot on the table as she attempts to get the bow out off of her head, her hair sticking to the adhesive.

“You could say that.”

--

New Years comes and goes as a blur of alcohol, streamers and noise-makers as everyone is crammed inside Quinn and Brittany’s apartment. It’s enjoyable, being together and having some time off of work, but Kurt knows he has a ton of work ahead of him.

Knocking on the apartment of Quinn’s apartment, he opens the door with the spare key before he hollers out a greeting.

“Hello, anyone home?” he asks as he steps through the door and closes it behind him. He’s greeted by the sight of Puckerman sitting on the couch, guitar in his lap. An excited Blaine sits on the edge of the small living room table in front of the couch and turns his head to Kurt, smiling wide and waving.

“Hi, Kurt!” he grins, adjusting the strap of the guitar on his shoulder. “Puck’s teaching me songs to play!”

“Really?” Kurt leans against the wall and crosses his arms. “Any good ones?”

“Why do you always question my music taste?” Puck asks and Kurt rolls his eyes.

“I’ve known you since high school,” Kurt says as he pushes himself off the wall, “Your Glee club choices were less than spectacular.” He smiles and Puck sticks his tongue out at him before Quinn comes out from her bedroom.

“Ready to go?” she asks him and he nods.

“Where are you to going?” Puck asks as Blaine strums as little tune on his guitar that sounds a lot like The Beatles’ Blackbird.

“To get Quinn’s hair cut,” Kurt says simply and rocks on the balls of his feet.

“We should be back before Brittany gets back from teaching her dance class,” she says and they wave goodbye, the melody still ringing in Kurt’s ears.

--

“Rachel is going to freak,” is the first think Kurt says when they walk out of the salon, Quinn’s hair at her ears, messy and ruffled.

The blonde smiles and runs her hands through it as they walk down the sidewalk, the cold January air hitting their skin.

“I think it’s a nice change,” she says and shoves her hands in her pockets, protecting them from the cold.

“Don’t get too crazy,” Kurt says and shoves his own hands deeper into the pockets of his own jacket. “Next thing you know you’ll be dying it pink.”

--

“Are you sure you’re going to be able to get this all done?” Blaine asks, concerned, as he sits next to the sewing machine on the table, idly playing with a piece of loose thread in his hands.

“I always do.” Kurt smiles as he looks down at Blaine before he turns his attention back to his work on the sewing machine. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.” He promises and hears Blaine chuckle from beside him.

“Fine, I believe you, but don’t let Rachel or Santana rope you into making anything for them while you have work to you!”

“And what about you?” Kurt side eyes Blaine as he works with a smile and Blaine goes red.
“I’m the exception.” Blaine twists the thread around his fingers a little more and Kurt laughs.

“You’re the exception,” he agrees before there’s a knock at the door. Kurt stops his work and raises an eyebrow as he exchanges a look with Blaine before the little borrower climbs into his hand and Kurt makes his way to the door.

He places Blaine on the small table before the door, Blaine scurrying behind the small bowl where Kurt puts his keys, and gives Kurt a small thumbs up before Kurt opens the door.

“Hey Doll face!”

Kurt blinks a few times, mouth hanging open as he stares at the dark-skinned girl who stands in his doorway. The human sized girl who stands in his doorway.

“S-Santana?” he breathes and she pushes her hand off of his doorframe where she had been leaning and puts her hands on her hips.

“That would be me!” she smiles and Kurt gapes, staring wide eyed before her smile softens and before he knows it her arms are wrapped around him, holding him close.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Kurt admits as he hugs her back and she laughs lightly in his ear.

“Santana?” comes a small voice from behind them, and Santana pulls away, looking at Blaine who has come out from his hiding place behind the back of the key bowl, wringing his hands in front of him.

“Hey, Sunshine,” Santana smiles as she walks inside and Blaine weakly smiles back as Kurt closes the door behind her.

“Hi,” Blaine toes at the table beneath him and Santana holds out her hand on the table for Blaine to step into. He’s a bit cautious at first, stalling before he walking onto her hand and holds onto her thumb before she brings her hand and him up to her face for a kiss.

“’Tana!” Blaine protests with a laugh, trying to push her away with his tiny hands, and Kurt smiles, the slight worry leaving his stomach that he didn’t realize was there.

--

“Well that sure was something, huh?” Kurt says as finishes up the last of his work before work the next day as Blaine strums his guitar lightly on the kitchen table. “The way she just… is normal like that now?”

“Sure,” he says and plucks a few more notes on the guitar, shrugging his shoulder, and Kurt stops his sewing, raising a quizzical eyebrow at the small borrower sitting just a few inches from him. “Whatever.”

“What do you mean?” he asks and Blaine shrugs again. “Blaine, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he murmurs before he picks up his guitar and walks away, scaling down the leg of the piece of furniture and behind the couch, leaving Kurt speechless and unsettled.