The afternoon went by in a fun blur. They baked cookies, watched a few Christmas movies, and read through all of the Vogue magazines Kurt had organized on the coffee table. Burt had a good laugh at a lot of the designs in them and Kurt was happy to see him not only trying to have fun with his favorite past time, but actually succeeding at it. It was rare when he and his father found something they could fully enjoy together, and while Burt didn't understand any of the names dropped or discussed between he and Blaine, he still got a thrill out of the pictures.

That evening, they left the apartment once more and took a taxi out to the nearest tree lot. Kurt wasn't entirely sure what they would decide on, but every year when they went looking for a Christmas tree, Kurt always felt a little sad. Ever since his mother had passed he always remembered the one year they hadn't bought one, the same year she'd died and had not been there to take them out looking for one.

Years later, Kurt completely understood his father's depression and reluctance to go shopping for one only a few weeks after her death, but back then it had made him feel more alone than ever before. He'd still been struggling to understand what had happened and why his mother wasn't able to come back to them ever again.

But now he had Blaine and his father to make new memories with, just like they had last year with Finn and Carole, and then the year before not long after his father had remarried. This year would be the best one yet, even if he'd lost his love and his heart was still bruised and healing. Someday, maybe this time next year, he would have it all figured out. He would be spending the holiday with his family, friends, and boyfriend, whoever that man ended up being.

"Look at that one, Kurt!" Blaine cried in excited and fondness. "It's like a little Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Can we keep it?"

Kurt was about to protest, but then he turned around and caught sight of Blaine holding the pitiful little tree up. It wasn't more than a few feet tall, wilting slightly in its dejected state.

"We could get it a little pot and decorate it on one of those tables in your main room," Burt suggested as he crunched over through the snow and examined the little tree. "It's still strong, just needs a little love. I still can't believe you and Rachel didn't buy a tree before she left."

"Rachel's Jewish, Dad. Remember?" Kurt reminded him with a fond smile.

"Then why'd she make Finn that big long list of Christmas presents she wanted last year?" Burt asked in surprise.

"Because she's ridiculous and very materialistic on holidays," Kurt told him, rolling his eyes. "So we'll get this little one, but we'll need a bigger one to put by the window to really decorate."

"I think I found one over there in the back," Burt said, gesturing past the groups of people looking through the lot. "It's not the tallest, but it's a nice one."

With a last exasperated look at Blaine and his adorable little tree, Kurt followed his father through the rows of trees until they reached the one he'd picked out.

"Wow," Blaine gasped in awe. "It's beautiful."

Kurt nodded, eyes tearing up at he looked it over. It tended to happen to him every year at some point around this time, whether it was picking the tree out, decorating it, baking, or on Christmas Eve when they'd always opened everything not from Santa. The tree his father had picked out was gorgeous, full and plump, only a few inches taller than Burt, but more than enough to fill the space they'd cleared out for it. They didn't have all of the ornaments they usually used since they weren't in Lima, but just having his guys here for the holidays made that detail insignificant. He was with the two people he cared about most, and even if he didn't entirely know where he was headed with one of them, it didn't change how he felt.

"It's perfect, Dad," Kurt said, smiling softly as he circled around it. "You're always the best at picking out a good tree."

"Not as good as your mother was," Burt murmured, a note of longing in his voice.

The smile on Blaine's face shrank a little at their melancholy mood, and he shuffled over between them, set his little tree down, and threw an arm around each of their shoulders.

"If you two don't perk up a little, I'll have to decorate the tree by myself and that means a whole lot of gel," Blaine remarked casually, trying and failing to look innocent with his teasing.

Kurt snorted through his tears and shook his head. "Absolutely not," he argued. "You put gel on the poor thing and it'll be dust on the floor by morning."

Blaine offered him a small, sad smile as Burt cleared his throat and started to untie the tree. "I'm sure she misses you, too, Kurt," Blaine said after a moment. "Both of you," he added, glancing over at Burt.

"She would have loved meeting you, kid," Burt said gruffly as the three of them lowered the tree to the ground to untie the last few strings. "Seeing Kurt that happy again… she would have loved that. Would have loved seeing her boy off in the city making his dreams come true, too."

Kurt said nothing as Burt shuffled off to find an attendant and pay for their two trees. A steady, careful arm wound its way around Kurt's side and, instinctively, his head dropped onto Blaine's shoulder. The ache his mother's memory still brought was eased slightly by Blaine's warm, tender presence at his side. It had been last year, and even the year before when they'd only been singing flirty duets together.

"I miss her so much at this time of year," Kurt whispered sadly. "It's just not the same, you know?"

Blaine nodded, dropping his cheek onto Kurt's head and grabbing one of his hands. "Yeah, I know you do. I can't even imagine how it feels," Blaine said honestly. "You've still got all of the good memories of her, though, and your dad's still here."

"And you," Kurt remarked quietly. "I've still got you – my best friend," he clarified quickly, suddenly realizing the position they were standing it. It was comforting to have Blaine that close, but as soon as he realized it, a flood of late night dreams came rushing back, reminding him of the details he still didn't know about Blaine's infidelity and simply the ones he'd been imagining.

"Yeah," Blaine agreed softly as Kurt slipped his hand from his grasp and hugged himself tightly. "You always will."

Kurt bit his lip as he turned away from Blaine, trying hard to hold his tears in. Today was always an emotional day for him, and with all of his problems with Blaine thrown into the mix, it was even more difficult. God, he did want what he and Blaine had just shared; those warm, easy embraces, the quiet moments standing side by side and reassuring the other, the seconds where the ache of their pasts became a little less strong because the other was there to smooth it out.

Isaac had been right. He was still completely in love with Blaine. The only problem was finding a way to forgive him for what he'd done to him, and since Blaine didn't even seem to be able to forgive himself, Kurt didn't know how he was supposed to do so.

"Hey, woah! Watch it!" Kurt shouted as Blaine backed slowly through the doorway, the base of the Christmas tree in hand.

Quickly Kurt sat the little tree down on the kitchen counter and rushed back over to where Blaine and Burt had paused, straining under the fat tree's weight. A hoard of branches and pine needles were obscuring Blaine's face from view as his feet shuffled aimlessly in place, unable to find a solid footing without his sight.

"Kurt," he groaned, voice tight as Burt shuffled back and forth outside the door. "I can't see at all."

"Come here," Kurt told him, but Blaine sneezed loudly in reply and Kurt rolled his eyes.

He stepped up behind Blaine and grabbed his hips to guide him backwards into the apartment. It was a familiar motion they'd been through countless times while dancing and doing… other things, but Kurt still blushed to the roots of his hair when Blaine jerked a little in surprise and apparently bumped the tree so that it smacked Burt in the face.

"Ouch! That's my face, boys!" Burt hollered through the branches.

"Sorry!" they both apologized.

"Come on," Kurt added, hands still on Blaine's hips to guide him backwards and into the empty space where they could lay the tree down until they rearranged the furniture a bit.

It took a few, slow minutes of back pedaling for them to finally get the tree inside safely. Finally it was on the floor, and Burt was rubbing his sore jaw where there was a sap mark. As Blaine took up from the tangle of branches however, Kurt and Burt both burst into laughter and it was only when Kurt stepped forward and started to brush the pine needles out of his gelled hair that Blaine understood why.

"Oh," he said miserably. "I, um, how bad is it?"

"Bad," Kurt offered with a laugh. "Very bad. Hold still," he chuckled, beginning to tug little pine needles from Blaine's stiff locks. "You look like you have a porcupine growing out of your gel helmet."

"It's not a helmet– "

"Oh, it is," Burt argued immediately, pulling his cap off and wiping his smooth, bald head with a paper towel. "Just as shiny and tough as that hard plastic design stuff they put on the outside."

"Oh, shut up," Blaine griped, ducking his head away from Kurt's reach and heading into the bathroom.

As the little door closed across the apartment, Burt gave Kurt a pointed look, which he promptly ignored. So what if he was being sweet with Blaine? They'd always acted that way towards each other. That wasn't going to change even if their romance was over. As friends, they'd been close enough for that before and they definitely still were now.

"Let's shift some of this furniture out of the way," Burt decided. "At least make a path over to where we're setting the tree up so we don't break our backs again."

Kurt agreed as his father put his baseball cap back on, and they began moving stuff, first clearing out the little tables and few Christmas lights Rachel and he had strung up before she'd left. By the time they were being the bigger sofa back towards the wall to clear a path for the tree, Blaine reappeared, hair free of pine needles and branches.

"Much better," Kurt greeted, panting slightly as they shoved the couch against the wall.

"You boys move that love seat, all right?" Burt said. "Let me get this tree stand out of the box."

"Sure," Blaine shrugged and rolled up the sleeves of his cardigan.

Together they slid the heavy little two-seater couch across the room towards the bigger sofa. It took nearly ten minutes to get the tree stand ready and then to lug the tree up and hold it straight while Blaine ducked down underneath and tightened it into place.

"There," Blaine finally panted, straightening up as Kurt tentatively let the tree go. When it didn't sway precariously, Burt cautiously loosened his grasp and stepped back to admire their work.

"Looks good," Burt decided, glancing at Kurt, who had taken several giant steps backwards and was looking it over closely. "It meets your standards?"

"Hmm," Kurt mumbled, framing the tree with his outstretched hands and closing one eye. "Yeah, it's perfect. At least until we have to move it across the room."

"Yeah… " Blaine sighed. "We could pick it up and carry it over. Might have to readjust it a bit though."

Burt nodded and together the three of them picked a spot to grab and carefully raised it, slowly making their way to the corner with it and finally setting it down in the spot they'd chosen. Blaine and Kurt backed up to where the love seat had been, gazing over at the tree to see how much it might have shifted as Burt untangled himself from the backside.

"How's it look? Still good?"

Kurt nodded vigorously while Blaine called out a pleased "Yes!" Burt smiled over at them as he pushed a few branches out of his face and started to slide out from behind the tree. Blaine made a move to start putting the furniture back in place, but Burt gave a shout that alarmed them both so much, they froze and turned back to him.

"Oh, no. You two know the rules," Burt said lightly, his gaze staring up at the ceiling over their heads.

Confused, Kurt glanced up, too, and his stomach knotted up as he caught sight of the little sprig of mistletoe dangling over their heads. That was Rachel's doing. She'd hung it up over the love seat since her and Brody always sat there when he was over. It wasn't as though Rachel needed an extra excuse to kiss her new boyfriend, but Kurt had been quite annoyed with its placement and the way his scathing remarks had been answered.

"Just because it's still over your heads doesn't mean you have to suck his face off all night, Rachel."

"It's not my fault our mistletoe kiss takes a lot of time to finish, Kurt!"

"Rachel," Kurt breathed angrily as Blaine's eyes slowly shifted back down to Kurt's face. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten to take it down. Of course, he hadn't had any reason to worry about this situation since he hadn't known Blaine would be here.

"W- we don't have to– I don't want to make you uncomfortable– "

"Do you want to kiss me, Blaine?" Kurt asked, cutting through the other man's stammers while Burt continued to tug his way out from behind the tree, trying to appear like he wasn't watching hopefully, but Kurt knew better.

"I– Kurt, you know the answer to that," Blaine said quietly, bowing his head slightly. "I… I'd kiss you every minute of every day. I said that a year ago and it hasn't changed."

"Last Christmas, you promised to kiss me whenever and wherever I want," Kurt reminded him, stealing his nerves as he inched a little closer to Blaine. He wasn't entirely sure why he was pushing to do this. Blaine had given him a way out, had offered him that denial despite how much he probably wanted to smother Kurt's lips with his own. Maybe it was that thought, the thrill it sent through Kurt, and the sudden fiery tingle running through his lips, that was making his mind up for him. If he kissed Blaine and it was different, maybe he could move on with Isaac or maybe he'd finally accept what Isaac had seen but that he hadn't.

"And you… want me to kiss you right now?" Blaine asked uncertainly as Kurt took another step closer and settled his palms on Blaine's shoulders.

"Yeah, I do," Kurt answered quietly, his eyes locking on Blaine's, seeing the swirl of fear, hope, and the unbearable over pouring of love he was holding back.

Before Blaine could protest, Kurt pressed in closer, tilting his head and capturing Blaine's lips in a gentle, sweet kiss. It was quick and simple compared to all of the others they'd shared, but it made Kurt's entire body thrummed with energy. It was as though a tiny spark had popped into existent as their lips connected, coursing through him and steadily growing and pulsing until every inch of him felt alive. There was nothing even close to this with Isaac, and somewhere deep in his still wounded heart, Kurt knew there would only ever be these moments, these sensations, with Blaine.

A gasp rattled against his lips as he pulled back slightly, his lips still brushing against Blaine's, but not moving with them. Kurt felt the shaky breath Blaine released, the surprise and obvious pleasure and joy as Blaine's hands latched onto his hips to keep himself steady.

Not even a second passed before Blaine leaned back in, mouth more eager and sure, desperately chasing the one sensation that Kurt knew meant home. Reflexively, Kurt's jaw relaxed, mouth opening slightly as Blaine's lips meshed against his. He knew what would come next, accompanied by butterflies and a happy burst of bliss in his chest. Blaine's teeth nibbled gently on his lower lip for a moment, and this his tongue slid into Kurt's mouth, slipping softly along the underside of Kurt's and making him shudder.

The heavy thump of Burt toppling over as he managed to untangle himself made them break away in surprise. But Kurt knew he'd never be the same again after that moment, just like everything had changed when Blaine had first confessed how he'd felt and kissed him back then.

Blaine was the love of his life, his forever and only.

He was so thankful that Isaac had bowed out a few days ago, because at least now he wouldn't have to break his heart into pieces. Kurt still wasn't ready to forgive, wasn't even completely sure how, but he had something to guide him now: his love for Blaine. Somehow it would steer him right and lead them onto a path back to each other. There would be more talks and discussion, more kisses and embraces before they finally found out how to fill the holes in their hearts with each other, but Kurt knew they would now. The vision forward was still clouded, but he could see where it would bring him.

"Come on, you two," Burt encouraged, patting both of them on their shoulders and jostling them out of their love struck staring contest. "Keep looking at each other like that and I'll hang you two on the tree and call you my two little love birds."

"We aren't– "

"Dad!"

"What? I'm just saying," Burt quipped defensively. "I know you've got a long way to go with all of this, but there's really no denying how hopelessly in love with each other you are."

"I– well, we're– that doesn't just go away overnight," Blaine babbled, face heating up as Burt chuckled loudly and starting getting together what they were going to put on the tree.

Kurt and Blaine exchanged a soft glance, one that seemed to relax Blaine a little and made Kurt's stomach flip pleasantly. Yes, they were still in love, that was the one thing that hadn't changed between them, but whether or not it was something they would come back to was less certain.

Hours later, when the tree was decked out in ribbons of popcorn and streamers and all of the little ornaments they'd managed to collect, the three of them moved all of the furniture back to more suitable locations and made hot cocoa.

The lights were dimmed so that they could gaze at the tree they'd finished an hour ago and enjoy the peace and calm music floating around the room for a little while before bed.

"Mm, what a day," Burt yawned, sinking into the cushions a little more and staring sleepily over at the Christmas tree. "I'm not used to having to keep up with a bunch of kids anymore."

"We're not kids," Kurt chided gently, taking a sip of cocoa as Blaine stretched and yawned next to him.

"You'll always be my boys," Burt declared quietly. He yawned even more loudly which caused a chorus of accompanying yawns from the other two. "All right, I'm turning in for the night. We're going out on the town tomorrow, right? You're going to show me your office and Rockefeller center and stuff?"

"Sure, Dad," Kurt agreed as Burt pushed himself off of the couch, nearly rolling off as he climbed to his feet. "Goodnight."

"Night, Burt."

Burt grunted in reply and shuffled off, catching Kurt's eye on his one backward glance before he disappeared past the curtains into Rachel's room.

"He expects us to just get back together, doesn't he?" Blaine asked hollowly.

"I– he wants what he thinks is best for us," Kurt explained, sadly. "And I mean… someday, I think he wants that. Right now, I think he just wants us to work through our problems, you know?"

"Yeah, I– yeah," Blaine swallowed thickly, rubbing a hand over his face and looking nervous. "I want that," he admitted quietly, staring at the tree twinkling across the room. "Not right now because I know I've got a lot of myself to work on, but someday I want to have us back. D-do you ever want that again?"

"Not like it was," Kurt decided after a few thoughtful moments. "Well, not entirely. We can't be teenagers forever, right?"

"No," Blaine agreed. "Teenage dreams have to fade into adult ones."

Kurt nodded, searching for Blaine's hand on the cushion between them. It took him a few seconds to find the soft hand, and then another second to coax it into his grip, but Blaine's palm squeezed his and he finally looked over at Kurt. There were unshed tears lingering on his eyelashes, and a soft, hopeful smile on his lips.

"I– I can't believe you'd even consider taking me back after what I did," Blaine whispered miserably. "I don't know if I could do the same."

"I'm still not sure if I can," Kurt said honestly, biting his lip as Blaine's smile fell. "But I want to. I just want us to work through this the right way, for each of us to take the time to work through it ourselves, and then to forgive the mistakes we've both made."

"I've already forgiven you for leaving me behind, Kurt," Blaine told him, brushing a few tears away with his thumbs. "It wasn't entirely your fault that that happened. That's just life. You finished high school and headed out into the real world while I stayed behind in Lima. If it hadn't happened right away, it would have eventually before I graduated."

"I should have been more aware, less oblivious," Kurt mumbled, shaking his head. "I… I think part of me knew what was happening, but remembering Lima and you was too painful. It made the distance too real for me, so I tried to forget about all of it. All the 'no's' I got last year, all the doors closing in my face even when they told me I was great… I never wanted to go back there once I left, even when they meant leaving you. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for wanting the best for yourself, Kurt," Blaine admonished kindly. "This is your time. It's my time, too. For us to figure ourselves out as individuals and see where we're going to take our lives. If they line back up and you can forgive me and I can forgive myself, then I'll be ready and waiting to have you in my arms again. I'll spend the rest of my life waiting for that feeling to return."

"It never left," Kurt assured him. "We just have to find it again."

"Time," Blaine said. "We'll each take the time we need before we jump back into anything, especially since we're still so far apart. Distance destroyed us once, and– "

"It's not a good idea to start one up again until we're both better, stronger, and wiser from this," Kurt finished in agreement.

He slid closer to Blaine and embraced him warmly. They had a long way to go, but they knew they were it for each other. For now, they needed to focus on themselves, even if that meant selfish moments and a difficult road ahead for each of them.

The three of them got up late on Christmas Eve. Once again, they cooked breakfast together and Blaine, as a Christmas Eve present, finally let Kurt style his hair for the first time with the promise that, if he was too scared to leave the house without his gel, he could re-style it himself. As Burt showered and got ready, Kurt sat Blaine down in front of the mirror in his room and called Sam from Blaine's phone. Neither of them expected him to answer, but on the third ring, there was a shuffle of static and then–

"Blond Chameleon reporting in!" Sam exclaimed brightly.

Kurt paused with his hair products, and Blaine, sitting tense and nervous, eyed his phone in wonder.

"Was that Buzz Lightyear?"

"Yes, Commander," Sam replied stoically. A muffled giggle echoed from Sam's line, and then a little squeal followed. "With his trusty sidekicks, Two Peas in a Pod!"

"We are not!" two little voices yelped in dismay.

"She has cooties!"

"I do not! You do!"

The two little siblings bickered for several minutes longer until Sam interrupted and asked them to go snoop for presents.

"So, what's up? How's Christmas in Lima going?" Sam asked.

"It's– well, I'm in New York," Blaine answered slowly, "with Kurt and his dad."

"You're– really?! Dude, that's awesome! Are you two, like, together again or– "

"We're actually focusing on a less damaging hair style for our little Nightbird," Kurt remarked casually. "Blaine said you'd been pressing him to lose the gel, so I figured you'd be interested in helping out."

"Oh, well– I don't know a lot about how to style hair or anything, but as long as it doesn't shine so much that it blinds me, then I'm happy," Sam replied happily.

"Great," Kurt said. "'Cause I've got a few ideas, but I know how fond you are of that part," Kurt continued, rubbing Blaine's shoulder soothingly as he shifted nervously. "We're still going to straighten your hair for this one, okay? No crazy curls for a while. We'll work up to that."

"Aw," Sam pouted, "but I like the crazy curls."

"I think everyone but Blaine does, to be perfectly honest," Kurt mumbled, rolling his eyes as Blaine began to protest. "Shush, and hold still."

"I'm going to go shower and get ready for all the family stuff today," Sam told them. "Send me a picture when you're done making his head look like it actually has hair on it!"

"Hey!" Blaine squawked indignantly, but Sam had already hung up mid-laugh.

"All right, now hold still," Kurt ordered, straightening Blaine's posture and starting to work on his curls. "This shouldn't take too long."

Kurt smiled as Blaine squeezed his eyes shut tightly, looking completely terrified of what he was submitting himself to. First Kurt straightened Blaine's curls out, being careful and gentle and trying to relax Blaine as much as he could. When the curls were finally long strands, Kurt began parting Blaine's hair, a little more towards the center of his head, but still distinctly to one side. He brushed mousse into the hair of the smaller chunk, following the line of Blaine's hair back behind his ear much like Blaine himself did.

"That stuff tickles," Blaine grumbled, twisting slightly as Kurt continued to brush it into his hair.

"It smells really nice, too," Kurt told him. "Nothing on the raspberry hair gel you order in bulk, but… "

"Shut up," Blaine pouted, eyes still closed tightly.

Kurt laughed and turned as a few footsteps echoed behind him. Burt was dressed and slowly drying off his scalp, baseball hat tucked under his arm.

"How's it coming along?"

"A few more minutes," Kurt answered, tongue poking out between his lips as he moussed the rest of Blaine's hair up and started to give it volume, slowly swooping it up and then back.

For five minutes, Kurt meticulously styled Blaine's swoop, being gentle and careful to get it just perfect, before he set down his comb and looped his arms around Blaine's neck and dropped his chin onto Blaine's shoulder.

"You can look now, muffinbutt," Kurt told him, teasingly pinching his nose as Blaine squirmed.

"I do not have a– "

"Not commenting on that one," Burt cut in awkwardly, "but the hair looks awesome. Reminds me off Elvis."

"Elvis?" Blaine echoed in surprise. "Really?"

"Open your eyes and see for yourself," Kurt insisted.

He watched in the mirror as Blaine tentatively cracked open one of his eyes, squinting up in the direction of his forehead. His jaw slowly dropped and his other eye opened fully as he gazed at his hair in amazement.

"Oh, wow," Blaine breathed in disbelief, raising his hand to brush gently over his swooped locks. "It's– you really do have the best hair ideas."

"And Sam was right?"

"Yeah, definitely," Blaine agreed reluctantly. "Let's take a picture. I can send it to Cooper, too. He'll be so jealous of this."

Kurt laughed, and grabbed Blaine's phone from where they'd less it on his dresser, opening his camera phone, and holding it up in front of their faces, his head still on Blaine's shoulder as they both smiled. After a few clicks and poses, Kurt handed Blaine back his phone and let him start sending off his messages to Sam and Cooper while he quickly styled his own hair into its usual wavy swoop.

"You boys ready with all of your hair stuff?" Burt hollered from the main room.

"Yeah!" Blaine replied. "Don't sound so jealous just because you're bald!"

Kurt snorted at the little sassy remark, and it finally felt like Blaine was completely relaxed and himself with them all now.

"Let's go," Kurt encouraged, hopping up and handing Blaine his boots. "I can't wait for you to see the tree in Rockefeller Center."

Blaine beamed at him, a true, honest smile that made Kurt's toes curl in his boots and his heart tug fondly in his chest. Together, they linked arms and headed back out to the main room to spend the day with Burt, parading around the city and seeing as many sights as possible.

They decided to turn in earlier than they'd planned because of the blistering cold outside and the snow that started to fall in heaps around sundown. Blaine was glad to return to the cozy, rustic apartment, despite loving to get a chance to explore the city. The entire walk and subway ride around, Kurt had prattled on about all the various places he and Rachel would take him when he was visiting for his auditions over the next few months. It gave Blaine so much hope to know that, despite Kurt not being ready to forgive him, he still wanted to spend time with him, still loved him and wanted to someday, hopefully, let them back into each other's lives to the fullest.

"I'm sleepy," Kurt grumbled as they all padded up the stairs to the fourth floor.

"Naps are in order," Blaine decided, yawning as his foot caught on a step and he stumbled head long into Burt's back.

"Hmm, careful," Burt mumbled. "You'll knock me over and down the stairs. Then we'll have to take a trip to the hospital and I'm too tired from all of that walking to do that."

"Let's order pizza later," Kurt said as they slugged up the last few stairs and he dug his keys out. "Cooking is overrated."

Blaine and Burt nodded sleepily in agreement and helped Kurt lug the door open as they all tottered inside and started to strip their coats and scarves off.

Kurt toppled face down onto the couch and Blaine stumbled after him, face-planting on the love seat, feet kicking back and smacking his ass.

"Oomph," he mumbled into the plushy red pillow on the couch. "I can't remember the last time I was this exhausted."

"I can," Kurt mumbled, his words nearly incoherent until he turned his head and pulled his mouth away from the sofa cushion. "That last night before I left Lima, remember? We didn't sleep at all– "

"I don't want to hear about that!" Burt hollered from the direction of Rachel's bedroom, followed by the squeak of a mattress that meant he'd presumably collapsed like they had.

Kurt and Blaine both chuckled softly, turning onto their sides and staring over at each other. It took all of Blaine's self-control not to roll off the couch and begin kissing Kurt, but he knew it was best not to right now. They still had a long way to go, but in his heart, he knew someday that he'd have that chance.

Kurt's face scrunched up as he giggled again and sat up.

"That couch is too short," he said, "even for you."

"It's fine," Blaine told him, but Kurt was already stretching a little and moving the coffee table against the wall and the dragging the far side of his couch closer to Blaine's. After several minutes of shifting, Kurt had the two couches lined up side by side, creating a double wide section for them to lay down in as he flopped back, now next to Blaine.

Blaine watched him settle down beside him, his breath caught in his chest as Kurt's hand found his between their sides. His head pressed against Blaine's shoulder, and, slowly, Blaine let his cheek dip down against Kurt's hair, relaxing against Kurt's side as their fingers laced together.

"I think this has been my favorite Christmas ever," Kurt whispered softly, his left hand reach over his body and rubbing gently against where their hands were linked together.

"Favorite so far," Blaine promised. "Every year will be better than the last."

"Mmm, I'm going to hold you to that," Kurt murmured softly, and Blaine could feel his breathing already starting to even out.

"I hope you do," he whispered into the quiet room. "I hope you'll hold me to so much more than that someday."

Blaine was just beginning to drift off himself when a few murmured, half asleep words reached his ears.

"I will."

It was the sound of several car alarms going off on the street below that woke Burt up several hours later. Everything was dim and not at all like the deeper darkness he was used to in his room back in Lima. Outside, a pair of angry voice began to bicker and it took him a few moments to remember he was in his son's apartment in Brooklyn.

Stretching slowly, Burt sat up on the springy little purple bed in Rachel's sectioned off room and stared around sleepily. There were no lights from the main room peaking through the half closed curtains, no sounds of movement or snores that his ears could detect either.

After stretching once more, Burt slid his socked feet over the side of the bed and stood up, padding out of the parted curtains and finding the ones used to block off Kurt's doorway directing across from Rachel's still wide open. He poked his head in briefly, but the room was empty.

"Kurt?" he called, swallowing down a huge yawn as he headed down the little makeshift hallway and into the main room. The lights from the Christmas tree were twinkling and splashed over the walls around the room as he stopped and glanced around.

A slow smile spread across Burt's face as he realized the one difference from the room he'd left earlier. The two couches were pushed together, cushion sides lined up and two booted pairs of feet were tangled up on the longer couch's side. Heart skipping happily in his chest, Burt inched forward quietly and peered over, finding Kurt and Blaine, nestled up side by side, Kurt's head on Blaine's shoulder and Blaine's resting on his, their hands laced together and resting on their thighs as they slept peacefully.

"Merry Christmas, boys," Burt murmured, circling around to the blanket rack in the corner and then returning to drape one carefully over the pair of them. He raised his eyes to the ceiling for a moment, his smile turning sad. "I wish you could see him now, Liz. You'd be so happy he's got this wonderful boy– man, really, to spend his life with. They don't know it yet, but," Burt turned his content gaze back onto his boys, "they're going to make it. Just like we did."

Under his loving gaze, Kurt stirred slightly, reminding Burt briefly of the little boy he'd found asleep on the couch years ago on Christmas Eve. Back then, Burt had been a wreck and had woken up to find Kurt curled up in his mother's sweatshirt, thumb in his mouth and sleeping fitfully. He still ached when he remembered that evening, when he'd finally realized he had to pull himself together in some way because his little boy still needed his love and life.

He bent down a little and brushed Kurt's floppy bangs back and watched him nuzzle his nose in against Blaine's cheek. They both shifted slightly before settling back against each other under the blanket.

Smiling, Burt headed over to the kitchen and looked for a menu for a pizza place that would deliver.

The delicious smell of pizza and the apartment door sliding closed woke Blaine from his peaceful slumber. He squinted around blearily, finding part of his vision distorted by floppy brown hair. A sneeze rattled through him as a few strands tickled his nose and Kurt shuffled against him, groaning a little as his squinted up towards the ceiling.

"W'at 'ime is it?" Kurt grumbled, his eyelids drooping closed again.

"It's pizza time!" was Burt's cheerful response from a few feet behind their heads.

"Eeezza?" Kurt slurred as Blaine sat up, twisted around onto his stomach and looked over in the direction of the kitchen.

There was a stack of pizza boxes on the counter and Burt was dishing out slices onto three plates. Burt chuckled at Kurt and agreed.

"Yup, got it delivered from Dominoes," Burt told them as Blaine stretched and climbed over the side of the couch, stumbling towards the delicious smells coming from the mountain of boxes. "Figure we'll wake him up with some pizza, then start in on presents," Burt muttered to Blaine, nudging the three plate towards him to carry over to Kurt.

"On Christmas Eve?" Blaine said in surprise. "We always do Christmas morning at my house."

"Hmm," Burt said looking thoughtful. "We could split it, half tonight and the rest in the morning."

"O- okay," Blaine agreed, biting the inside of his cheek as he scooped up Kurt's plate and followed Burt over to the couches. His mind wandered instantly to the wrapped up package he'd brought with him and the letter he'd written and attached to it for whenever Kurt was ready to open it. Whether he'd pass it along tonight or in the morning, Blaine wasn't sure, but the very thought made him nervous. Giving Kurt that package, the one that had been such a catalyst for his father a week ago, felt impossible and insane. He wasn't giving it with the same intentions he'd thought he would be when he'd bought it, but as a way to begin to really let go of what they'd had and where they'd been.

Burt sat his plate down on the nearest end table, and threaded his arms through Kurt's armpits and hoisted him up into a sitting position.

Kurt groaned in protest, but let Burt shift him into a good sitting position as Blaine hopped down on the little makeshift couch bed and set his plate in his lap.

"Come on, it's your favorite New York pizza," Blaine encouraged lightly, settling down next to Kurt and taking his first bite. "Oh, wow, that is better than Lima's."

"Told you," Kurt smiled, rubbing his eyes and sitting up a little straighter.

Burt settled down in the little armchair by the Christmas tree and started to eat. They talked and laughed as they plowed their way through three and a half pizzas, finally deciding they were full and tucking the other two into the refrigerator for later or tomorrow. After they'd cleaned everything up, Burt let Kurt in on their plan for presents and they each shuffled off to their various locations to pull out the last few they hadn't placed under the tree yet.

The pile wasn't exceptionally big, but there was a handful for each of them, and Blaine had made a point to bring along ones for Kurt from his friends at McKinley. Burt had also brought a few extras from Carole and Finn, and Blaine was surprised to find that that little grouping also included presents for himself.

"You really didn't have to get me anything," Blaine muttered in embarrassment as Burt set the last present addressed to him on the table next to him.

"Of course I did," Burt insisted. "You're one of my boys at this point." He glanced at Kurt, sorting out the last two under the tree, and added in an undertone, "Regardless of what happens with you two in the future."

"Thanks, Burt," Blaine whispered sincerely. "That means more than you'll ever know."

Kurt clapped his hands as he dropped back down beside Blaine on the couch, now pushed back into his original position. "So how many tonight? We've each got at least six, so– "

"How about we open the ones from each other tonight and save the others for the morning?" Burt offered, and the significant look he gave Blaine wasn't lost on him or Kurt, judging by the way his soft lips pursed.

"That sounds fine," Blaine agreed, trying to keep his voice steady despite the way his hands were trembling. He stuffed those into his cardigan pockets quickly, which ended up making it worse because his hand closed over the letter folded up neatly and tucked there until he gave Kurt the ring box in the wrapped package.

"Great! Open mine first!" Kurt insisted, pulling a bright green, lumpy parcel from Blaine's little group and handing it over.

They all had a lot of fun exchanging their gifts for the next half an hour. Kurt had bought Blaine a new, warm, deep green cardigan and made over a dozen bow ties for him from leftover fabric at the office. For Burt, Kurt and Blaine had each gotten him a new cap, Ohio State Buckeyes from Blaine and a soft denim one Kurt had made. He'd also received several healthy diet magazines from Kurt and a few ties for his Congress days.

Kurt was the last to open his gifts, too excited from watching the others to be bothered with his own. Burt had given him a nice chunk of money and a new kit of all the moisturizing lotions that he'd been unable to afford since he started paying a dozen new bills. Blaine gave him several new scarves, a new lion brooch he'd found at the thrift store in Lima, and, when Kurt was done adjusting the little lion head and Burt made an very inconspicuous dash to put his gifts away and then eat more pizza, Blaine finally took a deep breath and reached over and clasped Kurt's knee.

"There's one more thing," he said nervously. "It's– this is going to be hard to explain."

Eyebrows lowered in confusion, Kurt shuffled a little closer, closing his hand over Blaine's on his knee as Blaine pulled the wrapped box out from where he'd tucked it away in his pile.

"I– don't open it," Blaine began as he handed it to Kurt. He stuffed his hand into his pocket, pulled out the letter and sat it on top of the box in Kurt's lap. "This is– wow, this is going to be harder than I thought… "

"What is it?" Kurt asked slowly, releasing his grip on Blaine's hand and gingerly picking up the parcel.

"It's something I bought over the summer. Well, late August, really," Blaine told him quietly, fingers twitching nervously. "It's custom made so it just arrived last week, but… I never thought I'd be giving it to you so soon, or in this way. I won't tell you what it is, but I want to make a promise on this, that someday if you find it in your heart to forgive me, you'll read this letter and open it. My heart was ready for this and it still is, but the rest of me wasn't."

Kurt still looked confused, but his expression softened. "I can promise that."

"I bought it for you, Kurt, and if I want to find a way to move on and grow from these past few months – to forgive myself for what I've done for you – then I can't hold on to this. I'm sorry I'm forcing this onto you, and you can pawn it off or never open it or trash it but– "

"No, you aren't and I would never do that with something that seems so important to you," Kurt promised. "I'm not there yet with forgiveness, and most of the time, I'm not even sure where to start, but I can feel myself growing strong and becoming better." His fingers brushed over his name scrawled out across the folded and stapled note. "Thank you."

"Thank you," Blaine echoed, his voice cracking as a smile broke out across his face and he tried to laugh in relief. "You never had to give me this second chance to be friends or to apologize or let me back into your life in anyway no matter how sorry I am, and I will always be so grateful to you for this. For everything you've ever done or meant to me."

"I told you once that I was never saying goodbye to you, Blaine, and I meant it," Kurt whispered, his eyes tearing up slightly. "No matter how much I wanted to shove you out of my heart and my life, it just made everything hurt more."

He leaned in and hugged Blaine tightly for a few minutes, until Burt reappeared and plopped down onto the other couch.

"I'm going to go put this up on my desk," Kurt decided, brushing a few tears off his cheeks and standing up.

Blaine watched him go, his chest feeling a little lighter until Burt spoke.

"Custom made, huh? Must be some engagement ring."

"I– you– how– "

Burt smiled wistfully and patted Blaine on the shoulder. "You two will get there, though I think you're going to have to wait for him to ask you now."

"I– " A flood of such images filled Blaine's vision. Kurt on one knee in front of him, or a napkin being pushed across a table at their new New York coffee shop with two little words written across them. He'd already taken his turn at it; the letter now in Kurt's possession was proof of that, even if it wasn't a proposal. The sentiment was there, and regardless of what Kurt decided on it then, Blaine would wait until Kurt was ready for the same step.