Spending Christmas in New York, by himself really wasn't what Kurt wanted, but NYADA isn't cheap and he needs all the money he can get. Actually, now that he thinks of it, maybe it won't be so bad, at least he'll get a break from Rachel, who offered yet again for him to tag along on the cruise her dads were taking her on.

"No really Rachel, I'm fine, you go and have fun."

"But you can't be alone on Christmas Kurt, that's depressing."

Kurt opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a knock on their door. "I'll get it." He sighed, figuring it was the neighbors asking if they could come in until the landlord brought them a spare key, it happened more than you'd expect. "Dad?!"

"Merry Christmas buddy, I brought you guys a tree, no Christmas is complete without a tree." Burt peeked around the tree, a huge smile plastered on his face, reminding himself yet again that yes, this was in fact the right thing to do.

"I thought you and Carole were going to visit her family." Kurt couldn't believe his father was standing outside his door with a Christmas tree.

"Carole and Finn went, I decided to come see you since you were going to be alone. No one should be alone on Christmas Kurt."

"That's what I told him!" Rachel called from her makeshift room, putting the finishing touches on her packing.

"Well, aren't you going to invite me in or do I have to stand out here all night?"

"Oh! Come in, sorry, I was just shocked to see you." Kurt stepped aside to let his dad in with the tree.

"Hello Mr. Hummel, it's good to see you." Rachel said, coming out of her room, suitcase in tow.

"It's good to see you too Rachel. When do you leave for your cruise?" Burt asked, helping Kurt get the tree in the tree stand.

"Umm, five minutes ago. I really need to be off."

"Wait, before you go, I got you guys something, for your first New York Christmas." Burt handed her a small red box. "Open it, then you can leave."

Rachel and Kurt opened the box together, revealing a stunning apple ornament. "It's beautiful Mr. Hummel. Thank you."

"Dad you-"

"It's for your first Christmas in New York, I wanted to get you something. Now hang it so Rachel can get outta here, we don't want to make her late." Burt knew he'd have to tell Kurt eventually, but not yet, it could wait until later that evening.

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After spending the entire day together and watching a show that evening, Kurt and Burt ended up in a little café for hot chocolate and a large plate of fries.

Deciding he'd put it off long enough, Burt sighed, ready to deliver the news of his cancer to his son. "Look Kurt, I have something to tell you and I came here because its the kind of thing I wanna tell you face to face."

Kurt side eyed his dad, too busy playing with the whipped cream in his hot chocolate to notice how serious his dad was. "I don't like the sound of that."

"Look, I'm just going to come out and say it because there's no good ways to say it." Burt paused, wishing like hell he didn't have to do this, not on Christmas Eve, not ever. "I have prostate cancer."

Kurt looked at his dad, really looked at him, his face crumbling. This man is his anchor, his support, his hero, he can't be sick. He can't lose his dad, not after losing him mom. "I feel like I'm going to be sick."

Now Burt had a choice, he could tell Kurt the truth, tell him he's dying, or, he could go through with his and Blaine's plan. Knowing it was for the best, be went ahead with the plan. "Whoa, no hey, hold on, do I look like a guy who's dying? They caught it early, local stage, no spreading, the cute rates nearly a hundred percent." He reached for a fry, distracting himself from the pain of lying to his son.

Kurt grabbed the plate of fries and huffed. "For healthy people Dad, you've already had a heart attack."

"The heart attack is what made me get check ups twice a year."

"It's just really scary to think that when I, finally reach my destiny that, you won't be around to see it." Kurt admitted, struggling through his words.

Seeing his son hurting is breaking Burt's heart, but now he knows without a doubt that this was the right thing to do. "Hey, I will be there, I promise."

Kurt just sighed, not having any more words to say.

"Look, can I just give you one piece of advice while we're talking father to son?" Burt looked at Kurt with a sort of mischievous look, knowing Kurt would know exactly what he was talking about. "This is three times I've had to state death in the eye, and you know the one thing I took away from all that? You've got to hold the people you love close to you, no matter what."

Kurt gave him a small smile, knowing what he meant, but not wanting to talk about it, not now, so he just took his father's hand, the hand that helped him through so much, and maybe, just maybe, it'll help him through this.

---------------

Back at the loft in Bushwick, Kurt couldn't stop worrying about his dad, if he is comfortable enough, if he needs anything, a drink, food, anything. Like maybe if he made him more comfortable, he wouldn't be sick anymore. "Do you need anything, a pillow, blanket, anything?"

"No, Kurt stop, let's focus on happy things, like our Christmas traditions, watching basketball on TV while you pretend to watch it."

"You mean while I secretly read Vogue?"

Burt smiled, glad to see Kurt smiling a little bit. "Nah, it was never a secret. Also, our other Christmas traditions like where we each exchange on gift on Christmas Eve."

Kurt couldn't help but smile a little, Christmas with his dad has always been special, he wasn't going to let anything ruin it. "My favorite part. Alright, you first." He reached around the sofa for a gift bag, handing it to Burt.

"I saw that." Burt laughed, as he opened the bag, pulling out a NYADA ball cap. "Ahh nice." He replaced it with the one he was wearing immediately.

"I know it's cheesy but I knew you'd like it."

"Screw cheesy I love it." He reached back into the bag, pulling out a NYADA t-shirt. "I love it man. You're going to kick ass at that school."

Kurt nodded. "That's the plan." A beat, then, "alright, my turn."

"Okay, so my gift to you is really big, it's too big to put under the tree, okay so, you can pick it up at this address," reaching into his back pocket, Burt got a piece if paper, handing it to Kurt, "and you know, if you don't like it, you can return it." Burt gave Kurt a knowing look while Kurt looked at him with a slightly worried expression, what on earth could it be?

----------------

Finding his way to the address listed on the paper, Kurt found himself at the outdoor ice rink. Still not sure what to expect, he checked the piece of paper one last time to make sure he got the address right.

"Package for Kurt Hummel!"

Kurt spun around, secretly hoping he wasn't dreaming and he really did hear that voice. "Blaine?"

"Surprise! Your dad called me out of the blue and wanted to fly me out here just so I could see that look on your face and its pretty priceless."

Kurt just laughed, still not sure if this was real, was Blaine really here?

"Actually, he told me everything and I promise I'll keep an eye on him for you." Blaine knew Kurt didn't know what he meant by everything but he still meant it.

Kurt didn't know what to think, his dad had told Blaine before he told him?

"Burt the reason why I'm here is because he didn't want us to miss out on another important holiday tradition." Blaine smiled knowingly at Kurt.

"Our Christmas duet?" Kurt wanted to be happy to see Blaine, and part of him was, but it wasn't the same as it use to be.

"You are happy to see me right?" Blaine asked hopefully, not sure what he was expecting but hoping it was a yes.

"Yeah, yeah, always." And Kurt meant it, more than he thought. Blaine hurt him more than he ever thought possible, but he would always be happy to see him, because deep down, he knows he still loves him, he's just not ready to deal with it, maybe soon, but not today.