Blaine was struggling. He was attempting to wrap Kurt’s Christmas gift and the corners of the wrapping paper looked absolutely hideous. Ever since he was old enough to buy his own presents, Blaine had been horrible at wrapping gifts. Instead of sharp corners and crisp lines of festive paper, the corners looked crumpled and the edges looked crooked. Although, he was pretty skilled at getting the ribbon lined up just right, aiming the criss-cross for the centre of the wrapped gift.

                I should just stick with gift bags and tissue paper, he thought to himself, eyeing the wrapped box in front of him. He sighed and decided to leave the box as it was. He stuck a shining silver bow on the cross of his perfectly positioned ribbon and went to pick out a gift tag for the top of the box. His mother was quite the gift-wrapping perfectionist and every year she tended to take over one of the guest bedrooms as her wrapping room. She had containers full of rolls of wrapping paper, bows and accompanying ribbon in every colour under the rainbow. She had stacks of plain white boxes in every size (for clothes and such) and every kind of gift tag you could imagine. Blaine shuffled through the sheets of stickers and decided on one with a cute snowman on it. He peeled the sticker off and stuck it onto the box. He quickly scribbled Kurt’s name as the recipient. He considered the gift tag for a moment and decided that the “From:_________” portion of the tag wasn’t really appropriate. He crossed it out and wrote “Love” above it and wrote his name next to it.

                As soon as he finished wrapping the gift, the doorbell rang.  His heart rate picked up a bit in excitement. It was December 27th and he and Kurt haven’t seen each other since school had finished on December 23rd because of family obligations and Boxing Day shopping. They had decided to meet at Blaine’s house a few days after Christmas because they knew they would be able to have some quality alone time together. Blaine’s father had, yet again, jetted off to Asia to complete a business deal and Blaine tried to be disappointed, but he couldn’t really find it in himself to care that his father had left right after Christmas. Blaine’s relationship with his father created a distinct tension within the household. Most of the time, Blaine would remain in his bedroom, or escape to Kurt’s house when he was home for the holidays. While he and his father didn’t necessarily argue; there was always an air of disapproval whenever Blaine discussed Glee Club, or fashion, or what he did with Kurt on their date last weekend.

                His mother, on the other hand, absolutely adored Kurt. His mother was born and raised in England and had frequented shows on the West End ever since she was a little girl. She also had a special place in her heart for British-born fashion, like Burberry and McQueen. Blaine’s mother was a highly trained pediatric surgeon and her salary allowed her to order pieces from all of the designers that Kurt loved. Every time Kurt came over, they’d fawn over each other’s clothing like two girlfriends. It was adorable.

                Blaine rushed down the stairs to greet his boyfriend, who was currently chatting happily with his mother. A large gift bag had been placed on the table next to the coat closet and Kurt’s signature white Docs were sitting on the shoe mat by the door. Blaine snuck a peek at Kurt’s feet and spied the silly Santa patterned socks that Blaine had snuck into his school bag the day that school finished before winter break. Kurt was wearing a navy blazer with a faint checked pattern with a black turtleneck underneath and a pair of worn looking, straight leg jeans (a departure from his normal skinny jean). A silver pin was pinned to his lapel and he was wearing fingerless gloves (which Blaine assumed for more for fashion, than warmth, as he didn’t leave them with his coat in the closet). Kurt’s cheeks were flushed pink with the chill in the air and his hair was swept up flawlessly as per usual.

                “Hi, Kurt!” he called out, reaching the end of the stair.

                Kurt’s eyes brightened tenfold at the sight of his boyfriend. Blaine has dressed in one of his softest cashmere cardigans (navy) with a red-striped button up and jeans. He wanted to be comfortable and as much as he tried to deny it, Blaine swore Kurt loved seeing him in a rich, navy blue.

                “Hi, Blaine!” Kurt opened his arms wide and Blaine stepped into them quickly, wrapping himself around Kurt’s body.

                “I missed you so much,” Blaine mumbled into Kurt’s collar.

Kurt gave him a tight squeeze. “I missed you too, but it’s only been less than a week!”

“Still,” Blaine replied. “I missed you.”

“I know.” Kurt pulled away from the embrace to place a soft kiss on Blaine’s lips.

Blaine pulled away, shortening the kiss. Kurt made a small noise of disagreement.

“Don’t worry, we can go up to my room later,” Blaine whispered into Kurt’s ear. Kurt smiled and nodded.

“Sounds like a plan,” he said. “Let’s go open presents now, shall we?”

“Yes! I’m so excited to give you yours! Let’s go in the living room. My mom has a present for you, as well.”

“What? She didn’t have to do that!” Kurt exclaimed.

“Oh, darling. Please. I saw it in a shop and I couldn’t resist,” said Blaine’s mother, as she followed the boys into the living room. She picked up a beautifully wrapped box from under the tree and handed it to Kurt.

“Go ahead and open it, dear.”

Blaine and Kurt had been dating for almost a year now, but somehow they had never opened any kind of wrapped gift together. Blaine had expected Kurt to be one of those people who meticulously unwrapped presents, making sure to conserve the paper and bows and refraining from ripping, tearing and crumpling. Instead, Kurt went towards his gift like a five year old. He completely blew away all of Blaine’s expectations, by tearing the paper to pieces. Underneath the wrapping was a thin black box, with BURBERRY printed across the top in gold letters.

“No…” Kurt breathed, his eyes wide in shock. Blaine laughed at the sight of his boyfriend realizing that his mother had bought him a real piece from the actual designer. Kurt had been caught many times admiring his mother’s Burberry trench coat, sunglasses and purses. His mother had recently been in Columbus for work and had spotted the Burberry store in one of the high-end malls. She texted Blaine and asked him if getting Kurt a scarf from the store would be a good idea and he agreed whole heartedly that Kurt would love it.

                Blaine nudged Kurt a little with his elbow, encouraging him silently to open the box. Kurt lifted the lid and gasped. Inside the box was a cashmere scarf, with Burberry’s signature checked print, but with a bigger pattern. (see it here)

                “This is beautiful,” Kurt exclaimed, taking the scarf out of the box and running it through his fingers. “Thank you so much, Dr. Anderson.”

                “Kurt, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Sara,” his mother chastised playfully.

                “Right, of course. I think there’s always just a subconscious though in the back of my mind that I must address everyone by their rightful titles and not their first names. Blaine does it with my dad.”

                “Yeah, because he’s terrifying,” Blaine mumbled under his breath.

                “Oh, shush, you. My dad is a teddy bear. And he loves you,” says Kurt. “Now, open my present! Come on!”

                Blaine laughed and reached for the gift bag that Kurt had brought with him. He removed the layers of tissue paper and found a few small wrapped gifts inside the bag.

                “Which one should I start with, Kurt? Any preference?” Blaine asked.

                “Hmm…open this one,” Kurt said, picking out a thin, square package. Blaine ripped the paper off and realized he was holding a copy of Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream CD. On the cover, it said:

To Blaine,

Thanks for being such a great fan!

Love, Katy Perry

                “Did he stop breathing?” asked Kurt jokingly.

                “It’s alright, I know CPR,” said Sara, laughing.

                “Kurt,” Blaine asked slowly. “How did you get me a personalized, signed Katy Perry CD?”

                “I won a contest online,” said Kurt. “I was trying to get you just a regular signed copy of her CD, when I spotted a contest. All I had to do was write a quick story about how her music has affected your life and I won!”

                “What did you write?” asked Blaine curiously.

                “Oh…just the story of how you decided to serenade a complete stranger with Teenage Dream with the help of an all-boys a cappella group. And then that eventually lead to that stranger being your best friend and eventual love of your life,” Kurt said, rolling his eyes and smiling fondly.

                “This is amazing, Kurt! Thank you!” Blaine leaned over and kissed Kurt quickly.

                “You’re welcome! You still have a few things, though,” said Kurt, gesturing towards the gift bag.

                Blaine unwrapped a package of his favourite chocolate truffles, a small bottle of the cologne he had been running out of (that Kurt absolutely loved to smell on him) and a pair of socks with penguins on it.

                “Penguin socks, Kurt?” Blaine smiled deviously over at Kurt, who winked at him. They both knew it was a jab at Kurt’s “Baby penguin” phase, which was completely eradicated when they lost their virginities to each other.

                “Yes, Blaine. Penguin socks,” Kurt said, keeping a straight face.

                “Do I even want to know?” Blaine’s mom asked.

                “Inside joke mom, don’t worry,” said Blaine, looking over at Kurt, who was having trouble keeping his face in a normal expression.

                Blaine got up from the couch to fetch his horribly wrapped gift for Kurt.

                “This is light for such a big box,” said Kurt as Blaine passed him the gift.

                “You’ll see!” said Blaine.

                Kurt contemplated the gift wrapping for a moment. “Nice effort with the wrapping, sweetheart.”

                “I tried, okay? Plus, it’s what’s underneath the wrapping that counts.”

                Kurt began to rip the paper that Blaine tried so hard to make presentable. It was a matter of seconds before Kurt unearthed the plain white box that Blaine had placed Kurt’s gift in. Kurt opened the box and frowned when he was present with copious amounts of packing peanuts.

                Kurt looked over at Blaine with his brow furrowed.

                “You have to dig for it,” said Blaine encouragingly.

                “This is silly, Blaine,” Kurt said. “I can’t find anything in this mess. Can you give me a hint?”

                Before Blaine could tell him, Kurt finally unearthed the envelope that Blaine had placed in the box.

                “Blaine, why did you go through all the trouble to give me an envelope?” Kurt said, laughing at Blaine fondly.

                “Kurt, opening envelopes are boring. Unwrapping big boxes is fun.”

                Kurt shook his head and opened the envelope, taking two tickets out of it and holding them in his hand. It took a moment for Kurt to read the tickets and figure out what they were for.

                “Blaine…”

                “Yeah, sweetie?”

                “Are you aware that these tickets for Wicked are at the Gershwin Theatre?” asked Kurt. “And that they are dated for December 30th?”

                “Yes, Kurt, I am.” Kurt face was getting increasingly paler as he processed this information.

                “Blaine, how are you planning to get us to New York to see this show?”

                “I have a very important medical conference that week. Myself, Blaine’s father, your father and Blaine have been discussing it for at least a month. We’ll be using most of Blaine’s father’s travel points to pay for plane tickets in full and the conference, with much persuasion, is paying for two hotel rooms at the Ritz for us.”

                “Are you serious?” asked Kurt. He was speaking so slowly that Blaine feared he might faint.

                “Yes,” both he and his mother said.

                “We’re going to New York.”

                “Yes. And seeing Wicked on stage. And hopefully touring the schools we applied to. And going to Times Square for New Year’s Eve,” said Blaine.

                Kurt whipped his head around to face Blaine, “NEW YEAR’S EVE? IN TIMES SQUARE? ARE YOU SERIOUS?”

                “Yes, Kurt. I’m completely serious.”

                “I LOVE YOU SO MUCH BLAINE!”

                Before Blaine could even register what was happening, he had an armful of his boyfriend and soft lips pressed strongly to his own. They kissed for a moment before Kurt leapt away from the embrace and raced across the room to hug Blaine’s mom. He was jumping and letting out little squeals of joy. Both he and Blaine had huge smiles across their faces.

                Kurt had taken his phone out of his pocket and was having a lively conversation with his dad, confirming that the trip was all planned and paid for.

                Blaine watched his boyfriend, amusedly. He went over to his mother and leaned down to her ear level. “Do we have any tranquilizers in the medicine cabinet upstairs? I’m actually afraid for his safety right now,” whispered Blaine into her ear.

                “Shush, Blaine. Those are supposed to be a secret,” she said, laughing quietly.

                Kurt got off the phone with his dad and practically tackled Blaine once again with a hug.

                “I hope you didn’t spend too much money,” Kurt said softly.

                “I got a good deal, I promise. Plus, the money doesn’t matter, Kurt. I just want to make you happy.”

                “You always make me happy, Blaine. I don’t need fancy presents. I just need you,” said Kurt. “Although the trip to New York is a nice touch.”

                “Agreed. Same with the signed Katy Perry CD.”

                “I love you so much, Blaine. I’m glad this was our first Christmas together.”

                “Me too, baby.”

                “Be prepared though,” said Kurt.

                “What for?”

                “It’s going to take a lot to top this one next Christmas,” said Kurt.

                Blaine’s mom almost fell off her chair, she was laughing so hard.