"I bet he's so excited," Blaine said, and Kurt glanced over to his husband reclining in the passenger seat.

Blaine was smiling wistfully, looking relaxed and at ease as they drove around the city to the small group home just on the northern outskirts in East Bronx. Kurt turned his eyes back towards the road, making the final right onto Beach Avenue and then driving down a little way until the dirty, brown brick building came into view. Even now, after six months of regular trips and visits the sight still surprised him. Without the sign out front proclaiming it as "Beach Avenue Home for Boys and Girls" Kurt would never have suspected it as anything other than another low-rent apartment complex. This was where their boy was waiting for them, probably beaming and bouncing, while whatever his latest tic was kept bursting out of him.

"What are you smiling about?" Blaine murmured, reaching over and fixing the scarf twisted around Kurt's neck as he pulled into an empty parking space and shut the engine off.

"Just thinking about how much he's probably ticing with excitement right now," Kurt breathed, trying to tame the enormous grin stretching across his face. "He's really coming home with us for Christmas."

"Yeah, he is," Blaine agreed, unbuckling his seatbelt and leaning over to kiss Kurt's cheek. "He's going to be with us until after the new year, and then... hopefully a lot longer after that."

"If he says yes," Kurt reminded him, his stomach attempting to plummet, but getting caught on his heart and hooked as it tried to sag down. They'd signed the first round of adoption papers several weeks ago, and had been waiting to have Evan with them for more than a weekend to present them to him for his own signature, whenever he was ready for it.

"He will," Blaine said simply. "Maybe not tonight or tomorrow, but we'll give him the forms and whenever he's ready for it, he'll let us know."

Kurt slowly unbuckled his own seatbelt as Blaine's thumb brushed soothingly along his jaw. He knew his husband was right, but somehow he still felt like all of this would be too soon for Evan. The boy had slowly started to let them in, was a nice and pleasant little boy now that he trusted them, but Kurt was still scared. Even now he still remembered how close Blaine had come to moving in and staying with them only to come back to that rickety old apartment and find it destroyed. Over a decade later it still made Kurt's chest ache when he thought about it, but Blaine knew him better than anyone else ever had.

"He won't do what I did," Blaine said quietly, his smile fading as he cupped Kurt's hands in his face and turned him until they were facing each other. The usual, soothing press of Blaine's forehead against his helped some of the tension ease out of Kurt's limbs and the added brushing of Blaine's callused thumbs over his cheek bones nearly made him melt right into his seat.

"He has come so far since we've met him, and he's younger and more open than I was," Blaine continued calmly, leaning in and pressing a warm kiss to the soft skin between Kurt's eyebrows. "He'll probably still hesitate, but he won't pull away like I did, okay? He's not going to shut you or us out."

Kurt released a shaky breath and accepted a second kiss, this time on the tip of his nose. His face crinkled up at the gesture, because no matter how much he tried to ignore it, or how many years passed, it still tickled.

"Stop it," Kurt whined, rubbing his nose to hurry the funny sensation away. "You know how ticklish that spot is."

"I know how ticklish several other spots are, too," Blaine purred, diving back in for a third kiss, this time on the lips.

Kurt hummed peacefully at the familiar taste and press, accepting, for a few moments, the gentle swipe of Blaine's tongue along his bottom lip and the gentle nibbling that followed.

He tugged his mouth away after that, knowing he would quickly lose his head if they continued. Together for over a decade hadn't changed how quickly they got turned on by the other, and given their recently hectic schedules they were quite overdue for a long weekend wrapped up in each other.

"We're going to be late, Blaine," Kurt informed him, turning back to the windshield and flipping his visor down. After quickly checking his hair, and then glancing over at Blaine to make sure he was also presentable, he pushed his door open and hopped out.

"Let's go pick up our boy," Blaine grinned, meeting Kurt as he came around the hood of their Range Rover and sliding his arm around Kurt's hips.

Kurt couldn't help but beam, too.

Evan paced his section of the bedroom anxiously, glancing from the clock on the wall (four minutes and thirty-eight seconds fast) to the watch on his wrist (fifty seven seconds slower than the clocks on Blaine and Kurt's phones), a gift from Kurt and Blaine for his first day of fifth grade. It was just a few minutes after one o'clock when his da– Kurt and Blaine were set to pick him up for their first official week together.

At the thought, Evan's latest tic, a wheezy little, stuttering chuckle, acted up briefly and then faded. His tics hadn't been very extravagant or active lately, which was a nice break for him after the combination ankle rolling-nose crinkling-lip biting one. He hoped that one never came back either. It made walking, standing, or attempting to play soccer nearly impossible on his bad days.

As his watch changed to six minutes after one, Evan slumped miserably down onto his little cot in the corner, staring moodily around at the seven other empty beds. Only five of the others were currently filled, though three of them had left this morning for their newest attempts at foster homes, the fourth belonged to a four year old getting ready to leave with his new adoptive parents, and the fifth was in a more complicated situation and tentatively visiting his mother and her parents for the holidays.

If they never showed up he'd spend Christmas alone. There'd be no presents or kids his age to play with, and as much as he enjoyed having some peace and quiet in the little bedroom the Hummels had set up for him, Evan hated the silence after a while. He'd grown up in noisy places, first with her and her shouting and yelling, and then here at the home with dozens of other children always pitching a fit.

What if they decided it was a bad idea? Had all of those smiles, the ones that had seemed so genuine and happy and loving, been fake? Maybe Kurt and Blaine didn't want to spend Christmas with him anymore, and maybe that was because they'd decided that adopting him was a bad idea.

The little clock on the wall played its little chirpy tune as it hit a quarter past, and Evan toed his packed bag as an older, more familiar tic began itching at the back of his throat. A few seconds later he let out a little high-pitched screeching sound, like a bird of prey call, and rubbed the little leather band of his watch strap.

It was these stupid tics, wasn't it? Nobody understood them or wanted him once they saw how weird and freakish he was–

A series of knocks suddenly echoed against the wooden door, and Evan's heart leapt so quickly he nearly choked. It was a drum beat Blaine always tapped out on his door at the Hummels home in Fort Salonga, and even if he'd never let Blaine cotton on it to, Evan secretly loved it.

The door was flung open, and Blaine and Kurt appeared, smiling brightly, like they'd found their entire world in the room they'd just stepped into. Evan hoped they had, because beyond those two he had no world or hope to rely on.

"Get over here, kiddo!"

Evan rushed over to them, flinging himself into Blaine's waiting arms and laughing as he was scooped up and twirled around. Moments like this were the only times he was ever grateful that he was small for his age. At school and even at the home he got a lot of grief for being so skinny and short, but when Kurt and Blaine scooped him up and squeezed him tight what the other kids said didn't matter.

"I missed you, guys," Evan mumbled, pressing his nose into Blaine's scarf and inhaling sharply. Peppermint and coffee today, not the usual coffee and raspberry, but it was still comforting and nice. Blaine's arms gave him a good squeeze as they stopped revolving and he found his feet back on the dusty floorboards as Kurt dropped down next to him and pulled him into a strong embrace that smell like the usual vanilla and jasmine, but also with a hint of coffee. They must have hit a Starbucks on their way here, that had to be the reason they were late.

"Oh, it's so good to see you," Kurt greeted, running a hand through Evan's tangled heap of curls and looking him over. "Two weeks really is too long. How was school? Did you finish that English essay? Did you do okay on that math test and– "

"Ugh, god," Evan whined, pulling away and making a face. "I just finished with all of that less than eighteen hours ago, can't we forget about that for a few days so my brain can heal from the trauma?"

Kurt closed his eyes and shook his head, a small smile on his lips. "All right, but only because it's Christmas Eve."

Evan smiled, too, his stomach flip-flopping inside of him as Kurt's smile grew wider and he tugged him back into his arms.

"I just really missed you a lot, sweetheart," Kurt whispered, brushing his curls back and planting a loving kiss on his forehead. "I'm so glad you're spending the week with us."

"Ten days," Evan corrected happily as Blaine groaned from behind him.

"Christ, what did you pack in this thing? A dump truck?"

"Your kitchen sink," Evan retorted as Blaine stopped behind him and adjusted the strap. "I brought my school books, too, since you guys make the math stuff more fun."

"I thought we weren't talking about that?" Kurt questioned, standing up and ruffling his hair.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Evan replied, another little wheezy, stuttering chuckle escaping him. He grimaced, but Kurt and Blaine said nothing in relation to the newest tic, and even after six months the lack of reaction still made Evan's heart soar. He gazed up at the pair of them as Mrs. Terrence, one of the home's social workers, appeared in the doorway.

"You three all set?" she asked kindly.

"Yeah, we're got a lot to do today," Blaine told her, settling his hands on Evan's shoulders and giving them a firm squeeze.

The touch made Evan's face hurt because his grin tried to grow even wider. He tilted his head back and looked up at Blaine, curls pushed back up off his forehead and a dark red cardigan just visible under his thick winter coat.

"Here," Kurt said, tugging a bright blue scarf from his pocket and unraveling it. "Let's bundle you up."

Evan made a fuss as Kurt zipped his coat up and wrapped the scarf around his neck and tucked the ends into it, despite secretly loving the affection he was being given. Part of him was still terrified of having it all ripped away when he was just letting himself fully experience it for the first time.

"If you need anything, just call, okay?" Mrs. Terrence told him. "Even if that means leaving early and coming back here."

Evan nodded, already knowing he wouldn't call. If he had it his way he'd never come back to this home again, because regardless of the name it was given it was never going to be his home after everything the Hummels were giving him. He wished he had the guts to tell them that, and how much he wanted to stay with them forever, but he knew how foolish that would be. And if he was reading the entire situation wrong then admitting how much he was investing in this could lead to a huge let down that he'd rather not think about. They'd probably say he was a nice young man, but that they weren't planning on adopting him. That's what a lot of people did, and while he'd never experienced it, he'd seen other children go through it, and he never wanted that to happen to him.

"Happy holidays, boys," Mrs. Terrence called, waving as she stopped at the main entrance to see them off. "Just call if you need us!"

The three of them piled into the Range Rover, Evan clambering into the backseat and stuffing his bag down onto the floor behind the driver's seat. He was surprised when Blaine hopped into that seat instead of the passenger side, but shrugged it off as he settled into the middle and buckled up. It was unusual for Blaine to drive, especially in the Range Rover because it was Kurt's baby. Blaine tended to keep to his fancy, little jeep, but Evan hadn't ridden in it since September when Blaine had tucked it away in the garage for the winter.

"You don't mind a crazy man driving us all home, do you?" Kurt asked, lounging back into his seat enough to see Evan. "Traffic was a nightmare on the way up and someone kept me up half the night because someone kept stealing the blankets."

"I keep telling you to get a better lock on that backdoor, babe," Blaine replied cheerfully as he started the engine. "One of these mornings you're going to wake up with a raccoon on your face."

Evan grinned as they continued to bicker playfully, his little wheezy chuckle itching at the back of his throat until he acknowledged it and let the tic run its course. The car ride out of the city and onto Long Island was longer than Evan was used to. It was close to three o'clock when they finally pulled into the little cul-de-sac where the Hummels lived. As they circled to the far end of the circle, Evan beamed as he caught sight of the other houses, all decorated extravagantly and cheerful looking.

But when they pulled up into the Hummels long driveway his heart sunk in disappointment. There were no funny or fancy decorations in their yard, nothing hugely exciting or even a strand of lights tangled around the bushes.

Blaine shut off the engine as he hit the garage door opener, and twisted around to look at Evan. "Let's get your stuff upstairs, kiddo. We've got a lot to do today now that you're here."

Confused, Evan unbuckled and slid out of the backseat, staring up at the undecorated house in disappointment. Were the Hummels Jewish? He glanced at both of them and quickly dashed that assumption. He'd heard them mention previous Christmases with their family, so he knew they had celebrated at some point, but maybe they no longer did. He frowned and tugged his bag out of the backseat, closed the door, and followed after Kurt with another short, stuttering chuckle.

"Why the long face?" Kurt asked in concern, curling an arm around his shoulders. There was a sly note in his tone that Evan barely caught, but it hinted at something more that he had missed.

As they entered the garage Evan looked up and then his mouth fell open as he saw the huge stack of boxes and decorations waiting for them on the far side of the double wide room, blocking most of Blaine's Jeep from view.

"Holy crap!"

Blaine's head popped up from behind the big stack of boxes, a long length of garland draped around his shoulders.

"Hope you're ready for some house decorating!"

"But– the whole court's already decorated, why'd you guys wait until Christmas Eve?" Evan asked in amazement, his bag falling off his shoulder by Kurt's tool bench as he stared down at what looked like a huge inflatable snowman.

"We were waiting for you," Kurt told him, shrugging sheepishly as Blaine shoved a stack of lights into his arms. "Decorating has always been a family tradition and you're part of that now."

Throat too tight to speak, Evan picked up another strand of lights tangled around a rolled up newspaper and examined it instead of saying something. He hoped that meant what it sounded like it meant, but his heart was swelling and jittering in excitement just from thinking about it. The old, familiar screeching tic bubbled up out of him like it had earlier while he was waiting. He couldn't get his hopes up even more until they said something officially. Only then would it be safe to tell them how much he already loved them.

"Let's get to work so we can go buy a tree before dinner!" Blaine hollered, scooping up the inflatable snowman and tottering back out of the garage and towards the front of the house.

Beaming from ear to ear Evan followed at a run, Kurt not far behind.

Four hours later, when it was dark and they were all sweaty and tired, Blaine hooked the last strand of lights together and stood back to admire their work. Evan squinted up at the still dark house, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited for one of them to plug everything in.

"Wait until you see what this maniac has done with all of this," Kurt whispered to him as Blaine circled around and found the extension cord that linked everything together at the little mechanical box he controlled everything from. "He wasn't a music major for nothing."

"There's music– "

But a second later the words died in his throat as the entire house roared to life in a blaze of colorful lights and twinkles. Music started up as well and suddenly, instead of the standard stationary lights everything began to flash and pulse with the song. It was a theme song familiar to Evan, and it took him almost a minute to recognize it as Blaine hopped back over the bushes and joined them on the curb.

"Star Wars!"

"Told you he'd know it," Blaine muttered from behind him, and Evan heard the familiar smack of Kurt hitting Blaine across the chest.

Two hands settled on each of Evan's shoulders, one belonging to Blaine and the other to Kurt as Evan gazed in awe up at the magnificent house he got to spend the next ten days at. This was going to be the best Christmas ever and for the first time in his memory he was going to spend it with two people who meant everything to him.

After taking a short break inside of the house, they headed back out to dinner and then to the tree lot in town where they spent twenty minutes searching and then another ten arguing over the two they'd selected until Evan spotted an even better one that they ended up tying down to the roof before making one last stop. When they pulled into the parking lot outside of a fabric store, Evan was confused and quite ready to wait in the car until Kurt said they were there for him.

Frowning, Evan followed Kurt into the little store, glancing around at all of the piles of fabric, and the shelves and racks devoted to nothing else. Blaine had elected to stay in the car and give "Dad" a call, which Evan knew meant Kurt's biological father. He knew Kurt's family was Blaine's family, but he'd never had the guts to ask Blaine about what had happened to his own parents or grandparents. A half-sister had been mentioned on Blaine's side, but the Hummels had so far kept all of them away from him. Sometimes it worried Evan slightly that he'd yet to meet his potential family, because it made him feel like there was no intention of ever making that introduction, but he knew Kurt and Blaine were also trying to take things slow with him. It was their first go at this as well, and they'd said they didn't want to overwhelm him. Still, Evan wished he could meet them, even if it was just over the computer like when he'd unexpectedly met Kurt and Blaine's old friend, Rachel Berry. She'd been overwhelmingly odd.

"Why are we in here?" Evan sulked, lips curling as he passed by an unpleasant stack of puke green fabric. "Are you making a new line of kids clothes and you need me to measure against?"

"Nope, this is Christmas related," Kurt informed him, steering him away from the ugly piles and towards a back corner where there were fabrics much more Evan's speed.

"I don't understand– "

"Pick one you really like," Kurt said, gesturing towards the newest section. "I'm going to use it to make your Christmas stocking."

Stunned, Evan stared up at Kurt, mouth wide open as Kurt waited patiently for him to start moving.

"You make stockings, too?"

"Just for myself, Blaine, my Dad, and now you," Kurt said with a small shrug. "I've always had a talent for creating things and fabrics, and I hated all of the boring red ones as a kid. My mother helped me make my first one. The hook broke when I was in college, but I still have it at my dad's house."

"Oh," Evan said simply, surprised once more at the mention of Kurt's mother. That was the first time he'd ever heard her mentioned, the woman Kurt's father was married to now was called Carole from what Evan understood, and she was quite a lady supposedly. He wasn't sure if he believed it or not, but he wasn't very fond of anyone female after her.

"There's a ton of options for you," Kurt added, looking a little unsure because Evan hadn't moved from his side. He bit his lip and glanced at the nearest stack. "See? Here's one with Michael Jordan and basketballs and– "

"Do they have a soccer one?" Evan asked hopefully, peering at the pile Kurt was riffling through.

"I bet they've got a good dozen to pick from," Kurt said enthusiastically, glancing around as Evan picked a pile and started looking. "There! Top shelf!"

Evan whipped around as Kurt side stepped a few towers and reached up to where a little flap of fabric, with a little black and white ball printed on it, was dangling just in view. Kurt took the top half the of the stack down and set it on a shorter pile so that Evan could help him sort through it. They flipped through the cloths for a long time, laughing and holding up the sillier ones, until Evan had three set out, all soccer related, but with different designs and colors.

"I think I like this one the best," he said finally, holding up the one with soccer balls on a cluttered background of various team's logos and country team's flags. "It's got all of the teams that play here, the U.K., and during the FIFA World Cup."

Kurt looked rather lost at his reasoning, but nodded and pulled several sheets of the fabric out. "Just enough," he decided, holding the sheets up and examining them. "I've still got the fabric for the top trim at home, and a bunch of different glitter colors and the glue so we can write your name on that part."

Evan laughed at how excited Kurt seemed at the project, because usually Kurt was the more mature of the two men, more steady and sure, but still fun. It was nice getting to see this side of Kurt more, and to feel like he was on his way to officially joining the Hummel clan. As Kurt stood up, Evan did something he wasn't very prone to. He flung himself around Kurt's waist, squeezing him tightly and pressing his face against the soft knitted sweater Kurt had on under his coat.

"You're really great," Evan mumbled gratefully. "I've never had a Christmas that was like this before."

"All of your Christmases are going to be amazing from now on," Kurt assured him, one arm pressing against Evan's shoulders while the other set down the fabrics and then threaded though his curls. It was a gesture that didn't happen often because he pretended le it bugged him, but it was soothing in a way Evan couldn't describe. Nobody had ever made him feel as loved and save as he did when Kurt's hand petted through his curls. "You've got me and Blaine now, and no matter what we're always going to spend Christmas together, okay?"

His heart stuttered in his chest at Kurt's words, and this time, no matter how much Evan tried to contain his hopes and squash them down, he couldn't – not after Kurt told him something like that.

"Come on, I'm exhausted and we've still got a tree to decorate, buddy," Kurt said, giving Evan another squeeze and stepping back with a radiant smile. He offered his hand to Evan, and Evan grabbed it immediately, forgetting that the boys at school would tease him mercilessly for holding an adult's hand or that he'd always pretended not to like such things so he could somehow remain aloof and keep that last bit of distance between the Hummels and his heart.

Once they returned to the house, Kurt and Blaine carried the tree in through the garage and set it down in the now empty corner of the family room, across from the fireplace. It was the spot where a big cozy bean bag chair had been set up for Evan shortly after his first visit, but that had now been moved onto the far side of the couch. Evan stood back and directed Blaine as he held the tree up and Kurt tightened it into place, and finally when he deemed it perfectly straight, Blaine let go and Kurt stood up and dusted his pants off.

"Hope you're ready for some more decorating," Blaine said, nodding towards the garage. "We've got two huge boxes of stuff to put on this baby."

Kurt shook his head ruefully and picked up the shopping bags they'd set on the island in the adjoining kitchen. "Well, I'm going to get to work on this stocking while you two don't break anything."

Blaine turned to Evan and rolled his eyes playfully. "He's just upset because he broke his favorite scarf ornament last year."

"I did not," Kurt argued, looking irritated. "If you hadn't snuck up behind me to" Kurt's words falter, and Evan found the man staring down at him, face steadily turning red. "Well, it was just– it was your fault."

"Yeah, yeah," Blaine griped, nudging Evan towards the garage. "Blame it on me instead of you tossing it up into the air like a coin because you wanted some– "

"Blaine!"

"All right, all right!" Blaine hollered ducking into the garage as Evan stared back and forth between them, trying to figure out what in the world they were hinting at. There was something they didn't want to discuss in front of him, and he couldn't imagine what it was. "Hurry up, Evan! I can't carry all of these by myself!"

With a jolt, Evan followed Blaine into the garage, towards the last three boxes in the original stack. Blaine handed off the smallest one and then stacked the other two on top of each other and lifted them up. They carried the boxes into the family room, spacing them out on the open floor in the center of the room and starting to sort through them while Kurt spread out at the island counter and began making Evan's stocking.

They had a lot of fun stringing the lights up, then the garland around the house, a beautiful red ribbon on the tree, and finally the ornaments. The first one Blaine handed him came with a story. It was Kurt's mother's perfume bottle, and for years Kurt had kept it because the scent was soothing and comforting when he missed her most. The rest were less sentimental. There was an entire collection of Mischievous Puppy ornaments, along with a collection of kitten ones that Evan got a kick out of. There were also a lot of shiny bells and balls that Evan had expected, and an entire bag of plastic icicles that Blaine spaced out at various spots on the tree.

The second box was a lot more painful for Evan to sift through and start hanging. The entire box was full of son ornaments, starting from the early 90's and continuing up until the previous year. For the ones after 2010 there were pairs of them, and Evan swallowed thickly as he imagined a faceless, but kind, older man handing the ornaments to Kurt and Blaine each year. He'd seen them at the little Hallmark outlet in the mall each year when the ladies at the home took all of the kids to see Santa, but he'd never had one before. Some of them were kind of stupid looking, like the little boy with candy cane limbs and a reindeer head, but it was the thought and meaning behind it that made his chest ache. One day maybe he'd have parents of his own to give him one, maybe if might even be the two incredible men he was spending this year with.

"Hey, look at this one!" Blaine chirped, dropping down next to Evan and holding up a picture frame ornament. Inside under the heading "Newlyweds" was a photo of Blaine and Kurt, hugging each other close and beaming at the camera, still in their tuxedos and no doubt at the reception after their wedding.

"You two look the same," Evan remarked, taking the little frame into his hands and tilting it up towards the ceiling lights. The same untamable curls had been swept back off Blaine's forehead and Kurt's hair was styled up into its usual fancy sweep. The only notable difference was facial hair, and even then there wasn't too much. Both of their faces were smooth in the old photo, but now Blaine's was scratchy with stubble and even Kurt had a little stubble covering his jaw and upper lip.

"It really wasn't that long ago," Blaine told him. "November 2018, right before my sister graduated high school. That was the first time I'd seen her in eight years."

Evan took a few moments to process this new information, storing it away with everything else he'd been learning about Kurt and Blaine's relatives and friends. He'd met a few of their college and high school friends, and had really gotten a kick out of two women, Rachel and Santana, that they'd gone to high school with and that Kurt had shared his first New York apartment with. Part of him desperately wanted to ask why Blaine hadn't seen his younger sister in so long, but he didn't want to spoil the fun mood they'd had all day.

"D- do I get to meet her?" Evan asked hesitantly instead, gasping in surprise as Blaine hoisted him up onto his shoulders and headed to the tree.

"Yeah, she's off at college in Chicago," Blaine told him, holding his legs tightly as Evan used his new height advantage and hung the photo right at the tippy top. "She said she's going to visit over her spring break at the end of February. Bring her boyfriend."

The suddenly change in Blaine's tone confused Evan but then Kurt was behind them, lifting Evan off Blaine's shoulders and setting him down.

"He is not that bad, Blaine. He's just... "

"Obnoxious?" Blaine supplied.

"Well, yeah," Kurt admitted. He held up his newly made stocking for Evan to see. "What do you think? We've just got to put your name on it."

"Wow!" Evan breathed, taking the offered stocking in amazement. It was quite simple, really, just a few cut outs sown together and then the usual fluffy white trim and a cute little hook of cloth at the top. "It's awesome! Thanks, Kurt!"

"I'll finish this up while you put your name on that," Blaine decided, eyeing the last few ornament boxes and the tree topper, a beautiful silver light up star judging by the picture on the box.

Kurt ushered him over to the island and Evan climbed up onto the barstool, eyeing the dozen bottles of glitter awaiting him. There were reds, blues, greens, gold, silver, and a multiply colored one. Kurt picked up the bottle of glue and offered it to him.

"You can write it, or I can," Kurt told him, waving his hand towards the other two stockings, both in a beautiful flowing script that Evan immediately connected with Kurt.

"Can you do it? So all of ours match?"

A slow smile spread over Kurt's face as he slid Evan's stocking towards himself. "Yeah, I can definitely do that."

Evan watched as he carefully traced out the four little letters, eyeing the blue and green bottles of glitter. "Can I use two colors?"

"Sure, buddy, anything you want," Kurt assured him.

Once Kurt was finished writing out Evan's name he set down a sheet of newspaper in front of Evan and then laid the stocking down on it. Tongue poking out, Evan started to sprinkle the new colors over his name, listening to Kurt's directions to cover all of it and then to let it sit for a bit. With a loud yawn Blaine collapsed onto the couch next to the tree.

"It's done!"

"The rest of the house isn't!" Kurt countered, winking playfully at Evan as they joined Blaine in the family room.

"Ugh, the garland was enough this year," Blaine complained, sinking further down into the cushions.

The tree was twinkling brightly in the corner, a fire now crackling in the hearth where there'd only been a few logs before. Evan gazed at the tree in wonder, watching the lights shimmer and reflect off the ornaments and walls. It was small and quant, but it was far more breathtaking than any of the huge trees at the malls or the parks around New York City. It was special because he'd been a part of it.

Kurt settled down on the other couch and Evan face planted into his bean bag chair, yawning and stretching. It had been a long day for him. Up at dawn after a nearly sleepless night because he'd been so excited to see Kurt and Blaine after several weeks apart. They sat there together for a while, talking about silly things and plans for the following day, and then cleaning the excess glitter off Evan's stocking to hang up. All three of them hung theirs together on the mantle, and Evan was just about to suggest turning in for the night when Blaine hoisted him up, and plopped them both down on his bean bag chair.

"Just one more thing before bed," Blaine told him. "It's a Hummel family tradition to open one present before bed."

Nonplussed, Evan eyed the empty floor under the Christmas tree. Kurt, meanwhile, had disappeared and a few minutes later Evan realized why. He returned with a little rolling cart stacked high with presents. Amazed at the huge pile, Evan watched Kurt set them up under the tree, and then when there was only one left, a small wrapped box and a thick looking envelope taped to it, he headed over to them and sat down on the edge of the couch, looking nervous. Blaine shifted underneath Evan, one strong arm wrapped around his stomach as he sat up a little and planted a quick kiss on Evan's head.

The gesture made Evan's heart flip pleasantly as Kurt handed him the envelope and little box.

"Merry Christmas, Evan."

Hands shaking, Evan grasped the little box gingerly, afraid of hurting or breaking the first Christmas present he'd ever cared about receiving. Kurt's hand stroked through his curls as he took a deep breath and started to open the envelope, knowing it was only proper to read the card first even if he always thought cards were silly. It was nice to sit here like this, with Blaine's arms snug around him and his chest warm against his back as Kurt sat beside them.

But when Evan slotted open the envelope he was taken aback, because it wasn't a silly card inside, but several folded up pieces of paper, the words on the inside so that he had to tug the papers out and flatten them out to read it.

The words that stared up at him made his throat close up and his eyes water, because he'd done his best for so long to not get his hopes up, but now there was every reason to.

In the matter of the adoption of Evan Michael O'Connor the undersigned petitioning adoptive parent(s) hereby agree(s) to adopt the above-named child and to treat said child in all respects as their own lawful child and to extend and assure to said child all the rights, benefits, and privileges incident to such relationship, and to incur and fulfill all the responsibilities of parents with respect to said child.

Below was Kurt and Blaine's full names and signatures, a third line for Evan's name and signature, and another handful of pages that Evan wasn't sure what they were for. His little bird screeching tic escaped him, followed by an old hiccupping tic that still cropped up every now and again. It wasn't until Kurt's thumb brushed away the tears clinging to his eyelashes that Evan realized he was crying.

"Shh, it's okay, sweetheart," Kurt whispered, kissing his temple and wiping away another tear making its way down Evan's cheek. "We– if you aren't ready it's o– "

"Y- you guys really want to adopt me?" Evan sniffed, eyes still locked on the physical proof he held in his trembling hands.

"More than anything in the world," Blaine murmured against his hair. "We love you even more than we love each other, and that's saying quite a lot."

"We want you in our lives permanently, every day, all day," Kurt added, "and whenever you're ready to sign just let us know, okay? There's still a lot of other forms and things to do, but this is the first step and we just wanted you to know that we're ready for it when you are."

The little wrapped parcel that had accompanied the envelope was scooped up from his lap and Blaine plucked the paper apart and slid the little box out and held it up for Evan to see.

It was an ornament box, with a picture of a little green snow cone on the front. A snowman-like head was on top of the cone, with a little button nose, a baseball cap, and across the snow cone's little wrapped, blue paper cone was the word "Son". Heart pounding and exploding like a box of fireworks, Evan watched Blaine's hands pry the box open and unwrap it.

"You wanna hang it up?"

After a moment, Evan gave a jerky nod and slid out of Blaine's lap, picking up a little hook from the packet on the coffee table and attaching it to his first ornament. With shaking hands he reached out and hung it right in front at his eye level. A huge grin spread across his face as he stepped back and looked at it.

"Come on," Kurt said softly. "Let's go get you tucked in for the night."

Evan agreed with a silent nod, letting Kurt take his hand and guide him along the familiar path upstairs to the little room that he'd been unable to acknowledge as his these past six months. But now it would be his room and not the room he slept in while he visited. He would no longer be visiting, but living here permanently with his... parents. It felt funny to think it without trying to deny the truth of what these two were to him now.

The documents were still clutched in his hand as Kurt and Blaine left him to get changed into his pajamas and brush his teeth. When they returned to tuck him in and kiss him goodnight, it was accompanied by a bedtime story for the first time in his memory. The two men snuggled up on either side of him and read The Night Before Christmas to him, ending the tale with a kiss each, and murmured "I love yous" that thrilled Evan beyond his wildest dreams.

They tucked him in tight, wished him sweet dreams, turned out the light and closed the door. Evan rolled over and gazed at the forms now lying on the nightstand beside his bed, wishing he could keep them forever as proof that he was wanted, but knowing they'd have to be handed over to various officials and courts for processing. He'd sign them now, and then first thing in the morning he'd give them back to Blaine and Kurt as a Christmas present since he'd only managed to make them a few silly things since he'd had no money to buy something.

There was no doubt in Evan's mind that the return of the documents, signed and ready to be made official, would mean as much to his new parents as it did to him.