It's our first Christmas together as a couple, and I was so excited to spend some time with Kurt. We had been dating for eight months, and we've been taking the physical aspect slow. Sure it was tough sometimes, but I knew waiting would be best for us in the long run.
"Blaine, are you ready to go?" Kurt asked, knocking on my open door, leaning against the frame looking flawless as always.
"Almost done packing, baby. Just need to find my gift for you," I replied, pulling open the door to my wardrobe, reaching for the box I had hidden there.
"I'll go down and bring the car around then. Is there anything you want me to take down?" Kurt asked, stepping just across the threshold.
"If you don't mind taking down my backpack, that'd be wonderful," I replied, handing the basic navy bag to my boyfriend, kissing his cheek as I did so.
"I'll be waiting downstairs," he said, blushing as he retreated from my room. Chuckling, I returned to packing my things thinking on how my Christmas break arrangements had been made. My parents usually spent the break overseas or somewhere tropical, only spending the first day or so with me before they left. They didn't really know how to treat me when I admitted I was gay, even though I was still the same person, so they tended to ignore me as much as possible, gifting me with lavish presents to make up for their absence. When Kurt and his family found out I spend Christmas alone, Burt called my parents and offered for me to stay with them, and didn't hang up until they said yes.
When I was done packing, I bundled up in my coat, hat, and scarf, shouldered my duffel bag, and headed down to meet my boyfriend, tossing my stuff in the trunk when I got there.
"When was the last time you spent Christmas with anyone?" Kurt asked, pulling out from Dalton's drop-off lane.
"Before I came out. When their straight son was no longer straight, my parents didn't really know how to act around me," I explained, taking Kurt's hand in my own.
"Well from now on, you're spending Christmas with us. Haven't Wes and David invited you home?" Kurt asked.
"They have, but they both go somewhere expensive over the holidays, and I don't want to impose," I replied. "It's fine, Kurt, really. I usually just spend a lot of time sleeping."
"Well not this Christmas, unless you want to share a room with Finn," Kurt commented, squeezing my hand and offering me a teasing smile.
"With the way your dad acts around us, I wouldn't be surprised if he had me sharing a room with Finn, although, I'd much rather share with you," I said, squeezing my boyfriend's hand back.
"We can always try. Maybe he'll let us if we keep the door open," Kurt laughed, reaching for the radio dial. "Sing some Christmas songs to get in the spirit with me?"
"Always," I replied, turning up the volume. After an hour and a half spent singing a lengthy Christmas medley, we were parking in Kurt's driveway. My boyfriend had barely stepped out of his Navigator when he was encased in one of the biggest hugs I had ever seen.
"Dude! Took you long enough to get here! C'mon in, Mom has cookies and she wouldn't let me have any until you got here," Finn exclaimed, still squeezing his step-brother.
"Finn, first off, don't call me 'dude'. Secondly, I can't go inside until you put me down," Kurt replied, smoothing down his coat after a sheepish looking Finn released him.
"Seriously, Kurt, go inside; I'll get your bags," Finn said, moving to the trunk to retrieve Kurt's duffel, finally realizing I was there as he saw the two very different bags.
"Blaine, it's totally good to see you too, dude. Sorry I didn't speak up sooner, I got so excited when I saw Kurt that I forgot you were here," he apologized, shouldering first Kurt's bag, then mine.
"It's okay, Finn. I can get my own bag," I said, moving to take it from him.
"Nah, I've got it. I'll go put it in Kurt's room," he said, winking at me as he shut the trunk, my backpack in his hand.
Flushing slightly at Finn's implications, I followed the brothers inside the Hummel-Hudson house, standing awkwardly just over the threshold.
"Blaine. Welcome, dear. Would you like a cookie before Finn eats them all?" Carole asked, approaching me with a platter of assorted Christmas cookies.
"Thank you," I said, pulling a molasses cookie from the tray, smiling at the chewy texture.
"That'll be the first of many, I'm sure," Burt commented, joining his wife to snag a cookie off the tray. "Kurt usually bakes a couple dozen during break."
"I think this year I'm making a gingerbread house instead," Kurt announced, breaking off a piece of my cookie, popping it into his mouth. Finn bounded into the living room and took a cookie.
"Will you make white chocolate macadamia nut ones too? I don't like gingerbread," Finn pleaded, eagerly reaching for a second and third cookie.
With a sigh, Kurt nodded before grabbing my hand and dragging me to his bedroom. "Sorry about Finn, he gets excited when there are sweets around," he said, sitting down on the edge of his bed.
"It's no problem. Can I help with the gingerbread house?" I asked, sitting next to Kurt on his bed.
"Sure. The new Directions are having a holiday party tonight, thankfully sans alcohol. Do you want to come with me?" Kurt asked, looking me in the eyes.
"Of course," I replied, looking down at my clothes. "Am I dressed appropriately?"
"No, but I'll fix you up with something. Did you bring those black skinny jeans you wore last week?" he asked, rising to his closet to look through it. And thus, the process was started. It took a while, but eventually, io was dressed to my boyfriend's standards, and we were ready to go.
The party was at Rachel's house again, but instead of the ridiculous drink coolers, there was a small decorated Christmas tree on the side of the mini-stage. A menorah sat on the counter across the room surrounded by assorted holiday treats and mugs for hot chocolate. Everything was cozier and more intimate, and I felt at ease.
The party quickly morphed from dancing to holiday songs, to singing together, to playing a sober game of Truth or Dare using an empty pop bottle to choose the victims. Half-way through the game, Puck and Santana disappeared, laughing amongst themselves. When they returned minutes later, leering at Kurt and me, I couldn't help but wonder what exactly they did. Intrigued, I planned to investigate after our game was over. It could wait; after all, I wanted to stay with my boyfriend.
After the game, Kurt was resting his head on my shoulder, checking his texts. After clucking his tongue slightly at one, he raised his gaze to meet mine, his eyes cloudy with fatigue.
"Shall we head back? Dad wants me home in a half hour anyway," Kurt asked, stifling a yawn.
"Sure. You look like you're about to fall asleep anyways," I replied, wrapping my arm around Kurt's waist. My boyfriend flashed me a grateful smile as we climbed up Rachel's stairs. Just as we were crossing the threshold, we paused as a loud gasp came from behind us. Turning around, I found nearly all the members of New Directions staring at us. Only Finn and Rachel were missing.
"What is it?" Kurt asked, raising a hand to rub at his forehead.
"White boy, you're standing under the mistletoe," she whispered, pointing at the bough of white berries and leaves above our heads. Then everything clicked. Santana and Puck had set this up.
"Well, you know the tradition. Kiss your man, Hummel," Santana said, winking lasciviously at Kurt, eliciting a wave or crimson to splash across his cheek bones. Then, silently, Kurt turned to me and raised a hand to cup my cheek, gently holding my face still as he bent down to kiss me. It seemed to take forever for the distance between our faces to vanish, but the second Kurt's lips touched mine, kiss feather soft and so gentle, I couldn't help but want more, wrapping my arms around my boyfriend's neck, pulling him closer so I could deepen the kiss.
With a quiet, breathy moan, Kurt melted against me, his lips dancing with mine. Tongues lapped along lips and mapped out mouths before we broke apart, long moments later to breathe. Kurt's friends were whistling and clapping for us, shouting their congratulations.
Blushing, Kurt retracted his hands from where they had tangled in my hair. "Mmmm, why did we have to stop?" he asked, resting his forehead against mine.
"Because your friends are watching us?" I offered, playing with the hair at the nape of Kurt's neck.
"I guess. I like kissing you though," he mused, nuzzling my nose with his, giving me an Eskimo kiss just like the night we first made love.
"I like kissing you too. After all, a one minute kiss burns twenty-six calories," I murmured, pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of my boyfriend's mouth, loving the way his lips turned up into a smile at the corner.
Chuckling, Kurt leaned in to properly kiss me again. Christmas break was off to a great start, and I was hoping that I could spend a lot of time alone with my boyfriend. After all, I'm definitely going to need to burn some calories after eating all those cookies, and what better way to do that then to enjoy my boyfriend?