A Klaine Christmas present for my big sis, Mindy! MERRY (late) CHRISTMAS!
warning: a little bit of angst; non graphic-abuse
A total of three chapters=)
After Kurt finds out that Christmas with his dad isn't exactly pleasant, he and Burt are determined to give him an amazing Christmas! :D
"What are you doing over Christmas?
It was the one question asked, at least a million times, in that week leading up to Christmas break. And Blaine never really had a good answer. Christmas, in his family consisting of him and his father, was never a happy time around the house. His mother had passed away on December 28, the anniversary close enough to Christmas and New Years to ruin them both. His dad was particularly horrible in the two weeks before and after Christmas, his alcohol intake even more than usual. The horrible name calling sometimes escalated into actual physical violence.
When he had been at Dalton, he just stayed over the break and hung out with whoever else either couldn't, wouldn't, or didn't want to go home; it was like a little family. He was one of the people that simply felt spending Christmas at school was more enjoyable than at home with him most likely drunk father, but, now that he was at McKinley with Kurt, there was no option to stay at school.
So, when Kurt asked him the dreaded question on Glee club the Friday before break started, the day before Christmas Eve, Blaine immediately stiffened.
"Uuuum….nothing," is all he could say, wishing he were truly just going home and sleeping like most teenagers.
"You can't do nothing over break," Kurt insisted exclamatorily. "Come on, what are you going to do for two whole weeks?"
"Try and escape as soon as possible with as little memorabilia as possible."
"Uuuum, I'm Jewish!" is the clever response Blaine could come up with.
"How would that even make a difference?" Blaine scolded himself.
"Hey, genius, your bowtie has Santa on it!" Kurt pointed out, tapping Blaine's nose. "Now, come on. Why won't you just tell me what you're doing?"
Blaine sighed, "Kurt, my family…my dad…just isn't a very holiday friendly person…Christmas break spent at home is not the best time in my life, ok?"
"That's horrible!" Kurt immediately exclaimed. "Christmas is supposed to be the most enjoyable time. What happens?"
"Let's just say there's a lot of name calling, and I can usually bet on a black eye before break is through," Blaine tried to joke, failing miserably.
"What? Blaine, you better be kidding."
For some, unexplainable reason, Blaine felt his throat tighten at this. Kurt was truly the only person he had been forced to tell (only generally) about his life at home, and he cared. Like, actually, truly cared.
"Y-yeah, of course," He choked out. "Kidding, right."
"Blaine?"
"I…I have to go to the bathroom," Blaine said, quickly yet shakily jumping up and speed walking out the door.
The whole rest of the glee club looked up, startled as Blaine left the room.
"Mr Schue, I'm going to the bathroom too," Kurt called behind his shoulder, already following Blaine.
"Blaine Anderson!" he called, following the clompy footsteps to the bathroom. At first, he burst into the boy's room, pushing open each stall. When he didn't find Blaine there, he sighed and pushed open the door of the girl's room.
"I thought only I'm allowed to hide in here, Blai-Blaine! Baby, what's wrong?"
"I-I'm sorry," Blaine sniffled, hastily wiping tears out of his eyes, determined not to let any fall. "I don't know what's wrong with me."
"Well, obviously something's bothering you," Kurt said softly, grabbing some toilet paper from a bathroom stall before sitting on the sink counter next to Blaine.
"I thought you wouldn't find me in here." Blaine gave a watery smile, accepting the tissue.
"Are you kidding? The sinks in the boy's rooms are too high to wash your hair in; I'm in here every time I get a slushee facial."
"Oh," is all Blaine said.
"Blaine, why are you so upset? Did I do something?" Kurt tenderly demanded, wiping away a tear with his thumb.
"No, it was me, Kurt," Blaine sighed. "Just me being stupid. I'm sorry; we should get back to class now."
"Nuh-uh, you are telling me what's wrong. I know you Blaine; the only stupid thing that made you cry was when you spilled grape juice on the bowtie Rachel gave you."
"It was a good one," Blaine defended himself. "I don't think you understand the perfectness of bowties, Kurt. Let me explain; you see,-"
"You're not changing the subject that easy. Come on. Is it your dad?" Kurt tentatively suggested, knowing Blaine's father was an extremely sore spot. But never dreaming it was anywhere near as bad as Blaine hinted.
"Kurt, just forget it. It's fine, really, I should be used to it by now…It'll just be my first Christmas at home for a while, and my dad's especially bad, that's all."
"How bad?" Kurt asked.
"Remember when I first transferred here? And you walked in on me changing?"
"All the bruises?" Kurt yelped, color draining from his face. "He did that! You told me you fell!"
"Yeah, I lied," Blaine said, strangely nonchalantly.
"Blaine, it's that bad over Christmas?"
"It's not really his fault," Blaine insisted, biting his lip. "Ya' know, with my mom's death's anniversary and all."
"My dad doesn't beat me up every year on the day my mom died," Kurt hissed, angry now. "Blaine, are you insisting this is no big deal?"
"It's not, Kurt. Please just forget about it."
"Absolutely not!"
"Kurt," Blaine pleaded, his voice breaking. "Forget I said anything."
"You're not spending Christmas there."
Blaine let out a forced laugh.
"Well, I can't very well just show up at Dalton, now can I?"
"You're coming to my house."
"I mean, sure it'd be nice to see the boys again, but-what!" Blaine asked, legitimately shocked.
"You heard me. I don't care if my dad approves or not, you're spending Christmas with me."
Blaine's heart did a little flutter. Christmas with Kurt? So incredible…yet something he could never agree to.
"Kurt, I can't. You know I can't. That's so intrusive, and I truly don't want to be a bother."
"How about this, then?" Kurt asked, looking up innocently at Blaine. "You agree, or I will kidnap you. And I will duct tape your hands together. And I will blindfold you. And I will chain you to the furnace."
"Kurt, I'd love to. You know I'd love to. But I can't. And you also know I can't."
"Why not? You don't owe anything to your dad, and I really want to spend more time with you. Honest."
"But…I…I could never…"
"That's a yes!" Kurt celebrated. "I'll talk to my dad and see whether you have to sneak in or you're allowed."
"But…I would need to pack and my dad probably won't like this…"
"Is he working today?"
"Yeah," Blaine answered, tentatively.
"I'll drive, then, Kurt insisted, grabbing Blaine's hand and leading him out of the girls bathroom.
"What!"
"Let's go get your stuff," Kurt said. "Let's just tell Mr. Schou first, though…"
Before Blaine could protest, Kurt stuck his head in the choir room.
"Mr. Schue?" Kurt called. The singing stopped and all eyes turned to Kurt.
"Yes, Kurt? Is everything all right?"
"No, I'm afraid we have to go plan a funeral; Blaine's imaginary friend has been in a terrible accident." Before anyone could comment, Kurt snapped the door shut. He turned to Blaine who was close to rolling on the floor in hysterical laughter.
"So not only am I the preppy, bow-tie wearing new kid, but now I have imaginary friends too?"
"Shush, poor, deranged boy. You're not right in the head," Kurt joked.
"Shush yourslef." Blaine flicked Kurt's ear good-naturedly.
Though Blaine would never let anyone see, he was so close to breaking down that afternoon. He had never, ever allowed himself to even hint at how screwed up his home life was, let alone help him. But Kurt was just…different. Maybe it did help that he was so insistent, though.
Kurt, in all honesty, had no idea what to do. His boyfriend, in no uncertain terms, had basically just told him that his dad was abusive. How the hell did anyone deal with that? Too him, Blaine seemed too ok…though he guess that was better than hysterical or something. At least Kurt knew one thing: He would do everything possible to keep Blaine safe.
When the two were finally in Kurt's car, Kurt realized something.
"Blaine, I have absolutely no idea where your house is!"
Blaine chuckled, "102 Starvling Ave. It's right off Pine."
"Hey, I actually know where that is," Kurt joked, turning left to make the ten minute drive. The ride there was pretty quite until they were pulling into the driveway. That had a car in it.
Kurt could feel Blaine stiffen at seeing the car.
"Blaine? What's wrong?"
"Uuum, nothing. Stay in the car, Kurt. I'll pack and be right back."
Before Kurt could protest, Blaine opened the door and slid out.
Kurt's first thoughts, "No way I'm staying in the car," were restrained, entirely at trying to respect Blaine's wishes. "He knows what he's doing," Kurt tried to convince himself.
Sure, he Blaine knew what he was doing. No one said what he was doing was smart.
Kurt was out of the car at the first huge bang coming from the house. By the second, he was flinging open the front door. Just in time to have Blaine land at his feet.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Blaine!" Kurt gasped, dropping to his knees in one fluid motion and staring into Blaine's pain-filled eyes.
"Blaine, who the fuck is this?"
"N-no one, dad," Blaine said, pushing himself to his feet. "Kurt, get out of here," he hissed.
"What the hell is your problem?" Kurt asked, his tiny frame quickly advancing on the big, burly man known as Joseph Anderson.
"Just because you're too much of an imbecile to not know what an amazing son you have does not mean you get to take him away from the rest of the world!"
"I'll kill you, you little-"
"And, furthermore!" Kurt continued. "Blaine's staying with me. And youcan spend Christmas alone with your horrible clothing and alcohol!"
Kurt turned away from the dumb-struck man and marched towards Blaine, tenderly taking his arm before grabbing the suitcase splayed against a chair and continuing towards the door.
"Don't fucking come back here, Blaine," Mr. Anderson growled. Blaine winced.
But Kurt didn't even miss a beat.
"Trust me, he won't be!"
The door slammed shut. Blaine crumbled.
"Kurt," he let out the choked sob.
"Blaine," Kurt whispered, hand going to his eye where a bruise was already forming. "Blaine, sweetie, are you ok?"
"He could've killed you! You-you were supposed to stay in the car," Blaine quietly insisted, allowing Kurt to help him into the passenger seat.
"You were supposed to not be an idiot," Kurt said back, gently. "Why would you go in there by yourself when you knew he was home?"
Blaine just shook his head.
"Kurt, I don't know what I'm gonna do," he said, hands grabbing at his hair. "I feel like I was just kicked out? Was I just kicked out?"
"Nope!" Kurt insisted. "Nope, you just left. Huge difference. You, because you and I both know you deserve so much better than what I just saw, made the decision to leave."
"But what am I gonna do now?"
"Stay with me."
"I can't stay with you forever, Kurt," Blaine said, wincing in pain as the car hit a bump.
"Are you ok?" Kurt asked, ignoring his comment.
"I've been better."
"What hurts?"
"I'm fine, Kurt. I'm just glad you grabbed the suitcase I packed so we don't have to attempt that again."
"What happened in there?" Kurt asked, eyeing the now very prominent bruise.
"Well…I managed to creep up the stairs and pack without him noticing. But he was in the living room when I came downstairs. He…he wasn't very happy when I told him I was going with you for Christmas…forbid me to go, actually."
"And?" Kurt asked, eyes wide.
"I told him that I loved you and I didn't care what he thought…"
"Blaine…I…I love you too," Kurt managed to squeak out while tears threatened his eyes.
"Well, he didn't like that very much either…" Blaine continued, shooting Kurt a watery smile. "He just flipped out on me, like really bad. If you hadn't come in, I don't know what would have happened…he was really pissed."
"Of course I could come in," Kurt immediately said. "No one gets to treat you that way, Blaine. You know that, right?"
"Yeah, I do Kurt," Blaine agreed. "But…ya' know, he's my dad." His voice cracked.
"He's my dad," Blaine repeated.
"Well, he doesn't deserve to be," Kurt replied, gently.
Blaine just sniffled.
As they pulled into Kurt's driveway, Kurt made a request of his own.
"Do you mind if I make it my turn to ask you to stay in the car for a minute? I just want to talk to my dad for a minute, then I'll come get you, k?" Blaine nodded.
"Ok…and Kurt?" Kurt poked his head back into the car.
"Thank you."
"Of course, Blaine. You would do the same for me," Kurt said, smiling before closing the door of the car.
Blaine finally let himself let out the hiss of pain he had been holding in for the past ten minutes and flopped his head back against the seat.
"Fuck me," he thought, hands grabbing at his hair, gel encrusting itself on his fingers.
Kurt slowly slid in through the front door, seeing his dad sitting on the couch.
"Hey, kid!" Burt greeted. "Glee ended early?"
"Uuum, no. Dad, can I talk to you about something?" Kurt asked, sitting down next to his dad.
"What's up?"
"Well…you know Blaine, right? Blaine Anderson?"
"The kid I found sleeping in your bed? Yeah, I know him," Burt snorted. "What about him."
"Well…I…I was wondering if he could stay here…for a little while?"
Burt looked slightly taken aback.
"I don't think that's they best idea, Kurt."
"Dad…he really needs somewhere to stay. His dad…he's not doing too well at home."
"What do you mean?" Burt asked, eyebrows rising sharply.
"I think it'd be easier to just show you," Kurt sighed, standing up and motioning his dad to the front door. Kurt ambled to the unfamiliar car and Burt followed him. He went to knock on the window and get Blaine to come out of the car, but a quick glance showed that Blaine was fast asleep, so Kurt just slowly opened the door.
"God, he looks so vulnerable," Kurt thought, looking at the pale, bruised boy he called his boyfriend.
"Dad," he called softly.
Burt sighed and walked to where Kurt stood holding the door open.
"Holy shit, Kurt," he hissed, viewing Blaine. "What happened?"
"He…his family…his dad, well…"
"His father did this?" Burt asked, demandingly. Kurt just nodded.
"Kurt, this is really serious. Are you sure?"
"I was there," Kurt said, drily.
Burt looked like he was going to reprimand Kurt for being in a dangerous situation, but just when he opened his mouth, Blaine's eyes suddenly popped open.
"Jesus, Kurt!" he exclaimed, jumping when he awoke to Kurt's face peering right into his. "Give me a heart attack, why don't ya?"
"Blaine," Kurt sighed, stepping back so Blaine could see Burt. "I know you've met, but here's my dad."
"Oh, hi!" Blaine said, immediately straightening himself. As he stood out of the car, it was very evident that he was in pain.
"Hello again, Blaine," Burt replied, a pained look on his face. "You need a place to stay?"
Blaine stiffened.
"Not if it's at all a problem, sir! I'm sorry; I know it's a huge inconvenience. I'll just go, I swear," Blaine rambled, eyes wide.
"No, no. It's ok. You can stay here as long as you need to," Burt said, warmly clapping a hand on Blaine's shoulder. Blaine winced and it was clear he held back a whimper, but a small smile appeared on his face.
"Jeez, sorry kid!" Burt quickly pulled his hand away. "We better get some ice on that bruise," he insisted, peering cautiously at Blaine's black eye.
"I'm fine," Blaine immediately responded, as though he had been trained to say that for quite a while.
"I would beg to differ," Burt chuckled. "Come on in."
In one hand, Blaine held his suitcase, while the other clung tightly to Kurt's. He allowed himself to be led to the Hummel's couch before Kurt gently pushed himself down on it. Burt went to the kitchen and reappeared quickly with a reusable ice pack.
"Thanks," Blaine mumbled, pressing the bundle to his swelling eye.
"Blaine, I hate to make you talk, but has this happened before?"
"Never this bad," Blaine answered truthfully. "But I think he was drunk…"
"He was," Kurt confirmed. "He smelled like rubbing alcohol." He scrunched his nose on disgust.
"But he's, well, ya' know. He's been violent before?"
Blaine considered lying. He truly did. But, for maybe the first time in his life, he chose to do something that may actually benefit him instead of protecting somebody else. He nodded.
"Then, that's settled. You're not going back there."
"I don't have any other family," Blaine pointed out, heart falling. "I kind of have to."
"I'm sure we'll figure something out," Burt assured the overwhelmed boy. "Until we do, you can stay here."
"Are you sure? That's a lot to ask."
"Well, you didn't ask, kid. I told. You're staying here."
A smile slowly crept onto Blaine's face and he let out a giggle, prompting Kurt to fall into hysterical laughter and Burt to grin.
"This is gonna be the best Christmas ever!" Kurt exclaimed.
Blaine's eyes widened.
"Oh gosh, I don't wanna intrude on your Christmas, though. I can really find somewhere else; I would completely understand."
Burt cleared his throat, " No one's an intruder here, Blaine. You'll be a part of our Christmas."
