Kurt blinked sleepily into the dim morning light that filtered through his high bedroom windows, momentarily a little disoriented. He remembered falling asleep with Blaine beside him, Blaine's arms wrapped around him, feeling utterly content and safe and protected – but there was no one in bed with him now.

He sat up slowly in his bed, looking around the room to find that he was indeed alone. The clock on his nightstand read 9:45. Kurt's stomach lurched as he realized that at any moment, any one of his family members might decide to come down and wake him up to spend Christmas morning with the rest of them.

And if they come down here, right now… God, if they came down here at all last night… then… then they could have seen…

Kurt's hand flew automatically to his bruised cheek, and he winced as he got out of bed and hurried up the stairs. He checked the door, and let out a shaky sigh of relief when he found it locked.

Blaine must have locked it again when he left…

Kurt was mostly grateful for that fact, but the realization that Blaine had so consciously thought to cover his tracks was also a little bit disturbing. Kurt tried to put it out of his mind and think about the lovely day that lay ahead of him, a day of celebration with those closest to him.

This is going to be great. I've missed my family so much, and I get to be home for a whole week, and Blaine's already made an amazing impression on them… they all like him and accept him, and this is going to be the best Christmas ever…

Kurt tried to mentally psych himself up as he got dressed and carefully applied his makeup, then styled his hair with his usual precision – all while trying not to think about the fact that he couldn't quite bring himself to meet his own eyes in the mirror. Once he was satisfied that no one would notice anything amiss simply by looking at him, Kurt ventured up the stairs and out onto the main floor of the house.

He immediately realized that he needn't have worried.

He seemed to be the only one awake.

Kurt made his way down the quiet hallway, enjoying the soft warmth of the sunlight filtered through the drawn blinds, and the peaceful hush that covered the house. Dalton was awesome, and he loved the constant activity and excitement – the way that he could walk out into the hall of his dorm room at any time of day or night and find something fun going on, or at least someone to talk to.

But, sometimes… he really missed home.

Kurt stood in the living room doorway, admiring the Christmas tree, with all its random, not-even-remotely matching ornaments, most of which he'd made himself as a child. There were some others that he didn't recognize at all, which had to be Finn's childhood contributions. The lights were large and multi-colored, whereas if it had been up to him, they'd have been tiny and white, and arranged a bit more symmetrically than his family had placed them.

None of that mattered; Kurt still thought it was beautiful – not that he intended to admit that to his family, if they asked.

Kurt startled as he was suddenly embraced from behind, warm arms wrapping around his shoulders in a hug. Before he could register who it was that was touching him, or what their intentions were, Kurt had already flinched and let out a sharp little gasp at the unexpected contact. He turned quickly to see Carole behind him, still in her pajamas, a spatula in one hand. There was an expression of mingled concern and amusement on her face as she laughed softly.

"Why so jumpy, sweetie?"

Kurt forced a laugh to match hers, stepping forward and offering her the hug he'd failed to return the first time. "Still half asleep, is all," he explained, rolling his eyes at his own silly reaction. "Thought I was the only one up."

"I'm just starting to make breakfast," Carole explained, giving him an inviting nod toward the kitchen before heading off in that direction. "Wanna help me?"

"No one's up to eat it yet," he pointed out as he followed her. "But, sure, I'll help…"

"We're not making anything that won't reheat." Carole smiled. "This way, it's done, and we get to enjoy the rest of the morning. Everyone can stick a plate in the microwave when they're ready to eat."

"Sounds good," Kurt agreed. "Especially because I don't really have time to eat right now. I have to go out for a little while."

Carole frowned. "It's Christmas…"

"I know, and I won't be long," Kurt assured her, "but Mercedes and I have plans to meet up and exchange our gifts for each other this morning. It won't affect our plans any, I promise."

The Hudson-Hummel clan didn't have anything in particular planned for that morning, allowing everyone to sleep in until they felt like getting up. They would take their time getting up, relaxing and enjoying their time off for a little while, before having a light lunch, followed by their family gift exchange. Then, Carole had suggested that the five of them play a game or something, before everyone pitching in to put together a traditional Christmas dinner.

"Just be sure you're back here by twelve," Carole advised as they put the last of the breakfast food on the dining room table at just after ten. She paused, a thoughtful frown on her face as she added, "Do you think maybe you should wake Blaine up and let him know you're leaving?"

Kurt considered that for a moment, glancing toward the kitchen doorway. As of yet, there had been no signs of life from any of the closed bedroom doors beyond it. He knew Blaine well enough by now to know that he was not exactly a morning person.

"Let him sleep," he decided at last. "Just let him know where I went when he wakes up, okay?"

"No problem, sweetie. Hurry back."

"Really, Mercedes. It's okay. Quit apologizing," Kurt insisted as he made his way quickly back to his car from Mercedes' doorstep, anxious to get back into the heat of his vehicle. "It's not a big deal…"

"But you came out to my house on Christmas just to have nobody be there, and I thought you knew. I left a message on your voicemail to let you know I wasn't going to be there…" Mercedes sounded nearly distraught with guilt. "I'm so sorry…"

"It was a last minute change of plans," Kurt reassured her. "You can't help it if your family decided to go out of town for Christmas instead, and it sounds like you tried to tell me. I'm not sure why the message didn't go through, but it's not really a big deal. We can get together when you get back."

"Okay. I'm just sorry you had to go out like that, in the cold and all, on Christmas Day…"

"'Cedes. Sweetie. Please stop beating yourself up over this. It's fine. I'll see you when you get back," Kurt firmly insisted. "Okay?"

"Okay," Mercedes sighed, relenting at last. "I'll see you in a couple of days. Merry Christmas, Kurt."

"Merry Christmas."

Kurt hung up the phone and put it in his pocket before starting the engine and backing down the driveway with a little sigh. It was a little bit disappointing; he'd been looking forward to seeing Mercedes for the first time in several weeks. But it wasn't as if she could help it, and he knew he'd be able to see her soon.

Kurt headed for home – then took a different turn at the last moment, and headed through town. He had a little bit of time to kill, and now that he lived in a dorm room, and his house had twice the occupants it used to, time alone was a precious, rare thing to come by. Kurt just drove down the familiar streets of his hometown, smiling a little at the frosted windows and twinkling lights that sparkled as he passed, allowing his mind to go back over the memories he'd made in this town, with his dad and his friends.

Funny how I didn't realize how much I missed it here until I came back…

When he glanced down at his watch and noticed that it was after eleven, Kurt decided that it was time to head for home. Carole was clearly invested in this Christmas being particularly special, as it was their first as a combined family, and Kurt did not want to do anything to keep that from happening for her.

When he arrived back at home, the smell of spices and roasting meat told him that Carole had started the initial preparations for their dinner that night. The table was arranged with an assortment of attractive snack trays – vegetables with dip, finger sandwiches, cookies – to serve as a light lunch. Kurt could hear the sound of good-natured arguing coming from the living room, so he headed in that direction.

Blaine and Finn were sitting in front of the television, watching some talk show on ESPN, and having a rather heated discussion about the merits and unforgivable flaws of some team or other – Kurt didn't really know or care which. The important thing to him was that neither parent was in the room at the moment, and he hadn't seen his boyfriend all morning.

Kurt slipped up behind the armchair where Blaine sat, leaning around the side of it to give him a light peck on the cheek. Blaine let out a little sound of pleased surprise, grinning up at Kurt for a moment before abruptly gripping his arm and flipping him around so that he fell in a graceless heap onto his boyfriend's lap. Kurt tried to protest, but he was laughing too hard – and then, Blaine was silencing whatever meager objection he managed with a soft, somewhat less playful kiss.

Finn cleared his throat, and Kurt slowly, reluctantly, drew out of the kiss, turning his somewhat hazy eyes toward his brother in silent question. Finn was staring down at his lap rather than at the two of them, awkwardly fidgeting with his hands.

"Not that I care or anything, because like… it totally doesn't bother me at all, but… well… there's nothing I can do to cover for you two if you get caught now…"

"Get caught doing what?"

The sound of his father's voice from the living room doorway made Kurt's stomach lurch, and he scrambled clumsily to his feet, backpedaling a couple of steps away from the chair for good measure before spinning around to face his dad with what he hoped was an innocent expression on his face.

Judging by the anxious, slightly sick look on his father's face, Kurt guessed that his attempt hadn't even come close to "innocent", and was probably something more resembling "guilty as hell".

Burt Hummel closed his eyes for a moment, drawing in a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh of resignation, his mental struggle visible on his face when he guessed, "I don't want to know, do I?"

"Guys? Come get something to eat."

Carole called to them from the kitchen, and Finn rose from his chair, pausing in the doorway to clap a sympathetic hand onto Burt's shoulder, leaning in to confirm his fears quietly.

"No, you really, really don't."

A little embarrassed, but mostly pleased and relieved that his father and step-brother both seemed to be taking the idea of his being physically affectionate with a boy relatively well, Kurt started to follow them into the kitchen, but was abruptly stopped by a firm hand circling his wrist and tugging him back. He turned toward Blaine with a single brow teasingly raised over a suggestive little smile, lips parted to say something that would hopefully be clever and sexy, even though he had no idea what, yet. But the angry flare he saw in Blaine's dark, narrowed eyes seemed to short-circuit his usual sharp wit, silencing him.

"Where were you this morning?"

Blaine's voice was low and calm, and the subtle note of accusation Kurt heard there sent a little shiver down his spine. Instinctively he tugged against Blaine's grip on his wrist, but it was unyielding as steel. Blaine rose to his feet and abruptly jerked Kurt closer to him, the corner of his mouth twitching upward in malicious amusement at Kurt's little gasp of surprise and alarm.

"I… I was supposed to meet up with Mercedes," Kurt whispered, glancing self-consciously toward the kitchen doorway before turning his anxious gaze back toward his boyfriend. "We were supposed to exchange gifts…"

His words broke off in a muffled little whimper as Blaine's grip on his wrist tightened to the point of being painful, and Blaine edged in even closer to Kurt, so close that Kurt could feel the heat of his body, almost but not quite touching. Blaine raised his free hand to gently brush through the hair at Kurt's temple, in a gesture that was somehow both intimate and threatening at the same time.

"Are you lying to me, Kurt?" His voice was hushed, far below the hearing of Kurt's family, who had all disappeared into the kitchen, and touched with an edge of incredulous suspicion.

"What?" Kurt gasped, shaking his head in protest. "No! Why would you even think that?"

The hint of a smile about Blaine's lips faded instantly, his dark eyes smoldering with anger and resentment, and he abruptly dropped Kurt's wrist, turning toward the kitchen with a sneer of disgust. Confused and anxious, Kurt reached out to touch his arm and stop him, wanting to understand what he'd done wrong, and somehow find a way to fix it.

"Blaine… wait…"

Blaine jerked his arm away roughly, his voice a warning snarl as he cast a fierce glare in Kurt's direction.

"Don't touch me."

Kurt flinched as if he'd been slapped, freezing in his tracks as Blaine continued on into the kitchen to join Kurt's family. Kurt's heart raced in his throat, his stomach roiling with uneasy nausea as he listened to the sound of Blaine's casual laughter with the others, as if nothing had happened – and that was just it.

As far as Kurt knew – nothing had happened.

So… why is he so mad at me? I don't understand…

Kurt stood there for a moment, his mind racing with confusion, blinking back frustrated tears, struggling to steady his nerves and put on a brave face for long enough to go have lunch with his family.

I don't get it. What did I do wrong?