Author's Note: Happy New Year! My very best wishes for 2015! To my lovely guest reviewer Karen: I'm thrilled that you love my story, and I promise you there will be more updates. I usually update on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. This chapter and the next will deal with the family dinner. And Blaine will find out Kurt's secret in due time :) I've already written part of that :) Please log in next time so that I can send you a pm with a sneak peek at the next chapter!

Chapter 36: The Hudmel Friday Dinner

"The tea-bell rang before he had finished describing the paradise which he meant to earn for Meg, and he proudly took her in to supper, both looking so happy that Jo hadn't the heart to be jealous or dismal." (Louisa May Alcott, Little Women)

The door opened before either of them could ring the bell, and there stood his dad and brother. Kurt sent them both a menacing glare. Behave, or else …

They seemed to get the memo. Finn slinked off without a word, and the only thing Burt said was: "Come on in. Dinner's ready."

They both stepped inside and wiped their shoes on the mat. Carole came towards them, wiping her hands on her apron. Her smile was warm and welcoming, and she hugged Blaine as a long-lost son. Blaine clearly wasn't expecting a hug. His eyes grew large, his mouth formed a perfect "O" and he almost dropped the bouquet he was holding. Then a breath-taking smile stole over his face and he returned the hug enthusiastically, his eyes shining like stars.

The smile was still in place when he stepped back and presented the flowers to Carole. "These are for you, as a hostess gift. Thank you so much for your invitation, it means a lot to me."

Carole looked slightly taken aback, and Kurt could hear his father mutter "Smarmy show-off" under his breath. Carole, however, clearly appreciated the gesture. Her face lit up beautifully and she buried her nose in the flowers. "Thank you, Blaine! They're lovely."

They all headed to the dining table. Rachel, Finn and their children were already seated. Sarah and Toby bounced excitedly in their chairs when they saw Blaine, no doubt planning on wheedling a story out of him after dinner.

Kurt steered Blaine to a seat next to Rachel and opposite the children, and sat down next to Blaine.

Now he's surrounded by friends, even if Finn or Dad turn on him …

Carole brought out the pot roast, the vegetables and the potatoes, as well as the vegetarian dish for Rachel, and Kurt saw Blaine eye the food appreciatively. The Hudmels all served themselves and tucked in without another word. Blaine seemed surprised at the lack of ceremony, but followed suit.

When Blaine complimented Carole on the excellent dinner, Burt's head snapped up and his eyes flashed. "So, Blaine, is it?"

"Yes, sir," answered Blaine politely.

Burt scoffed. "Pretty manners are wasted on me. Makes me feel uncomfortable. Just call me Burt, will you?"

"Yes, Burt," said Blaine promptly.

"So you're Kurt's boyfriend?" Burt continued.

"Yes, I am," Blaine beamed, grabbing Kurt's hand under the table and squeezing it. Kurt's lips curved into a smile so wide it hurt his cheeks.

"Huh," Burt grunted. "Kurt says it's only been a week."

"Yes, we met last Friday at the book fair," nodded Blaine.

"And you're already putting labels on things, huh?" Burt pressed on.

"It may seem too soon for you, but I assure you I'm not pressuring your son into anything he's not ready for," Blaine insisted.

"You had better not!" Burt flared up.

"Dad!" Kurt interjected. "Not that it's any of your business, but Blaine is a perfect gentleman. And you're ten years too late for the 'Treat my son with respect' talk. I'm 26, for heaven's sake! Stop playing the overprotective father role! I didn't bring Blaine here for you to give him the third degree. I brought him here because I'm sure he's going to be an important part of my life from now on, and I wanted you two to meet. So I'd appreciate it if you'd stop glaring at him and biting his head off!"

Then he turned to Finn, who'd been enjoying Burt's questioning a little too much. "And the same goes for you, understood?"

Finn visibly wilted under Kurt's death glare and nodded jerkily.

Burt, however, seemed stuck on something Kurt had said. "What do you mean, I'm ten years too late?"

Uh-oh … I should not have mentioned that …

"I don't really want to go into detail, but at sixteen, I was in love with a boy who was a lot less trustworthy than Blaine. Your overbearing father act would have come in handy then. I doubt if you could have scared him off, though, he wasn't the kind of person who cared about making a good impression and he never cared about anyone but himself."

"Sounds like a winner," Burt said sarcastically. "I hope you dumped him."

"We were never together, dad," answered Kurt. "It was a one-sided crush."

So not going to tell you that Seb took my virginity …

"Good," said Burt decisively.

"So Rachel tells me you work with Tina?" Carole took over.

Kurt smiled at Carole gratefully as Blaine told her and the table at large about teaching at Hawthorne and about the musical they would be performing for Thanksgiving. The Hawthorne kindergarteners and the children from Hawthorne's day care centre across the street would join in, too.

Carole nodded thoughtfully. "Mikey will be starting kindergarten next year, won't he? And Henry the year after that?"

"That's right. They will be in the chorus this year, dressed as turkeys, if I'm not mistaken. Next year, when Mikey's in kindergarten, he'll have a slightly more prominent role. If he shows talent, we'll let him sing part of a song or show off his dance moves."

"Oh, he's definitely talented," declared Rachel. "I've had both boys sleep over at our place in summer, on Toby's birthday, and Mikey dances beautifully."

"I'll keep that in mind," smiled Blaine.

And then Rachel went off at a tangent telling Blaine how Sarah was a chip off the old block and already such an amazing singer and actress at her age.

Blaine listened attentively and nodded encouragingly and enthusiastically when Sarah offered to sing the piece she'd be doing at her school for Thanksgiving.

There was no denying Sarah sang well, and everyone applauded after her song, even Rachel and Finn, who no doubt had heard her sing it a thousand times before. Sarah looked smug, and accepted the praise as her due. So like her mother, thought Kurt. However, Kurt preferred stroking his niece's ego to having his boyfriend interrogated, so he let it slide.

At least Carole loves him. Look at her cooing over him taking seconds. Rachel likes him too. Well, what's not to love about a man who really listens to every word you say without zoning out? Finn only pretends to listen. You can plainly see his eyes glaze over after a few minutes of listening to Rachel. And my niece and nephew are enamoured with him because he tells wonderful stories. It's four against two. My dad and brother don't stand a chance.

When Kurt snapped out of his reverie, he noticed that the topic had shifted to football. Honestly, how did that happen? He was just about to change the topic when he noticed that Blaine was joining in the conversation with gusto. Apparently, he supported the same team as Finn and Burt, and none of them were impressed with the new additions to the team. Not much talent and far too many fumbles for their liking.

And then Burt and Finn shoved their plates away and gravitated to the sofa to watch a football game, and they invited Blaine to come sit with them. Blaine insisted on helping clear the dishes first, but then he went and sat with Burt and Finn, talking about matches they'd seen live and reliving the memorable moments.

Wow! Really? They've bonded over football? Okay, I'm not questioning this. I'm thankful. I'm not even going to complain about having to watch football, as long as I get to cuddle with Blaine.

Kurt sat down next to Blaine, who was still engrossed in talking to Burt and Finn about football, but interlaced his fingers with Kurt's as if on instinct.

Kurt saw his dad notice. Before he could bristle at his dad's presumed disapproval, Burt looked at Kurt, smiled and nodded imperceptibly. Kurt interpreted that as 'He'll do, son' and smiled back in relief.

Dad likes him.