A/N: This chapter is pretty light-hearted. I feel like you've all earned it. Thanks for sticking around through all the angst I've thrown at you thus far! I've added a few more tags, but nothing too serious/severe. Hope you enjoy the chapter. :)

"Is this really necessary?" Sebastian asks as they pull into Kurt's driveway and Kurt kills the engine.

"Seb, I'm trying to help you out here. You don't think it will be easier if you've at least already met them before you have to meet even more people?"

"I could just not go, and then I wouldn't have to meet anyone," Sebastian shoots back, looking hopefully at Kurt.

"Sebastian," Kurt says shortly, turning to look at him, "you're coming. I already told them you're coming. You can't not go now."

"I could," he muses.

Kurt's face softens a little as he studies Sebastian. "Do you really not want to go that bad?"

"It's fine," Sebastian says, then turns to push his car door open, but Kurt grabs his wrist and stops him.

"Seriously, Seb, if you really don't want to do it, you don't have to."

Sebastian looks back at Kurt, sees the careful sincerity in his eyes. "No, it's fine," he says, offering a tentative smile of his own. "It's important to you, so... I want to. It's fine."

"You're sure?" Kurt asks.

Sebastian smiles a little more fully now. "I'm sure," he responds. "Now let's go inside. Maybe your father will kill me so I don't have to follow through," he adds with a grim smirk, and Kurt just rolls his eyes as they both climb out of the car.

Sebastian trails behind as Kurt leads them up the driveway and toward the front door. He can't deny that he's nervous to meet Kurt's dad and step-mother – he's met Finn already, of course, and Finn isn't home this afternoon anyway – and the fact that he's nervous in and of itself is unsettling. He's not the kind of person who cares what other people think about him, but... he wants Kurt's family to like him. And while Kurt has had nothing but great things to say about his father, Sebastian knows the man can be a bit intimidating.

"I still can't believe you've managed to go this long without meeting them," Kurt says to him as he pulls his keys from his pocket to unlock the front door.

It was intentional, Sebastian thinks to himself, but he doesn't say it aloud. He knows this is important to Kurt, and really, it can't be that bad, right? He knows Kurt and his father are close, so he really shouldn't be as worried as he is. Still, he can't help the anxiety that he's feeling about meeting his boyfriend's father.

Kurt pushes the door open and walks through, and Sebastian follows him as they toe off their boots and venture further into the house toward the kitchen.

"Hey Carole," Kurt says with a smile as they enter the room to find Kurt's step-mother leaning down to peek into the oven.

"Oh, hi honey," she says, standing up and turning to look at the boys, and then her eyes settle on Sebastian and she smiles. "This must be Sebastian."

"Hello, Mrs. Hummel-Hudson," Sebastian says quickly, offering a tight smile. He's nervous to meet Carole, too, but he's glad that she's alone in the kitchen and not here with Burt. One at a time is easier.

"Oh sweetie, please just call me Carole. It's nice to meet you," she says warmly.

"It's nice to meet you as well."

"Burt's just in the living room there, you should go say hi. I'll bring in some cookies when they're done, it should only be a few more minutes."

"Sure, thanks Carole," Kurt says, then takes a step toward the living room and looks back to make sure Sebastian is following.

On second thought, maybe it would have been better is Burt had been in the kitchen, too. But this has to happen at some point, so he might as well get it over with now.

Sebastian follows Kurt into the living room where Burt is sitting in an arm chair.

"Hey dad," Kurt says, and Burt turns at the sound of his voice to look at his son, "this is Sebastian. Sebastian, this is my dad."

"Hey, kiddo," Burt says, a little gruff but friendly enough as he gives Sebastian an appraising once-over. "Good to finally meet you."

"It's good to meet you, too, sir," Sebastian says as Kurt leads him to the couch and they take a seat; looks like this won't be the quick hello followed by an escape to Kurt's bedroom that Sebastian was hoping for.

"Sir," Burt says with a chuckle, "you can just call me Burt, kid." Then, with a glance to Kurt, "He's so polite. You know how to pick 'em, don't you?"

Sebastian shoots Kurt a look because he can tell that he's talking about Blaine, too, but Kurt just smiles back at his dad.

"So Sebastian," Burt says, looking back at him, "what are your intentions with my son?"

Sebastian stares back wide-eyed. "I, um, I don't...," he splutters, not quite sure how to answer the question, not really expecting it to be asked so outright, but then Burt laughs.

"Don't worry, I'm just messing around with you," Burt says, a wide smile breaking out across his face, the corners of his eyes crinkling up, and it might be a comforting expression if Sebastian wasn't trying to calm the spike of anxiety he's feeling.

"Dad, leave him alone," Kurt scolds, shooting his father a glare.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Burt says with another chuckle. "You seem like a good kid, Sebastian. You make Kurt happy, and that's all I want."

"Dad," Kurt scolds again, but this time he's blushing.

Burt just shrugs his shoulders and looks at Kurt like he doesn't see the problem, but then he shoots Sebastian a conspiratorial wink.

"Anyone want some cookies?" Carole asks, walking into the room and sliding a plate of still-warm chocolate chip cookies onto the coffee table in front of the boys.

"Don't mind if I do," Burt says with a warm smile for his wife, then reaches forward and grabs two from the plate.

"Just two," Kurt says to his father, eying the cookies in his hands.

"Yeah, yeah, just two, I got it," Burt says dismissively before taking a bite from one of them.

Kurt just rolls his eyes and reaches forward to grab a cookie of his own. "These look delicious, Carole."

"Oh, thank you," she beams back at him.

"You want one, Seb?" Kurt asks, looking at his boyfriend.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Sebastian says, and then Kurt picks another cookie from the plate and hands it to him. He takes a small bite, then chews and swallows before he says, "The cookies are very good, ma'am, thank you."

"Honey I told you, just Carole is fine," she says sweetly as she takes a seat in the chair across from them.

"Thank you, Carole," he repeats, smiling back at her, a little more genuine then the other smiles he's offered so far this afternoon.

Of all the things Sebastian has done with Kurt since their relationship began, this is definitely the weirdest.

Not that it's actually weird. Objectively, going to a family holiday party with your boyfriend is about as normal as it gets. But he's used to avoiding family gatherings like the plague, so his boyfriend actually wanting to be here, and more than that, wanting Sebastian to come with him, is still an incredibly foreign concept.

"This is my boyfriend, Sebastian," Kurt says to his aunt as they stand in the front room of the house and peel off their winter clothes, "Seb, this is my aunt Macy."

"It's so nice to meet you, Sebastian, we've heard so much about you," Macy says, giving him a bright smile.

"It's nice to meet you as well," Sebastian replies, smiling back at her. "Thank you so much for allowing me to come this evening. You have a lovely home." He may hate family gatherings, but he comes from money, and his parents made sure that he knows his manners.

"Oh, I like this one," Macy says to Kurt, elbowing him gently in the side, and Sebastian can't help the genuine smile that spreads across his face at Kurt's warm grin.

"Ah look at them, so young and in love. To be teenagers again," a man says wistfully as he approaches from behind Macy, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Hi Uncle Tom," Kurt says, stepping forward to hug the man, and then when he pulls away, "Seb, this is my uncle Tom. And this is my boyfriend Sebastian."

"Nice to meet you, kid," the man says, extending a hand out toward Sebastian. He grips the offered hand and shakes firmly, offering a cordial smile before he drops his hand back to his side.

"Well, let's not just stand here, come on in, make yourselves comfortable," Macy says, ushering them inside.

Kurt reaches out to take Sebastian's hand – he doesn't actually take it, just offers his own, because one thing they've decided is that Kurt shouldn't just grab Sebastian's hand with no warning – and Sebastian takes it, letting Kurt lead him further into the house.

It's warm and cozy, family photos and Christmas decorations all about, and it really feels like a home. They make their way into the living room, and Kurt leads him over to a small couch where they settle beside each other. He looks around the room, somehow simultaneously too-full of people and just full enough, and it's an interesting contrast to his own family parties. It's not that he doesn't like his family; he certainly doesn't dislike them, and many of them are actually quite pleasant. His own parents, despite the wealth they both grew up in, have managed to stay grounded for the most part, and while he's had a lot of opportunities he may not have otherwise had they always tried to be sure he felt like they were a real family. But that didn't take away from the extravagance that came with wealth and the Smythe name, and he's used to fancy dinner parties in lavish homes, not... well, this.

He catches Kurt eyeing him carefully, and he smiles reassuringly at his boyfriend to let him know that he's doing okay, because as much as Kurt wanted him to come here, he also knows that Kurt doesn't want him to be uncomfortable; and he's not, not really. He's not comfortable, either, in this house surrounded by a family that isn't his, with his boyfriend – something he's still really just trying to get used to – who actually wants to be here. He's not quite sure what's expected of him, how he should behave at a party like this.

"So, Sebastian," Tom says, standing before the couch they've settled on after following them into the room, "what did this one have to do to convince you to get together with him?"

Sebastian isn't quite sure how he should answer; if he was in his own family's company, he'd have a snarky retort at the tip of his tongue in no time, but he doesn't quite know if that's appropriate here, and he really doesn't want to make a bad impression. He shoots a nervous glance at Kurt, who's rolling his eyes at his uncle.

"I'll have you know I'm quite the catch, and he's lucky to have me," Kurt shoots back, turning to look at Sebastian and give him a reassuring smile.

Tom chuckles. "I hope you don't let him push you around, kid," Tom says to Sebastian with a grin.

"No sir, I certainly don't."

"Good. And none of that 'sir' stuff, seems so formal. Just call me Tom." Then, to Kurt, "I like him. You picked a good one."

"We all know who the lucky one here really is," Sebastian says with a smirk,

Tom barks out a laugh. "I really like him," he decides. "Now, I've gotta go help Macy with something in the kitchen, but you make yourself at home, got it?"

"I will, thank you," Sebastian says, offering the man a tentative smile before he turns and makes his way back toward the kitchen, leaving the two boys alone on the couch.

"Told you they'd like you," Kurt says with a smirk.

"Of course they do. What's not to like?" Sebastian says back with a grin.

"So Rachel decided to throw a Christmas party this year," Kurt says as he cracks an egg on the side of the bowl and drops its contents inside.

"Rachel doesn't seem like much of a party girl," Sebastian says with a smirk, and Kurt laughs.

"You'd be surprised, actually."

"Oh really?" Sebastian asks, cocking an eyebrow.

"The first party she threw was when her dads were away. She decided she wanted to be fun and go a little wild, I guess."

"I'd pay to see that," Sebastian replies with a laugh.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't," Kurt says. "She spent most of the night hanging off of Blaine. They were practically sucking each others' faces off," he adds, scrunching his face at the memory.

"Wait, she what? She spent the night making out with your boyfriend?" Sebastian asks, incredulous, because he's never really liked Rachel but he also didn't think she'd do that to the person she supposedly considers to be her best friend.

"Well, not quite, he wasn't... we weren't dating yet. I hadn't even transferred to Dalton. But I liked him."

"What a bitch."

"She's not a bitch," Kurt argues, "she's just... Rachel."

"She's a bitch," Sebastian says again.

"Anyway," Kurt says, brushing him off, and he picks up a wooden spoon from the counter as he begins mixing the contents of the bowl, "then she decided it would be a good idea to ask him on a date."

Sebastian barks out a laugh, and a huge grin spreads across his face, because that is hilarious. "What did she say when he turned her down?"

"He didn't, actually," Kurt says.

"Isn't he gay?" Sebastian asks, confused.

Kurt looks a little guilty when he replies. "He is. But he... wasn't as sure at the time. I felt really bad, actually, I said some things to him that I shouldn't have."

"He agreed to go on a date with Rachel Berry, I'm sure whatever you said couldn't have been worse than that." He genuinely cannot imagine what could possibly convince anyone that a date with Rachel Berry would be a good idea; although, he supposes, if there's anyone he knows that would be a good match for Rachel Berry, it would probably have to be Blaine Anderson, even with the obvious issue his sexuality poses.

"No, it was bad," Kurt argues as he scrapes the spoon against the side of the bowl before resting it back on the counter and grabbing a cookie sheet. "I said some things about bisexuality that were just... wrong. And I should have never said them. I was just upset, but that's not really an excuse."

"Well, we've all said things we don't mean, haven't we," Sebastian says, giving Kurt a pointed look, because if anyone knows about saying things they don't mean, it's Sebastian.

Kurt gives him a small smile. "I guess so."

"So how much of a disaster was this date?" This is definitely a story he needs to hear.

"Apparently it wasn't," Kurt muses. "But then Rachel kissed him in the middle of the Lima Bean to try to prove to me that he wasn't gay, and, well... he's gay, so. That's where that ended."

"Her face must have been priceless."

"Actually she was thrilled," Kurt says as he rolls his eyes. "Apparently it's great life experience for song writing or something."

"Why does that not surprise me?"

"Maybe because you've met Rachel?" Kurt asks with a smirk as he spoons the cookie dough onto the pan.

"That must be it," Sebastian agrees.