Hey everyone! Sorry this is a little late - it's long! That being said, I think I'm going to go back to updating every other night, because the chapters are getting longer. I hope you enjoy Thanksgiving with our little family.
Also, if you guys want, read my story Sadie Hawkins Angel - it's a LOT different from this, and it's only a oneshot, but I would appreciate feedback!
Chapter 20
Kurt awoke the next day snuggled under what he assumed was a really thick comforter. He'd been dreaming amazing dreams all night, including one where Blaine asked him to marry him.
When Kurt opened his eyes, he realized it wasn't a dream, and that weight on top of him was a very, very naked Blaine. He quickly turned his attention to his hand, and looked at the ring. He was engaged. That was something he never thought he'd be able to say.
"Blaine," he hummed into the shorter boy's hair, "Blaine, my fiancée, wake up!" Kurt's heart did little flip-flops when he said the word.
Blaine popped his head up, "Fiancée? So that wasn't a really, really good dream?" He grabbed Kurt's hand, looking at the ring, "Not a dream at all," he murmured and brought Kurt's hand to his mouth, kissing over the ring.
Kurt smiled contently, "As nice as this is, we need to get up before someone walks by and sees us like this, I think we left the door open."
Blaine blushed and stood, stretching, "That wasn't the best place to sleep."
"Tonight we'll get the bed," Kurt reminded him, looking around for his boxers.
They heard footsteps in the hallway, and they both paused, looking fearfully into each other's eyes.
"Well, it seems we all have a lot to be thankful for today, don't we?" Jack Sr. poked his head in the door, flinching out when he saw their state. "A lot."
"We sure so," Kurt nodded furiously, hoping if he agreed that he would leave sooner.
"Do you want me to postpone your chance at helping with the cooking so you can have round two at being thankful?"
"No, grandpa….no. We'll be out in a minute." Blaine pulled a shirt over his head.
"I'll be watching the parades, you know, good clean fun." He shuffled out of view, muttering about the amount of balloons in the parade.
"That was horrifying!" Kurt sat on the sofa, pulling on shoes.
Blaine started putting a belt on before realizing it was Kurt's, "At least it was him. If it were my dad or your dad it would have sucked. If it would have been Santana, she would have taken pictures."
"Or joined in." Kurt stood and held out his hand for Blaine. They walked into the kitchen area and everyone ran to great them again.
"So you didn't change your mind overnight?" Hayden joked, kissing both of them on the cheek.
"No ma'am," Kurt kept his hand in Blaine's, "Never ever."
"Okay lovebirds," Catherine sang out, kissing Blaine's cheek and then Kurt's, "Oh Kurt! I guess I can call you my son-in-law soon! That's lovely. Anyway, you two are in charge of making the pies. If you would use the kitchen in the basement, though, because I know how Blaine cooks, and the cleaning woman won't be back until mid-December."
Kurt laughed, "You've actually let him use the kitchen?"
Blaine's face lit up, "Apple pie! My favorite!'
"There's a reason you're in the basement." She handed Kurt some cooking supplies and the heavier things to Blaine.
They went down into the kitchen in the basement, and Kurt looked around. The basement, which he rarely ever got to see, especially with the lights on, looked like a small apartment. "Why do you have a second kitchen in the basement?"
Blaine started peeling the apples, taking care not to cut his hand, "When my parents would fight when I was younger, my dad would come down here and stay. He would be stubborn and make his own meals."
Kurt started mixing ingredients together for the crust, "Did they fight a lot?"
Blaine's brow furrowed as he took a last swipe at the apple, "Uhm. About as much as all parents, I suppose. My dad was busy a lot and my mom always had work so they definitely had their differences."
Kurt nodded, it was rare that he got Blaine to open up about his early childhood, and he didn't want to maim any chance of getting to discuss it later on. "How did you get so good at peeling apples?"
"Well, I suppose I can't be a complete waste in the kitchen," Blaine threw another perfectly cleaned apple into the bowl, "But my grandmother showed me how to do it."
"Angela? She doesn't seem very domesticated."
Blaine laughed, pausing to wash one of the apples, "No, my mom's mom, Patricia. She lived with us when I was younger. She was the woman who practically raised me. Until she died when I was twelve, then it was just me."
There was so much Kurt didn't know about Blaine – not that it was really an issue. Kurt rolled the pie crust flat, fitting it over the pie tin. "Can you mix together the ingredients while I cut these apples a little smaller?" Kurt asked softly.
"I said I was good at peeling, nothing else. But I sure can try." He looked over at the ingredient list, tongue sticking out the side of his mouth. The instructions were quite simple, so Blaine was able to execute the recipe with little trouble. When it came time to drape the top over the pie, he tore it in several places. "Kurt! I messed it up," he pouted over the pie. He has flour all over his face, and apple peel hanging off his hair.
Kurt tried to push the ripped pieces together, "It's fine, the pie usually cracks a little in the over anyway. No one will be able to tell."
Blaine watched as Kurt put the pie into the oven, "Where's Abu?"
Kurt laughed, "I think my parents told Finn to take him out to get exercise. They wanted him out of the kitchen."
"Abu or Finn?"
Kurt smiled, "Alas, that is the mystery. Next, we have lemon meringue!"
"Maybe I should stand back and let you take care of this one," Blaine suggested, eyes going wide when he saw the recipe.
"No! We have to do this together!" Kurt chided, mentally scratching off things Blaine probably shouldn't attempt. "Can you whisk together four egg yolks while I combine everything else?"
Blaine nodded, "That I can probably do." He set off for the refrigerator, pulling out the eggs.
Kurt set to work mixing all of the ingredients in the saucepan. A few minutes later he was ready for the egg, "Okay, I'm ready for that mixture." He read the recipe again, "If you could mix that in while I start the meringue. But Blaine, look at me," Kurt grabbed his arm, "One whisk full at a time. Okay? Don't try to rush it."
Kurt checked on the apple pie before turning to start the meringue. Blaine was almost done mixing in the egg yolks, and he was positive he'd done it too fast, but didn't tell him so. "Where are the egg whites?"
"The what?"
Kurt looked through Blaine's mess, "The part of the egg that you drained off."
Blaine stopped whisking, "I didn't drain anything off…"
"Blaine I said it needed only the yolks!"
Blaine put the mixture down, "Oh. Well. Oops. I'm sure one little mess up won't make it taste so bad."
Kurt picked up the mixture quickly, not wanting it to burn. When he looked in, he saw little white flakes floating around, "Blaine, why are there eggshells in here?"
"Well, I fished the ones out that I could get, but the ones I couldn't, well..I figured they'd disintegrate in the oven." Blaine ran a hand through his hair, getting egg in the curls. "Should the mixture smell like that?"
"No!" Kurt pulled the pan off the stove, "It's burning, Blaine!"
"It's not my fault you were distracting me," Blaine sniffed the air again, "Can you fix it?"
"We'll have to remake everything, by now the meringue mixture will have gone sour." Kurt groaned, "I'm never going to be able to take a shower and be ready in time for dinner now. And you need a shower too."
"I took a shower last night," Blaine said offhandedly, looking at the supplies, "And we'll need to get more eggs. We're already running low."
"We could just use the egg you have in your hair. And yes, you do need a shower." Kurt wrung his hands as he tried to brush flour off of Blaine's nose, effectively sending his ring hurdeling across the room. "Oh shit!" Kurt rushed over to the other side of the room, looking around for his ring. "Oh my god I almost lost it!" He picked up the ring and slid it easily onto his finger.
Blaine knelt next to him, "If it's too big, we'll just get it sized. Just take it off and put it away until tomorrow. There is a Tiffany's in the local mall that can size it."
"I am not taking it off. Now you go take a shower and get ready while I clean this up." Kurt kept a finger on his ring the whole time.
By the time Kurt finished cleaning up and ventured back up the stairs, Blaine was already showered and dressed. His hair was gelled the way it had been in high school, and he looked very proper. He was even wearing a tie and a sweater vest.
Kurt checked himself in the mirror. He too had showered last night, so he figured he could skip a shower this morning, even if that would mess with his hair. "Blaine and I are going to the local bakery, since he decided to add some eggshell to the meringue."
Blaine pointed to the lumpy, cracked apple pie, "That pie looks really good though!"
"Of course it does, darling!" Angela looked at the pie with disgust, "Here's some money for the pies," she handed Blaine some bills, "Please get something chocolate for your grandfather."
"Mom, he's not supposed to eat chocolate," Jack Jr. reminded her from his spot in the living room.
"Son, I'm dying anyway." Jack Sr. joked, but he was the only one who laughed.
"We'll be back."
They went to the local bakery, which was packed with people. "It looks like no one from your hometown can cook," Kurt mused, looking at his ring.
"Are you going to give it back just because I'm a terrible cook?" Blaine asked, his lip fake trembling.
"Never in a million years." Kurt cupped Blaine's cheek and immediately grimaced at the hard feeling of his hair, "Why did you gel your hair again?"
"Because that's how my family likes it," Blaine rolled his eyes and started looking through the cookies lining the bakery. Kurt kept their place in line.
Blaine had just picked up peanut butter – macadamia nut cookies when someone clapped him on the shoulder, "Blaine Anderson!"
Blaine stood up, immediately recognizing the man in front of him, "Jeremiah! How are you doing?"
Kurt stood in line seething over Jeremiah approaching Blaine.
"I'm doing really well, actually. Back here for the holiday with the family. How about you?" Jeremiah smiled towards Blaine.
"Really well. I'm here for the same reason, with some family and friends." Blaine held up the cookies, "these are for my mother, she loves them."
Jeremiah laughed, "So…if you're here for the weekend would you like to get dinner or something? I'm free all weekend."
Blaine finally understood why Jeremiah walked over, "Oh. Jeremiah, I'm still with Kurt."
"Kurt?" Jeremiah looked and saw Kurt glaring at the two of them. "Oh, well then. Is he wearing a ring?" Jeremiah squinted towards Kurt's hand.
"He is. We're getting married," Blaine boasted, "I just asked him last night."
"Well congratulations!" Jeremiah held up his bag, "I have to get going, but good luck. And Kurt," he turned towards the boy who was obviously listening in, "You might want to get a ring on him quickly. He is looking good." He added an extra wink to Blaine and left.
Blaine was by Kurt's side quickly, knowing if he hadn't been, Kurt would have killed anyone who even looked at Blaine. "Well, I guess he came out."
Kurt giggled, "But he still didn't cut his hair."
They waited and finally bought pumpkin, apple, and lemon meringue pie, as well as the cookies and some petit-fours.
It was tradition in the Anderson household to have Thanksgiving dinner early, at around two, to allow time for the annual football game.
Catherine, Carole, Santana, and Hayden had worked all morning in the kitchen, preparing a feast that made even Kurt's mouth water.
They made turkey, ham, stuffing, potato filling, carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, salads, squash, cranberry sauce, and of course, they had to pies from Blaine and Kurt.
Blaine and Finn wore expressions of sheer joy as they looked at the food, "I've never been so turned on in my entire life," Blaine breathed so only Kurt could hear.
Kurt turned and arched an eyebrow, "Oh really?"
"Well, I may be kidding. A little." He piled turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, and stuffing onto his plate. "Oh my god. I don't even care how much I'm going to have to run." He drizzled gravy over his entire plate.
"Round one," Catherine commented, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Blaine.
"You ladies outdid yourselves!" Blaine exclaimed through stuffing. "It's so good!"
Kurt put green beans on his plate, "Blaine, please eat something not a carbohydrate."
"Can't. I want seconds and thirds of all this. Green beans just take up unnecessary space." Jack Jr. walked into the room with rolls, and Blaine took two.
"Kurt, your boy has quite the appetite. Hopefully he rubs off on you!" Burt laughed as he put turkey on his plate, and then piled squash on top when he saw the look Kurt was sending him.
"Jack, darling, I think you should listen to Kurt too," Angela tipped some carrots onto his plate. As soon as she wasn't looking, he put them in his hand and gave them to Abu.
"Our dog is eating a more balance meal than you," Kurt said to Blaine, who was on his second serving of cranberry sauce. "And where did your green beans go?"
"Abu likes green food," Blaine reasoned, sipping his water.
"Blaine, you will eat green beans. And I am going to watch you do so." Kurt put an extra large serving on Blaine's plate, making sure he ate them all. "Now you may eat whatever you wish."
"Thank you," Blaine poured more gravy on his plate. "This would have made those taste better."
"Hummel, you already have him whipped." Hayden said.
Kurt raised his eyebrow at her use of his name.
She lowered her head, "Sorry!"
Santana laughed, "I'm already rubbing off on her. But seriously Hummel, you might want to keep him on a leash. You'll be spending your entire paycheck on food."
"I'm like a bear. I'm stocking up now for the winter." Blaine leaned back, "But I'm pretty full. Kurt, rub my belly!"
"Not at the table." Kurt cut another piece of turkey, "But after dinner."
"We have football after dinner!" Jack's eyes lit up.
Kurt frowned, "If you would have told me that, Blaine, I would have brought my pompoms."
"Oh you don't need your pompoms, son. You're playing!" Jack Sr. rubbed his hands together.
"Oh no I'm not. Did that once. Never again."
Kurt stood outside in the Anderson's backyard in one of Blaine's Giant's home jerseys and a pair of his sweatpants. And a pair of his shoes, which were pinching his toes. "I cannot believe you forced me to play, and then didn't pick me for your team," he growled at Blaine.
Blaine was in an away jersey and a pair of basketball shorts, he was jumping up and down, stretching with Burt, "Aw come on. Hayden practically begged to be on my team."
Finn ran up beside Kurt, "It'll be like old times baby bro." He laughed at Hayden attempting to throw the ball, "Besides, we're guaranteed to win with her on their team."
"Hudson, I will give your pastry nipples a titty-twister!" Santana yelled from the sidelines.
Blaine covered his mouth and looked at his family, his mother looked revolted at Santana's language, his grandmother was laughing.
Jack Jr. walked out onto the field, a home jersey firmly over his shoulders, "Alright Finn, Kurt, here's what we need to go. Blaine can move his short legs fast, and I think Burt has an arm on him. What we need to do is pit Finn on Blaine, I'll take Burt, and Kurt that leaves Hayden to you."
"If you tackle my girl, Hummel, I will shave your eyebrows next."
Kurt swallowed, but lined up next to Finn, "Why does this have to be tackle?"
"Because we aren't sissies!" Blaine roared from the other side, then he laughed, "Sorry, I get really into sports."
"I can see that."
"Kurt! Stop fraternizing with the enemy!" Jack yelled, and then pulled his arm back snapped the ball to Finn.
Kurt felt Hayden jump and try to tackle him. He ended up giving her a piggyback ride.
Blaine, however, ran Finn down and tackled him, with Burt landing on top of Blaine. "Yeah!" They both stood up and body slammed into each other. "That's what I'm talking about!" Burt moved into place right near Kurt, "I'm sorry, boy, I'm going to have to take you down."
Kurt felt sweat roll into his eyes, "Dad, take it easy."
"Not a chance," and when Jack snapped the ball, Burt, as gently as possible, tackled Kurt to the ground, laughing as Blaine took on Finn by himself. Blaine ended up tripping Finn, and Jack Sr. called a penalty.
On the next snap, Finn scored six points, and Kurt kicked the ball in for the extra point. "That's my boy!" Blaine yelled, "Shit, I mean. We need to work on this boys. I mean boy. And Hayden. Man. I mean man, sir. And Hayden."
"Shut up and get into position Blaine," Jack Jr. yelled, his eyes dancing.
Blaine ran down the field and Burt snapped the ball to him. Jack Jr. jetted forward and tried to tackle Blaine, but he was too fast. He zigzagged across the grass field, ending in the poorly made end zone. Kurt had his arms around Hayden while he eyed Santana suspiciously.
Finn was in a daze, "How can he outrun me. He just ate his weight in potatoes."
Kurt couldn't help but feel a little giddy as he watched Hayden make the extra point and hug Blaine. Blaine, his fiancée, a football hero.
The game continued on, and Kurt found himself having fun, surprisingly. Jack Sr. was having a ball, constantly laughing and moving around the field. "Okay boys, last play."
Kurt huddled with Finn and Jack. "Okay, Kurt, the ball is going to you. They expect it to go to Finn. Just run it down, and we win, okay?" Jack had a gleam in his eyes, "I haven't beat Blaine at football in years."
Kurt swallowed, "Uh, sure, yeah, okay. Just make sure they don't kill me."
Blaine huddled with Hayden and Burt, "Okay, here's what's going to happen, I know my dad. He's going to give the ball to Kurt. You two take Finn and my dad on. I'll get Kurt."
"Are you sure, kid? I mean, Kurt's like a gazelle." Burt looked worried, "I don't want to lose this."
"Don't worry, I haven't lost a game in years." Blaine rubbed some mud off of his frozen leg, "It's on."
Jack Jr. threw the ball hard to Kurt, who was ready. He caught it and started running, he saw his dad and Hayden take down Finn and Jack. He knew what that meant – Blaine was coming for him.
In a flash, he felt the ground leave from underneath him, and saw sky. For a brief second he hung in the air and then he fell, fast and hard, to the ground, with Blaine landing on top of him.
"YES! YES! YES!" Burt's screams rang throughout the neighborhood.
Kurt stayed on the ground, winded, with Blaine grinning down at him, "I cannot believe you tackled me that hard," Kurt breathed.
"I knew you could handle it," Blaine winked, brushing Kurt's sweaty hair out of his eyes.
Blaine and Kurt spent the rest of the night with the family; Blaine once again beat them all in Scrabble.
Kurt killed everyone in Trivial Pursuit though.
Hayden and Santana left around eight for New York, and Kurt thanked her a million times for not making him work.
They went to bed early, because Kurt promised Angela he'd go shopping with her, and let her get the ring sized, the next day.
When Kurt woke up the next day, Blaine was gone. He dressed quickly and assumed Blaine had gone for a morning run.
He was wrong.
Blaine and both Jacks were sprawled on the sofas and floor of the living room, all in matching swishy pants.
"Ah. The 1am feast. Get used to it," Angela held out a banana and a muffin for Kurt, "Every year. It never changes."
Kurt ate the banana quickly, laughing when Blaine rolled over onto his plate of turkey bones. "How are they all so different, yet so similar?"
Catherine walked into the living room, glared at the men, and quickly poured herself a cup of coffee, "they are all cut from the same mold."
Angela laughed, "Kurt honey, we simply must get moving if we want to get that ring sized today."
Kurt followed the woman out to his car and was a bit embarrassed when she sat down. She was used to leather and luxury, not wearing fabric and a pine tree air freshener.
"Don't be embarrassed, dear. When my husband was your age, he didn't have a car either. In fact, he didn't have a car until he was thirty-five." Angela checked her lipstick, "We never had two cars."
"Really?" Kurt quickly drove through the nearly empty streets to the mall. "How did you survive?"
"Well, we worked with each other. If I needed to go somewhere, he'd drive me. That is, until I got my license, then I drove myself. Part of a successful marriage is learning to compromise." Angela waited until Kurt opened the door for her.
He took her arm as they walked into the giant mall. "Tiffany's is upstairs," Angela quipped, "Then I think we could take a lap. But do watch out, some of these people look positively feral." She eyed a particularly nasty looking group of soccer moms.
They quickly found Tiffany's, which was almost empty, and Angela looked at the pearls, leaving Kurt with the saleswoman. "Hello, my fiancée just got me this ring, and he bought it a little large. Is there any way we can get it sized?"
The woman smiled widely, "Of course. We can do it while you wait, it will take about an hour? Is that okay?" She pushed forms towards him, "Just fill these out."
Kurt quickly filled the forms out, cursing Blaine for not figuring out his ring size before buying the ring. Kurt knew what size ring Blaine wore.
That's when it hit Kurt – he wanted to propose to Blaine too. Jeremiah had flirted with Blaine, and he was sure tons of other men would do the same. Plus, Kurt wanted to make Blaine feel as special as Kurt felt in that moment.
Kurt wanted to show Blaine how much he loved him. Kurt walked over towards the display and looked at the rings.
He wanted to, but he knew it wouldn't make sense for them both to wear rings and not be married. He sighed, looking at the rings.
"What's wrong, Kurt? Can't the resize the ring?" Angela had slipped beside him while he was examining the rings.
"No! They are doing it now."
Angela placed her hand on Kurt's shoulder, "Do you not like the ring?"
"No! I love it. It's just…" Kurt didn't know how to tell Angela that he wanted to get a ring for Blaine without either seeming foolish or like he was begging.
"Kurt, darling, tell me." Angela said sweetly, and Kurt trusted her.
"It's going to seem stupid. But…I want to propose to Blaine too. I want him to feel as special as I felt, as loved. He tries so hard for everyone, and I just want to try hard for him." Kurt could feel himself blush, "That sounds stupid."
"No! It sounds like you love my grandson. Why would it be stupid?"
Kurt ran a hand through his hair, "Because two men wearing engagement rings that probably just look like wedding rings?"
Angela laughed, "Kurt, one of the other things I learned about making a marriage work? Make the rules up as you go."
Kurt smiled, "I'll keep that in mind."
"Well you might want to make up your mind if you want to buy it today." Angela looked over the rings, "He really liked that one when he picked yours out."
Kurt didn't know how to say that he really couldn't afford the rings. "Um…"
Angela looked up at Kurt's blush, "Darling, I'll buy it for you. We didn't help you two nearly as much as we wanted to."
"Angela, I can't let you buy both of our rings…"
"You can't take it with you Kurt." Angela pointed to the ring, "Can I see that?"
Kurt held the ring in his hand, it was a thick silver band with horizontal lines in it. It wasn't a wedding band, but a "Black Tie Band" for special events. "He really liked this one?" Kurt whispered.
Angela looked at Kurt's face, "He wear a size ten."
"I know…Angela, what could we ever do to thank you?" Kurt's eyes swam with tears.
"Perhaps someday I'll need you." Angela handed the woman their credit card, "And consider it MY engagement present to both of you."
"Why the emphasis on my?" Kurt wondered, fingering his own ring and then Blaine's.
"My husband has little tricks up his sleeve." Angela said with finality, directing Kurt towards the Yankee Candle store.
By ten o'clock that night, Blaine, Kurt, and Abu made their way to Blaine's grandparents apartment. They still had to decide what to do with their apartment, but it was quicker to get to the Upper East Side.
When they walked into the apartment, Kurt looked around, "Blaine…are we really going to sleep in your grandparent's bed?"
Blaine laughed, walking to the kitchen for a drink, "No, they had our bed moved in, and some of our personal stuff."
"Ah," Kurt looked at the coffee table in the living room. There was a note addressed to them. "Blaine, why did your grandparents leave an envelope?" When he picked up the envelope, he saw a wrapped box. "And a present?"
Blaine walked out of the kitchen, "I don't know. Open it."
Kurt opened the envelop and saw Jack's scrawl,
Blaine and Kurt,
We had an amazing Thanksgiving weekend with our grandsons.
We are so excited about your engagement, and cannot wait to formally welcome Kurt into the Anderson family.
That being said, welcome home.
Remember, you can't take it with you.
Jack and Angela
"What's that all about?" Blaine picked up the box and unwrapped it. He found a box and took off the lid. Inside was a set of keys and a piece of paper. Blaine unfolded the paper.
"Why did they leave us keys? They already gave us each a set." Kurt fingered the keys, "Did they think Abu needed a copy?"
Blaine was staring at the paper, "Kurt…"
"Huh?"
Blaine turned the paper around, "Kurt...it's ours. The apartment, it's ours."
Kurt looked at the paper, and sure enough, Blaine and Kurt's names were listed as homeowners of the apartment, "They gave us their apartment?"
Blaine set the paper down and started laughing, "It's ours! Kurt, we have a real home! A real home we can be proud of!" He picked Kurt up and swung him around the apartment.
Things were finally starting to look up.
Please let me know what you think!