I'm slacking a lot with the updates and I apologize.
Here's a rather fluffy chapter to make up for it!
As always, thanks so much for reading and reviewing.
Let me know your input on tumblr! Klaine-engagement . tumblr . com
Chapter 22
Once Blaine had come out to the whole football team, the word spread fast. By Wednesday, every single person in their grade knew. Blaine was nervous to go back to school, but he knew that Kurt would be there by his side with every step.
It was still hard for him to act like boyfriends with Kurt in public. He recognized that there was a different between saying he's gay and acting like it. Students might have been able to accept his new label, but he didn't think anyone was ready to actually see him kiss a boy. He figured he needed to let the news settle in before he could do anything.
Kurt understood Blaine's reasoning behind why he still wouldn't kiss him at school, and he thought it made sense. No one had seen Kurt kiss a boy either, and maybe people weren't ready for that.
By Friday, however, Blaine felt safe enough to take Kurt's hand as they walked in the hallway. He did it very subtly. They were walking in a line next to Tina and Mercedes. Since the four of them took up most of the hallway, Kurt and Blaine were walking very close together. He slipped his hand into Kurt's without even looking behind him to see if anyone would notice.
Tina and Mercedes eventually parted from them because they had classes in different directions. Kurt moved over a little and it became clearer to near-by students that they were holding hands. They both felt eyes glancing at them. Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand lightly, showing him that he was okay. Kurt squeezed back.
Blaine walked Kurt to most of his classes, holding his hand every time. He was glad that it wasn't football season anymore because he would never be able to deal with listening to the football guys all afternoon. He tried to avoid all of them for the rest of the week, but he had some classes with some of the boys. One teammate went to Blaine's locker and congratulated him, which made Blaine feel better about the whole situation.
After school was over on Friday, Blaine took Kurt's bus home. It was going to be the first time seeing Kurt's father after he had found out about their relationship.
"I'm nervous," Blaine admitted on the bus. Kurt smiled, thinking it was adorable.
"Why?" he asked, chuckling a little. "You already know my dad."
"Yeah, as your friend. But, never as your boyfriend. It's so different," Blaine explained, blushing a little.
"Friend or boyfriend, he already knows you as a person. And the person he knows as Blaine is someone who he loves and trusts. No matter what. I mean, you were my boyfriend the whole time – well almost the whole time – and he loved you then. How would things change?"
"Because now it's confirmed that we're dating. Which means when he looks at me, he doesn't see a boy that you could possibly have feelings for. He sees a teenager who is dating his son. What if he asks me questions? Like, dad-to-boyfriend questions. I'm not prepared for that," Blaine revealed nervously.
Kurt suddenly noticed that Blaine was dressed extra nice. He was wearing dark blue denim jeans, and a light blue button-up shirt.
"Did you dress up to impress my father, darling?" Kurt asked. Blaine's cheeks flushed with a pink color.
"No. I dressed up for you," Blaine answered. Kurt wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not, but he appreciated it.
Mercedes sat across from them. They thought she was listening to music, but she was secretly eavesdropping on them.
"You two are too cute," she said in their direction.
"Thank you!" Blaine answered cheerfully.
When the bus got to Kurt's stop, Kurt took Blaine's hand and led him off the bus.
"Should we act couple-y around your dad so it doesn't seem like we're hiding anything? Or should I keep a distance from you to seem like a respectful boyfriend?" Blaine asked.
"Seem like a respectful boyfriend? You are respectful. And my dad knows that. Just act natural, Blaine," Kurt advised. "He won't even be home when we get home, so don't worry too much. He's actually working a little late today because he's going to have the next few days off. Up until the 26th. And then he also has the 31st off, and the first of January," Kurt informed Blaine.
"Oh, okay. So we have all afternoon to do whatever we want," Blaine said, smiling to Kurt.
They walked down the street a little until they reached Kurt's house. He unlocked the door and let Blaine walk in first.
He closed the door behind him, and the second he turned around, Blaine's mouth was against his. The surprise of the kiss sent butterflies through Kurt's stomach. Blaine curled his fingers through Kurt's beautifully styled hair, being careful not to mess it up. Kurt loved the feeling so much that he didn't care. Blaine had him pinned against the front door. Their kisses felt desperate, as if they needed to feel as close as possible. Blaine moved his hands to Kurt's hips, and Kurt placed one hand on the back of Blaine's neck, cradling his head.
They parted, and Blaine breathlessly said, "Couch." Kurt nodded and they both stepped across the living room to the brown-colored sofa. They sat down and fell into another deep kiss. Blaine mindlessly put his hand on Kurt's thigh, and they both stopped abruptly.
"Should we talk?" Kurt whispered. Blaine felt Kurt's minty breath hit his face. He removed his hand from Kurt's leg and rotated his body to face Kurt more.
"I didn't mean for that touch to be any sort of signal, if that's what you're referring to," Blaine started.
"Okay," Kurt answered. "Um, I think we should talk about when we will feel comfortable…moving forward with our relationship," Kurt said.
"Look. Before I met you, I never thought about that sort of stuff. I didn't think I liked guys, so it never crossed my mind that I'd be in a situation such as this. And, I never thought of girls in that way either. I know that I'm not ready for anything major right now," Blaine said cautiously.
Kurt sighed. "Oh, good. I'm not ready either," he admitted.
"I think when we are ready for anything, it'll happen naturally, you know?" Blaine said. Kurt nodded. "But I think it'll be a good few months before I start to think about that. It scares me," Blaine admitted.
"Me too. Well, good. I'm glad we cleared that up. But, don't get me wrong, I love when we do this," Kurt said.
"So do I. In fact, we should continue," Blaine suggested with a smile. Kurt moved his thumb back and forth across Blaine's hand. "And, sorry about the confusion," Blaine apologized.
"It's fine. We had to talk about it anyway," Kurt said.
Their faces moved closer slowly, until there was no gap between them. Blaine traced Kurt's bottom lip with his tongue, asking for entry. The boys melted into each other. Blaine loved the taste of Kurt's lips, and wished he could only taste that for the rest of his life.
Blaine gently placed his hand on Kurt's knee, but then quickly slid it up to his hip. This motion sent waves of electricity through Kurt's entire body.
Kurt held on to the little bit of hair behind Blaine's neck that was not gelled. He wished that Blaine would let his hair hang naturally so he could run his fingers through his boyfriend's curls.
Blaine felt like he was floating. Nothing around them mattered. Nothing in the whole world could have ruined this moment.
They parted to take a breath, and in that moment, Blaine decided to try something new. Although they weren't kissing, their heads were still extremely close. Kurt felt Blaine's breath on his cheek. Before they continued, Blaine leaned in and kissed Kurt's jaw very gently. He thought he heard Kurt give a small gasp. He moved down Kurt's jaw, giving small, quick brushes of his lips.
He moved to Kurt's neck, and he heard Kurt release small sounds with each kiss.
"Don't give me a hickey," Kurt whispered jokingly.
"I won't. I wouldn't want you to wear a turtle neck every day of our break," Blaine promised.
They fell into another deep kiss, craving the taste of each other's lips. They were lost in their own world, but felt entirely safe and sound. Their eyes were shut, and they savored every passing moment.
Neither of them heard Burt's car pull into the driveway, or the front door open. They didn't notice Burt walk right into the living room.
Burt felt embarrassed, and his face turned completely red. He thought about sneaking out the door and pretending he never saw the two of them. He wasn't angry at all, but he was scared that Kurt would be embarrassed beyond repair.
Kurt, however, felt the breeze from the open door. He detached himself from Blaine and turned to see his father, looking utterly baffled in the doorway.
Kurt stood up quickly, moving away from Blaine.
"Dad, you're home early," Kurt stuttered.
"Sorry, kid, I didn't know you'd be, uh, here with Blaine… uh, sorry. I'll go to the kitchen and start up on dinner," Burt mumbled, crossing the living room. He refrained from making eye contact with either of them. He hated awkward situations.
Kurt continued in his attempts at repairing what had just happened. "Dad, we can help with dinner," he offered.
"I'm fine. We're just making pizza. Nothing out of the usual," Burt said before he entered the kitchen.
Kurt sat back down and put his face in his hands, feeling the warmth of his cheeks against his freezing fingers.
Blaine was in the same position.
"So much for making a good impression," Blaine uttered.
"No, no, no. You didn't mess anything up. We weren't doing anything horrible, just kissing," Kurt said.
"Which could've led to something else," Blaine commented quietly.
"But it wasn't going to. And I'm sure he knew that. He seemed just as embarrassed as we were. It's fine," Kurt said.
They sat on the couch without talking. After a while, Blaine stood up. He smelled sauce, and he walked into the kitchen, claiming to Kurt that he was going to set the table. Kurt didn't bother objecting. He just sat on the couch and stared at the wall.
Blaine slipped into the kitchen unnoticed while Burt had his head in the oven, checking to see how brown the crust had become.
Blaine didn't want to startle him while his face was so close to heat, so he stood still until Burt closed the oven.
"Mr. Hummel, sorry about before. We don't always do that. You just happened to walk in while we were," Blaine said. He opened a cabinet and retrieved three plates.
"Don't apologize. You weren't doing anything wrong. Couples are supposed to be…affectionate with one another. I understand that. As long as your intentions were-"
"Good!" Blaine cut him off. "My intentions were just fine. In fact, I had no intentions at all. Just lips, no thoughts," Blaine rambled, realizing that he was making it worse. Burt could see that Blaine was flustered, so he let him get himself together. Blaine took a long breath. "Look, Burt, I care about Kurt a lot. I'd do anything for him. We're, admittedly, in a puppy-love sort of stage. I don't see him as someone I'd like to undress. I see him as a boy that I'd like to hold hands with and laugh with," Blaine confessed. He thought that he had said too much, but Burt didn't even seem fazed.
"I know, Blaine. I know how much you care about my son, and I trust you with him entirely," Burt stated.
"Thank you, Burt," Blaine said back.
"So, you and Kurt better help me cook for the next two days. The Hummels are hosting Christmas Eve this year!" Burt exclaimed.
"Of course," Blaine answered.
The next few days were peaceful. Kurt and Blaine were allowed to sleep in Kurt's room together, but Burt swore he'd check in on them every couple of hours. He did so until midnight, when the boys could hear him snoring. It didn't matter, though, because they only cuddled and fell asleep shortly after.
The weekend was filled with messy baking in preparation for Christmas Eve. Blaine felt a sting of guilt thinking about his own parents baking for Christmas without his help. But, his older brother was home to help. Plus, at any point when his brother was home, Blaine tried his best not to be. He didn't want to sit through the sound of his parents constantly praising him.
Truthfully, Blaine preferred Kurt's house over his own any day. He was welcomed there, and his feelings were acknowledged.
The morning of Christmas Eve, Blaine woke up very early and woke Kurt up as well.
"Hey, sunshine. Wake up. I get to meet your family today," Blaine said softly in Kurt's ear.
"I have a question," he continued, knowing that Kurt was awake and listening even though he wasn't responding. "Are you introducing me as your "friend", or your boyfriend?" he asked.
Kurt sat up and leaned on his elbows. "Probably boyfriend, if that's okay. All of my relatives know that I'm gay and they're all fine with it. There's only, like, ten people coming anyway," Kurt answered.
"Cool, so we can hold hands and stuff. Sorry that I won't be able to introduce you as my boyfriend with my family tomorrow. But, they don't know yet," Blaine said.
"When are you going to tell your parents?" Kurt asked.
"I had this plan. It was a cute plan as a way to tell them. But, I don't think I should do it," Blaine revealed.
"Well, what was it?"
"I was going to invite you over on New Year's Eve and kiss you at midnight in front of them. But it's too soon," Blaine opened.
"I agree. It's cute, but not the best idea. I don't think you're ready. Plus, it's better to tell them rather than show them that you're gay," Kurt advised.
"So, I'll probably be here on New Year's," Blaine stated.
"That's totally fine. Maybe you could invite your family over here! Or we could go there," Kurt suggested.
"Actually, that might not be so bad. I'll ask them if they want to do that, if it's okay with your dad. It would probably be easier for the two of you to come over to ours," Blaine replied.
Kurt watched Blaine get off his bed and begin to get dressed. He changed into a very festive outfit. He wore black dress pants with a long-sleeved red button-up shirt, and a green bowtie.
"Blaine, I didn't know you could dress so well. You look dashing," Kurt commented.
"Thanks, darling," Blaine responded.
"I love the bowtie," Kurt added as he stood up to get dressed.
He wore a very similar outfit to Blaine's. Black dress pants with a green button-up shirt and a red tie.
"How handsome you are," Blaine complimented.
Kurt blushed and grabbed Blaine's hand, dragging him out of the room.
"You boys look spiffy," Burt stated once he saw them. He was already in the kitchen baking the final foods.
"Thank you, Mr. Hummel," Blaine said back.
Blaine helped Kurt transfer presents from his room to the living room, underneath the tree.
"I think we should exchange presents right now, before anyone else gets here," Blaine urged.
"Sure, we can do that," Kurt accepted.
"I've already put mine under the tree," Blaine told him, bending down to get it. "Open mine and then we'll go upstairs and get yours," he demanded.
Kurt carefully ripped the wrapping paper to find a small white box. He opened the box and, at first, did not understand what he was seeing. He removed the item from the box and held it up.
"It's an ornament," Blaine explained. It was a tiny replica of a piece of pizza hanging from a string. "Because we met at the pizza place and had our first date there and everything. I thought about getting a toilet ornament as a joke since we met in the bathroom but I thought this would be nicer," he explained further.
"Blaine, it's so cute and thoughtful. I love it," Kurt said. He placed it on the front of the Christmas tree and hugged Blaine tightly.
"Come on, now I'll get you your present," Kurt pulled, leading Blaine up the stairs.
"With all the stress of wrapping my presents plus my dad's, I didn't have time to wrap yours," Kurt apologized on the way to his room.
They entered his room and he snatched it from his night stand.
"Here," he handed it to Blaine, "it's a CD of all our favorite songs. There's a lot of Les Mis and Taylor Swift and Disney on it," Kurt said.
"That is so precious. Thank you so much, Kurt. I'm going to listen to it every day," Blaine promised.
He put the CD carefully in his bag, which he kept under Kurt's bed. Then, he put his arms around Kurt's neck and kissed him gently. Kurt felt like he was going to have the best Christmas.