Alright, let's get this going again! :)
This chapter's different than what I normally write for each episode... hang in there for this lengthier-than-probably-necessary explanation.
As written/filmed, "Previously Unaired Christmas" is an official AU to season 4's Christmas episode ("Glee, Actually"). I guess the writers decided that they absolutely had to air a Christmas-themed episode this season, even though we're in spring/summer in the Glee universe at this point. Not what I would've done, but fine. I thought the episode was okay. Silly and random.
But I think they missed an opportunity. In an AU episode, anything can happen. And hey, Kurt and Blaine are engaged in the season 5 arc! If we're going to commit to an AU, why not play with that a little? (I mean, there's the perfect song, honestly, how did they not?) So, I'm just going to ignore the "Previously Unaired Christmas" AU and make up my own season 4 Christmas AU for Kurt and Blaine.
Cast your minds back to season 4... at this point, Kurt and Blaine were separated, but they spoke on the phone on Thanksgiving (late November) and agreed to start rebuilding their friendship. So, by the time Christmas rolled around, they had been talking again for about a month. And then Burt found out he had cancer and brought Blaine with him to New York. Blaine surprised Kurt at the ice rink in Bryant Park on Christmas Eve and they sang White Christmas together just before the clock struck midnight.
This AU starts that night. They get home very, very early in the morning – Kurt, Blaine, and Burt – and go to bed...
(A quick note: all the other characters' stories are different in this unofficial AU, too.)
P.S. This is the fluffiest, most ridiculous thing... I'm sorry or you're welcome, depending on how you feel about it. ;)
(I do not own Glee or any of the characters, dialogue, or songs from the show. It's all just for fun!)
KURT
Kurt rubbed his face with his hands as he laid on the couch, staring at the dark ceiling and trying (unsuccessfully) not to think about Blaine.
They had come back from ice skating at nearly two o'clock in the morning. Kurt had insisted that his father sleep in his bed – and Blaine in Rachel's – before settling onto the couch with a pillow and one of his favorite blankets. In the two hours that had passed since that moment, sleep had proved elusive.
He didn't want to think about Blaine. They were separated, and Kurt was clinging to the principle that cheating was a deal breaker. But, after hours spent ice skating and singing and walking and talking with Blaine, it was impossible to think about anything else. (Except that his father had cancer, but that train of thought led to a horrible place and Kurt refused to let himself go there. It was better to occupy his mind with thoughts of Blaine.)
He still loved Blaine. He had never stopped loving Blaine. Since their phone call at Thanksgiving and the subsequent month of rebuilding their friendship, the question gnawing at Kurt's mind had shifted from "How can I get over Blaine?" to "Could I learn to trust Blaine again?". They had love. But trust? Kurt wasn't sure...
Suddenly, Kurt was blinking awake and sunlight was streaming in through the loft's windows. He covered his face with his hands briefly as he tried to adjust to the light; he didn't remember relaxing and falling asleep, so abruptly waking up in such a bright room was disorienting. What day was it? What time was it?
He could hear someone trying to find something in the kitchen – opening and closing all the cabinets and drawers – and he shifted on the couch and turned his head to see his father looking guiltily in his direction.
"Sorry," Burt mouthed at him.
Kurt climbed off the couch as the events of the day before came back to him, and he wandered into the kitchen as Burt finally found a mug and started the coffee machine.
"Merry Christmas," Burt reached out with one arm and caught his son as he walked by, pulling him into a brief hug before releasing Kurt to continue his march to the bathroom.
Once he had washed and moisturized his face, brushed his teeth, and slipped on a comfortable outfit for lounging around the house, Kurt felt much more awake.
"Merry Christmas," Kurt returned his father's sentiment as he emerged from the bathroom. Burt laughed and said something about how he hadn't slept so little on the night before Christmas since Kurt was a child, but Kurt was distracted because Blaine chose that moment to join them.
Burt was mid-sentence when Blaine stepped around the wall that separated Rachel's room from the kitchen, so Blaine waved a "hello" to Kurt instead of saying anything. Kurt was so pleasantly startled by the sight of Blaine that he didn't think fast enough to return the wave before Blaine turned away to pour himself some coffee, so he quickly settled into a chair across from where he hoped Blaine was going to sit.
"Morning, Blaine," Burt said once he had finished his little story that Kurt had not heard at all. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas," Blaine smiled as he sat down across the table from Kurt. The way his hair was ruffled but not quite out of control brought so many memories to Kurt's mind. Blaine didn't let people see him without his hair perfectly gelled unless he trusted them.
Blaine took a sip of his coffee and Kurt suddenly realized that he was just staring at Blaine. Not talking, not eating, not drinking anything. Just sitting at the table blatantly watching Blaine's every move. Heart hammering in his chest, Kurt quickly turned his attention to his father and hoped that Blaine hadn't noticed.
"What do you want for breakfast?" he asked, proud of himself when his voice came out sounding perfectly calm.
Burt shrugged. "Whatever's around is fine with me," he replied. "Cereal?"
Kurt shook his head. "It's Christmas morning, Dad. We're not having cereal. Let me make you something."
Burt looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn't. Instead, he shrugged and teased Kurt, "It's your house."
Kurt nodded a quick, satisfied, "yes, it is" and got up from the table to search for ingredients to make pancakes. He was relieved when he managed to gather everything he needed; he had planned to spend Christmas this year lying on the couch by himself surrounded by junk food (there was a small cheesecake in the freezer that Rachel didn't know about, and Kurt's plan was to eat the whole thing before she returned from a spontaneous trip to Connecticut to spend Christmas with Quinn), so he hadn't given much thought to the state of his pantry and fridge. He hadn't planned on having two additional people to feed.
"Do you–?" he turned to ask his father if he wanted plain pancakes or chocolate chip pancakes or some other variation, but Burt had moved to the living room.
Blaine was still at the table, though.
"Chocolate chip," Blaine suggested, understanding Kurt's unspoken question. Blaine smiled. "It's Christmas."
"Want to help?" Kurt asked without thinking.
"Sure," Blaine agreed carefully.
As he and Blaine worked together in the kitchen – and Burt watched something on TV – Kurt felt more and more nervous with each passing second. Blaine was so polite and nice and attractive, and Kurt was fighting hard to resist the temptation to throw all of his reservations away and twist his hands into Blaine's messy hair and kiss him until they could not breathe or his father intervened, whichever happened first.
A few minutes into the preparation of the meal, Blaine caught on, and they flirted unashamedly as they finished making the food. By the time Kurt, Blaine, and Burt sat down at the table to eat, all Kurt wanted to do was be alone with Blaine. He wanted to be alone so they could kiss and talk and make things better between them.
But his father was there. His father who, Kurt realized after breakfast, was not oblivious to what was going on.
"I think I'm, uh, gonna need a nap," Burt determined as they all cleared the table together. Before Kurt could reply, Burt motioned between his son and Blaine and added, "so, why don't you two go out and do something fun?"
"Dad–" Kurt protested.
"I don't need a babysitter, Kurt," Burt shot him down before the argument could even begin.
Kurt glanced at Blaine, daring to hope.
"Sure," Blaine said immediately.
Kurt was panicking again by the time they were dressed and ready to leave. What were they going to do? Was anything open on Christmas? Was it safe to be out, anyway, when it was supposed to snow all day? Would Blaine like the shirt he was wearing?
He felt like they were going on their first date. His stomach was full of butterflies as they said goodbye to Burt and walked out of the loft, closing the door behind them.
"Let's go to Central Park," Blaine suggested, his eyes full of excitement as they started to descend the stairs. "With all the snow, it'll be beautiful."
"And cold," Kurt reminded him.
"And cold," Blaine confirmed. "Good thing you're wearing this big jacket," he reached over and tugged on Kurt's sleeve as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "It looks really nice on you."
Kurt was so surprised by the compliment – and the accompanying affection in Blaine's eyes – that he barely managed a "thank you" before Blaine pulled the door open and they were both distracted by the rush of cold air.
They chatted as they rode the train into Manhattan. Kurt wanted to know everything Blaine knew about Burt's cancer, which wasn't much. Blaine wanted to know about NYADA. They both wanted to know about each other's lives and about their mutual friends. By the time they reached Central Park, Kurt felt much more at ease than he had felt when they had started their journey. It was just Blaine. Nothing to worry about.
Blaine was excited about the snow. Kurt teased him about it as they walked – "You do know it snows in Ohio, right?" – but Blaine's enthusiasm was infections. There was something magical about snowy Central Park, especially because it was still snowing big, fluffy snowflakes.
"I admit," Kurt acknowledged after they walked in silence for a moment, "there is a very 'winter wonderland' feel to this place right now."
"Yeah?" Blaine teased, and Kurt knew by his tone of voice what was going to happen next.
"Oh no," Kurt whined, pretending to be horrified as Blaine hummed the opening to a familiar carol and then started to sing.
"Sleigh bells ring," Blaine sang. He put one gloved hand to his ear and pretended to listen to their surroundings. "Are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening."
As they walked on the increasingly snowy path, Blaine bent his elbow and offered his arm to Kurt. Kurt raised his eyebrows, teasing Blaine about the forwardness of the request, but quickly linked their arms.
"A beautiful sight," Blaine continued merrily. "We're happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland."
Kurt didn't fail to notice the way Blaine lingered on the word happy.
"Gone away is the bluebird. Here to stay is a new bird," Blaine sang, nudging Kurt's shoulder with his own as they walked. "He sings a love song as we go along, walking in a winter wonderland."
It wasn't until Blaine turned his head and caught Kurt staring at him that Kurt realized Blaine had stopped singing. As Blaine's curious eyes met Kurt's, Kurt turned immediately to stare at the path in front of them. He felt strangely unhinged, like he couldn't trust his own mind.
To distract himself, he took a deep breath and did what Blaine wanted.
"In the meadow we can build a snowman," Kurt sang, "and pretend that he is Parson Brown."
As the approaching words registered in Kurt's mind, he paused just long enough to steal a glance at Blaine.
"He'll say 'Are you married?'" Kurt continued, his voice steady and cheerful as his mind filled with ridiculous possibilities, "we'll say 'No man, but you can do the job when you're in town!'."
He paused again, and this time Blaine took the longer moment of silence as a cue to finish the song.
As Blaine sang, ("Later on, we'll conspire as we dream by the fire. To face, unafraid, the plans that we made, walking in a winter wonderland.") Kurt stared at him – trusting Blaine to keep them from walking into a pole or other obstacle in the path – and had a moment.
This was Blaine. Not some theoretical guy who existed to be dispassionately evaluated.
Kurt's life was more interesting and safer and better with Blaine in it.
He loved Blaine.
He trusted Blaine.
"Walking in a winter wonderland," Blaine sang before turning to look at Kurt to let him sing the final line.
"Walking in a winter wonderland," Kurt echoed.
Blaine grinned, satisfied with the song, and Kurt kissed him.
They stumbled a little as they tried to kiss and walk at the same time, and Blaine laughed so delightedly that Kurt felt drunk with relief. He couldn't remember the last time he had heard Blaine laugh. A real laugh, like he was overflowing with happiness. Blaine certainly hadn't laughed like that due to something Kurt had done since before Kurt had left Ohio for New York.
They stopped walking in the middle of the path and turned to face each other so they could kiss properly, like they had to make up for the lack of kisses between them while they had been separated. It wasn't until a cyclist wooshed by them, dangerously close to clipping Blaine's back as she passed, that they stepped apart and realized they had to do something other than make out in the middle of snowy Central Park. ("Honestly, who exercises on Christmas?" Kurt whined, unhappy that they had been interrupted.)
As they walked to a diner nearby to have an early lunch, they talked. They talked about what had happened between them. They talked about how they could make it better. They talked about how much they had missed each other. Their conversation continued as they ate, and they both shed some tears and they both had things to apologize for.
And then, as Blaine vowed that he would never, ever cheat again (and Kurt believed him) and asked if they could please get back together, an idea that had been little more than a crazy blip on Kurt's radar when they were walking through the snow suddenly bubbled up to the surface of Kurt's mind. He reached across the table and put his hand over one of Blaine's.
Blaine was looking at him expectantly, searching for an answer to the question of where their relationship would go from here.
"I have a proposal," Kurt said, his heart pounding as he prepared to voice the idea that hadn't even fully formed itself in his mind yet.
"Okay," Blaine agreed immediately, a spark of hope in his eyes.
Kurt took a deep breath. "Let's get married," he suggested.
Blaine's expression of surprise was enough to make the crazy idea seem like the best possible idea. Blaine's whole face lit up, like Kurt had said the perfect thing.
"What?" Blaine laughed
Adrenaline pounded through Kurt's veins.
"It's not going to be perfect," Kurt explained as Blaine stared at him. "We're going to mess up, sometimes, but we're going to learn from our mistakes. We're going to make it work. I love you."
Blaine nodded, captivated.
"So," Kurt finished with a little shrug of his shoulders, "why wait?"
Blaine was speechless, like his brain had flooded with joy and had stopped working properly as a result. He clutched Kurt's hand on the tabletop, smiling hugely, and shook his head in delighted disbelief.
"I told you once," Kurt reminded him, "that I'd love to elope in Central Park on Christmas, right?"
Blaine laughed again – the happiest laugh – and he pushed himself up out of his seat and leaned across the small table for a kiss. Kurt tried to meet him halfway, but only succeeded in knocking his water glass over. Blaine was forced to jump to the side, away of his chair, to avoid a waterfall of icy water.
Kurt jumped to his feet, too, embarrassed as their waitress rushed over to clean up the water that was now all over the table and the floor. Blaine stood back, his face covered with both his hands as he laughed uncontrollably.
"We just got engaged," Kurt tried to explain Blaine's laughter as he helped wipe off the table while the waitress mopped the floor.
The confession had unexpected consequences. A family at a table nearby heard the news and started a round of applause that quickly spread around the small diner. Blaine had to come out from behind his hands to join Kurt in thanking everyone for their support, and then the manager paid for their meal and wished them a very happy Christmas as they bundled up and left the restaurant.
(But not before Kurt slipped back to the table and left a nearly one-hundred-percent tip for their waitress. It was Christmas, after all, and he was mildly horrified that he had spilled his drink and caused a commotion.)
It was still snowing as Kurt and Blaine walked down the sidewalk adjacent to Central Park, no particular destination in mind, their intertwined hands swinging between them.
Blaine was jubilant. Once he recovered from his speechlessness, he quickly reached the opposite extreme and couldn't stop talking. As a result, by the time they were so cold that they absolutely had to step into a small coffee shop for a warm drink, they had nearly all the details of their elopement worked out.
As they sipped their drinks and held hands under the table, Blaine called around to find someone who would marry them on such short notice (and on a holiday) – "yes, sir, I understand that 'later today' is a little crazy, but if you could just..." – and Kurt searched on his phone for jewelers in the area. By the time they finished their coffee and made their way to the only open jeweler in the area to look at rings, everything suddenly felt very real.
They were getting married in Central Park in four hours.
Picking out wedding bands was far easier than Kurt imagined that it would be. The jeweler was a kind older gentleman who seemed to appreciate their giddy enthusiasm, which meant that things were distinctly not awkward. The jeweler brought out a box full of men's rings for Kurt and Blaine to look at and Kurt's eyes immediately landed on the ring he ended up purchasing. He had to have it. It spoke to him.
It took Blaine slightly longer – Kurt could tell that the forever aspect of the decision was at the forefront of Blaine's mind – but, less than an hour after walking into the shop, they walked out with their wedding bands, perfectly sized and nestled together in a little wooden box in Blaine's pocket.
They contemplated buying new clothes to wear, but ultimately decided to just wear what they had on. They were eloping; the casualness of their everyday clothes was part of the thrill. Plus, Blaine had pointed out as their red-nosed reflections stared back at them in the glass of a menswear store they briefly considered entering, it was so cold that they would never be able to manage without their huge jackets, so what was the point?
With only an hour to go until the big moment, they were confronted with one final quandary.
Should they tell anyone?
There wasn't enough time for Burt to get to Manhattan. Rachel was in Connecticut visiting Quinn. Everyone else was back in Ohio or in Los Angeles or Chicago or another city too far away.
"And..." Kurt admitted nervously as he and Blaine sat on a bench against the wall in a coffee shop near Central Park (drinking hot chocolate this time, because they were already supremely excited and didn't want to add more caffeine to their bodies), "honestly? I don't want anyone raining on our parade."
"Snowing on our parade," Blaine teased happily.
Kurt shook his head affectionately. "I want to marry you," he elaborated, "and I just want to enjoy it."
To Kurt's surprise, Blaine seemed unfazed. "Let's not tell anyone," he agreed, leaning over to press a warm kiss to Kurt's cheek. "It'll be our secret," he whispered in Kurt's ear, and Kurt squirmed in his seat as a thrill rushed up his spine. They were crazy. Getting married only hours after becoming boyfriends again was completely irrational.
And perfect.
As they tossed their empty cups and pulled back on all their layers to combat the snowy weather, nervousness settled into Kurt's stomach and he regretted everything he had eaten and had to drink since the morning. The rush of cold air against his face when Blaine pushed the door open and held it open for Kurt to walk through helped a little, but the enormity of what they were about to do overwhelmed Kurt as he walked arm-in-arm with Blaine toward Central Park.
There were about to get married.
Without their parents there. Without their parents even knowing.
His dad was not going to be happy.
Rachel was going to be so mad.
Something about the mental image of Rachel finding out that Kurt had gotten married without her there to witness it burst the bubble of anxiety inside Kurt, and he laughed as he turned his head to look at Blaine.
"Rachel is going to kill us for this," he giggled.
Blaine hummed his agreement.
"We're horrible people," Kurt decided.
"A perfect match," Blaine winked at him.
At that moment, there was nothing in the world that bothered Kurt less than the possibility that anyone might disapprove of his and Blaine's elopement. He was about to marry his best friend. He was about to become Blaine's husband. There was nothing more important than that.
They made it to Oak Bridge before the officiant, and Kurt looked around at the beautiful, snowy landscape and realized that this was where he was going to get married. He clutched Blaine's arm as they stood silently, alone on the bridge, and waited.
The officiant showed up a few minutes later. After introducing herself, she explained the legal stuff – the paperwork they would need to sign – and then she asked Kurt and Blaine to face each other to exchange vows.
Kurt's hands were shaking as he took both of Blaine's hands in both of his, and he wasn't sure if it had more to do with his anxious excitement or the fact that he was freezing cold, despite his layers of clothes.
The officiant asked Kurt to go first, and Kurt stared into Blaine's tear-filled eyes and repeated traditional vows as the officiant read them to him.
"I, Kurt," he said, "take you, Blaine, to be my husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward." He struggled through the next few words before finding his voice again. "For better or for worse," he vowed. "For richer or for poorer. In sickness and in health. To love and to cherish from this day forward, until death do us part."
As Kurt finished the final sentence of his vows, Blaine shimmied his shoulders, trying to shake a little relaxation into Kurt through their joined hands, and Kurt smiled at him. Blaine's face was flushed from the cold, but he looked so calm. Like there had never been a simpler task for them to accomplish together than becoming husbands.
Kurt wanted to say "I love you," but the words got stuck in his throat and he just exhaled heavily, hoping that Blaine understood. Blaine squeezed his hands, ready as the officiant turned to him for his vows, and Kurt had never felt more loved.
"I, Blaine, take you, Kurt, to be my husband," Blaine repeated after the officiant. "To have and to hold, from this day forward. For better or for worse." He paused briefly, emotional, and Kurt tugged him forward a little so they were standing closer together. Blaine took a deep breath and continued. "For richer or for poorer. In sickness and in health. To love and to cherish from this day forward, until death do us part."
The officiant, who had seemed a little unhappy about being there at first, seemed to be warming up to them because she took a little time to explain that those were their vows to each other, but now they had to make an agreement with the state. ("I'm the state," she joked. "So, this is the part where I ask you the questions and you say 'I do' if you agree.")
She started with Kurt again.
"Kurt," the officiant asked, "do you take Blaine to be your husband?"
Kurt started to say "I do", but quickly realized that he was supposed to wait and snapped his mouth shut. He wanted to really mean his "I do", so he had to listen carefully.
"Do you promise," the officiant continued, "to love, honor, and cherish him; and, forsaking all others, to be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?"
She glanced at Kurt to let him know it was time to say something, and Kurt looked at Blaine as he agreed, "I do".
The officiant turned her attention to Blaine.
"Blaine," she asked, "do you take Kurt to be your husband? Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish him; and, forsaking all others, to be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?"
The "be faithful to him" line hung heavy in the air between them for a moment, but it was a good kind of heavy. A reminder of what they had overcome. Blaine squeezed Kurt's hands tightly. "I do," he promised firmly.
Kurt felt like he was going to vibrate out of his shoes as they both glanced at the officiant. Was that it?
"Rings?" she suggested.
"Oh my god," Blaine realized he still had them, and he fished into his pocket and found the little box. Kurt shifted his weight between his feet, trying to warm up, and then put his arm out so Blaine could tip the rings out of the box and into Kurt's hand.
When the rings hit his gloved palm, Blaine's ring bounced off of Kurt's, and Kurt felt like everything else around them stood still as he watched it fall from his hand. There was nothing any of them could do but watch as the ring fell and clinked onto the bridge below.
It didn't fall into the water.
Kurt quickly knelt and retrieved Blaine's ring (with his own ring clutched safely in his hand), and he and Blaine both laughed nervously as he stood up and offered the rings to the officiant so she could hold them.
Both Kurt and Blaine struggled to make it through the ring exchange without crying too much, and then Blaine barely waited for the officiant to declare them married before he tugged Kurt forward with an arm around his waist and kissed him. Kurt smiled and kissed him back as the woman beside them applauded.
"I love you," Blaine smiled against Kurt's lips before kissing him once more.
"I love you so much," Kurt said tearfully as Blaine stepped back.
They were married.
After thanking the woman profusely for coming out into the freezing cold on Christmas to marry them, Kurt and Blaine were left alone on the bridge. Nearly alone, as it turned out. They were quickly approached by another young couple who had taken a few photos of their little ceremony from a path nearby. It was a pleasant surprise; Blaine offered his email address, and the young man and woman promised to email him the photographs when they got back to their apartment.
"Do you, uh, want us to take a photo of the two of you now, since we're...?" the young woman asked after her boyfriend finished typing into his phone.
Kurt and Blaine agreed, grateful that they would have a few quality photos from their wedding day despite their spontaneity, and the young woman took a handful of photos of them with her fancy camera and a few with Blaine's phone.
Kurt's teeth were chattering by the time the couple walked away. He held a gloved hand out for Blaine.
"I'm going to freeze to death," Kurt informed him.
Kurt led them off the bridge and, as they reached the edge of the park, he glanced at the time on his phone. "We've still got... a few hours," he determined, "before we should head back."
"Yeah?" Blaine released Kurt's hand and wrapped his arm around Kurt's waist so they were pressed together at the hip as they walked. He kissed Kurt's cheek with a loud smack, and the spot felt extra cold for the next few seconds until the wind blew all the moisture away.
"It hurts my inner romantic, just a little, to say this," Kurt confessed, grinning at Blaine as they waited to cross the street, "but we're getting a hotel room. For the next few hours."
Blaine did not object. They chose a hotel near the subway station that would take them straight back to Bushwick later in the day, and then they abandoned all thoughts of the outside world and spent a few hours in the hotel room, reacquainting their bodies and celebrating being husbands.
As they got redressed so they could go back to Bushwick, they came to a consensus. They weren't going to tell anyone that they were married. They were going to wait until the next time Kurt returned to Ohio to "get engaged", and then they would plan and execute a wedding with their family and friends.
"We'll tell them at the reception," Kurt grinned as he pulled on his shirt.
Blaine laughed. "Do you really think we can keep the secret that long?" he wondered. "It could be a year or two."
"We'll have a very short engagement," Kurt suggested.
"We did have a very short engagement," Blaine reminded him.
"Mmm," Kurt agreed, pleased with the parallel. "Everyone will be all..." he pitched his voice higher, "...'oh my gosh, you're so young to be engaged!' and they'll have no idea that we've been married the whole time!"
They both laughed at that, and then they had to head back to the loft where Burt was waiting for them. They stopped at a grocery store on the way back to get some decent food for Christmas dinner, and they paused outside the loft's sliding door to take off their new wedding rings.
After a quick kiss, Kurt slid the door open and prayed that his father wasn't a secret mind-reader.
"Hey, boys!" Burt greeted them from the couch. He had the TV on, but seemed to be more interested in something on his phone.
"Hey, Dad," Kurt smiled at him. "Sorry we're so late. We brought dinner," he held up the grocery bag in his arms, and motioned toward the kitchen where Blaine was setting the other bag down on the table.
"Honestly, it's been a pretty nice, lazy day," Burt reassured him as he stood up and walked to the kitchen to join the two younger men. "I honestly can't tell you the last time I spent most of a day just... doing nothing."
"How're you feeling?" Kurt asked, feeling a pang of guilt about leaving his father alone all day.
"I'm fine, Kurt," Burt said gently. "Feeling completely normal, for now. Anyway," he changed the subject, "how was your day? Loved the photos of the snowy city."
Kurt had texted him a few photos throughout the day, both to make sure Burt knew he was on Kurt's mind and in a ridiculous attempt to try to act as normal as possible.
"It was wonderful," Blaine answered for both of them as he finished unpacking the grocery bags. "Thank you, again, for inviting me."
"Glad you're here, Blaine," Burt said sincerely. "Now... let's get this food started! I'm starving."
Dinner was a secret adventure for Kurt and Blaine. They were married, and Kurt felt like his father was going to, somehow, suddenly know. It felt so obvious.
And Burt definitely knew something was going on. Every time Kurt would laugh a little too loudly at something Blaine said that wasn't particularly funny, or when Blaine's loving expression got so intense that Kurt started fumbling over his words, Burt would give him a look.
Kurt knew it was obvious that he and Blaine were back together. Even the most oblivious person on the planet would know that he and Blaine were back together after all the blushing and giggling they were doing. But Kurt knew there was no way that Burt had the slightest clue that his son and now-son-in-law had secretly gotten married earlier in the day.
The secret was intoxicating.
By the time they finished dinner (which, despite the secret Kurt and Blaine were learning to keep, was one of the most pleasant – and delicious – Christmas dinners Kurt could remember), Burt had apparently decided that he knew Kurt's and Blaine's secret.
"So, you two, uh," he motioned between the two boys, "back together?" Burt asked as Kurt and Blaine cleared the dinner table.
"What makes you think that?" Kurt challenged, exchanging a quick, happy glance with Blaine.
"Well," Burt shook his head, pleased, "congratulations."
Blaine laughed, too loudly, and Burt narrowed his eyes at Blaine briefly before glancing at Kurt.
"I think I might call it a night," Burt decided, as if the boys' odd behavior had perplexed him enough for one day.
"Alright," Kurt said as his father stood up. "Merry Christmas, Dad."
Burt hugged him tightly, and Kurt felt a little choked up as he thought about his father's health scare. He could beat cancer, right?
As Burt hugged Blaine, Kurt watched them and felt more content than he had felt since he moved to the big city. He had his family with him for Christmas. His father and his husband. Whatever the future had in store for them, they could face it together.
Burt brushed his teeth while Kurt and Blaine finished cleaning up, and then the trio said their final goodnights and Burt disappeared behind Kurt's privacy curtain.
Blaine wandered over to the living room and turned on the television, searching through the channels until he found a Christmas movie, and then he returned to where Kurt was still standing in the kitchen.
"Sneaky," Kurt mouthed at him as he approached. They both knew Burt would still be able to hear them if they were talking – the movie wasn't that loud – but it was nice to have some background noise instead of just silence.
Blaine was proud of himself, Kurt could tell, as he backed Kurt against the wall and kissed him.
They were both incredibly aware of Burt being in the same room, so things didn't get heated, but Blaine kissed a trail across Kurt's cheek and down his neck before stepping back.
"I love you," Kurt said softly as Blaine started to turn away.
Blaine paused and smiled brightly at Kurt. "Love you, too," he whispered, pulling his ring out of his pocket to put it back on his finger. "Mister... Hummel-Anderson?"
Kurt rolled his eyes fondly and offered a nonverbal "we are not discussing this right now" as Blaine beamed at him.
"Anderson-Hummel?" Blaine mused as Kurt put his ring back on, too. "Or...?" He shrugged happily when Kurt refused to play along. "Something to think about," he decided.
Kurt's face burned with pleasant nervousness as Blaine turned to walk away. Deciding on a family name was the simplest of the many tasks and challenges that loomed ahead of them, but it was also one of the most exciting. It made Kurt think of future Christmases with Blaine and their possible children. Christmas cards addressed to them as a family.
"Kurt?" Blaine's quiet voice pulled Kurt out of his daydream, and he glanced toward the living room to see Blaine motioning for him to come sit on the couch.
"Sorry," Kurt whispered as he hurried over, pecking a quick kiss on Blaine's lips as he settled onto the couch beside him. For a while, they watched the Christmas movie on the TV in mostly-silence, stealing the occasional kiss and playing with the new rings on their hands. Enjoying each other's company.
Soon, with the constant hum of noise from the TV and Blaine's body warm beside him, staying awake became a challenge for Kurt. After a few minutes of struggling to focus, Kurt gave in to his exhaustion and scooted down the couch slightly so he could lean his head on Blaine's shoulder.
He had just gotten comfortable and was rapidly falling asleep when Blaine shifted and carefully climbed off the couch, whispering an apology as Kurt groaned unhappily.
"We could both use some sleep," Blaine said softly as Kurt shifted his body so he was lying properly on the couch.
Kurt was too far gone to argue, so he just mumbled an "I love you" and hoped that Blaine understood what he was saying.
Blaine knelt beside the bed and leaned close to kiss Kurt softly on the cheek. "Goodnight, Kurt," he said quietly as Kurt fell asleep. "I love you."
Aaaaaaand at that point Kurt would wake up on the couch on Christmas morning and realize that he fell asleep the night before (after the ice skating)... and he dreamed this AU. :)
The other AU storylines in this episode would be Rachel's, Artie's, and Unique's:
Rachel goes to visit Quinn in New Haven. Quinn's a member of Yale's a cappella glee club and she sings Carol of the Bells with the group when Rachel arrives. They do something fun together (what? I don't know) and get to catch up. And this is nice!Quinn, not psycho!Quinn. ;) Later, at some point, Rachel sings Silent Night and thinks of Finn – his absence in the episode wouldn't be explained, but obviously we'd all know that, since this is actually the middle of season 5, he's already gone.
Artie learns that the black-and-white Christmas Special he directed last Christmas is a finalist in a contest that he forgot he even entered, so he wins a trip to Miami to attend the award ceremony and his arc is all about gaining confidence in his directing ability and his ability to travel independently (plus, I like the idea of the contrast of snowy New York and warm Miami at Christmas). It wouldn't really have any context, but Artie would sing Little Drummer Boy at some point because he sang it for the season 2 Christmas album and it's lovely. :)
At McKinley, Unique and Marley decide to volunteer at a local women's shelter. They enlist the help of the rest of New Directions (obviously :D), and the group sings Sleigh Ride as they help the children who are at the shelter (with their moms) decorate the place so it feels festive. And there would be a story in this arc for Unique about womanhood, perhaps? Or, who is Marley with at this point of season 4? Because I always wanted Unique/Ryder to be a thing (could've been so interesting and complex!), so there could be some hints of that as long as Marley's not dating him at this point. Also, Unique and Marley sing Do You Hear What I Hear at some point (Unique and Harmony-the-Gerber-Baby sang it for the season 3 Christmas album and it's so pretty).
And then, as Kurt/Rachel/Artie/Unique wake up at the end of the episode and realize they were each dreaming, New Directions (plus Kurt, Rachel, and Quinn) sing Auld Lang Syne on the stage at McKinley (also a fantasy, but a nice group number to end the episode). Lea Michele sang it for the film New Year's Eve a few years ago, if you're looking for a version to listen to.
I'm sorry; I'm so carried away right now. The point is... yay, AU possibilities! ;)
One final request (my notes on this chapter are practically as long as the actual story at this point, I'm so sorry)... please, NO SPOILERS for season 6 in the comments! :) Thank you!
Up next (I'm going to shoot for one week from today – Tuesday)... back into the season 5 arc with 5x09: Frenemies!