Christmas was Blaine’s favorite holiday – there was just something so magical and wonderful about the whole season. The food, the eggnog, it was all part of the perfection of the holiday. Even the way Cooper liked to sneak snow into the house and stick it down the back of Blaine’s shirt whenever he got the chance, though Blaine usually managed to get his brother back in one way or another.

Of course he missed Kurt, who spent the holiday in Lima with his dad, but it wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy everything that happened. It wasn’t about the presents, the gifts; it was simply about being with his family and having that time to spend. The vibe around the Anderson house was much more relaxed and comfortable than he remembered, but he figured he might be able to chalk that up to how much better he felt being around his dad.

Getting an email from the music department letting him know that he was accepted was easily the best Christmas present he could have gotten. He hadn’t been worried about it, not except that tiny bit of lingering doubt in the back of his mind that was almost always there, but getting that email had felt like he was proving to everyone that he actually could do it.

After the holidays with his family, going back to the house he shared with Santana was strange. Well, it would have been if Brittany hadn’t been more into Christmas than even he was. He hadn’t expected it to still be like that when it was New Year’s Eve, though. The first step he took through the door, it almost hit him like a ton of bricks. Everything smelled like cinnamon, spices, pine needles, Christmas, and the soundtrack from A Charlie Brown Christmas was playing loudly from the speakers in the living room.

And then Brittany did hit him like a ton of bricks.

“Blaine!” She flung herself into his arms and kissed him full on the mouth, and he stumbled back a step – half not to fall over from the impact and half because she kissed him. “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas to you too,” he said, carefully stepping inside again and shutting the door. “Why, um… not that I’m really complaining, but why...”

“There’s mistletoe over the door,” Santana offered. “If that was what you’re asking.”

“Yes, it was,” Blaine said, shedding his coat and hanging it up by the door.

“Santana.”

“No, I’m not kissing the snow covered hobbit,” Santana drawled.

“Santana, you have to. There’s mistletoe.”

“No really, Brittany, it’s okay,” Blaine said quickly, making her sigh but at least she gave up on her efforts. “Did you have a good Christmas?”

“Yes! It was amazing!” Brittany said cheerfully, hugging him again and then pulling him further into the living room. “It’s still going on, now that you’re home!”

“We’ve been waiting, clearly,” Santana added, though Blaine wasn’t sure how long she could have meant. She’d gone home for the holidays just like he had, except her family didn’t live nearly as close. He didn’t know when she’d gotten back.

“Come on, we’re going to make cookies!”

Blaine didn’t have much of a chance to argue, nor would he have anyway, but he did manage to get rid of his shoes and change into more comfortable clothes before meeting them in the kitchen. It had been years since he’d made Christmas cookies, and even though the holiday was passed that didn’t take anything away from what they were going to do. Brittany had declared that Christmas lasted until the New Year started, and why would anyone want to argue with that?

Making cookies was a process, and their kitchen wasn’t that big to begin with. It was definitely a team activity – Santana measured the ingredients and poured them in, Blaine mixed, and Brittany scooped them out onto the cookie sheets. It really did feel like the Christmas all over again, the three of them huddled in close around the counter, singing along with the carols playing in the living room.

The front door opened and there was no way Blaine could have ever reacted faster than Brittany. He faintly heard Kurt start to greet her and then an almost strangled, surprised sound.

“Brittany!” Santana yelled over her shoulder, huffing out a breath indignantly. “Stop it!”

“MISTLETOE.”

Kurt’s arms were still chilled from being out in the cold when they wrapped around Blaine’s waist, hugging him back against his chest, and his lips felt like ice against his neck.

“Cold! Cold cold cold!” Blaine whined, squirming to get away from him.

“You’re so warm though,” Kurt said teasingly, nipping lightly at his skin. “Warm me up!”

“Warm yourself up,” Santana said, giving Kurt a nudge. “Brittany, you’re on decorating duty. Kurt, you can scoop. Maybe you’ll get more actually on the cookie sheet than in your mouth.”

“It was so yummy.” Brittany didn’t sound at all apologetic, but she didn’t seem too bothered about being put on a different task.

“Two seconds,” Kurt said, loosening his hold on Blaine enough so that he could turn around away from the counter. It had been too long – well, longer than they’d had to go ever – since they’d been together, and there was only so much that nightly phone calls could accomplish. Blaine slid his hands up Kurt’s chest and up over his shoulders, pulling him in for a kiss.

No amount of Christmas food, eggnog, presents, any of it, could ever be better than kissing Kurt. His lips were still cold but quickly getting warmer as Blaine sucked on his lower lip, running his tongue over it and sighing contently. He was leaning back against the counter, Kurt pressing as much of his body as he could manage flush against his, and oh he had really missed the feeling of Kurt’s weight on top of him.

“As much as I’d love a show, oh wait, no I wouldn’t…” Santana started dryly.

“I would—”

“…could you two not have sex in the kitchen?” she continued, interrupting her girlfriend before she could go any further. “Because the cookies will burn, and then the fire department will have to come, and by that point I would be more than happy with the house burning down since I wouldn’t be able to be in here without thinking about that.”

“Hush, Satan,” Kurt murmured, dropping a few more light kisses against Blaine’s lips before pulling back. He slipped his arms around his waist and tugged him into a tight hug, his breath playing against his ear. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“I love you too.”

“Brittany.” Santana sounded caught between annoyed and amused.

“What?” Brittany asked innocently, her arms slipping around Kurt and Blaine and hugging them as best she could. “I do love them. That doesn’t mean I love you any less – it’s different. I have a lot of love to give. I’m like the Grinch, when his heart grows super big!”

Well no one could really argue with her about that.

Once all the cookies had been baked, Kurt and Blaine worked on clean up while Brittany and Santana decorated – though Blaine questioned how much decorating Brittany was doing as opposed to just eating the icing. He actually whispered as much to Kurt, but he was assured that she was making very artistic choices when it came to the cookies she was decorating. The best part about cleaning up was that they could leave the kitchen while the girls waited for the rest of the cookies to be done.  

They abandoned the music that had been playing, taking over the sound system for the purpose of putting on White Christmas. It was Blaine’s favorite Christmas movie and he couldn’t think of anything better to listen to while he got to curl up on the couch with Kurt. They sprawled out across the length of it, blanket pulled over to keep them warm as they nestled in close.

It was an afternoon full of whisperings and lazy kisses. The laughter and conversation in the kitchen was tuned out easily enough, though it was nice to hear Santana in such good spirits – Brittany too, but she was almost always that way. Blaine wasn’t sure if he could express through words how glad he was that Kurt was there, how much he’d missed him and how so very much he loved him. He was fairly certain Kurt understood, but he did everything he could to put those feelings into every kiss, every touch, every word.

Kurt sang along with most of the songs, and Blaine hummed along for some. He’d much rather listen to Kurt than sing himself, and Kurt was singing so softly right by his ear it was almost like a secret that he was doing it at all. By the time the movie got to the end, the girls had joined them and brought a plate filled with freshly iced cookies. It meant that they had to sit up, to make room and to eat, but by that point the cookies were worth it.

Brittany wanted to watch Elf once White Christmas was over, and they went on like that most of the day until the New Years Rockin’ Eve show started. Dinner was a hodge podge assortment made up of all the leftovers that had made their way into the fridge from the various family holiday dinners. Santana had procured several bottles of sparkling wine, surprising no one, and by the time the countdown to midnight started they were all at least a little buzzed.

10… 9… 8…7…

Blaine couldn’t remember the last time he’d been at any sort of New Year’s Eve party – his parents usually kept it low key if they weren’t going over to a colleague’s house for the holiday. If they had gone out, it was even more low key because that meant it had just been Blaine at home with a friend or two, It was never a big deal, never a celebration for much of anything.

6… 5…4…

It just kind of went to show how far they had all come in a semester, considering that Santana hadn’t even thought about having a big party like he would have assumed months prior. The topic was never even broached; it was just an assumption that it was going to be the four of them bringing in the New Year together. Because that’s what families did.

3… 2…

There were only so many times that Blaine could feel overwhelmed by the love around him, but he hadn’t seemed to run out of them yet. The way it practically radiated off of Kurt, how Santana had started being her normal self (as in how she was around him when no one else was watching, her real self) all the time, which he knew he could attribute to Brittany and how much they loved each other. It really was amazing what love could do.

1…

For the first time in his life, Blaine had someone to kiss at midnight on New Year’s Eve. It was a long, searing kiss, tongues slipping and sliding against each other as Auld Lang Syne blared in the background. They pulled apart by the time the chorus hit, and Blaine was immediately accosted by another pair of lips on his own – bubblegum lip gloss smearing against his lips, just like it had when he’d gotten home. Then another, cherry lip gloss that time, quicker and more chaste than Brittany’s but the thought was still there.

Kurt tugged him in again and Blaine ran the tip of his tongue against the seam of his mouth, tasting the mixed flavors of lip gloss on his lips too. The fact that Santana had kissed Kurt, too – even though it was just because it was New Year’s Eve at midnight – made his heart soar even more. The fact that the most important people in his life were getting along made him feel like everything was falling into place perfectly.

They didn’t stop kissing the entire way back to Blaine’s room, nor when they toppled over onto his bed. And as they tangled together, limbs and sheets and everything, he knew that couldn’t have imagined a better end to a year.