Waking up next to Kurt had been a wonderful and slightly surreal experience. Blaine wanted to stay like that as long as possible. He woke first, so he’d gotten to study just how beautiful and peaceful Kurt looked while he was sleeping, the little rays of sunlight that had fought their way in through the curtains casting a wonderful light across his features. There had only been so much he could take of just looking, though, and before long he’d woken him up with light kisses and nuzzles against his neck.

The roads were cleared by morning and Kurt stayed for a late breakfast, because the possibility of them getting up off the floor when they were nestled in so close and comfortable and warm was slim to none. It had taken Blaine’s mom bribing them with chocolate chip pancakes and bacon before Blaine even acknowledged the fact that he was awake. He’d fully accepted the fact that his parents were most likely going to grill him as soon as Kurt was gone, so he hadn’t felt the need to move away or act like they hadn’t been cuddled together. Besides, they were each in their own sleeping bags so it wasn’t like anything that bad could have happened on the floor of the den.

All good things had to come to an end though, and not long after breakfast Kurt was changed back into his own clothes and bundling up to head out to his car and go home. Blaine’s dad had cleared all the snow and ice off it while they’d been having breakfast, as he’d gotten up at a normal time and already eaten, so the goodbye was brief and the kiss long as Blaine leaned out the front door and tried to avoid getting his bare feet on the cold porch. The door had barely been closed and latched behind Kurt before he heard a throat clear behind him.

“I feel as though we should talk,” his mom said as he turned around, and she gestured toward the den. The blankets were still all bunched on the floor, and she nudged them out of the way as they sat on the couch. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

“About what?” he asked carefully, shoving his feet under one of the blankets to try and warm up his toes. She gave him a look, and he bit his lip. “Well, where do you want me to start?”

“How about with the big red flag thrown up yesterday?” she said, tucking one of her legs up underneath herself so she could turn to face him more. “Your friend Brittany started to let a little something slip because she didn’t think I knew that you’re gay – is there trouble at school? If there is, you know you can talk to me or your dad about it. What happened last time is never going to happen again, Blaine.”

“It’s nothing like that,” he said quickly, wanting to erase the pure concern written across her face. He couldn’t imagine what it had been like for his parents after the attack, and he knew that was exactly where her mind had gone. “Mom, I promise, I haven’t felt any kind of threatened.”

“Then what’s going on? Sweetheart, I don’t know if it’s because you were used to being at Dalton and we didn’t see you every day, but after you transferred to McKinley, everything with Kurt - it’s been like watching a rollercoaster. We’re just worried, and it feels like there has been secret after secret and you never used to keep things from us like this, so it’s concerning. We trust you, and you’ve never given us a reason not to – other than your little stint with alcohol a few weeks ago – but I know that I’ve never felt so out of the loop with you before.”

“I’ll… tell you,” he said, the words coming out slowly as he picked and chose them, “but I need you to promise that you’re not going to get mad or tell anyone.”

“Blaine, are you involved with drugs or something?”

“What? No!”

“Are you in some kind of trouble?”

“No…” I feel like I’m about to be, though, he added in his head.

“Then there’s nothing to worry about.”

Blaine took a deep breath and started at the beginning, back at the Lima Bean when he’d first met Kurt. His mom sat quietly, watching him as he spoke, and it was impossible not to register the reactions that crossed her face. He didn’t hold back much, though some details he didn’t exactly want to share with his mom. He told her, with a slight blush rising in his cheeks, that they’d had sex, but he didn’t divulge anything further than that.

When it came to everything at McKinley, that was where he got nervous. He’d never been one for lying, especially not to his parents, and he had been lying a lot. But he told her about seeing Kurt with Brittany on his first day, and what had happened that night that Kurt had come over after dinner, how Santana had needed his help that day in the locker room and he’d willingly given it ever since. All the pieces of their confusing little puzzle just fell into place as he spoke, and by the time he’d gotten to the party and the duets and the conversations he’d had with Kurt both the night prior and after the football game he’d gone to, his mom had taken his hand and was squeezing it gently.

“Oh honey,” she murmured when he finally stopped talking, like he’d built a dam to hold in the words that kept spilling from his mouth as if he was unable to stop them.

“You can’t tell anyone,” he repeated. “I mean, you can, um, you can tell Dad, but I-I don’t know if any of their parents know and so you can’t say anything.” That was why he hated secrets and lying so much – because it only took one person letting something slip to bring everything crashing down.

“I’m not going to tell anyone except your dad,” she said, reaching up with her free hand to push his hair back off his forehead. “I promise.”

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to be sneaking around or anything like that—”

“Blaine, shh.” She put her fingertips under his chin and pressed up so he would close his mouth. “Do I get a chance to talk in all this?” He nodded, lips pressed together resolutely to keep from babbling on further, and she dropped her hand. “Good. This is all… very complicated.”

“I know,” he whispered.

“I am… proud of you for helping your friends, for being willing to put yourself into this situation for them,” she continued, “but I wish you would have told me sooner, or your dad, because this sounds like something that could go bad so quickly, Blaine, and I don’t want any of you kids to get hurt.”

“I know, I just, I didn’t know what to do,” he said, hugging his arms around himself. “It didn’t sound that bad until I said it all at once, and I mean, it’s not all bad because at least the school knows to keep an eye out now, and Kurt’s been talking to Miss Pillsbury and she’s really been helping him.”

“It’s not all bad, but it’s still a bad situation,” his mom said, frowning. “I’m not going to tell you what to do, or what’s right, but I want you to be careful. I know you’re just trying to help everyone you can, but it’s like you said to Kurt: it’s not going to work unless everyone’s on the same page. Getting four people, especially teenagers, to be in the same place…”

“I know,” he said again, shoulders hunching forward slightly. “Brittany and I, we’re a lot alike. We don’t care what people say or think – well, her more than me, because I hear it and just keep it to myself, or box, but I doubt she would even notice if someone said something to her about it. Either that or she wouldn’t understand. Not that she’s dumb,” he added quickly, his eyes wide at the thought that his mom might misinterpret his words. “She just sees things differently, and I don’t think she’d understand why anyone would ever say something bad like that.”

“She seemed very sweet.”

“She is, and she’s… she would be okay, I think, and if Kurt wants to come out then it’s just Santana and I don’t want her to feel pressured or anything, I just know she’s scared.” He bit his lip. “I feel horrible because this is what I’ve wanted for months and it could finally happen, but there are people in my way. How bad of a person am I that that’s what I’m thinking?”

“You’re not a bad person, Blaine,” she said firmly, shaking her head. “Everything you just told me, honey - you’ve been doing nothing but think of other people for months now. Don’t get yourself down for thinking about yourself for once. You and I both know you would never ever try to push someone into something they weren’t ready for, especially when you’ve been helping her practically since you met.”

“Thanks.”

“If… any of them need someone to talk to, in terms of support for if they want to tell their parents, I’m more than willing.” Blaine always knew he’d lucked out as far as his parents were concerned. He might not have always seen eye to eye with his dad, but things had changed over the years and there was nothing bad between them. His mom, well, she was one of the best people he knew. She’d never been anything but supportive of him, and he hoped that his friends were lucky enough to have someone like her. “They’re always welcome here, make sure they know that.”

“I will, thanks.” He rose from the couch and she caught his arm before he could move much further away.

“About—” she seemed to change her mind about whatever she’d been planning to say and cleared her throat, looking up at him. “You’re being safe, aren’t you?”

It took Blaine a good few seconds before he realized she meant in reference to sex. “Oh. Oh! Yes, of course, I… yes.”

“Good.” His mom let go of his arm and he made it halfway to the doorway of the room before she spoke again. “And Blaine? I know you didn’t have to deal with much of being accountable to someone at Dalton, but you’re not there anymore. No more sneaking around.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

***

Blaine managed to send a little something to all his Warbler friends for Christmas, and of course he got presents for Brittany, Santana, and Kurt as well. They didn’t all get together to exchange gifts, and that was okay. He dropped by the girls’ houses while he was out the day after the holiday, not wanting to intrude on any family time the days before, but he had hesitated to do that for Kurt. After all, his dad simply thought Blaine was someone who tutored his son. That was why he called first.

“Hi,” Kurt said as he answered his phone, his tone hushed.

“Hey, I have a present for you.”

“I have one for you too. Um, also, something else.”

“What’s that?”

“I was… I want to talk to my dad,” Kurt said quietly, sounding nervous, and Blaine could almost picture him standing there with his phone clutched against his ear, eyes flitting around to make sure no one was watching him. “To tell my dad, you know, and I was kind of hoping you would be there? With me? For support.”

Blaine had a fleeting vision of Burt getting mad at him, and he was half-sure that he was going to kill him if he even learned half of what had happened between the two of them. Except Burt had been nice when they’d met, and he made himself focus on all the bits of Kurt he’d seen in him instead of the quickly evolving terror in his head.  “Of course I’ll be there.”

That was how Blaine found himself standing on the porch of the Hummel house after checking the address three times from the text Kurt had sent him, knocking on the door. He crossed his fingers that Kurt would answer, and he wished he’d thought to call Kurt before knocking to let him know he was there. But then the door swung open to reveal Burt and he looked slightly confused, but happy nonetheless.

“Blaine, right?”

“Yes, Mr. Hummel,” Blaine said with a small nod. “Kurt’s home?”

“Yep. Come on in, kid.” Burt turned away as Blaine stepped inside the house and shut the door behind him. “Kurt!”

“If it’s Blaine could you send him up here please?” Kurt called back, and Burt glanced back at Blaine and gestured toward the stairs.

“Second door on the right.” He shrugged and headed back into some room off to the side, leaving Blaine to head upstairs on his own. Before Blaine headed upstairs, he shed his coat and hung it up on the coat rack by the door, taking off his shoes and glancing around at the inside of the Hummel house.

It was one of those moments when he realized just how much Kurt kept to himself. Blaine had never been to Kurt’s house before – he hadn’t even known where it was. Part of him felt like he was intruding on so much, because he’d never been allowed to see any of these pieces of Kurt’s life, but he’d been invited there. Kurt wanted him there. So he let his eyes take everything in as he climbed the stairs and turned down the hall, knocking lightly on the second door on the right before turning the knob and letting himself in.

“Blaine…” Kurt said as soon as the door was shut, and Blaine made himself stop looking around at the room to focus on the boy in front of him. Kurt looked scared, and not in that watching-a-scary-movie type of way. It was very much the same type of fright Blaine had seen on his face that day at the school, after the Warblers had performed and they’d gotten more than a little carried away in an empty classroom.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Blaine said soothingly, crossing the room and cupping Kurt’s face in his hands, leaning up to kiss him on the forehead. “You’re fine. Everything’s okay. You don’t have to do or say anything if you don’t want, you know, we could just sit and—”

“No, I want to,” Kurt said, sounding resolute. His arms rest over top of Blaine’s shoulders and he leaned in to kiss him, hands slipping up to cradle the back of his head as he traced his tongue along the seam of Blaine’s mouth.  Blaine parted his lips willingly, and his hands dropped down to press against Kurt’s chest as their tongues curled together. It seemed like the longest time before either one of them managed to pull back, and Kurt rested their foreheads together as Blaine’s fingers stayed twisted into Kurt’s shirt. “I want to, I’m so tired of hiding and pretending, I want to.”

“Okay,” Blaine murmured, giving a little nod that moved both their heads. “Okay.”

Kurt kept hold of his hand as they walked out of his room, and Blaine let him lead down the hall and stairs. Their fingers stayed intertwined as they slowly went down step by step, but Kurt slipped his hand away as they went into view of where his dad was sitting watching television. Burt glanced over and raised an eyebrow when he saw them standing there in the doorway, and he reached over for the remote and turned down the volume on the show he was watching. “Bud?”

“Dad, can we, uh, talk?” Kurt asked, his arms folding across his stomach.

“Yeah, of course,” Burt said, motioning over toward the couch. Kurt moved over and sat, but Blaine lingered in the doorway, unsure of whether he should sit or stay where he was. Except then Kurt glanced over at him and he knew he should stay by his side, so he crossed the room and sat beside him – not too close, but Burt’s eyes had followed him the whole way. “What is it?”

“You love me, right?” Kurt started, his voice wavering slightly as he looked over at his dad.

“Of course I do.” Burt shifted forward in his chair, reaching over and patting Kurt’s knee. “What’s this about? Are you having trouble with school? Is that—?” He gestured over toward Blaine, and his brow furrowed. “Except you’re on break right now so why—”

“No, not school,” Kurt said quickly, shaking his head. “Just… me. It’s about me. I have to tell you something and I-I’m scared that you might…”

“Kurt—”

“I’m gay.” It was almost like Kurt had breathed the words, they came out so quietly. Blaine took in a breath and couldn’t take his eyes off Kurt, couldn’t look away from him to see what Burt’s reaction was. Kurt looked like he was coiled tight like a spring, and Blaine just wanted to reach out and rub his back or something, anything, to make him less tense. “I’m gay.”

His voice was surer the second time around, more like he meant to say it. Blaine managed to glance over at Burt, taking in the unblinking eyes of the older man as he stared at his son – and then his gaze turned on Blaine for a few seconds before looking back. Maybe Kurt was breathing, but Blaine couldn’t tell because the other boy wasn’t moving even the tiniest bit. “…Dad?”

“Kurt, I—you know there’s not a damn thing you could tell me that would ever change how much I love you,” Burt said slowly, quiet and gruff but obviously sincere.

“I…”

“I’m just a little confused, is all,” Burt continued, his brow furrowing. “I’m not saying I’m completely right there with you, you know I’m behind you no matter what, but it’s gonna take… a bit, for me.” He took in a deep breath and reached over, clapping Kurt on the shoulder. “I’m glad you told me. I love you, Kurt. Nothing’s gonna change that.”

“I love you too, Dad,” he whispered, and he brought his hands up to brush away the tears that had fallen.

“I’m gonna need your help understanding some stuff,” Burt said, clearing his throat as he glanced over at Blaine, who avoided eye contact a little more than he wanted to admit, and then back to Kurt. “Cause don’t take this the wrong way, but I kind of thought before that you were – except then you stopped caring about much except football and helping me out at the shop, and I know I shouldn’t stereotype or anything but there you go.” He paused. “Wait. You have a girlfriend.”

“I… not really,” Kurt said, shaking his head. “I mean, I do, but…”

“You leading that girl on? Kurt, that’s not right.”

“No! No, I’m not, Brittany knows,” he amended quickly, arms curling in tightly around himself. “She knows.”

“Alright, so explain that to me.” There was no accusation in Burt’s tone, no demand, just a request.

Kurt took a deep breath and launched into telling his dad about it all. He kept it together for the most part, though he did reach over and take Blaine’s hand mid-way through and held onto it as if it was the one anchor keeping him there. Blaine didn’t miss the way Burt’s eyes flickered between them, lingering on their linked hands, but he seemed determined to let Kurt have it all out before he said anything in return.

There were parts of the Kurt’s story that Blaine had never heard before. How he’d started dating Brittany without knowing for sure about her and Santana. How he hated himself for standing idly when people around him were bullied, because he didn’t want to draw attention to himself and get any kind of backlash. How summer football practices usually sent him into a spiral because spending that much time around people he knew wouldn’t like him if they knew the truth was his least favorite thing, but last summer had been bearable because when he’d left those practices, he’d had Blaine.

And that was when Blaine could really feel Burt’s gaze boring into him, and he squeezed Kurt’s hand tightly as he kept going. Thankfully, Kurt skimmed over most of the parts dealing with him. By the time Kurt was done explaining, he was crying in earnest – and Blaine wasn’t sure if it was out of relief or what, but he let go of his hand so he could rub his back in an attempt to soothe.

Blaine’s own coming out hadn’t been nearly as emotional or raw, but he also hadn’t spent years trying to hide. For him, it had been much more of a revelation – and then the next time that his mom had tried to tell him that one of her friends had a nice daughter his age, he’d told her that he was gay. She’d dropped the plate she’d been holding, mostly because he’d always just said ‘okay, sure’ whenever she suggested such things, but then wrapped him up in the tightest hug he’d ever experienced. He knew it had been so much more than just a hug – it had been acceptance, love, comfort, and security, all wrapped into one. They’d told his dad together, and that had gone less than well, but it didn’t matter because everything changed after the attack. Everything changed, including himself, and his dad didn’t hold anything against him.

Blaine didn’t let Burt’s stare stop the way his hand was smoothing along the plane of Kurt’s back, skimming over the soft knit of his sweater and feeling the way he was taking shallow, ragged breaths as he tried to rein himself in. Kurt reached over and took his dad’s hand, and Burt rose to his feet, pulling Kurt along with him and into a tight hug. Neither of them looked like they were going to let go willingly, and that was kind of perfect to Blaine. He was glad that Kurt had that love and acceptance in his life, especially because he knew how important his dad was to him.

“So I’m guessing you’re not actually tutoring my kid,” Burt said over Kurt’s shoulder, and Blaine pursed his lips and shook his head.

“No, sir, I’m not, I’m sor—”

“That’s my fault too,” Kurt interrupted, pulling back away from his dad so he could look at him. “I said that, not Blaine. He didn’t even know I told you that until you told him at that game, and I’m sorry for lying, I shouldn’t have, but I… panicked, I guess.” He paused, biting his lip and hugging his arms around himself again. “I panicked.”

“I’m… going to go grab a drink, but I’ll be right back.” Burt patted him on the shoulder and headed for the kitchen. There was still a full glass of water sitting on the coffee table, Blaine noticed, but he didn’t blame Burt for needing a minute or so to himself. It was a lot to take in. He also wasn’t going to complain about the opportunity to get up off the couch and pull Kurt into his arms, which he gladly did.

“See?” he murmured, his arms tight around Kurt and his hand sliding up to rub at the back of his neck. Kurt’s arms slipped around him and he practically clung, burying his face against his shoulder and letting out a shaky breath. “Everything’s okay. You’re brave and your dad is amazing and everything’s fine.”

They didn’t move until Burt came back, just stood there holding each other. Blaine could feel Kurt’s trembling gradually slowing as the minutes stretched out. He couldn’t imagine what it felt like, to have hidden away for so long and then finally come out and said the truth to the person who mattered the most – because he knew how much Burt meant to Kurt. That was why he was more than a little worried when Burt came back and asked if he could talk to Blaine for a minute alone.

“Have a seat, kid.” Kurt shot Blaine an apologetic look as he disappeared into the kitchen. Blaine did as Burt said, perching himself on the couch and watching as the older man sat down in the same chair he’d been in before.

“Mr. Hummel, I never meant to lie to you,” Blaine said, biting the inside of his lip.

“Nevermind about that,” Burt said, waving his hand dismissively. “What exactly is going on between you and my son?”

“I—um.”

“Look, he’s spent a whole lot of time over at your house saying that he was getting tutored and obviously that’s not true,” Burt said, leaning forward to look at him better. “And then that night it snowed real bad, he spent the night over there too. Now, I’m not stupid, so I know something’s going on.”

“Sir, I... well, first off nothing happened when he stayed the night,” Blaine started, figuring that was as good a place to begin as any. It hadn’t slipped his notice that Burt hadn’t bothered waving off the formalities and told him to call him by his first name, like he had at the football game. “We watched Christmas movies and went to sleep and that’s it.” Burt made a ‘hmph’ sound, but Blaine didn’t let that discourage him because what he’d said was essentially the truth. Sure, he’d left out a bit of kissing and cuddling, but he didn’t think that was what Burt was asking about.

“As for everything else, well, I suppose that’s complicated,” he continued, twisting his fingers together. “I don’t want to lie to you, so I won’t. Kurt comes over to my house a lot, or he did when school was going on. It was the same way over the summer, except at Dalton instead of my parents’ house. Sometimes you just need a place to go where you can be yourself, you know? I think… I think that was my house, for him. He didn’t have to pretend anything when he was with me. We talked a lot, about everything. He didn’t tell me anything about school or family or you until I was at McKinley, so I didn’t know how stuff was there.”

Kurt had told his dad about how he met Blaine at the Lima Bean, after all. It wasn’t like it was a secret that he’d known Kurt was gay from the get-go, but he hadn’t realized that in itself was a secret until he got to McKinley. That had been the allure of them constantly being at Dalton, after all. It was like their own little bubble where there were a limited amount of people who knew what was going on, and the possibility of word getting outside the bubble was slim to none. Blaine missed that bubble, he really did sometimes, but he knew he wouldn’t have traded away the past several months even if he had the chance.

“I—we’ve talked about a lot of stuff but we’ve never really slapped titles or labels on anything, because it never really made sense, given the circumstances,” he added quietly, his gaze shifting up to meet Burt’s. “I’d have to double check with Kurt, but considering the conversation we had when he was over at my house last time, I would call him my boyfriend. We’ve been through a lot, Mr. Hummel, but there hasn’t been a single thing that’s made me stop caring about your son since the moment we met. It would mean a lot to me if I knew you were okay with us, because from everything I know about you I respect you a lot, and I know it would mean the world to Kurt.”

“I don’t like all the sneaking around that’s been going on,” Burt said plainly, giving Blaine a look.

“Me either,” he agreed. “I don’t do the, uh, hiding thing well. I got used to it because, well, of everything that was going on, but I prefer not to.”

“Good. Don’t do it anymore.”

“No problem at all, sir.”

“Kurt!” Burt yelled over his shoulder, making Blaine jump. He looked up as Kurt came into the doorway, wide eyed and slightly timid looking. “You’re telling me that all those times in the summer I thought you were out hanging around with that girlfriend of yours or whatever she was, you were going off to that Academy place?”

“Um…”

“What if something had happened? What if I’d needed to find you? What if something’d gone wrong with my heart again and the hospital couldn’t get ahold of you?” Kurt’s eyes just grew wider, and Blaine bit his lip. “It feels dumb to try and ground you for stuff that happened months ago, but if I ever find out about you doing that sort of thing again, you bet I’m going to ground you from then until you go off to college. No more of that shit – if you’re going somewhere, you tell me where for real.”

“Okay,” Kurt said with a quick nod. “I will, I promise, I’m sorry.”

“I’m ordering something for dinner,” Burt said, getting up from his chair and pointing at Blaine. “You staying?”

“I-I have to get home, actually.  My grandparents are coming into town,” Blaine said, shooting Kurt an apologetic look. It really was the worst timing. “Thank you for the offer, though.”

“Sure,” Burt grumbled.

Kurt watched as his dad went into the kitchen to order them dinner, and then looked back over to Blaine. Blaine didn’t know what he looked so unsure about, so he got up and went over to him. Their hands laced together automatically and he offered a small smile up at him. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Kurt murmured.

“I do have to go, I wasn’t just making that up,” Blaine said, wrinkling his nose.

“It’s not just because my dad scared you off?”

“He didn’t scare me off,” he replied, squeezing his hands. “Not even close. He—he’s a good guy, Kurt. I wasn’t really sure what to say, but I told him that I’m your boyfriend, I hope that’s okay.” He knew he had kind of taken a chance by putting that label out there, but he was hoping that Kurt didn’t mind. Judging by the light flush in his cheeks, he didn’t.

“Boyfriend,” Kurt said slowly, as if he was rolling the word around in his mouth and seeing how it felt. “My boyfriend. I am so beyond okay with that.” He leaned in, brushing a light kiss against Blaine’s lips before jumping back slightly at the sound of his dad’s voice as he talked on the phone. “Come on.”

Kurt tugged him out of the living room, back toward the front door. It was an attempt to distance them from Burt, Blaine knew, but he supposed it was also practical since he was going to need his coat and shoes. He let go of Kurt’s hands so he could put them on, but once he was done he slipped his arms around him again. It felt strange to be there in Kurt’s house, kissing him softly but with an attentive ear listening for footsteps from his dad, but it was nice. He couldn’t put into words just how proud he was of his boyfriend – a word and title that sent a wonderful thrill through him, though he supposed that’s what they’d been for a while – so he tried to show him in other ways.

With a groan, Blaine pulled back as he heard his phone going off in his coat pocket. He knew his parents were bound to call, since he’d said he would only be gone for a little bit and would be back before his grandparents got there, but that was before he’d called Kurt and knew that he was going to be gone longer than anticipated. It only took a few seconds for him to convince his mom he was on his way back before he was able to hang up, and pushed onto his toes to kiss Kurt again quickly.

“I have to go, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Kurt said, shaking his head and watching Blaine slip on his coat. “Oh, your present!” He took the stairs two at a time as he went up them, and hopped back down in the same manner once he’d retrieved a neatly wrapped box. Blaine pulled a small box, wrapped in shiny paper and tied with a ribbon, out of the inside pocket of his coat, and they handed them off to each other.

A brief tear of paper later – Blaine always tried to unwrap presents as carefully as possible, keeping the paper intact – and they were both unwrapped. Kurt let out a slight yelp as he opened his box, seeing the tickets for Wicked in March that Blaine had given him.  Blaine almost wasn’t able to open his own present due to Kurt throwing his arms around him and hugging him tightly.

“Sorry, sorry,” Kurt said, pulling back and straightening Blaine’s coat from how it had gotten bunched up. “Mine isn’t nearly as good.”

“Oh stop it,” Blaine said, rolling his eyes as he opened the box. Inside were half a dozen bowties, all wonderfully patterned and different on both sides. One in particular stood out – Dalton colors on one side and McKinley colors on the other. “Kurt, these are perfect…”

“I made them,” Kurt admitted, reaching in and fidgeting with them. “It took me a couple tries before I figured it out, but they turned out well. They aren’t quite as fancy as what you’d get from a store, but…”

“Are you kidding me? What bowtie could possibly not be fancy?” He caught Kurt’s hand and squeezed his fingers gently. “I love it. I love them.” I love you, his mind supplied.

“I’m glad,” Kurt said, beaming a little as Blaine carefully folded the wrapping paper, slipping it into the box before putting the lid back on.

“I’ll give you a call; maybe see you in a day or two? My grandparents are here for a few days but I could always try to sneak away.” Blaine winked and leaned up, kissing him briefly before stepping back toward the door. “I’ll probably be texting you a lot to keep my sanity.”

“Oh, how horrible for me.” Kurt rolled his eyes and followed him to the door, crowding into his space and pressing him back against it to keep him from opening it. He dipped his head down and kissed him deeply, licking his way into his mouth and letting his tongue sweep inside with long, almost lazy strokes. Blaine didn’t think he would ever be able to leave if Kurt kept kissing him like that, and he wasn’t about to stop him, but the ringing of his phone broke them apart for the second time in five minutes.

“My parents are giant cockblocks,” he muttered, ignoring the call and leaning up to chase Kurt’s mouth, but Kurt took a step back. “Hey…”

“I’ll see you in a day or two,” Kurt said, resting his palm against his cheek and kissing his forehead. “But you should go before your parents get mad and stop that from happening.”

“And also before your dad kicks me out,” Blaine teased, but he reached back for the doorknob all the same. “I’m proud of you, Kurt. So proud.” Kurt smiled softly and let his hand fall down to Blaine’s chest for a moment before pulling away entirely.

“I’m glad. I want you to be.”

Blaine ducked out the door and hopped down from the porch to get to his car, waving at Kurt at the window before pulling out of the driveway. He knew he was going to have to talk to Santana – well, Santana and Brittany both. Circumstances had changed between him and Kurt, but they were still the same when it came to everything else. Amazing how such monumental moments still meant so much but underneath they could still mean something completely different.