Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, obviously. Although I'm very happy that the creators are giving both Samuel and Damian a chance. And that we get to see Brittany try to figure out what the hell Damian is saying…

A/n: And… I finished. While watching one of those silly animated Christmas specials while I wait for Glee to start. :)

The Christmas tree looked almost too perfect sitting in front of the window. But it was so different from what Blaine was used to; he couldn't help but love it no matter how much of a waste he thought it was. Kurt and Carole had spent hours working on putting the ornaments in the perfect places, making sure that it looked exactly the way they wanted it. In the back of his mind, Blaine knew that they had done it, at least partially, for his sake.

Blaine's family hadn't ever done Christmas – not really. He'd never had a tree at home growing up, and there hadn't really been presents for any occasion despite the fact that his father had plenty of money. There had been gifts from relatives, of course, but they hadn't always been delivered on the expected days. So to have an actual date that he could look forward to, and to know that he would at least have one present sitting under that tree on Christmas morning was something completely new.

"You've been staring at that tree for ten minutes. Something wrong with it?" Burt asked. Blaine shook his head, smiling as he played with the small red box in his hands.

"Just… admiring. I can't remember ever having a Christmas tree when I was growing up."

"I heard." They were quiet for a moment. "I'm guessing that's Kurt's Christmas present?"

"I picked it up in Toronto. It's… it's something special."

"You should put it under the tree, then. We open presents from each other on Christmas Eve, after dinner." Blaine nodded, kneeling down and tucking the box into the branches so that Kurt wouldn't see it immediately when they all gathered around the tree later in the evening. Where he placed it, Blaine had a feeling that no one would notice it until he was ready to hand the box over to his boyfriend.

Dinner was rather uneventful; Kurt and Carole had been cooking most of the afternoon, shooing the other three away every time they entered the kitchen because they were more trouble in that particular room than they were helpful. So Blaine had gone the whole day barely seeing his boyfriend.

"So… how was your first Christmas dinner ever?" Blaine smiled as Kurt slid onto the couch next to him and slid his hand into Blaine's despite the fact that Blaine still couldn't grip Kurt's hand properly. The cast had come off a week earlier, but he'd been forced to keep his fingers still for so long that they were still stiff and difficult to move.

"It was amazing. But I think the best part is that I'm getting to spend Christmas with you," Blaine replied, snuggling closer to his boyfriend as Finn started passing out presents. He didn't really expect much, so when Finn put a third and then a fourth present in the pile next to him, Blaine had to admit he was surprised. "Are these…?"

"What? Did you think we would forget you?" Carole asked with a smile. "Your aunt and uncle sent something, too. But I think it's still under the tree." Blaine couldn't help but watch in awe as the pile of presents doubled in number before Finn was done passing everything out.

It didn't take long for the whole group to finish unwrapping their presents; Finn was like a small child when it came to Christmas presents, and he ripped through the wrapping paper in record time. Kurt and their parents were a bit more civilized in how they unwrapped things, but it still wasn't long until the living room floor was covered in scraps of wrapping paper and bows and all of the presents had been thoroughly inspected. All except one.

"Is that all of the presents?" Blaine could tell from the look on Kurt's face that he was slightly disappointed; the red box was still sitting on the tree, meaning that Kurt hadn't gotten anything from Blaine yet.

"There's one more…" Blaine got up and pulled the box out, holding it out for Kurt. "I found this in Toronto, and I thought you would love it." Blaine sat back down as Kurt tried to undo the ribbon that had been wrapped a little too tightly around the box. "I didn't do that, I promise…" It wasn't until Burt pulled out his pocket knife that anyone was actually able to get into the box.

"Oh my God… Blaine!"

"I take it you like it?" Blaine asked, smiling at Kurt.

"Like it? Blaine, it's gorgeous… it can't be real…"

"The stone's synthetic, but the setting is real," Blaine replied, reaching over and pulling the ring out so that he could put it on Kurt's hand. "It's a Claddagh ring." Blaine slipped the ring onto Kurt's right hand, making sure he turned the heart inward. "When the heart points outward, the person is single. If you turn it in, you're in a relationship. And if you put it on your left hand, it means that you're engaged or married." Blaine smiled as Kurt admired the ring for a moment, before leaning in and pressing a kiss against Blaine's lips.

"You put my gift to shame…"

"I just wanted to get something nice for you. And I love that sweater. I wasn't even expecting to get presents…"

"Dude… how could you not expect presents? It's Christmas…" Finn began.

"Not everyone celebrates Christmas, Finn. And not everyone that does celebrate Christmas gets presents," Carole reminded him.

"Wait… you've never gotten Christmas presents before?"

"Not on Christmas," Blaine replied. "My aunt and uncle have always sent me something, but my dad didn't always remember to give them to me. Once, I got two or three years worth of Christmas and birthday presents on St. Patrick's Day… my dad's excuse was that he forgot about it."

"He forgot your birthday, too?" Blaine shrugged, looking down at his hands in embarrassment. Of course it was strange; Blaine didn't know of anyone else whose parents would forget something that important. But then again, his father wasn't exactly the greatest parent, given the reasons Blaine was currently living with his boyfriend's family.

"I come from a really screwed up family, okay? When you grow up like that, it just kind of becomes normal… you learn not to expect anything," Blaine replied.

"I can promise you, Blaine… that's not going to be normal for you ever again."