Okay, so before you start reading this, know that it's a klaine fic. It's a christmas present for the wonderful, perfect and phenomenal Lucy, and she's a klainer, so it's really written for her to enjoy fluffy klaine. Saying that, there is of course finchel (I can't not write a fic about them) so don't worry :)

So, HAPPY CHRISTMAS LUCY. I LOVE YOU! And I hope you like this :)

Enjoy!

"So let me go through this again…"

He tilts his head to look toward Kurt, who is looking far more excited than him, and far more put together too, despite their impromptu adventure on the plane. His boyfriend looks thoughtful, trying to place the pieces together in his mind, and the expression that takes over his face is adorable. Still, it does nothing to override the intense feeling of anxiety right now, but he tries to not make it obvious to Kurt, who continues to talk.

"…Cooper is your older brother," he says, eyes focused, "and he lives in LA."

"Yes, and he thinks that he's some big star, but his experience stops after commercials and low budget movies." He rolls his eyes, "but that won't stop him from insisting otherwise. Just ignore him and he'll get bored after a while."

Kurt smiles, a hand reaches out to wrap around Blaine's free one, "okay. So, that's your brother. And then you have a sister – "

"Rachel," he supplies, "the biggest drama Queen you'll ever meet in your life. Seriously, if it isn't all about her, then expect major tantrums."

"Tantrums? I thought she was eighteen?"

"She is. But you know, baby of the family and all, so naturally our parents spoil her." He sighs. Being the middle child of Rachel and Cooper has never been easy. What, with his brother's 'success' and his sister's dramatic ways, he's often left in the dust of his siblings.

And he'd be totally happy if Kurt wouldn't ever have to meet his dysfunctional family, but it just wouldn't seem right. Not with the plans that he has. Those plans which involve a ring (and yes, Santana had convinced him that adding a bow tie was not the best way to decorate a proposal ring) and a four month long plan, with lots of "is it too soon?" and "what if he doesn't say yes?" Both of those questions had earned an eye roll from his roommate, who'd mumbled something about the sooner those two leave to get their own place, the sooner she can stop wearing ear plugs to bed. Apparently getting them engaged is the easiest way to move the pair into their own apartment, where they can "christen" as many rooms as they like without having the fear of somebody walking in.

Now, staring at Kurt, he feels those nerves and worries return swiftly. What if he doesn't say yes? All thoughts of such are wiped out of his head as Kurt starts to speak again. "Right, so after Rachel, there's her boyfriend, Finn. What's he like?"

"Er, kind of dopey, laid back, tall – you know, the complete opposite of my sister - but he's cool. I mean, my dad doesn't think so, and it was so awkward between those two when Finn started living with us, but it's kind of natural that he dislikes him so much."

Which swiftly brings them onto the next member, "And then there's Elise, Finn and Rachel's daughter." He tilts his head, trying to recall something, "how old is she again?"

"Just turned two. Her birthday is only a couple of days after Rachel's."

"So that's your family?"

Through a slightly tensed jaw, he nods, "that's my family."

"It's nice," Kurt says as they slowly walk around the living room, which is brimming with so much Christmas decoration that there's hardly room for anything else. Everywhere Blaine's eyes go, they're attacked by bright colors and fairy lights.

Their suitcases are left sat on the floor, Blaine's lay atop Kurt's, while the pair slowly sink into the plush sofa and take in the silence that's fallen upon the house, a rare thing for Blaine to see, not that it's exactly a bad thing. Now he has some more time with Kurt before the mood is ruined and someone returns home, no doubt to embarrass him in front of his boyfriend. Still, they don't know that it's Kurt that's coming – they just think he's bringing a friend home, and he and Kurt are far from friends at this point.

Just as he slides his arm around Kurt's shoulders, the front door bursts open, bringing with it a clatter of noises and voices. Blaine inwardly groans, but throws on a smile for Kurt who starts to look nervous. He smiles encouragingly, "it'll be fine. They'll love you."

"All I'm saying, Finn, is that you kind of brought it on yourself," the sound of Rachel's voice carries loudly down the hallway and into the lounge, where Blaine is anxiously waiting to greet her.

"But Rach – "

"You know that giving Elise apple juice gives her diarrhoea and you did it anyway!"

Blaine drops his head in his hands, not even wanting to see Kurt's expression at that little revelation. "Oh God," he mumbles into the palms, wondering if time travel is possible yet. The footsteps slow, and he peeks through his fingers to find Rachel, Finn and Elise all standing together in the doorway. A second later, they bulge at the rather odd looking sweater that she's adorning, with what looks like a reindeer facing to the right, and then his eyes move upwards to Finn, and the equally horrible sweater with a reindeer looking to the left this time. Standing next to one another, it appears at though they're nuzzling their noses against one another.

He can practically hear Kurt's disgust at the choice of garment.

The minute Rachel sees him, her smile brightens and she puts her daughter in Finn's arms to move full pelt at her brother, pushing him into the couch with her hug. "Blainey," she smiles against his neck, "I missed you."

A real smile grows now, Blaine returning the hug. It is nice to see her again, and in small doses Rachel's crazy doesn't seem so much, so the four days spent here won't be that bad. Once Rachel's death grip relents – slightly –, his eyes move back up to Elise, wiggling around in Finn's arms. "Uncy Blaine," she squirms, reaching her arms out for him.

"There's my favorite niece," he calls out in his voice reserved for young children, which makes Kurt raise an eyebrow but otherwise remain quiet. She's placed to the floor, tiny legs carrying her over to him, where she runs against him, almost going face first into his crotch. "Oh – hey," he instantly picks her up, trying to hide the embarrassment on his face, though it doesn't help when Kurt suppresses a chuckle behind his hand.

Elise is so much bigger now, her hair almost reaching her shoulders in soft, brown curls, and she looks exactly like Finn, but with Rachel's nose and large, bright eyes. After nuzzling her face against his, she turns her eyes to Kurt, peering curiously at the stranger. "Who that?" she whispers – not so much – to Blaine.

He smiles, "Elise, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Kurt." His gaze moves to Kurt, who nervously lifts his hand in a small wave at her.

"Hi," he greets quietly.

Before she can respond, Rachel's booming voice enters the equation. "Boyfriend? You told mom that you were just having a friend over for Christmas." Her mouth is held open in shock, "and in all the times you called you couldn't have mentioned that you were dating someone? Unbelievable, Blaine Anderson!" She steps forward, pulling Elise from his arms and hugging her to her own chest. "So much for telling each other everything!"

He rolls his eyes, "If I would have said boyfriend, you'd be hounding me about it before we even got here. Mom, too. I was saving myself a headache."

She throws her nose in the air, "well, I'm sorry that being interested in your dating life is a negative thing."

It's not, he thinks, but you just scare off each and every potential boyfriend. "Rach – "

Rachel makes a small hmmmf sound, and begins to stalk off. "Finn!" she beckons after she's left the room.

He smiles a little awkwardly at them. "Good to see you again, Blaine, and er – hi, Kurt. I gotta… go, see you." And then he's quickly is out of the room after Rachel.

Blaine forces himself to look at Kurt, who sort of looks like he's just been whiplashed. He sighs, and this is only the beginning.

"Look, I'm sorry about my sister – she's kind of intense an – "

"Blaine," Kurt replies with a soft smile, "it's fine. And so is your sister, even if her fashion sense makes me want to light myself on fire." He then adds, "it's even worse that they put Elise in one of those matching sweaters. She's two – she shouldn't have to live with such pain!" He shakes his head in disbelief.

Chuckling, he stops his unpacking, slowly sliding his arm around Kurt's waist, "thank you." His voice becomes quieter, almost whispering in his ears, "I've got to admit, the reason why I've never introduced you to my family is because… well… I'm kind of embarrassed of them."

Kurt peers to him, raising an eyebrow, though in reality it doesn't surprise the man: Blaine hardly ever talks about his family, and every time the topic is brought up his hesitation is clear. "They can't be that bad," he tries to stay positive. Though Rachel had been loud and kind of obnoxious, she still seems to have good qualities about her.

"Oh trust me," Blaine sighs, "they are. This is only the beginning, and you haven't met the rest of my family yet." He reaches down to continue taking his clothes from the suitcase, so Kurt does the same, all the time keeping his gaze returning to his boyfriend.

Kurt laughs, as if realizing something, "you know, I always thought that you never took me to meet your family before was because… well."

"What?"

"It was because you were ashamed of me," he slows in his unpacking, then begins to raise his uncertain eyes to meet Blaine's, who stares back in shock.

He now completely abandons his clothes and sits himself on the bed beside Kurt. Reaching out a hand, he gently wraps his fingers around the man's. "You know that I could never, ever be ashamed of you, right? All I ever want to do is show you off to the world, to let everyone know that I'm lucky enough to have you.

"You're the thing that I'm most proud of Kurt, don't ever forget that."

Before Kurt gets a chance to answer, they can hear the front door distantly opening again, and he sighs. "Time to meet the folks."

Leaving the unpacking unfinished, they head downstairs hand in hand. On the way, they run into Rachel, carrying Elise into her room, though her stony façade over Blaine not telling her about his dating remains, and she promptly ignores her brother.

Blaine shakes his head, urging Kurt to just forget about it.

It's pretty easy to do so when he's instantly bombarded by his mother the second his foot hits the bottom step. "Blaine, you're here already! How was your flight? Are you okay?" Her eyes then fall to a nervous looking Kurt. "And this is your friend? Oh, he's handsome. I can see why you brought him."

The wink she sends his way makes him want to melt into a puddle of embarrassment.

"Mom," he groans.

Suddenly a large hand clamps on his shoulder, and he follows the arm to his dad, who smiles down at him. "Don't worry, son. She's just acting like this because she hasn't seen you in a while. She'll calm down soon."

Soon isn't enough.

"So, this is …?" she starts.

"Kurt Hummel," he introduces himself, reaching out to shake her hand, though is surprised when she ignores the outstretched hand and hugs him instead.

"It's so nice to meet you," his mom smiles. "You know, you're the first person Blaine has brought back from New York, other than that Sebastian." Her face drops, "I didn't like him. Michael, honey, did you like him?"

His dad shakes his head, not looking like he's entirely listening. "No, dear."

It pleases her enough, and she turns back to Blaine and Kurt. "Tell us about yourself Kurt, since Blaine can't seem to do that." Her pointed look reaches her son, who groans.

"Mom, don't smother him."

"I'm not, I just want to get to know him." She insists, "he is your boyfriend, after all. I know since you came downstairs holding hands, and it's my right as a mother to talk to all of my children's boyfriends or girlfriends." Then she adds, "we had to have this talk with Finn, to make sure that he was right for our Rachel."

"Actually, dad threatened to castrate him if he left her as a single mother when she was fifteen."

"Before that," she says, "I could tell that he was good. I'm a wonderful judge of character, Blaine Devon Anderson."

He frowns, "don't full name me, mom."

Then she turns toward him, the most evil glint in her eyes, and grabs his cheek, "look at you, acting all grown up for Kurt. Just wait until I show him all the home videos we have."

Oh no.

When their talk almost becomes an argument – though it really is justified (his mother should not be embarrassing him this way) – he wants to rip his hair out in frustration. At some point Finn ends up in the room, eating a bag of chips as he leans on the doorframe and watches with curiosity.

Thankfully, a distraction is given.

"Daddy, daddy, me find balloons!" Elise cries out excitedly, though she struggles with 'balloon's and instead it comes out as 'bloons'.

His attention taken away from his mother, he turns to his niece, finding her with a box of… of… condoms in her hands. Her crafty little fingers have somehow opened a packet, now shoving the condom up near Finn and says, "blow up, blow up."

Finn lets out a barely human noise, while Blaine feels his face burning up.

Unsatisfied with Finn not doing as she says, Elise tries to blow it up herself, and bulged eyes ensue from all the adults. Blaine can't take it any longer, swooping in to rip the condoms away from her, no matter how much she stamps her feet and cries that she wants her 'bloons' back. He feels like right about now he could burst into flames from how hot his face is.

This is not how he imagined introducing Kurt to his parents to go.

"So," his mom begins, "that was a lot of condoms."

Rachel almost chokes on the piece of broccoli she's eating, while Blaine stares at his mother, completely dumbfound. The rest of the people at the table seem to have similar reactions, except the oblivious two year old who sits swinging her legs back and forth while she has a mouthful of mash potato.

"Mom!" the siblings cry out in unison.

"I'm just making a point," she says.

His dad shakes his head in bemusement, "a point that isn't necessarily made for the dinner table, honey." Gently, he pats her hand.

"Yes," Rachel agrees, her face scrunching up in disgust, "we're trying to eat."

"It's important to have a healthy sex life," his mom defends her comment, smiling over at Kurt and Blaine, who both look down in embarrassment, not quite used to their sex life being the topic at dinner.

With a soft sigh, his mom tries again, "so Kurt, what do you do?"

Upon being addressed, Kurt sits up a little straighter in his seat, nerves radiating off the man, and Blaine instantly places his hand on his knee, as though telling him to calm down. As usual, the comforting touch of Blaine works its wonder and Kurt becomes more at ease.

"I'm in fashion," he says with a slight smile, "I work at vogue actually. I had a chance to go to NYADA, but I felt like fashion was my true calling."

"You got into NYADA?" Rachel suddenly says, eyes filled with awe as she stares at Kurt. His smile grows.

"Yes, I wanted to perform on Broadway."

Now she's barely able to sit still in her seat, a high squeal escaping her lips. "Broadway!" she clasps her hands together excitedly. "I love Broadway."

Kurt smiles, and Blaine can practically see the clogs in his head turning as to how he's going to befriend Rachel. She's warmed up to him since their prior meeting, but of course it's Rachel, and she's ridiculously stubborn. Their mutual love of Broadway should nudge a good friendship in the right direction.

"So," his mom says, "if Kurt's a singer, I'm assuming he has a loud voice… should I wear my ear plugs tonight?"

He wants to face palm so much.

"You okay?" Kurt asks with a tiny, knowing smile as they stand at each end of the bed, pulling down the covers in sync, before each climb beneath it. The bed beneath them is luxuriously soft, and they meet in the middle in a loose embrace, Blaine's arm sliding over his shoulder.

His whole body seems to slump with his sigh. "It's just… when I imagined introducing you to my family, though I didn't think it could go well in any world, I don't know, I just didn't think they'd be this…bad."

Kurt chuckles, resting his head down on Blaine's shoulder, almost turning to nuzzle his nose into the silky pajamas he's wearing. "Will you stop worrying? They're all really nice, and I think Rachel's warming up to me, ever since I mentioned that I liked Broadway."

"Typical," Blaine laughs, his fingers intertwining with Kurt's, before he groans, "I want to fall asleep and wake up back in New York."

"What? Where we'll have to listen to Santana going at it all night?" he shakes his head incredulously; "I still can't believe she complains about us when she's worse. The nerve of that girl!"

"You are pretty loud though…"

"Be quiet," Kurt squeaks. He looks around the room as if there's someone listening in on their conversation intently.

Blaine smiles, "relax. Everyone is in bed. We're the only ones awake." His thick eyebrows rise suggestively, while his hand begins to slink around Kurt's slender waist. Kurt hardly has time to protest as lips softly press against a sensitive spot on his neck, causing him to let out a soft whimper. The feel of Blaine against him leaves Kurt unable to move, lost in the pleasurable sensations, even more so when stray fingers brush against his hardening bulge over his pajama pants.

He closes his eyes, shifting his hips so that he falls closer to Blaine, all the while his own hands starting to roam.

Just as Blaine's fingers are delicately slipping past the elastic of his plants, the distant cry of a child can be heard, and then the soft whimpers of, "mama, mama."

They halt in their actions.

Kurt opens his eyes, seemingly having lost the moment, and sighs. "We shouldn't, not with – with your family here." He adds, "it wouldn't feel right."

"So you'll do stuff with me in the back of a movie theatre but not in my old bedroom?" Blaine chuckles, though switches onto his side so that they can spoon, Kurt's arm sliding over his waist.

"Hey," he says, "the movie was boring and you were teasing."

He grins in satisfaction. "Night Kurt, love you."

"Love you too."

Blaine lies and listens as Kurt's movements still, his breathing becoming slightly heavier. He smiles, then begins to let himself drift off, too.

It's a blissful morning as he wakes up, the sun streaming into the room. It's almost as though something from the movies, where everything is perfect and, as he rolls onto his side, his eyes meeting his sleeping boyfriend, he thinks that he's found something that is perfect.

He stretches, groaning quietly to himself at the relief it brings, before wrapping his arm around Kurt's waist. The man mumbles something in his sleep, moving closer so that he can nuzzle his face further into Blaine's neck. His warm breath causes Blaine to shudder slightly, eyes beginning to close again.

And everything is peaceful, until –

"Blaine, baby brother, time to wake up! I have something important to show you and – oh, I didn't know that you were having a slumber party?"

At the sound of Cooper's voice, his eyes startle open, and he stares in horror as his older brother barges into the room with no respect for his privacy, or the fact that it's a ridiculous time in the morning. Turing to Kurt, he finds his boyfriend just as awake, staring at Cooper like the man is crazy, which actually is quite true. In all his twenty nine years, he's never quite mastered the art of toning said crazy down, Blaine's sadly realized.

He groans, rubbing at his eyes, "what do you want, Coop?"

But he's no longer paying attention to Blaine. Instead, his hawk like gaze is transfixed on a very sleepy looking Kurt, who just stares right back, clutching the comforter over himself as though for protection. Cooper won't harm anyone though – the worst thing he could do would be to talk someone to death about his roles. Coincidentally, Rachel could probably do the same. Blaine sighs: he had to grow up with those two and –

Oh no, Cooper is advancing! He tries to think quickly, to save Kurt from the inevitable questions about who he is, and why he's in bed with Blaine, but Cooper surprises him. The outcome isn't at all what he wanted, or likes, but at least it's different than usual. He's got to appreciate that Cooper is changing his tactics at being annoying – it shows character growth.

"My new commercial just came out!" he announces loudly, a little too loudly for the time in the morning, and a phone is thrust in their faces before they can get a word in. Like it or not, they're watching his damn commercial.

It's a gruelling few seconds, even more so when Cooper, on cue, sings along, "know your score, free credit rating /savings!"

"Oh God," he groans, dropping his face into his hands, just so he doesn't have to face the overeager face of Cooper.

"Aren't I just great?" he starts, "and to think, this is just the first commercial! Soon I'll have more and my face will be all over TV."

Great, he thinks. That's just the thing he needs. Even when he's not with cooper, he won't be able to escape him because he'll be singing on the TV all the damn time.

After breakfast, and he and Kurt deciding to go for a walk – now that snow is lightly falling it all seems more romantic -, he practically skips back to his room, the biggest, widest smile bouncing on his face. This is it – a moment two years in waiting, and he should be nervous, but really? He's too excited to even be thinking about feeling like that.

The bag is on the floor, as it's one of the smaller ones, and the lid is slightly open, but Blaine drags it open all the way, beginning to rummage for the ring. It shouldn't be hard, seeing as it's in a large, velvet box and he remembers the exact place where he'd packed it; hidden between his hair gel because he just knows that Kurt would never venture there.

So you can imagine his surprise when his clever, wonderful hiding place is no longer hiding the intended item. "What the – " He looks again, trying to be sure that his eyes aren't deceiving him or are damaged from being made to watch Cooper's commercial more times that he cares to count. His frown deepens when the second search also comes up empty handed. And the third. By the fourth his heart is positively savage in his chest, beating so hard that he thinks it's going to escape.

"Uncy Blaine," he hears the quiet voice of his niece calling, turning to find her beside him, clutching a stuffed bear in her hands.

"Hey Elise." Blaine tries to put on a happy face, determined not to go into panic mode, for the girl, but at the same time he thinks he may pass out. He put the ring in the bag. He wouldn't be that stupid to forget it, but then where has it gone to? Obviously it hasn't grown legs and wandered off by itself.

A tug on his shirt pulls him from his thoughts – and panicked searching through one of his other bags in case he'd accidentally put it in there –, and he peers down at Elise, who's looking a little flushed. "Shouldn't you be with your mama?" he questions her, wondering where Rachel is, so that she can take her kid and he can find the ring quickly and efficiently, and without a two year old lingering around him.

Rather than answer his question, she reaches a hand to her throat and whimpers, "hurts."

He feels himself frown. "Have you got a sore throat, sweetie?" With a gentle touch, he places a hand to her forehead to see if she's got a temperature, but there's nothing worrying there.

She shakes her head, "no sore. Hurts."

"That's the same thing," he gives her a small smile, before turning back to his luggage to restart the apparently hopeless search, all the while keeping in mind that Kurt is going to come up here soon and he can't be found searching for the ring. If worse comes to worse, he'll just propose tomorrow. It's not going to change Kurt's answer.

What makes it hard to keep searching is that Elise continues to pull on his clothes, and complains about her throat. He's just about to pick her up and take her to Finn or Rachel when his sister arrives, as if on cue.

"There you are!" she goes to lift Elise in her arms, "I turned my back for a minute and you snuck off." Something falls from Elise's pocket, and Rachel immediately bends down to pick it up, staring at the velvet box with curiosity. Her eyes move from said box to her brother, who is frantically searching through his luggage, and then back again.

"Mama," Elise blinks, tears entering her eyes. She pats her throat again, "hurts."

Blaine looks up from his pointless searching, peering up to Rachel – for once she's taller than him – and says, "she keeps saying that it hurts. She might be getting a cold or somethi – where did you get that box?" He's on his feet in an instant, taking it from her hands. This is it! It's the ring! With an excited, childlike smile on his face, he opens it up, only to find it completely empty. He's sure that his heart stops beating. "Where is it?!"

"Where's what?" Rachel peers over his shoulder, her brow furrowing.

"Mama, hurts."

"There was a ring in here, but now it's gone!" He very well may just pass out at this point. It's all ruined – everything! That ring cost him two month's salary, and now it's just gone.

Rachel's mouth drops open in realization. "A ring? As in an," she steps closer to him, whispering (though it's more of a stage whisper, and thus, doesn't have the required effect of being quiet) "engagement ring?"

He freezes, not meaning to have told her: no one is supposed to know yet, not until Kurt has said yes and they're officially engaged. Not to mention that Rachel is a complete blabber mouth and the likelihood of this staying a secret for long enough is now very small. "Rachel, you've got to keep this a secret," he says to her, eyes wide, "Kurt can't know."

"Ahhhh – eeeeeh!" she screeches, "oh my God, I'm so happy for you!" She tries to jump up and down, which is hard with Elise cradled against her hip. "Oh Blaine," Rachel pouts, giving him this look, and reaching out to take his hand and cut the circulation off with her steel-like grip. "I think I'm going to cry," she mumbles.

With a sigh, he curls his fingers around her small hand, "Rach, it's no big deal, I ju – "

"No big deal?" she gapes, "of course it is!" Then, that smile returns to her face, "You're getting married."

"Not yet. And not if I don't find the ring either." He remembers what he's supposed to be doing. "Damn, the ring!" The frantic search continues.

Rachel gasps, a big, dramatic affair that is sure to alert Kurt that something's wrong, "you lost it? Blaine! This is one of the most important things in your life right now and you lost it!"

"It was in here!" he defends himself, pointing at the suitcase with exasperation. "But now it's not." He turns to her, a look of pleading growing on his face, "could you please help me? Before Kurt comes and figures that something's wrong."

She sighs, placing Elise on her feet, though frowning when the girl immediately starts repeating, "mama, mama," a hand nestled against her throat, while a look of discomfort passes her face.

"What is it, baby?" she asks gently, running her fingers through her daughter's silky locks. Since Rachel is leaning on the floor, it's easy for Elise to lean over into her embrace, head nuzzled against her chest, while she lets out a few stray coughs.

"S-stuck."

Her forehead creases together, "what's stuck?"

Blaine, who'd been looking through his bag, growing in desperation each second, suddenly halts, and slowly sits up straighter, his gaze falling upon Elise. Everything clicks into his place. A low gasp escapes his lips, "oh no."

"So, the doctor said that the ring should pass between two to four days," she explains as they leave the emergency room, a passed out Elise cradled to her chest. Between swallowing the ring and spending a few hours in the emergency room, the two year old had become exhausted and dropped off the face of the planet in her arms.

Blaine nods, glad that Elise is okay, "I'm so sorry, Rachel. I didn't think that she'd get into my bag an –"

She shakes her head quickly, a hand gently reaching out to wrap around Blaine's arm, "don't worry, it could have happened to anyone. And she's going through this phase where she's trying to eat anything." Rachel kisses Elise's hairline gently, "I'm just happy that it's nothing serious." She pauses, realization hitting her, "but what about your ring?

He doesn't say anything, his shoulders sagging. Maybe this is a sign – maybe he isn't supposed to propose to Blaine yet, and the universe is trying to tell him that.

"Blaine, no!"

Oh, apparently he'd said that out loud, and now Rachel is staring at him with that look of determination that just screams Rachel Anderson. "Look, we're going to go to the mall today to get you a new ring, so that you can propose to your boyfriend, okay?"

"What?" he looks up at her in surprise.

"All I know is that I haven't seen you this happy in years, and it must have something to do with Kurt. And as you're my brother, your happiness is the most important thing to me, so if Kurt is that, then I'm going to make sure that you propose before you leave." And with that, she gives a quick nod and stalks off in the direction of the car, head held high.

Blaine blinks, and then hurries after her.

It hadn't taken much to convince Kurt to go to the mall with them. Having not spent the morning together – thanks to the ring emergency and Kurt getting a super important call from work - both are willing to make up for the lost time and have a good Christmas eve together.

Only, shopping malls on Christmas eve are practically hell.

Finn and Rachel walk ahead of them, Elise asleep in the stroller, while Kurt and Blaine follow, keeping an eye on Finn – who stands high above a lot of the crowd – so that they don't get lost.

But the reason that they're here is turning out to be more difficult that he thought, seeing as Kurt hardly wants to leave his side. He tried to lie and say he was going to the bathroom, but apparently Kurt needed to go, too. And he said he'd left something in the car, and Kurt offered to help him find it. And Rachel isn't helping; continuously turning around and giving him that look, telling him to get a move on. He gives her a look back. What is he supposed to do with Kurt standing right next to him?

Eventually, in a very Rachel like manner, she takes matters into her own hand, and asks Kurt to help her shop for some clothes. Kurt jumps at the chance, seeing as he'd already had a ten minute rant to Blaine about the dress that she's wearing today.

That leaves just him, Finn and Elise.

And he doesn't actually know if Finn knows – though he suspects so because Rachel tells him practically everything, and vice versa.

"Dude, I'm hungry," Finn suddenly announces, laughing when Elise mirrors the thought.

Blaine frowns. Oh no. No no no. He's not letting this opportunity get away from him. He's going to get that ring even if he has to drag Finn away from the direction of the food courts himself. "I need to get something first," he says, adamantly. "I'll be quick." And he will be. He knows what the ring he wants looks like, and which store to find it in.

In response, Finn pouts, his eyes straying toward where the food is, but Blaine just pats his back and heads the other way. "Come on, ten minutes without food won't kill you."

"It might," he mumbles. And Blaine is so glad that his sister found someone equally as dramatic to procreate with.

They enter Tiffany's, and his frantic search for the right ring begins. "You looking for a ring for Kurt?" Finn questions with a knowing look, as he tries to navigate the stroller around without banging it into too many of the displays. It doesn't work.

Blaine sighs, "Rachel told you then?"

"Yeah," he smiles, "congrats by the way."

"We're not engaged yet." And we're never going to be if I don't find this ring, he thinks.

Finn sends that lopsided smile his way, "yeah, but it's not exactly like he's going to say no, is it?" His response is so causal, like it's the most obvious thing in the world, and Blaine stares at him dumbly, "don't tell me you've doubted that."

He stays silent continuing to find the ring.

"Blaine," he starts slowly.

"It's only natural," he defends himself, "I mean, wouldn't you ever doubt that Rachel would say yes if you were proposing to her?"

"Not really, judging by the amount of marriage hints she drops these days," he shrugs.

Stopping, he stands at his full height, face Finn. "I don't know how you can be so casual about this. I mean, it's marriage. One of the biggest steps in our lives, and it doesn't faze you at all?"

His face is scrunched up in thought for a minute. "It used to, I guess, but like, I know that Rachel is the one, and I'd spend the rest of my life with her even if we weren't married. Why should a piece of paper and some rings be that scary?" He's distracted by Elise calling his name, and bends down to talk to her, all the while leaving Blaine to dwell on his words. Maybe Finn is right – that's a surprise. He always thought that the guy was a little dopey and okay, perhaps he still is, but he has a newfound of respect for him.

When Finn comes back up, his daughter held in his arms, Blaine gently pats him on the shoulder and says, "thanks."

Finn blinks, "what?"

"Nothing," he laughs, continuing his search.

"Uncy Blaine, I help!" Elise squirms to be free of Finn's grasp. "Daddy, let go."

"Never!" he announces loudly, producing an evil laugh and holding her tighter.

Blaine smiles at the interaction, unable to think about his own future kids, with Kurt. His smile grows, happiness bursting from within. Yep, that sounds like a plan.

After fifteen minutes of searching, his ring is found, and he forks out his credit card to pay for it, keeping mind to keep it away from Elise this time. Since Rachel and Kurt were still shopping, or more Kurt lecturing her on the right clothes, they decide to take Elise to visit the Santa Clause. She can hardly contain her excitement, squealing every time the line gets smaller and smaller. Kids are kind of awesome.

He's in a much better mood after that, what with a new ring intact and Kurt none the wiser about everything that's gone on behind the scenes. Also Finn's words gave him some insight that he hadn't considered so all in all it's not been the worst day – just eventful.

When Kurt and Rachel return, she is less than happy. From her, most likely, tiresome hour with Kurt and hearing that Finn took Elise to see Santa Clause without her, her mood is quickly plummeting. "But I wanted to be there," she whines to Finn, pouting as much as she possibly can.

He sighs, "I'm sorry, but you guys were taking really long and she was restless. You liked it though, baby, did you?"

Elise smiles up at him with her big, brown eyes and grins, "uh huh."

Rachel feels her icy mood wash over and manages a smile too. "At least tell me you got pictures," she says, holding onto Finn's arm and waiting for him to produce some photographs. After he's shown them to her, she's smiling again, reminding him how cute their baby is. And somehow, Finn manages to convince her to buy some lingerie for him, or that's what Kurt says he overheard – but Blaine would rather not think about that, thank you very much – so they offer to watch Elise while they wait.

Sitting on a bench in the middle of the massed crowd, they smile at one another. Elise is perched between them, sipping on a milk carton that Blaine bought her and mumbling things to her dolly.

Kurt looks guiltily toward him, and says, "I'm sorry that work called. This vacation was supposed to be about us and spending some quality time together." As he'd spoken, he'd joined their hands, thumb grazing over the back of Blaine's knuckles.

"You don't need to apologize," he tells him, "really, we're together now, and that's all that matters. And tomorrow is Christmas, so we can spend it however we want, as a family."

"Uncy Kurt," a little voice interrupts them, and they both look down to Elise, who thrusts her doll into Kurt's hand. "Hold, please."

He listens, watching as she tries changing the clothes of said doll, but his face turns to horror as she starts putting together two colors that should not meet at any moment of their existent. "Sweetie, those clash," he says softly, and Elise blinks, staring up to him in confusion.

"No," is all she says.

"How about these pants instead of that skirt? They'd look much nicer. They really complement one another."

She shakes her head adamantly, looking to Blaine who has an eyebrow raised – really, only Kurt would be giving a two year old fashion tips. "What? She needs to learn these things young. But it's too late, I guess; it looks like she's inherited her mother's fashion sense."

At the sound of mother, Elise's head shoots up. "Mama?" she calls out, beginning to search around the busy mall. She uses Kurt and Blaine to pull herself onto her feet, before saying again, "mama."

"Mama will be back soon, okay?" Blaine smiles, wrapping his arm around his niece in a tight hug. He laughs when she begins to wiggle her butt in an attempt to get free.

"Want mama," she groans, dramatically trying to throw herself to the ground, but with Blaine's grip on her she sort of just lays limp in his arms.

"Don't you just love kids?" he says sarcastically, shifting her so that she falls against his chest, making strange whimpering noises. He likes kids, he does, only they're stubborn, and he doesn't think that he's quite ready for them yet. Sure, they're cute, but then they start crying or having a tantrum, and the best thing about that is that you can pass them back to their parents. He's not entirely ready to be the parent that they're passed back to.

They'll have a kid when they're good and ready – if he finally manages to propose, that is. Still, Blaine thinks with a soft smile, he can't get over the thought of Kurt holding their perfectly beautiful new born girl.

One day.

But today he's totally okay with handing Elise back to Finn and Rachel.

"Do you think they're done?" he asks, "come on, let's wait at the door for them." He throws Elise over his shoulder while Kurt gets the stroller and pushes it through the busy Christmas crowds to nearer the store.

"Santa!" she screeches in his ear when she sees the man in the red and white coat again, sat at his grotto. "Go 'gain. See him!"

Blaine shakes his head, "no, no. We're getting daddy and mama, and going home."

She sets a killer pout on her face, "mean."

"Hey, I thought I was cool Uncle Blaine?"

"Mean," she repeats, struggling against his chest again, to which he sighs and places her on the floor beside the stroller.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he laughs, turning his attention to Kurt, who smiles back at him. Just as they start talking about his phone call from work, Finn and Rachel return looking ridiculously pleased with themselves, and Blaine does not want to know what's in their bags.

Finn peers down at the stroller. "Where's Elise?"

All their gazes follow, and he's pretty sure that his heart stops beating.

She's not there.

"Oh crap."

Rachel looks up to him, eyes wide, "Blaine, where is she?"

"She was here a second ago," Kurt says, his expression practically mirroring the panic on Blaine's, and they all start to look around the mall for any sign of her, but it's difficult to find a tiny two year old in the midst of the crowds.

"Elise!" Finn calls, straining his eyes to find her, while Blaine and the others join in calling her name.

"I can't believe you lost her!" Rachel says to him, looking on the verge of tears.

Today is not Blaine's day.

After ten whole minutes of searching, they'd found her lingering around the Santa, just staring at the man in awe. He'd apologized probably hundreds of times, but the moment they found Elise again Finn and Rachel seemed to forget all about it and were just happy to have her back safe.

They return home, all spent for the day, and Blaine's mood plummeting after the incident at the mall. When he feels Kurt's hands gently massaging his shoulder, he smiles, "hmm, that feels good."

"You looked like you need it," he comments.

"It's just been a long day." Between losing the ring, the trip to the emergency room and the mall debacle, the day's really taken it out of him.

At least now he has a ring at his ready, so that he can propose to Kurt at any given moment. Tomorrow will be the best day now, with the Christmas atmosphere adding to the proposal, and hopefully potential snow that will liven up their surroundings.

The last thing he thinks about before he falls asleep under Kurt's soft touch is him saying yes, and them finally being engaged.

That morning, he's woken to the feel of lips against his neck, littering a trail of kisses from there up to his jaw, before they catch his own lips in a sweet kiss. "Merry Christmas," Kurt whispers gently in his hear, and Blaine pops an eye open to find him smiling down at him.

"Merry Christmas," he copies, his own smile bright that morning.

He leans up ever so slightly so that they're kissing again, adding a certain ferocity to said action that causes Kurt to moan and deepen the touch of their lips. "Blaine," he sighs softly, his hand cupping Blaine's cheek delicately, in complete contrast to the speed and frantic kissing.

All at once, Blaine pushes harder at Kurt's lips, and somehow manages to spin them around so that he's on top. Kurt runs a finger along his bare chest, unable to hide his smirk, "I'm a very lucky guy, you know."

"So am I," he insists, kissing Kurt once more. His teeth tug at Kurt's lower lip, tongue then teasing it, before it slides into Kurt's mouth. Feeling Kurt's hips bucking up, narrowly missing his crotch, he begins to rub Kurt through his pajama bottoms, earning keening sounds and moans from his boyfriend.

They're so lost in the feel of one another that they don't hear the door open, nor hear Elise telling them that it's Christmas and present time. They do, however, hear Finn scream like a little five year old girl, and the pair fall apart, turning to find his horror struck face.

He blindly reaches for Elise, stumbling over his words, "I – I, um, I'm sorry. She just walked in and… I'm so sorry – oh god. I'm going to – Elise, get here now!" Managing to grab her, he holds her protectively against his broad chest.

"Presents!" she insists, probably having wanted to get Kurt and Blaine so that they could start to unwrap them.

Finn doesn't dare look back and try to get the pair to come with them.

Finn can barely look them in the eye as they eat breakfast, and both do their best to avoid him a little, too. Blaine hopes that he's a little too traumatized to tell Rachel what he'd seen and it's all kept a secret – one that they can forget about, quickly.

The opening of the presents doesn't last very long, with Elise finishing her pile first and then beginning to open other people's presents for them. Not that anyone seems to mind; it is cute seeing her get all excited over the electric razor that his dad got, even though she has no idea what it is. He notices Kurt staring at her, a tiny, hidden smile gracing his lips, while the rest of his face looks thoughtful.

When Cooper gives his gifts, a tape of his commercial for everyone ("with room for all the other jobs I'm sure to get.), he wants to facepalm, though instead forces on a huge, fake smile toward his brother, who just starts singing to himself again. Really, he's worse than Rachel with that, and she's bad.

It just feels like an average Christmas day, only today it's better because Kurt is here, acting as though he's been in the family for years. They sit on the couch after all the presents have been unwrapped, and the others are busy. Finn is on dad duty, setting up all of Elise's toys and putting the batteries in, while Rachel and his mom start the dinner. His dad has fallen asleep on the recliner, and Blaine can't hear the free credit rating commercial anywhere, so Cooper must have gone out for a while. All in all, the atmosphere is calm, relaxing, and he's glad to be sharing it with Kurt.

Kurt drops his head against his shoulder, a serene smile passing his expression. He looks beautiful.

"I like this," he says, "a big, family Christmas." Tilting his neck ever so slightly, his stunning blue eyes meet Blaine's, "growing up it was always just me and my dad, and I used to imagine what something like this would be like… It's better than I imagined, though I think that's because it's with you. That's why it's perfect."

He grins, gently pressing a kiss to Kurt's forehead, "I love you."

A soft, content sigh comes from Kurt, "love you more."

"Love you most," he chuckles.

"Nope, not possible."

"I think it is," he says, trying his best to be serious, but utterly failing.

Kurt laughs, entwining their fingers together, "never."

They're disrupted by Rachel's loud call of "dinner's ready!" and head into the dining room to get seated. Blaine takes his seat between Finn and Kurt, smiling at the never ending amount of food. "It looks great," he says.

"Mom," Rachel whines, "do I have to sit next to Cooper?" She points at him with an exasperated expression, while he just grins – not so innocently – at his sister.

"Come on, Rach. Come and sit with you big brother," he tugs on her arm to try and get her into her seat, though she shrugs off his touch. "We'll have lots of fun," he promises.

Their mom sighs, "I'm sure you can make it through one dinner, it's not the end of the world." Rachel doesn't look convinced, dragging her chair away from him as much as possible and then sitting herself down.

He fakes a pout, pointing her way. "Ouch, I'm hurt." Rachel pointedly ignores her brother.

Once the quick spat is out of the way, dinner progresses with ease as the family seemingly stuffs themselves full. All except Blaine, who barely has an appetite. He can feel the ring burning a hole in his pocket, and he knows that soon he's going to do it, he's going to propose. He's already tried twice before, but then there'd been the whole disaster with the ring and Finn walking in on them. But third time lucky, right?

Still, he feels sick. He's excited, sure, but nervous as hell.

He waits for a quiet moment, when Rachel and Cooper are cleaning the table, Finn is asleep on the couch, with what looks like Elise drawing on his face in his moment of vulnerability, and their parents have gone for a walk.

It's perfect.

The dark sky has already fallen down and, with the brightly coloured fairy lights and the snow drizzling down outside, he couldn't ask for a more beautiful time to propose.

He gently takes Kurt's soft hands in his, leading him away from everything else, where it's just them. Blaine can't help the nervous smile on his lips, and Kurt notices. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it's wonderful, actually," he replies, before finally taking the plunge. "Kurt," he begins, strongly. "You are the love of my life. You're amazing, thoughtful, caring, and somehow, I was lucky enough to meet you and have you fall in love with me. You –"

The sound of a cupboard slamming closed momentarily distracts him, but he easily gets back on track.

"You changed my life, you made it better."

"Oh Blaine," he starts, eyes watering and a hand rising just over his lips.

He takes in a shaky breath, "so, I –"

Another slam. Then shouting.

Kurt turns his head, "what in the world is going on?"

Trying to get things back on track, he starts – a little louder -, "Kurt, there's something important tha –"

A door opens.

"You know what, Cooper," comes Rachel's loud, and clearly upset, voice. "I don't care what you say. You just want everything to be about you anyway."

"Oh, you're one to talk," he snarls back.

Blaine doesn't know whether to be annoyed or concerned. He just wants to shout, "hello, I'm trying to propose here," but that's not exactly romantic and Kurt wouldn't appreciate it. Ye,t when Cooper and Rachel begin an argument, without either one of their parents there to intervene, it's never good news.

She scoffs loudly, "ever since you've been here, you've gone around showing people your stupid commercial. Nobody cares about it, nobody but you." Rachel then groans, "you're so annoying." Oh, if only Blaine could see Cooper's face now – he can practically feel the hurt on it.

"Yeah well, at least I'm not some teenage slut who couldn't keep her legs closed!"

Silence.

"Crap," he hears himself whispers, gaining Kurt's attention. They hear footsteps running away, and then what sounds like a door shut closed, the whole house vibrating. Blaine starts walking to the kitchen, where the argument had no doubt taken place, and finds a slightly pissed off Cooper still there.

The minute he sees Blaine, he rolls his eyes, "it's her fault."

"I'm not saying it's anyone's fault," he holds his hands up, "but did you really have to pull that card? You know how she gets about that." Though a guilty expression slips onto his face momentarily, his stubbornness doesn't let it stay for long.

Blaine frowns, "that was low, Cooper." He only shakes his head at his brother, before letting his feet carry him toward Rachel's room.

Knocking a few times, he winces when he hears her cry out, "go away," but still defies that and lets himself into the room. She's lay on the bed, face hidden by her pillow as she cries, body wracked with sobs. Even as he sits down beside her, she doesn't move or acknowledge him, but instead continues to cry everything away.

"Rachel," he starts softly. "He didn't mean it."

She cries even harder.

At a loss of what to do, he just gently soothes a hand up and down her back, watching her sadly and hoping that the tears will pass. She's always struggled with the stereotypes surrounding teenage mothers, that they're just sluts and incapable of looking after their children. But he knows that it's not the case with Rachel. She and Finn were being safe, they cared for each other, but they were just the unlucky percentage that the condom didn't work for. And it's not exactly like they shied away from the responsibility of having a child – they're great parents to Elise, and the little girl couldn't be brought up in a more loving home.

It's just hard when people don't see that, especially on Rachel. Though she says the disapproving looks don't bother her, he knows that they still affect his sister.

"Come here," he beckons her, surprised when he barely has to persuade her into his embrace, and she cries against his shoulder, body almost shaking.

"I hate him," Rachel half cries, half mumbles into his shirt.

Blaine rolls his eyes, "no you don't. He may say stupid things, but you don't hate him."

"I do," she insists.

Raising an eyebrow, he sets a look on her, "Rachel, he's your brother. He's supposed to irritate you, and argue about stupid things."

Rachel sniffles loudly in his ear, though he tries to ignore that. "You don't do that," she tries.

"Remember before I left for college? I mean, I'm wasn't annoying as Cooper – I'll agree." She manages a small laugh here, "but we were arguing every other day, about anything. It was driving mom and dad crazy."

"It was kind of their fault for putting us in the rooms next to each other," she agrees, finally a smile on her lips.

"You see? Brothers are supposed to be like that." He ruffles her hair, as if to prove a point, and her brows dip in annoyance, "but it's okay because you're our little sister – you can be just as irritating."

"Gee, thanks," she responds dryly.

With a soft laugh, he pulls her close to him in a tight hug, gently pressing his lips to her forehead where they linger for a moment. "You know what I mean. It's all part and parcel of having siblings. Some days you want to kill them, and other days you're willing to kill someone else in order to protect them. Unfortunately with Cooper it's more often than not the first option."

Her face drops. "I can't believe he said that though. My own brother thinks I'm a slut." Rachel's head slowly shakes, eyes welling up again.

Sighing, he counters, "Rachel, that's not true, and you know it. Remember how protective he was when you were pregnant? He just… he knows that that's the fastest way to get a reaction from you, so he used that to get one up in your argument – whatever it was about."

She rolls her eyes, a look of distaste lingering on her features. "He was trying to show me his commercial, again, and I said it wasn't even that good."

Not a very wise move, he thinks. He wouldn't even dare.

"And you lived to tell the tale?" he jokes, earning an eye roll from his sister, "anyway, Cooper didn't mean it. He was just being an idiot, as usual, and Rach, it's Christmas – a time of forgiveness. We should be able to forgive him for being an idiot."

Though she doesn't look like she's particularly happy about it, she finally nods. "Okay," she sniffles, wiping at her puffy eyes, "I guess I can. Like you said, it's Christmas."

"Good," he says, standing and pulling her with him, "now let's stop wallowing in here and go have some fun. I'm sure that Coop'll lay off you for the rest of that night. Even he has a conscience, you know?"

Rachel scoffs, but follows him nonetheless. They find Kurt lingering outside the bedroom, and he offers a tentative smile as they step out, though he knows he doesn't have to worry when Blaine sends him the thumbs up. Naturally, their hands join as they walk after a much merrier Rachel into the living room, who's then dragged away by Elise to show her the picture she drew on her daddy's face.

"Oh my," Rachel says when she sees all the colors on Finn's face, courtesy of their daughter, a hand moving up to hide her smile.

"Daddy pretty," Elise smiles proudly, swaying on the balls of her feet.

"He sure is," she agrees with a laugh, and Blaine smiles now that her mood has improved, watching her pick Elise up in a tight hug.

Still, he thinks, another opportunity for him to propose gone. Is he just the most unlucky guy in the world? Why can he seem to find the right moment? Proposing shouldn't be this hard. He looks to Kurt, and all he wants to do is just get down on one knee right that second and just do it, but Kurt deserves something more romantic than that.

He deserves the best.

When Blaine wakes that morning, with the thought that he still hasn't proposed yet all too centered in his mind, he sighs, and rolls over to so his face is pressed into Kurt's shoulder. His boyfriend is fast asleep, his hair all tufted and messy, which Blaine thinks is adorable. Usually he tries his best from letting anyone see him in such a state of disarray, but he has boyfriend benefits – said benefits which also allow him to cop a feel anytime he wants and really, who wouldn't, yet that's a different topic completely; one that he'd be interested in talking about, though still off the subject.

He waits for any signs of Kurt waking up before he moves himself, which takes a good forty minutes of just sitting and staring. It's nice, he thinks, to be able to wake up so leisurely in the morning, as their New York schedule is ridiculously busy, and they never seem to just take the time for things like this.

And it turns out that he really likes watching Kurt sleep. Not in that creepy way that you see in weird films, but just because Kurt's so damn adorable. His peaceful expression, his dishevelled hair, and the way he sometimes mumbles out the strangest things. Once he'd had a whole conversation with Kurt – who had been sleep talking – about Kurt being in line for the British throne. It's pretty cute, really.

It's not long before the smell of breakfast coaxes him from bed, a sleepy Kurt following. Still, he livens up after a couple of coffees and a bet with Rachel to see who can sing defying gravity better. And it's Kurt, obviously. But then Finn thinks Rachel, so it's pretty even matched on that side.

Though that's soon put to a stop when Elise knocks over his dad's beer from the kitchen counter and gets it all over herself, meaning Finn and Rachel are on bath duty again.

And then it strikes him. Another chance.

Cooper is watching Elf on TV (he's pretty damn enthralled in it for a twenty nine year old), and his parents are in the spare room, apparently his dad having been suckered into helping her with putting away some of the Christmas gifts.

Blaine holds his breath, a smile growing on his lips. "Alone," he sighs to himself, feeling like an excitable child.

"What?" Kurt tilts his head to look at him.

This is it. This is probably going to be one of your last chances before you leave tomorrow. Don't screw it up.

He can do this.

"Kurt," he gently wraps his fingers around Kurt's softer, cooler ones, smiling as the simple touch brings that all too familiar electricity. "I love you." It feels like the best way to start, the most natural way. They say it to each other all the time, but the words are yet to lose their special meaning. Some people say they're overused, but when Kurt or Blaine share them, they just know that it's special.

A soft smile appears on Kurt's thin lips, and Blaine smiles too.

He takes a deep breath. "You mean the world to me, you know? I honestly don't know what I'd do without you, how I'd function, how I could even just have the energy to get up and do something every day."

Though he's obviously touched, he's still slightly lost, "Blaine, why are you telling me this?"

"Kurt Hum –"

"My commercial! It's on TV! Kurt, Blaine, look! It's me!" Cooper points to the screen with enthusiasm, before adding, "Mom, Dad, come here. My commercial in on!"

Oh no. This isn't happening.

His jaw drops. Why can't he just get a chance to propose and not get interrupted? Blaine drops his head into his hands, resisting the urge to scream out in frustration. Just at that moment, his parents enter, bickering about something.

"I'm just saying, Michael, that you should consider what I want sometimes."

"I do!" he says back, exasperatedly.

"Look, look, I'm on TV!"

Kurt wears an uneasy smile now, ignoring Cooper's growing excitement and facing Blaine, who is frowning so deeply that lines are appearing on his forehead.

Just as he thinks it couldn't get any worse, it does.

The patter of tiny feet can be heard and then a naked two year old, leaving behind a trail of bubbles, suddenly runs past him. "No clothes!" she screams in all her glory, her face nothing but proud as Finn then appears at the door, already a little worn.

"Elise, you get back here!"

"Know your score, free /savings!"

"Michael, stop lying!"

When Rachel appears at the door, frantic as ever while Elise is running circles around her daddy, she joins in the chase. "Elise Hudson, get your butt here now!"

Kurt stares at the scene in horror. "Dear God."

He mirrors the sentiment. But you know what? He doesn't care anymore. He's going to ask Kurt to marry him, distraction or not.

"Know your score, free /savings!"

"Julie, it's not as though you haven't acted like this before."

A scoff.

"Kurt, I reall – "

"No clothes! Me naked!"

"Elise!"

"No clothes, no clothes, no clothes!"

"As I was saying, you're amazing and – "

"Know your score – "

"Are you calling me selfish?"

"I'm not not calling you selfish!"

"These few years together have been the best of my li –"

"Elise, get here."

"No, no. Me free!"

"MARRY ME!"

And suddenly the chaos stops. He could hear a pin drop.

All eyes are on him, everything completely silent, and by the look on Kurt's face he hadn't said that inside his head. He feels himself talking without really thinking, the words just falling out. "I-I've been trying to ask you for days. But something was always going wrong. First Elise swallowed your ring, so I had to buy a new one, then in the morning Finn interrupted us." At this, Finn looks down, blushing as he's forced to remember that accident. "Then Rachel and Cooper had that huge fight. And every time I tried someone would get in the way.

"Until I just – I couldn't wait anymore…"

Kurt's eyes are wide, watering, and Blaine feels like he's going to throw up from his nerves. He starts to inch his hand further to his pocket, to get the ring, when Kurt shouts out. "Yes!"

He freezes, staring up at him. "Yes?" he breathes.

When the other man nods and throws himself forward, they fall into an embrace, kissing every inch of skin possible – and keeping it totally PG for the two year old (and Cooper) – while the family watch with either crying or smiling.

And then he takes in a deep breath as he realizes that he actually did it, he proposed, and now he's engaged.

To the most amazing man he's ever met.

He smiles, unable to resist kissing Kurt again, and again, until their lips are sore and they can barely think straight. All he's aware of it that unbelievably happy feeling ready to burst out of his tiny body.

"Ready to go back?" he asks when they've got a moment alone, between Cooper interrupting them and his mom crying about her son leaving and not coming home for another few months.

"As much as a wonderful vacation this has been," Kurt begins, "I am happy to be going home, where it's just you and me – no two year olds appearing out of nowhere, or no twenty nine years olds for that matter, either." The two share a laugh, Blaine gently resting his head against Kurt's shoulder, his lips brushing against Kurt's neck.

He laughs, "yeah, but there's a Santana."

"True," he purses his lips, "maybe we could sexile her for the day."

Blaine looks thoughtful, "good idea. We can get a head start on the plane." He smiles suggestively toward his fiancé.

A light chuckle sounds in his ear, "oh, like on the way here? I was sure that we were going to get kicked off of that plane if they caught us… like that."

"That's the thrilling part," he laughs.

They fall into a comfortable silence, still smiling at one another, before Kurt suddenly says, "Blaine?"

"Hmmm?"

"I'm glad that you took me home to meet your family," he says, "and you know what? As crazy as they are, I like them, a lot." Kurt lets out a short laugh, "what does that say about me?"

He joins in, his eyes bright with love as he gazes toward Kurt. "I guess it's a good thing that you like them, seeing that now you're my fiancé they won't leave you alone, especially mom and Rachel."

"Say that again."

"What?"

Kurt smiles shyly, "call me your fiancé again." Adding, "I like it."

With a wicked grin, he gently presses a kiss to Kurt's sweet lips. "You're my," another kiss, now lingering at his jaw, "perfect," trailing ever so lightly around his neck, "handsome," sucking at a sensitive stretch of skin that he knows turns Kurt's knees week, "talented," then his hot breath is against Kurt's ear, finishing with, "fiancé."

"I love you," Kurt announces, "so much."

I hope you enjoyed it (especially you Lucy!) And I hope I did Klaine justice.

Please review :)