The next chapter and this chapter were supposed to be one, but I decided to break the them into two.

December 31st, 2011

The Hummel-Hudson's house was filled to the brim with people. People talking and dancing and laughing, spending their last few moments of year together and making the best of it. Kurt knew he should have been trying to have more fun, to make the last few hours of the year the best of the worst year he'd ever had. But he couldn't.

There were so many people around, pushing against him, smiling and stopping him to try and get him in a conversation. Many of the Glee Club members tried to pull him up by the karaoke machine his dad had set up in the living room. He tried his best to politely tell them no, but he snapped when Rachel begged him for the tenth time. He was just trying to get upstairs. Away from the crowds and the blaring music. He already felt a headache forming in the back of his skull and he groaned, wanting to at least get to the kitchen. Blaine had been sucked into the crowd earlier, Kurt not being able to find him since the party started. Automatically that put a damper on the nights activities, Kurt feeling alone in the large pool of people.

Soon enough he was able to burst into the kitchen, taking in a deep breath as if he hadn't had air for hours. Carole was at the oven, checking on food. She turned and smiled at him. "Blaine was just in here a couple minutes ago asking where you were," she informed him, closing the oven door and going over to the counter.

Kurt's heart lifted at the thought that Blaine was looking for him too, but he still had a very slim chance of finding him. He shrugged and walked over to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. "I've been trying to catch him all night and it hasn't worked," Kurt muttered forlornly. Carole was busy putting chips and dips in bowls and Kurt decided to join her. He ripped open a bag of Doritos and began to dump them into the large empty bowl before him.

"You'll find him, don't worry." Carole gave him a small smile as she scooped dip into small dishes.

"I hope so..." Kurt drifted off, looking down at the bag in his hands with a sad look.

"What's gotten you all in a twist? It's New Years Eve. You should be happy and making the best of the night!" Carole exclaimed, looking over at Kurt.

Kurt sighed, biting his lip for a moment. "I just... I just... I just was hoping for an awesome New Years. I was hoping to spend the night with Blaine, to have my first ever midnight kiss with him..." Kurt looked down at the bowl of chips. "Last year he was with family and I wasn't able to kiss him and I just want this night to perfect."

Carole gave him a knowing look before reaching over to squeeze his shoulder briefly. "You still have a couple hours. It'll be fine."

Kurt gave Carole a smile, "Thanks. I'm going to try and get upstairs now."

"You have fun with that," she laughed, patting his shoulder before turning back to the food.

Kurt grabbed his bottle of water and exited the kitchen, pushing through the people to the stairs, searching for Blaine. He finally burst through the wall of bodies and clambered up the stairs, his fingers gripping the banister as he pushed himself fast up the stairs and away from the crowd. He walked down the hall, shaking his head and closing his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose and breathing evenly. He really just needed a minute to calm down. A minute of deep breathing and holding back the wave of tears that were thick on his throat-

Kurt gasped as he ran into someone, stumbling backwards. The person curled their fingers around Kurt's upper arms, pulling him up and balancing him. Fear ripped through Kurt for a moment as he tried to focus immediately, his first thoughts being that it was Jeremy. Then the strong, smooth hands cupped his face and soft lips were pushing against his.

He was stiff for a moment before he recognized the feeling of the lips, the smell that was intoxicating him. He let the anxiety roll off of him and let himself melt into the passionate kiss. When they pulled away Kurt gulped in lungfuls of air, opening his eyes to focus on the boy in front of him.

Blaine had a crooked smile on his lips, his cheeks a bit pink as his eyes searched Kurt's face. Kurt grinned, reaching up to place his hands on top of Blaine's. "I've been wanting to do that all night," Blaine breathed.

"I'm glad you did," Kurt murmured, his face flushed. "I've been looking for you all night."

"I've been looking for you too. I was worried I wouldn't find you in all those people. Not to mention Finn and the boys kept dragging me over to talk to them," Blaine explained, letting his hands drop from Kurt's face. He turned his hands and intertwined his fingers with Kurt's, happiness swirling inside of him.

"Remind me to scold them tomorrow," Kurt said, leaning down to capture Blaine's lips in a quick kiss.

"I will..." Blaine grinned as Kurt pulled away. Blaine squeezed Kurt's fingers and his grin grew bigger. "Hey, go get your coat and stuff. We're going for a walk."

"A walk? Blaine, the ball drops in less than 4 hours," Kurt said incredulously.

"Trust me," Blaine smiled, reaching up to run his fingertips across Kurt's jaw.

"Okay..." Kurt whispered, "I'll go get it now."

Soon enough Kurt met Blaine back at the top of the stairs, Blaine's hair and coat slightly ruffled as he smiled. "I had to get through the crowd again. It's quite hard to do when you're so popular here."

Kurt rolled his eyes as he pulled on his black fingerless gloves.

Blaine chuckled, leaning up to kiss Kurt's cheek before grabbing his hand. "Let's go."

Blaine dragged Kurt down the stairs and helped him through the crowd, trying to stay away from the questioning gazes they were seeing. They finally got to the door, bursting out into the cold air that was blowing. The snow had melted, leaving brown grass and small puddles of slush in it's wake. Most of the street and ground were dry, the weather being weird the last few days. It hadn't snowed since Christmas, and it hadn't rained either. It has just been cold, the temperature constantly dropping.

Kurt laughed as Blaine began to run, still gripping Kurt's hand tightly. Kurt began to run after him, fumbling a little as he tried to work out his feet, then he was running alongside Blaine with a smile. The wind was whipping against them, turning their noses and cheeks red and causes their lips to dry, but the two boys didn't care.

People in the neighborhood had kept their Christmas lights up, just like every year, waiting for the day after New Years to take them down. Blaine slowed down, looking over a Kurt with his red face and large smile. "I love your neighborhood," He said breathlessly, pulling Kurt to his side as he giggle. Kurt curled an arm around Blaine's back and hugged him close, smiling as they looked at the lights decorating the houses. "Everyone else takes them down before New Years. But I come here and they're always up. I love Christmas lights."

Kurt loved how Blaine was babbling, but they were alone and in the light of the Christmas lights around them, Kurt pulled Blaine close, chest to chest, and pressed his cold lips against his. Blaine sucked in a surprised breath before tilting his head and reaching up to tangle his fingers in Kurt's coiffed hair, messing it up. But Kurt didn't mind, because this moment was perfect. The way Blaine was kissing him, the scene around them. It was like from some romance movie that always made Kurt complain about how cliche it was.

Blaine and Kurt were bob breathless and dazed when they pulled away, clutching each other close, the warmth of their bodies mixing together. "Come on," Blaine mumbled, grabbing Kurt's hand and pulling him down the street again. When he began to jog, Kurt ran, laughing as Blaine was the one being pulled behind. Blaine shook his head and chuckled as he picked up the pace, squeezing Kurt's hand in his.

Soon they were standing in front of the woods with the path that lead to the meadow. Blaine gripped Kurt's hand tightly and pulled him close. "Close you eyes," he breathed into Kurt's ear, causing a shiver to run down Kurt's spine. Kurt nodded, closing his eyes as Blaine began to walk them down the path.

When they stopped, Kurt was vibrating with the need to look, his patience stretched to the limit. "Blaine?" he all but whined.

Blaine chuckled, stepped behind Kurt to wrap his arms around his waist and hook his chin on the taller boy's shoulder. "Okay, fine. Open your eyes," he said, kissing the shell of Kurt's ear.

Kurt opened his eyes and laughed, tilting his head back to lay it on Blaine's shoulder, still giggling. Blaine pouted playfully. "Hey! Don't laugh!"

By the pond were a few candles in White paper bags, flickering in the wind. They were arranged in a circle, a New Years hat and tiara sitting in the middle along with a bottle of sparkling grape juice, wine glasses, and the small plastic wine bottles filled with tiny streamers.

"I love it!" Kurt giggled, pulling Blaine over to the little display. "The ground isn't wet is it?"

"No! Or I would have brought a blanket. I think things through now and then, Mister Hummel." Blaine stated, stepping into the circle and sitting down. Kurt followed his lead, sitting down and crossing his legs, reaching out for the glittered tiara.

"Am I the one who's supposed to wear the tiara, because seriously, Blaine." Kurt said, cocking an eyebrow at his boyfriend.

"You don't have to," Blaine explained. "You can have me wear it and you can wear the hat. That's all that was left when I got to them earlier."

Kurt nodded, smiling to himself as he settled the tiara on his head. "Of course, I'm wearing the tiara. I love them," he giggled.

Blaine smiled dreamily at him before reaching over and grabbing the New Years black top hat to settle it on his head. "Now, for the drinks." Blaine grabbed the bottle of what Kurt had thought was sparkling grape juice at first.

"You have actual wine? Blaine! How did you-" Kurt sputtered as his eyes widened.

"I didn't think Carole or your dad would miss it," Blaine shrugged, popping out the cork and smiling at Kurt. "Glass?"

Kurt shook his head in disbelief but grabbed one of the wine glasses and held it out for Blaine to fill.

Blaine filled his own and held it out for Kurt to clink his glass against his. "To a new year full of love and happiness, and the hope to pull through the challenges ahead," Blaine said quietly.

Kurt smiled but brought the glass to his lips, looking at Blaine as he downed the wine. Blaine smiled, tilting his head to the side for a moment.

An hour later and the wine bottle was discarded outside the circle of flickering candles, empty. Kurt and Blaine were tangled together, giggling and sharing sweet kisses as they tried to stay warm. "What time is?" Kurt asked, practically sitting in Blaine's lap. His stomach was twisting and a warm feeling was sloshy around inside, making more and more giggles bubble from his lips.

Blaine pulled out his phone, smiling. "11:37."

Kurt kissed Blaine on the cheek. "It's almost time."

"Yeah... Here... Let me set a timer," Blaine twisted himself to be able to get a timer on his phone, counting down till the new year. He set it on the dead grass below them and turned back to kiss Kurt quickly.

"This is it," Kurt murmured. "The year is almost over."

"I can't wait... So we can forget about everything and start anew."

Kurt looked out at the pond, the moon's reflection glistening on the glass-like surface.

"Hey-" Blaine said, reaching down and picking up one of the plastic wine bottles, handing it to Kurt. "Here."

Kurt turned it over in his hand and giggled. Blaine picked up his own and cocked an eyebrow at Kurt. Kurt pointed his towards the sky, Blaine following suite, Kurt pulling the little string at the bottom. With a loud pop, tiny colorful streamers escaped from the tiny bottles, fluttering in the air around them as Kurt and Blaine dissolved into laughter. They tangled themselves together again as they laid back on the grass, looking up into the starry sky. Kurt turned on his side and cuddled up against Blaine, flinging his arm over Blaine's stomach with a small smile.

The minutes ticked by and Kurt and Blaine stayed silent as they looked up into the sky. Blaine picked up his phone and sighed softly, "12 seconds."

"11," Kurt murmured in his ear.

"10."

"9."

"8."

7... Kurt caught Blaine's gaze as he looked over, smiling.

6...5... Blaine reached over and ran his fingertips along Kurt's jaw, to his ear and up into his hair.

4...3... Kurt giggled softly, moving closer to Blaine, blushing softly at the look Blaine was giving him.

2... Blaine's eyes glanced down at Kurt's lips before looking back up to catch his gaze as he leaned forward, his lips a breath away from Blaine's.

"1..." Blaine whispered, finally leaning forward to capture Kurt's lips in a slow, sweet kiss. Kurt's eyes fluttered close as he moved his lips with Blaine's, so perfect and slow, everything Kurt ever wanted.

Kurt pulled away, blushing as he rubbed his nose against Blaine's. "Happy New Year, Blaine..." he whispered.

"Happy New Year, Kurt," Blaine murmured, pressing his lips to Kurt's once more.

So much cute fluffiness, these two needed it. But it can't last long, nothing lasts forever.