Kurt opened his eyes and drew in a sharp breath. Tears welled in his eyes as he looked around the backyard. What was normally a lawn, patio, and fenced-off pool area had been romantically transformed into a lush Italian-garden theme. Ivy covered the pool fence, a bench had been placed in the center of the lawn under an arbor covered in and surrounded by flowers, and the patio was decorated with carefully placed privacy screens of ivy and lilies. In the center of the patio were a small round table and two chairs. Kurt held his hands over his mouth and blinked furiously at the tears in his eyes.

“Oh, Blaine…” Kurt said completely breathless.

“Do…do you like it?” Blaine asked nervously. Kurt pulled Blaine into a tight embrace as a tear ran its path down his cheek.

“Oh Blaine, I love it.” Kurt didn’t think it was possible to hold his boyfriend any tighter. He felt Blaine wrap his hands around his waist and hold him tight.

“Good, because this is only the beginning.” Blaine whispered into Kurt’s ear.

“The beginning? What could possibly be better than this?” Kurt pulled away from Blaine, who was smiling.

“Shall we?” Blaine motioned to the table, and led Kurt through the lilies. Blaine pulled out Kurt’s chair for him, then took his place across from his boyfriend. Kurt honestly didn’t think that this date could get any better. The sun had just begun to set and Blaine cleared his throat. “We’re ready.” He said.

Two young men stepped out from the privacy screen behind Blaine and set two water and two wine glasses on the table in front of them. Kurt’s jaw dropped open as one of their waiters poured them each a glass of water, and set a vase of delicate white flowers on the table.

“Blaine, what in the world?” Kurt stopped midsentence as the second young waiter set a silver colored stand next to Blaine. He sat shocked as Blaine reached over and pulled a chilled bottle of red wine out of the stand. Blaine pulled the cork out of the bottle and poured Kurt a glass.

“Well, love, the flowers are called Sakura, or cherry blossom. The flowers gracing the screens are a mix of white tiger and empress of India lilies. I remember you told me once that your mother loved lilies.” Blaine reached across the table and held Kurt’s hand. “Someday, Kurt, I want to go with you to visit your mom, but only when you’re ready. Baby, what’s wrong?” Worry filled Blaine’s eyes when he saw Kurt crying.

“Oh Blaine, this is so…wonderful. All of it is absolutely perfect.” Kurt used his free hand to wipe his tears. “And I would love for you to come and visit my mother with me.” Kurt smiled and so did Blaine. “I have to ask: where is the music coming from?” Kurt grinned from ear to ear as Blaine seemed to wince.

“Well, I couldn’t find a place to stash a proper string quartet, so I bought an album of music and it’s playing in a portable CD player behind the screen.”

“Well, it’s lovely. Who is the artist?”

“His name is Drew Tretick. I listened to his album at the store a little bit and decided it was worth a shot.”

“It’s absolutely amazing, Blaine. How did you manage to pull this off?” Kurt looked around him in awe. Blaine never stopped admiring Kurt.

“Well, one of the boys in my history class at Dalton has an uncle that owns an Italian restaurant. I tutored him and his uncle agreed to this as a favor. I picked out and designed everything though.”

“I’m simply out of words to describe this, Blaine.” Kurt said as he turned to look at Blaine. Just then, the waiters came around the corner with their food. It was a single plate of spaghetti and meatballs with homemade sauce. Kurt smiled at looked at Blaine adoringly.

“I…I remember once you told me that your favorite scene from ‘Lady and the Tramp’ was the spaghetti scene, and I figured since the table was so small it seemed pointless to have two plates.” Blaine said quickly.

“It’s perfect.” Kurt smiled at his boyfriend, and he honestly couldn’t believe there was a way to love his boyfriend more than he did right now.

Blaine handed Kurt a fork, and the two teenagers began to attack the pasta and wine. True to the movie, they both found an end of an outrageously long noodle, and began to suck from opposite ends, having to rise slowly to their feet until their lips were pressed together. Kurt giggled at how cheesy it was but found he didn’t care; there was absolutely nothing that could spoil this moment. Blaine giggled along with his boyfriend and broke both the noodle and the kiss. They sat back down and finished eating their pasta amidst fits of giggles.

When they had finished their pasta, one waiter took away the plate while the other placed a bowl of dessert and two spoons between the boys. Blaine handed a spoon to Kurt and before Kurt could even try Blaine was holding a small spoon full out to Kurt. Kurt leaned slightly forward and let the cold dessert slide over his tongue. He closed his eyes as his senses melted around the symphony of delicate flavors in his mouth.

“My god, Blaine! What is that?” Kurt opened his eyes to see Blaine. His features were soft, but his eyes were dark with lust.

“It’s homemade dark chocolate-raspberry gelato. It has less sugar and fat than ice-cream, and I know that you love raspberry.” Blaine continued to stare at Kurt hungrily.

“More.” Was all Kurt could say. Blaine smiled and fed Kurt another bite, the flavors dancing over his tongue making him weak all over again. Kurt fed a small spoonful to Blaine and watched as the same reaction overtook him. Blaine’s face was washed in ecstasy, and Kurt had a sudden burning desire to put that look on Blaine’s face without wine or gelato. They finished the dessert in silence, slowly feeding each other the spoonfuls of bliss. A waiter whisked the empty bowl off the table and Blaine stood and offered Kurt his hand. Kurt took it, and Blaine led him across the yard and over to the bench.

The flowers surrounding the bench and covering the arbor were a mix of lilies and roses in shades of red, pink, and white. The sun was mostly set now, the sky painted in colors to match the garden. Kurt sat beside Blaine on the bench and lay his head on Blaine’s shoulder. Blaine intertwined their fingers and sighed happily as Kurt rested against him.

“Blaine, this is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me. I can’t think of a single way that this date could get any better.” Kurt said softly, and felt Blaine tense up slightly next to him. Now it was Kurt’s turn to worry. “Baby, are you okay?” Kurt asked.

“I’m fine,” Blaine said and relaxed a bit. “Kurt, there is something I have to tell you, but I don’t want you to interrupt.” Blaine whispered and Kurt nodded. “Kurt, when you stopped me on the staircase that day, I thought I was looking at an angel. You were so beautiful; I knew you were there to spy, but I also knew you were hurting and needed a friend. When you transferred, I made a promise to myself to stay your friend and mentor because I didn’t want you to get hurt. I can be a bit…slow and clumsy when it comes to romance, and the last thing I ever want to do is hurt you.
“Then you sang Blackbird and my whole world changed. I realized that I could be your best friend and love you at the same time, and it was then I promised myself that I would work every day of my life to be everything to and for you.” Blaine let go of Kurt’s hand and stood in front of him on the ground. Kurt was holding his breath and fighting tears as Blaine slowly got down on one knee. “I know that we’ve only been dating a little while and that this is really soon, but I want to give you this,” Blaine pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket and opened it. Inside was a thin silver band with the word always etched inside. Blaine looked up at Kurt who now had tears running freely down his cheeks. “This is a promise ring, Kurt. I promise to love you with all my heart and soul, and never to leave you without love or companionship for the rest of our lives. I love you, Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, and I want us to be together forever. Will you accept this ring?” Blaine’s voice was soft as he asked. Kurt had his hands covering his mouth once again and was practically choking back sobs.

“I…wha…I…yes! Yes, Blaine, a thousand times yes!” Kurt choked out and launched himself into Blaine’s arms. Kurt held onto his boyfriend with all the strength he could muster, and laughed as Blaine held him just as tightly. They stood together for a minute, bodies pressed flush together, breathing deeply and crying. Blaine pulled back from Kurt and slipped the ring onto Kurt’s right hand ring-finger. Kurt couldn’t take his eyes off the band that fit his finger perfectly.

“I’m putting it on this hand,” Blaine explained, “ So that when the time comes for a true proposal, the engagement ring can go on the correct finger.” Blaine looked up as Kurt audibly sobbed. Kurt threw his arms around Blaine’s neck and pulled him in close.

“Blaine Anderson, you’ve just made the perfect night even better. Not only did you plan a romantic dinner and promise-proposal, you’ve also just promised to propose forever and always somewhere down the line.” Kurt laughed as he hugged Blaine. Blaine’s hands found Kurt’s face and pulled him back to look at him. Blaine leaned in and kissed Kurt deeply.

“There is only one person I plan on spending the rest of my life with, Kurt Hummel, and it’s you.” Blaine said and kissed Kurt deeply again.

Now, Kurt decided, now this night was perfect.

The kiss deepened. It started slow, romantic, but was quickly becoming heated. Kurt pulled Blaine’s hips against his own and felt a twitch of response from himself and from Blaine. Kurt broke the kiss when the need for oxygen was too strong and with lust blown eyes looked down at Blaine.

“Let’s go inside. I want all of you, tonight and forever, Kurt Hummel.” Blaine grabbed Kurt’s hand and pulled him inside.

“What about clean up?” Kurt waved to the yard.

“All part of the deal. The screens, bench and arbor will be picked up tomorrow, but the waiters are taking the food prep stuff back as we speak.” Blaine shut the back doors and flipped the lock. “Text your dad and tell him we’re in for the night.”

“But it’s only 8:30.”

“Tell him we ate at home and we’re watching movies before bed. That way he doesn’t have to worry about you until ten.” Blaine said, his voice commanding. Kurt pulled his phone out of his pocket and typed out a quick text to Burt, then set his phone to silent. Blaine pulled Kurt in close, pressing their bodies flush together and claimed his mouth in a voracious kiss. Kurt felt goose bumps creep over his skin and heat surge through his body at the kiss, and he moaned when Blaine’s tongue slid across his lower lip, asking for entrance. Kurt opened his mouth and their tongues melted together in a perfect dance of love and lust. After what felt like hours but was probably only seconds, Kurt pulled away from Blaine.

“Upstairs….now….” he whispered. Blaine groaned and pulled Kurt to the top of the stairs as fast as the boys’ legs would carry them.