“Someone has got to tell my Aunt Nancy to ease up on the Cosmopolitans,” Kurt side-eyed his octogenarian relative, cringing as she staggered from the bar towards one of his cousins. “I mean really, whose bright idea was it to have a free bar after the chaos she caused at the last family gathering. I've never been able to look at a pineapple in the same way since.” Blaine chuckled and helped himself to one of the voulevants that a passing waiter was carrying on a tray.

The couple were at a party to celebrate Kurt's great-aunt Lily and uncle Albert's golden wedding anniversary. The whole Hummel-Hudson family plus partners had been invited, however Finn and Rachel were in the middle of yet another fight and so he was attending on his own. Finn had initially been unwilling to come to the party due to this, but soon changed his tune when he discovered the extent of extravagant food that would be available. Kurt wasn't entirely sure if his stepbrother had even left the long stretch of tables along the back edge of the ballroom since they had arrived, which was a good ninety minutes ago now. Whilst Burt and Carole were currently sat at a table talking to an elderly couple that were friends of Lily and Albert, Kurt and Blaine were standing towards the outskirts of the dance floor enjoying the music supplied by the band on the stage. Throughout the evening the band had been performing a mixture of hits from the past fifty years, allowing for the tastes of both the younger and more senior guests. Blaine had particularly enjoyed their rendition of Twist And Shout, causing Kurt to giggle when he broke out into the dance routine from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

The band had just started to play Locomotion when Kurt placed his right hand on Blaine's left bicep and gave it a squeeze. “Hey, I've got to disappear for a few minutes. I promised Uncle Albert I'd do something for him.”

“Can't it wait until after this song? Don't you want to join in with my chug-a chug-a motion?” Blaine said playfully, winking at his boyfriend.

Kurt blushed a little and moved in closer to whisper into Blaine's ear, “Don't worry, there'll be plenty of time for swinging your hips later.” With a quick kiss to Blaine's cheek, Kurt walked towards a door near to the stage, unable to resist sashaying his own hips to tease his boyfriend.

Finding himself by his own for the first time that evening, Blaine sauntered over to one of the tables that wasn't too occupied by people he didn't know and sat down to take in the scenery for a while. Each of the round tables was covered with a mint green cloth, on which silver confetti had been spread out, with a vase of white roses and green carnations as a centrepiece. The rest of the ballroom was set out in a similar colour scheme, with even the band members wearing mint-green jackets and white trousers to match. Blaine was watching the reflections from the mirror ball hanging from the middle of the ceiling when he noticed someone almost falling on to the seat next to him.

“So you're the culprit of stealing my Kurt's innocence.” Blaine turned towards the voice to be faced with Aunt Nancy, a fresh cocktail in her hand.

Stumbling on his words slightly Blaine replied “I, err, well I'm his boyfriend if that's what you're implying.”

“Such a shame. It's always the most handsome ones that bat for the other team. And you dear are certainly a fine piece of eye candy.”

Blaine flustered, panicking slightly at being caught by Kurt's inebriated relative. “Thank you. You're looking lovely tonight yourself.” He may have felt uncomfortable, but Blaine was not one to let his manners slip.

“Oh sweetie, there's no need to be so polite. I'm sure you'd much prefer a hunky man to be sitting next to you. Someone to get a little rough with, yes?” Aunt Nancy took a large sip of her Cosmopolitan whilst Blaine searched around the room trying to spot Kurt for a way out of his current predicament. “Tell me dear, are you attending to all of my Kurt's needs? I once watched this television show and my, were these two gorgeous young men going at it. What was it again? Queer as Funk? I bet you're quite something in the bedroom, am I right?”

Blaine's eyes widened at Aunt Nancy's comments. There was being supportive of your great-nephew's relationship, and then there was being overly eager to hear about it. This, clearly, had gone beyond even that and into TMI-territory. “Eh-he, I certainly like to think I keep Kurt happy. In the romantic sense I mean.” Blaine quickly scanned the room again for a reason to leave, noticing that Finn was over by the buffet table not too far away from where he was sat. Barely holding in a sigh of relief Blaine turned towards Aunt Nancy, “If you excuse me, I need to speak to Kurt's stepbrother about something.”

“Ok darling. Do come see me again before you leave, yes? And make sure you have Kurt with you. I'm sure you're just adorable together.”

Blaine smiled courteously and quickly made his way over to where Finn was standing at the back of the room. He had to raise his voice slightly to be heard over the guests applauding the band who had just finished playing, “Hey Finn, have you seen Kurt?”

“Not lately no,” he replied with a mouthful of food. “Have you tried these cheese melt things? They're so good.”

“The breadcrumb-coated goat's cheese? Yeah, they're not bad,” Blaine answered, disappointed that Kurt didn't seem to be anywhere. The band's lead singer was talking about a special performance coming up next, but Blaine was too pre-occupied trying to find Kurt in the crowd that he didn't pay much attention to what was being said.

“Goat's cheese? I thought cheese only came from cows? Man, that's put me right off,” Finn wiped his mouth with his fist, pulling a face of disgust. “Oh wait, isn't that Kurt on the stage?”

Blaine turned around and sure enough there was Kurt standing behind the fifties style microphone. Only instead of the black fitted shirt and burgundy waistcoat he had been wearing previously, he was now wearing a white shirt and the same jacket as the rest of the band. The brass section started playing and Blaine immediately recognised the song, starting to smile at what was a highly appropriate choice for what he was currently seeing.

“Youre just too good to be true
Cant take my eyes off you
Youd be like heaven to touch
I wanna hold you so much
At long last love has arrived
And I thank God Im alive
Youre just too good to be true
Cant take my eyes off you”

Blaine slowly walked closer to the stage, noticing that Lily and Albert were dancing in the middle of the floor with large smiles on their faces. Obviously this was what Kurt had meant when he said he had to do something for his great-uncle, but as Kurt caught his eye and started grinning Blaine couldn't help thinking that this was also for them.

--One year ago--

Kurt and Blaine were stretched out on the small couch that still managed to take up most of the space in the living room of their New York apartment. Having both had a busy week at college which had left them with little time to spend together, they had decided to celebrate the upcoming weekend by having one of their now traditional double movie sessions. It had been Blaine's choice of actor on this occasion and he had gone with Heath Ledger. They had already watched A Knight's Tale and were now on 10 Things I Hate About You.

“I always wished that someone would do this for me in high school,” Kurt sighed, running his fingers across Blaine's arm wrapped around his waist. “Singing through the intercom, a big brass band, dancing without a care for anyone else watching.”

“Excuse me, aren't you forgetting something? Somewhere Only We Know ring any bells? Getting all the Warblers to help me serenade you at McKinley? The piano?” exclaimed Blaine in mock outrage, squeezing Kurt to let him know that he was joking.

“I know, I know. Not quite the same though. I don't see Julia Styles narrowly holding back tears. I nearly broke my rule of no crying in public for you”

“A feat that I couldn't quite manage,” Blaine smiled, placing a kiss to the side of Kurt's neck. “How about I surprise you at college one day with that song then?”

“Hmm, I'd expect the whole song though. And no security guards dragging you away.”

“I'll see what I can do,” Blaine chuckled.

----

Blaine was now standing in front of the stage, watching Kurt fully giving himself to the performance in a way only Kurt Hummel could. He mimicked the trombonists, wiggled his hips behind the microphone, winked at people dancing... Blaine had never been so transfixed, which of course only made his heart swell more given the song's lyrics. Every cell in his body vibrated with love for Kurt and all he could do was stand there wanting to shout out “You see that stunning, talented, amazing guy up there? He's mine! Mine mine mine!” And it was in that moment that Blaine knew that it was time. Everything had been building up to this point and he wasn't going to waste another second.

As Kurt finished the song to great applause and left the stage to speak to Lily and Albert, Blaine headed towards Burt. There was something that he needed to get reconfirmed.

--A few months previously—

It was spring break and Kurt and Blaine were staying at the Hummel-Hudson home for the week. They had visited Blaine's parents the day they arrived back in Ohio and since then were enjoying the hospitality of Burt and Carole. Whilst both boys (young men now really) had college work that needed doing, they made sure to still find time to relax with each other and take pleasure in the company of family . It was because of this that on this particular day Kurt was out shopping with his stepmother whilst Blaine was helping Burt do some gardening in the backyard.

“Okay kiddo, what's up? You've spent five minutes digging out that weed with fear all over your face. And I'm pretty sure you're not worried about leaving a trace of root behind. I don't care about my lawn that much y'know.”

Blaine snapped out of his trance and put down the hand fork he had been using to what can only be described as massacring the offending weed. He got up from the ground and sheepishly walked over to Burt where he had just stopped hosing down the patio.

“I... well you see... it's just...” Blaine didn't know where to start. He'd been thinking of what to say for the last hour but still couldn't get the right words out.

“Eloquent today aren't you?” Burt chuckled. “Just spit it out.”

Blaine took a big breath and went for it. “I love Kurt. So very much, and I really appreciate the support you've given us. You welcomed me into your family despite our somewhat awkward moments before Kurt and I started dating, something that not a lot of fathers would have done so easily. You've become someone I can rely on when times get tough, and I'm so honoured that you trust me with Kurt's heart. I was hoping you would be willing to extend that trust in allowing me to marry your son.”

“I see.”

For a few seconds that felt more like hours to Blaine, Burt didn't say a word and just looked at his son's boyfriend. Blaine desperately wanted to break eye contact but was determined not to lose his resolve.

“Don't you think you're a bit young to be getting married?” Burt finally asked.

“I know that I've only just reached my twenties and Kurt will soon be twenty-two, but in all fairness we have been together for five years now and I'm sure of this. I'm not saying that I'll propose as soon as you grant me permission or that we'll have a quick engagement, but I feel that now is the right time to ask you.”

Burt returned to his silent assessment of Blaine before speaking again. “Well I'm glad that you thought to seek my permission before rushing into a proposal. I know Kurt is truly growing up and becoming his own person now, but he's still my child and I'll never stop being protective of him. So thank you for the gesture.” Burt paused to take a breath before continuing, “You promise that you'll do your best to never hurt Kurt?”

“Of course sir. I mean Burt. Please give me the chance to prove my devotion to Kurt,” Blaine replied with as much feeling behind his words that he could manage.

“Ok kid. I can't deny that I see something special in your relationship, and I'm prepared to put my trust in you. Just maybe check with me again when you're about to propose? I'm unlikely to change my mind but you never know.”

“Absolutely. Thank you so much. You have no idea how much having your faith means to me,” Blaine gushed earnestly.

“I think I might if your grin is anything to go by. Now, how about we get back to work? Although you might wanna hold back on digging great big holes in the lawn” Burt joked, turning the hose back on and directing the stream of water to Blaine's torso briefly.

“Oh well if that's the way you want to play it, future father-in-law of mine” laughed Blaine, who retaliated by picking up a nearby flowerpot full of water and threw it towards Burt's jeans.

“Hey, don't encourage me to retract that blessing” Burt chided but with a smile on his face.

----

“Hi sweetie, having a nice time?” Carole asked Blaine as he approached Kurt's father and stepmother.

“Yes thanks,” he answered, before turning to Burt. “Remember what we spoke about a few months ago? I have this overwhelming need to do it now.”

For a moment Burt looked at Blaine blankly, his facial expression then shifting in recognition of the conversation being referred to. “You came prepared?”

Blaine tapped the front of his jacket, where a small box was hidden in the inside pocket. “I've been carrying it around with me for about a month now, just in case the right time came. And now it has. So, are you still willing to take a chance on me sir?”

“It's not a chance Blaine – it's a sure-fire bet,” Burt smiled.

“What's a sure-fire bet?” asked Kurt who was now standing next to his boyfriend.

“We are,” Blaine responded. He took hold of Kurt's hands and pulled them away from Burt and Carole slightly to leave enough space for what he was about to do. “Five years into our relationship and I have never felt as sure of how I feel about you as I do now. Of how ridiculously in love with you I am, and how I can't imagine going one single day without you in my life. Watching you just now was another Blackbird moment for me and if I don't do this right this moment I might just explode.” With tears in his eyes Blaine knelt down onto one knee, pulled out a black velvet box from his jacket and opened it towards Kurt, the disco lights reflecting off the series of small inlaid diamonds to the same degree as they did with the moisture collecting in his boyfriend's eyes. “My darling Kurt, please let me love you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”

Kurt's breath hitched and with a wobbling grin on his face he replied “Yes. A thousand times, yes!”

By this point a number of nearby guests had noticed what was going on and as Blaine removed the white-gold ring from its case and shakily placed it on Kurt's left ring-finger  they erupted into applause. Blaine stood up and his now-fiancé immediately pulled him into a searing kiss. A loud cry of “fill your boots, Kurtsie!” (coming from none other than Aunt Nancy of course) saw them parting and being dragged into a hug by Burt. The next ten minutes were spent with the vast majority of the party's guests congratulating the newly engaged couple, with even the band dedicating the next song to them.

As Kurt and Blaine swayed in each other's arms to the sound of For Once In My Life, Blaine asked “So I thought I was the one meant to serenade you with that song?”

“Ah yes,” Kurt giggled. “Guess I got there first. I hope I haven't ruined any of your plans.”

“Hey, you just agreed to marry me. That's not ruining my plans in any shape or form. And besides, you truly do look too good to be true right now.”

“And I certainly can't take me eyes off of you, future husband of mine.”