The first thing Blaine did as soon as he settled into the apartment was search for the ring. It took close to three weeks thanks to semi-coordinated school schedules, consistent plans to see shows with Rachel, and just getting to know New York by heart now that it was home. He figured Kurt wouldn’t have hidden it in a place hard to find, but it was still a good five-hour search before the ring turned up in a green Rubbermaid bin stored in the back of his closet. The majority of the tub’s contents were items that had originally belonged to Kurt’s mother, combined with several mementos from their first years together in Ohio.

Blaine stared at the foil and paper ring for several minutes, recalling every piece of gum, fold of paper, and drop from his mother’s glue gun that went into making his first Christmas present memorable (because a gift card to Aveda before they were dating didn’t quite count). Every promise he made that chilly December afternoon had been and was still being upheld. People may have considered Blaine and Kurt insane to be as head over heels as they were with their high school sweetheart, but they knew what they had was real. He finally closed the box and placed it back inside the storage bin so he could start preparing dinner before Kurt arrived home from his last class of the day.

Nearly three years passed before Kurt brought the tub and its contents out to go through. A strong rainstorm derailed their plans to enjoy an art festival in the Village, so they chose to spend the afternoon reliving old memories and talking about their childhoods.

“Oh, wow, I almost forgot about this!” Kurt exclaimed as he pulled the familiar burgundy box out, the gold bow on top crinkled but still glimmering.

Blaine’s eyes lit up at the memories flooding his mind. “Wow, you still have that?”

Kurt rolled his eyes playfully. “Of course, dummy. Nobody would throw a promise ring out, especially one as handcrafted as this.”

“I just figured you didn’t want to be reminded of your senior year and everything that went wrong.”

“Blaine,” Kurt sighed, snapping the lid shut just as he was opening the box. He set it on the coffee table and took Blaine’s hands in his. “I’m over it all. And you know why? Because you were there for me every step of the way. I don’t know what I would have done without you to make it all better.”

Blaine grinned. “It was because I loved you and knew you would do everything they didn’t expect,” he said.

“Maybe I should invite Madame Thibideaux to my graduation next year,” Kurt quipped as he picked the box up again. “She’d probably get a kick out of…”

Blaine glanced up at Kurt after he abruptly cut off. “Kurt? Baby, are you alright?”

Kurt was focused on the inside of the box. “Blaine, what is this?” he asked.

“A ring?” Blaine replied. His heartbeat quickened as he knew what was about to happen.

As he expected, Kurt took the new ring, now a simple platinum band, out of the setting. “What…is this…are you….” he stammered out.

Blaine inhaled deeply and slid off the couch and onto the carpet. “Kurt, when I made the first ring way back when, I promised you many things. The biggest promise, however, was left unsaid. You mean the world to me. You inspire me to succeed, to grow, to live better every single day. You’re the first thing on my mind when I wake and the last thought as I fall asleep. My love for you somehow rises all the time and shows no sign of ever slowing down. I am so thrilled to call you my boyfriend, but I don’t want to do that anymore…I want to say that you are my husband. So please, Kurt, please say that you’ll marry me.”

The longer Kurt sat in stunned silence, the more worried Blaine grew. He attempted to speak yet his voice disappeared. Instead, he quietly and swiftly nodded in acceptance.

Tears began flooding out of Blaine’s eyes. “You will?”

“I will,” Kurt squeaked. He began laughing as Blaine took the ring and placed it on his finger, ending the moment with a kiss just above the knuckle. Once Kurt felt relatively calm, he spoke again. “How long had you been planning on proposing?”

“I…there never really was a plan,” Blaine admitted. “I bought the ring right after I received my tax return and used the remainder of the money Cooper gave me for Christmas. Since you assumed the original was an engagement ring before, I thought using the same box was the right thing to do while I tried to find the perfect moment. And it never really came to be perfect until you wanted to go through everything today.”

“Blaine, any time would have been perfect, even right now. I do have to ask, though…”

“It’s in my tie drawer,” Blaine answered before Kurt got the question out.

“How appropriate,” Kurt said before leaning in for a kiss, their first as fianc�s. “I guess I should get to planning so you know the colors and can coordinate your bow tie.”

Blaine laughed as he returned the smooch. “At least I won’t have to go through packs of gum for it now.”