Kurt has worn a gentleman's chain for as long as the members of the New Directions can remember. He's never owned a pocket watch, never carried a wallet in his pants pocket, but the chain has been there, attaching one belt loop to another, or to a buttonhole on his vest. It's a trinket – a decorative piece of Victorian-inspired flair. Kurt has always been style savvy - exploring retro trends and pushing conventionally-accepted boundaries in the name of fashion. Season after season, this one item has been a staple in Kurt's wardrobe…until it isn't. No one knows why the chain suddenly goes away. It's probably past its prime. There have been several elements to Kurt's eclectic wardrobe that have gone sayonara over the years and then made a comeback – kilts, cat sweaters, riding boots. The chain resurfaces, too, coincidentally with the arrival of Kurt's boyfriend, Blaine. Once Blaine starts walking the halls of McKinley in his saddle shoes and bow ties, Kurt's gentleman's chain returns.

Fashion statements come and go. This one, however, is here to stay.

But to Blaine, Kurt's chain is more than an accessory. Much, much more.

It represents punishment and reward.

Submission and ownership.

Because at the end of that chain, tucked into Kurt's vest pocket, is a key - a small key, almost like a diary key to the uneducated eye, but made of way sturdier stuff. You can see that if you get the chance to actually touch it.

But Kurt lets no one see it, lets no one touch it.

That little brass key unlocks a better treasure, a greater secret, than any old diary.

It's the key to the padlock on Blaine's CB6000S – a chastity device so effective, and sometimes so cruel, it doesn't even have a name.

Kurt calls it Blaine's cock cage. It took Kurt a while to find the perfect one, and he spared no expense.

He even sprang extra to go designer.

The chastity device currently tormenting Blaine is made of chrome. Not only does it keep him on lockdown, allowing for no friction, no sensation that Kurt doesn't permit, but it goes with absolutely everything.

This aspect of their relationship isn't something they advertise. It belongs to them. No one else needs to know.

Blaine discovered his submissive tendencies early on, daydreamed of the day when he might find a Master, but he never wanted to belong to someone the way he belongs to Kurt – completely, thoroughly, with no holds barred.

The key in Kurt's pocket is a daily reminder of that, of the trust Blaine has in Kurt.

Blaine showers in private, urinates in a stall, doesn't show his chrome cock cage to anyone. A lot of people probably wouldn't understand. They might think that this is unhealthy or irresponsible. Less erudite critics might call him whipped, which is demeaning and wrong beyond a need for explanation…but so what if he is? Why is that so bad? Blaine fell in love with a wonderful man, a generous Master. Blaine knows his own mind, his own body, and he wants to give all of himself to Kurt.

Blaine's sexuality is a gift that he's sworn to share with only one special man, and as far as Blaine is concerned, he couldn't find a more kind, a more compassionate, a more worthy person to be his key holder.

Blaine considers himself a well-kept man.