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Blaine hadn’t been snooping, per say. In all honesty, he had meant to stay curled up in Sebastian’s bed and wait for his boyfriend to return with breakfast, as he’d said he would. It wasn’t his fault that his birthday happened to be in just one week and he was more than a little curious about what Sebastian might have picked out for him.
Amid a pile of his boyfriend’s clothes, shoes and general junk, sat nearly-twenty-three year old Blaine Anderson: untamed curls sticking up in all directions; an oversized slogan shirt falling loosely over his compact frame and hiding his navy blue underwear tucked underneath.
He let out a groan of frustration, stuffing the things back into the closet somewhat haphazardly - as they had been when he’d opened the doors in the first place. He couldn’t seem to find even a trace of ribbon or wrapping paper, let alone a gift for him.
Blaine scanned the bedroom, nibbling his lower lip in thought. Maybe the closet was too easy. After all, Sebastian knew him fairly well, knew that he might just bump into the rickety wardrobe doors and decide to have a peek.
His gaze landed on the drawers of the nightstand. Four in total, of equal sizes, all sporting an attractively shiny wooden handle. He, himself, was only familiar with the contents of the top one, given that it was where Sebastian kept the supplies that they used between them on a fairly regular basis. As for the rest, however..
Blaine scrambled across the room, acutely aware that Sebastian could potentially return at any moment, and tugged open the second drawer down. A few ticket stubs from the movie theatre, several loose napkins with the logos of various coffee shops and a sticky looking packet of throat lozenges.
So, drawer number two was a bust. But that didn’t deter the dark haired man, as he dived for the next one down. Two more chances for success, right?
He shifted through piles of receipts that seemed to date back as far as the previous year, pausing as his fingers landed on smooth velvet. He closed them around a small, box-shaped item, tugging it out for closer inspection.
The deep green velvet shone up at him from the palm of Blaine’s hand, the light catching on the gold of the clasp. A small box, typically used - at least, to Blaine’s knowledge - for the storing of rings.
He barely had a second to process before he heard the sound of a key in the front door lock and, jolting, he sent the box tumbling back into the bottom of the drawer where he’d found it.
Blaine had just made it back into the bed when Sebastian walked through the door, balancing two coffees and a bag of pastries. Without thinking twice, Blaine went leaping towards him, nearly knocking the food from his hands as he wrapped his arms tightly around him.
“Miss me?” Sebastian teased, catching his boyfriend easily with a light chuckle.
Blaine just hummed in response, tucking his face into the crook of Sebastian’s neck. They were totally getting engaged.
*
“Wait, wait,” Kurt interrupted him mid-sentence, waving his hands to try and stop Blaine’s soliloquy from getting any longer. “So, Sebastian said he was going to propose?”
Blaine sighed in exasperation, setting down his coffee mug with a thump. “No, but I told you, I found the ring!”
Ever since he’d left Sebastian’s place earlier that day, he’d practically been bouncing from the walls. He spent the subway ride back to the apartment, that he shared with his best friend, Kurt, examining his hands carefully, wondering what the ring itself actually looked like. When he’d bounded through the front door, shrieking and grinning like a madman, Kurt had accused him of taking something from the dealer who liked to hang around the station down the street.
Kurt let out a breath, looking a little shell-shocked. “That’s a big move, for anyone. But especially for Sebastian. I mean, it’s not even two years yet.”
Blaine shrugged, his smile not faltering for a second as he took a sip of his coffee. “When it’s right, it’s right, I guess,” he smiled dreamily.
The other man chose to ignore that comment, rather humming thoughtfully. “He’s taking you to dinner on your birthday, right?” Blaine nodded in agreement, although his eyes were still a little glazed over in an obvious daydream. Kurt clapped his hands together and grinned. “Well, let’s assume he’ll do it then. Now, what are you going to wear?”
*
By the time Blaine and Sebastian made it to the restaurant that evening of the next week, the birthday boy’s stomach was in knots. God only knows how he’s feeling, Blaine thought to himself, casting his boyfriend a reassuring smile.
The waiter seated them in a booth tucked into the corner of the restaurant - Blaine’s favourite Italian in the city. It was something Blaine had always loved about Sebastian: how much attention he paid to the little details like that.
“So,” Sebastian started, once they’d ordered, tucking their ankles together underneath the table. “I was going to wait to give you your present with dessert, but I know how impatient you get.” He winked across at him, reaching into the pocket of his blazer, that was tossed over the back of the chair.
Blaine’s cheeks flushed, but the smile that had already been on his face was widening, heart rate increasing steadily. Sebastian made no move as if to get down onto one knee - well, since when had his boyfriend been into tradition?
“It’s probably super corny, but- well, I hope you like it,” Sebastian shrugged, looking almost bashful. It wasn’t like Sebastian to get nervous, and it was a side Blaine rarely saw. He supposed it was pretty justified on a night like that, though.
Without another word, he slid the box across the table towards Blaine - the green velvet glinting up at him just as it had the week previously, when he’d first discovered it.
“I’m sure I’ll love it,” Blaine chuckled, looking at him knowingly before reaching out for the box.
He was all ready, as he opened the box, to begin sprouting every possible variation on the word ‘yes’ that he could, when something stopped him. Because inside the box wasn’t a ring, of any description. No gold, silver or platinum band; none of the designs he’d envisioned over the past week.
It was a metal bottle top, from a Mexican beer. Blaine recognised it, of course. Blaine, Sebastian and a large group of their friends had taken a road trip to Mexico City almost two years previously. Somehow, their group had got split up until it was just Blaine and Sebastian sitting on the side of a quiet road, splitting the last beer the rickety bar behind them had had left. Sebastian had kissed Blaine for the first time on that curb and it had been as if the world had shifted forty five degrees. Blaine didn’t want it to shift back - he wanted to marry Sebastian.
On closer inspection, Blaine noted that the bottle top was attached to a pin.
“Like from your favourite movie,” Sebastian prompted, referring to the Pixar classic, Up. “But our version of grape soda.”
Blaine nodded, smiling tightly as his fingers tightened around the bottle cap. It was a thoughtful and sweet gesture, and under normal circumstances, Blaine would love it. He did love it. But it wasn’t exactly the declaration of forever that he’d been building himself up for during the long week.
He only registered that he was crying at all when the first drop hit the tablecloth, leaving a spot as it sank into the thick material.
“Blaine?” Sebastian asked quietly, reaching across the table for his hand.
The other man let him take it, but didn’t look up, the serrated edges of the cap starting to dig painfully into his fingers.
“If you don’t like it, I could get you something else? I mean, I was going to blow you tonight too but I guess that’s not really-”
Blaine cut him off with a shake of his head, his voice thick as he glanced up at him briefly. “No, really, I love it. It’s so sweet, Bas.”
“But you’re upset,” Sebastian mumbled, gaze flickering between the box and Blaine’s red rimmed eyes. “I don’t know what I did wrong but I’m really sorry, B.”
“It’s not you,” Blaine replied quickly, snatching his hand back and dropping the box to wipe at his eyes firmly. “I’m just going to run to the restroom, okay?”
Blaine stood to leave the table, but Sebastian grabbed his wrist firmly, tugging him round to face him as he rose too.
“Please,” Sebastian whispered, his other hand going to Blaine’s cheek. “Please, tell me what’s wrong.”
“I promise, it’s not your fault,” Blaine assured him, leaning into Sebastian’s touch instinctively. “I made a mistake, that’s all.”
Sebastian’s face fell, his eyes flickering uncertainly. “A mistake? About me?”
“No!” Blaine replied quickly, moving his hand to lace his fingers with Sebastian’s. “Not at all.” He took a deep breath, wetting his lips slowly. “I may have found the box last week. And I thought, well. I thought you were going to propose.”
His boyfriend’s eyebrows shot up, mouth shaping into a small “oh.” He pulled back a little, swallowing roughly. “Blaine, we don’t even live together. Why would I propose?”
Blaine blinked rapidly, a fresh wave of tears stinging at the backs of his eyes. “You’re right. Why would you?” He pulled away sharply, ignoring Sebastian’s cries of protest as he stumbled towards the bathroom.
*
He considered just leaving. But, for whatever reason, he decided to make his way back to the table after cooling the red of his eyes, sitting down in silence. Sebastian was staring at his lap intently, the tips of his ears a flushed pink.
“Maybe we should just forget that any of this happened,” Blaine murmured quietly, fiddling with his napkin absentmindedly.
Sebastian shook his head, looking up at him. “I’m sorry, Blaine. I didn’t mean it like that, I just think it’s a bit soon for us. The marriage thing, anyway.”
Blaine opened his mouth to reply, but Sebastian cut him off with a quick, hopeful glance, reaching for something else from his pocket. “But it did get me thinking,” Sebastian continued, fiddling with the something out of Blaine’s sight. “And I don’t want to ruin your birthday, so..”
Sebastian slid the key across the table, nudging it against Blaine’s fingers gently.
“Are you sure?” Blaine whispered, tracing the edge of the metal, warm from Sebastian’s pocket.
His boyfriend nodded, leaning halfway across the table before he paused. “On one condition?”
Blaine nodded, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as Sebastian reached for the beer cap and carefully pinned it to the pocket of his shirt. “I love you,” Blaine murmured, meeting Sebastian’s lips before he had a chance to reply.
“I love you, too. And thank you, Blaine.”
The dark haired man drew back a little, looking at him curiously. “What for?”
Sebastian dropped back to his chair, chuckling softly. “For inadvertently teaching me to hide gifts for you better.”