A/N: I'm finally posting this over here (originally on tumblr) because November is sadly coming to a close. It was written as a birthday gift fic for someone awesome whose birthday was on the 18th. :)

Blaine came home to a warm apartment smelling of cocoa and a hint of something else he couldn't quite place. He called out, "Kurt?" But there was no response. He pulled off his scarf and jacket, hung them on the rack by the door, and rubbed his hands together to restore some of the heat that had escaped him while out in the brisk late November city air. Slowly lowering his messenger bag to set it on a chair in his path, Blaine made his way toward the table on top of which were the fresh baked goods responsible for the mouthwatering aroma filling the apartment: brownies.

He called out again as he walked through the loft and pulled back the curtain to their bedroom quarters, but still there was no answer and there was no Kurt. It was odd, he couldn't have been gone for long, and he hadn't mentioned needing to go out for anything.

Blaine shrugged and pulled his phone out as he slumped down onto the couch. That's when he realized he had forgotten to take his phone off of silent after he left class, and he had a missed text message from Kurt.

I'm picking up some things for dinner. If I'm not there when you get home, I shouldn't be long.

Blaine felt relieved and slid his phone back into his pocket. As he leaned back into the cushions and closed his eyes, he could smell the tantalizing sweetness drifting over from the table. His stomach rumbled, and he let out a soft groan.

"God that smells good." He opened his eyes again and looked over at the tray of brownies that were still cooling.

A few minutes passed, Kurt was still MIA, and Blaine was trying his best to ignore his hunger and his temptation. Eventually giving in, he rose from the couch and walked casually over to the table. As he stood staring down into the tray, he thought, just one won't hurt, right?

He had been trying to watch his weight ever since his cronut days, but Kurt's insistence to keep baking delicious treats wasn't helping Blaine's self control in the slightest. He looked toward the door and then all around as if someone might catch him like a thief in the act, and then he reached down, grabbed a knife, cut out a square, and lifted it to his mouth.

Blaine moaned in ecstasy as he bit down into the brownie into which Kurt had apparently baked a surprise of mini peanut butter cups. His taste buds exploded, and he devoured the brownie far too quickly.

Oh, it was perfect. But he was still hungry, and Kurt had yet to return. He knew he was risking spoiling his dinner by going for the dessert first, but he decided that maybe he didn't care. He was an adult after all. Blaine hadn't really thought about how Kurt might react to his deviance.

And then he cut out a few more squares and ate another. And then another.

Blaine was about to cover the remaining brownies back up when he heard footsteps in the hall, and then the door of the loft began to slide open. He froze, fully aware that there were probably crumbs and chocolate on his face and fingers, his visible guilt, and there was no way to hide what he had done.

He slowly turned to face the door as Kurt entered, his arms laden with grocery bags. A smile immediately took over Kurt's face, and he seemed to light up at the sight of Blaine. He clearly hadn't known what Blaine had done yet.

"Hey, Blaine." Kurt approached the table and planted a brief kiss on Blaine's cheek as he set the bags down. "I hope you're hungry because I got -" and then he froze and sniffed the air by Blaine. His eyes darted down toward the half-empty tray of brownies and then flicked back up into Blaine's face.

Blaine knew Kurt was judging him. He felt like he was turning red under his gaze, unsure of how Kurt was processing the situation, and he braced himself. After what felt like several torturous minutes, Kurt giggled, and Blaine cracked a smile and let out a laugh in his relief.

"It looks like you already ate. Got a little impatient, huh?"

"I couldn't resist. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." And the smile on Kurt's face and the shine in his eyes made it clear that it really was.

"They were so good," Blaine almost moaned again, licking a bit of the residual chocolate from his teeth.

"I know." And Kurt chuckled again, grabbing a wet wipe out of his bag and reaching up to clean off the chocolate from around Blaine's mouth and then from his hands. The act would have made Blaine feel like a child had he not enjoyed when Kurt took care of him.

Then Kurt leaned in and pressed a kiss to Blaine's lips, still tasting of peanut butter cups, and he let out a faint moan.

"Perhaps you had the right idea. Maybe just this once, we can forgo dinner and indulge in what's left."

"No, I'm good." Blaine laughed, patting his belly.

"I bet you are." Kurt stepped to the side and reached into one of the grocery bags. "I guess I'll start the quiche -"

"Oh," Blaine said, knowing that Kurt had been excited about cooking one as soon as he had some time, and Blaine had been looking forward to it, especially since Kurt planned to teach him how to make it as he went. Now he felt even worse about what he had done. "I really am truly sorry. I'm so mad that I didn't just wait for you to get home." He pouted and appeared close to tears.

"Perhaps there's blame to share. After all, I'm the one who left you home alone with one of my willpower-crushing confections." Kurt sighed. "C'mere." He reached out and pulled Blaine in toward his body, his hands coming to rest on the small of his back. "I'm just glad you enjoyed them. I made them for you anyway."

"Oh," Blaine said again, wondering what the occasion was.

"I made them to celebrate us. November is a special month for us," Kurt said, as if reading Blaine's mind. "It was in November when we first met. It was November when we first -" Kurt paused, appearing unusually bashful.

"Yeah," was all Blaine could manage, all the memories flooding back to him. When Kurt first stopped him on the Dalton staircase. The first time he took his hand, sang to him, saw him smile…

The first time they gave themselves to each other, surrendering to their passion and the love and trust they possessed for each other.

"I'm surprised you didn't notice."

Blaine was pulled out of his reverie. "Huh? Didn't notice what?"

"Look." Kurt pointed at the half-empty tray of brownies again, guiding Blaine's eyes to the cut out areas and what lay beneath the treats.

Blaine twisted around and saw that there was something written on the parchment paper in Kurt's tidy scrawl. That's when Blaine realized that the peanut butter cups weren't the only surprise those brownies had concealed. He could only make out a few words, so he cut the rest of the brownies away and relocated them to a plate.

Now the message was clear, and his breath hitched as he read, a lump soon rising in his throat.

"Oh, Kurt," he said, feeling a tear threatening to roll down his cheek. He quickly wiped at his eye with his hand.

"You weren't supposed to see it until after dinner when we were ready to settle down for the night," Kurt spoke softly, his tone devoid of discontent.

Blaine's eyes danced across the careful lettering as he read, lyrics from a song, something that might have seemed silly but held so much meaning for the both of them.

I finally found you

My missing puzzle piece

I'm complete

When Blaine looked back up, Kurt was holding a small box, and then he kneeled down on one knee, an all-too-familiar gesture that almost had Blaine reaching forward and grabbing him to pull him back up.

"I didn't want to be the only one with a ring," Kurt said. "I know it's silly, and you already proposed months ago, but I wanted a chance to show you that I feel the same way."

"It's not silly," Blaine said, biting his lip as he gazed down at Kurt. He then grabbed his wrists and pulled him to his feet.

"I know we've been through some rough patches, but that's just it. We made it through, Blaine. We fought past both our egos and came out stronger." Kurt plucked out the ring, setting aside its casing, and just as Blaine had done before with him, he slid the ring onto Blaine's fourth finger on his left hand. "There." He held Blaine's hand firmly in his as they both looked down at their joined hands and rings. "Dalton was our beginning. But this…" He took a deep breath. "This is our present and our future. We're in New York now, everyone's been moving on and going their separate ways, and now it's time to focus on us. It's time for us to move forward as fiancés…then, as husbands. All of this - it's not some teenage fantasy - this is real. And I vow to love you through it all."

"I love November," Blaine said gruffly as he pulled Kurt in for a kiss. "But most of all," he spoke against his lips, "I love you."