This is written for my AMAZING friend Emily - VeryDarrenLover - for her birthday; this was the best present I could give her, and I hope she likes it!

Thank you so much for reading, this is strictly a one-shot. :)

Treasure Hunt

Blaine woke up with the heightened sense of excitement that one might typically experience on a birthday.

But today was more than a typical birthday, a mere coming of age – today was the day that his years would finally equate to Kurt's. They would be equals at 17 years, as Kurt was a few months short of 18.

There was something about equality that was particularly prevalent in Blaine's mind. This wasn't to say that he and Kurt weren't equals in every other aspect of their relationship, but age was a particular field where Blaine had always fallen short. While Kurt insisted that having a toy boy was cute and totally Madonna, Blaine begged to differ.

What was far more exciting, however, was that this would be his first birthday spent with Kurt as boyfriends – the first of many, he was sure, but it was another milestone to add to their journey together. His cheeks flushed spectacularly as he thought back to their most recent milestone only a few months previous. His birthday, he envisioned, would have decidedly more clothes than that – though, Blaine reconsidered, he was sure he'd find an opportunity to don his birthday suit and convince Kurt to do the same.

But something that would never dissipate, no matter how clothed he was, was Blaine's childlike excitement, and with this in mind he made a swift exit from his bed and hurried out of the door, pausing only to grab his phone from his bedside table and smiling at the message he had received from Kurt at 0:01am that morning: Happy birthday, beautiful – K xx

Blaine blushed, typing back an equally affectionate reply and sending it quickly. The truth was, he'd been called hot or cute or sexy by guys before and beautiful by his mother countless times but it was never until Kurt had uttered the term of endearment to him that Blaine had ever truly felt beautiful. But in all honesty, he could appear repulsive to every other male in creation but as long as Kurt continued to look at him the way he did – lovingly, adoringly, passionately – Blaine wouldn't have cared.

His shower was cut in half by his anticipation to see both his mother and Kurt, and though his hair was decidedly less gelled than he would have preferred, he knew that this morning would hold far more excitement for him than mere hair gel, and so he decided to forego his usual regime in favour of a far shorter one.

In the knowledge that there was no one there to see it, Blaine bounded down the stairs and straight into the arms of his mother. Blaine grinned, sweeping his mum into a hug and kissing her cheek. "Morning," he greeted.

"Morning, darling," she grinned as he released her, pulling Blaine into the kitchen and sitting him down at the breakfast bar.

"Mum, what are you doing?" He laughed as she placed a plate brimming with food in front of him. He neglected to inform her that he didn't like half of the food filling his plate – she was tied up in work the majority of the time, but she never failed to have a day off on his birthday. As misguided as her attempts were to bond with him, they were still attempts, and Blaine would take anything he was offered by way of love from his mother. She knew so little about Blaine that sometimes it surprised him, but she loved him nonetheless, and that was more than some children ever had. He was lucky, he knew that.

But he felt slightly less lucky that his boyfriend hadn't joined him for breakfast. He looked around expectantly, as if hoping that a pair of Doc Marten-clad feet attached to his gorgeous, gorgeous boyfriend would suddenly walk through the door. His mother picked up on this instantly, and gave him a knowing smile. Blaine's mother – the polar opposite of his dad, who stayed in contact with Blaine through phone calls twice a year; one on his birthday and one on Christmas, though this arrangement worked better for both of them; Blaine wanted to stay as far away from his homophobic father as possible – was entirely accepting of his relationship with Kurt and had even sent him parcels of clothes that she had earned through business. She had rightly assumed that it wouldn't bother Kurt that they were women's clothes.

"Noticing the absence of porcelain?" She smirked, sitting beside him with a cup of coffee in hand.

Blaine ducked his head to hide his blush, but conceded with a nod. "Maybe," he allowed.

"Well then you probably won't want the note that he left for you this morning," she sang, dangling a piece of paper in front of his face.

Blaine looked up with wide eyes, grabbing at the paper and snatching it out of his mother's grasp, unfolding it in one fluid motion and beginning to read:

B,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

No, I'm not going to stop saying it. And while it would be apt for you to put your birthday suit on for the occasion, I would request that you get dressed quickly because you have a long day ahead of you. I haven't forgotten that your mum told me that treasure hunts were always your favourite childhood activity, so get ready for the treasure hunt of a lifetime.

The clues are in place, so all you have to do is find them. The first one is in your home, so get searching!

I love you. But you know that, so don't milk it.

And more importantly, have fun!

I still love you as much as I did two lines ago, but I know you like to hear me say – write – it.

K xx

P.S. Look in the drawer that you never want your mother to know about. You know the one I mean.

A grin spread itself across Blaine's face and he abandoned his breakfast in favour of running back upstairs and pulling open his bottom drawer, his mother's laughter following him. The contents of the drawer made his flush return; Kurt had been right when he'd said that he never wanted his mother to see this drawer. Condoms, lube and a pair of handcuffs – jokingly given to him by his older brother but used a surprising amount in his and Kurt's sex life – stared accusingly back at him, as did a note bearing Kurt's handwriting and a map of the state. Blaine snatched both out, unfolding the paper and hastily scanning the words.

B – I won't be as generous with the clues next time. Finn's waiting outside, but you need to guide him. The locations are marked on the map and gifts await you. I love you. P.S – bring the condoms. K xx

Blaine's eyes widened but he complied willingly, shoving the condoms into his jean pocket along with the map and note. Grabbing a jumper from the hook on the back of his door, Blaine left his room as swiftly as he had entered it. He kissed his mum on the cheek briefly, shouting his goodbyes as he left the house. True to Kurt's word, Finn was waiting in his car across the street and he waved Blaine over, gesturing into the car. Blaine complied, sliding into the passenger seat and grinning at Finn. After the whole confrontation between them, they'd actually salvaged a reasonable friendship.

"Happy birthday, bro!" Finn reached over and fist-bumped him, starting the car at the same time.

"Thanks, man," Blaine grinned, "so, are you allowed to tell me where we're going?"

"No can do, bro," Finn pulled away from the curb, "I only know the end location, you have to tell me where to stop in between – you've got the map."

"Oh, OK," Blaine slid the map out of his pocket, "so the first place is a few blocks away…"

Blaine had to admit that he was a little surprised when they pulled up outside a florist.

Finn just shrugged at him, "It's Kurt, bro. Trust him."

Blaine smiled at this, "I'll just be a minute," he assured him, stepping out of the car and entering the florists. The fact that he didn't recognise the shop told him that he was just outside of Westerville, though he wouldn't be surprised if Kurt's treasure hunt took him half way across the country, such was his boyfriend's flare for organisation.

The florist, a middle-aged, friendly-faced woman, beamed at him from behind the counter. "Are you Blaine?" She asked by way of greeting.

Blaine looked up from a flower display, shocked. "How did you know?" He asked, his usual manners replaced by surprise.

The lady held up a list, reading it aloud to him as she did so, "I got: short, cute, dark-haired, hair gel and bowtie for identifiers. You fit the bill," she explained, smiling at him.

Blaine laughed at this, approaching the counter. "So I presume you were visited by my boyfriend?"

The florist nodded. "A very charming, handsome young man stopped by yesterday," she said, "happy birthday, by the way, Blaine, but I'm sure you didn't come here to hear me say that."

"Um, I guess not," Blaine blanched, caught off guard. "Did Kurt leave anything for me?"

"He may have done," she smiled wickedly; "he had a lot of trouble deciding on just one, so we thought a selection would be more appropriate." She reached under the counter and produced two deep burgundy roses, "this is for an unconscious beauty," she explained, handing them to him.

Blaine flushed spectacularly, accepting the roses with a gracious smile.

"And white for one who is heavenly," the florist continued, passing another two roses to him.

Blaine murmured his thanks, his blush darkening.

"Orange for desire," she said with a raised eyebrow and humoured expression, pressing the two roses into Blaine's grasp, who flushed darker still. "Red rosebuds are a symbol of loveliness, and thorn less roses for love at first sight." She handed the four roses to Blaine before producing one final rose. "And this," she mused, looking at the single red rose for a few moments before giving it to Blaine, "this one speaks for itself."

Blaine accepted it, seeing a small note attached to it and three words written in Kurt's distinctive handwriting. 'I love you.' Blaine's face split into a grin, but he couldn't hide his confusion. "I hate to ask because I feel like I should know, but why do I have two of most of these?" He asked, gesturing to the roses in his hand.

"Because eleven roses assure the recipient that they are truly and deeply loved," the florist told him, unable to hide her grin at his expression of awe.

"Well, what do you know?" He said through his grin, "I have a new favourite flower."

"He loves you a lot, you know," the florist told him with a knowing smile; "he said he's a lucky guy to have you."

"Well, he's wrong," Blaine replied, "I'm the lucky one."

Blaine's mouth dropped open when he saw the next location. "I don't believe this," he murmured.

"Dude, do you not like it? I'm sure Kurt didn't think that –" Finn started, but Blaine cut him off.

"This is the coolest place ever! How have I never heard of it before?" Blaine exclaimed, struggling out of his seatbelt and exiting the car at a surprising speed. "See you in a minute, Finn!" He yelled, disappearing into The Bowtie Factory: Design Your Own Individual Neck Accessory!

Finn sighed, dropping his head into his hands, anticipating a long wait.

This practice continued for a whole day before Blaine was brought to his final location just as dusk was settling. Blaine couldn't even guess at the location this time, though he could have likened it only to a field that he had visited in his dreams from time to time. How Kurt could have known this, or even made an educated guess, was beyond Blaine, but he would enjoy every single second of it with the knowledge that he really did have the best boyfriend ever.

It didn't take him long to find Kurt – he had left his mountainous pile of presents in the car, including a Blaine Anderson one-of-a-kind design bowtie; his roses, chocolates; books; CDs; suspenders; an industrial sized box of hair gel and various other gifts, which would inevitably have weighed him down – lying in an area densely covered by daises. Kurt was, for once, disregarding the safety of his clothes and had his eyes closed. One might have assumed that he was asleep, but Blaine – knowing Kurt to the degree that he did – knew otherwise, and that Kurt was just peacefully content in his spot. He seemed to sense Blaine's presence as he approached, though, and cracked one eye open just as his boyfriend knelt down next to him.

"Blaine!" Kurt breathed, sitting up immediately and throwing himself into his boyfriend's arms. Kurt rolled them so that he was on top and leant down to capture Blaine's lips in a passionate kiss, his boyfriend responding eagerly. He'd felt close to Kurt all day, seeing as the hunt had been devised by him, but nothing compared to actually having Kurt in his arms, being able to touch him and hold him and kiss him – nothing could ever compare to that. "Happy birthday," Kurt murmured against his lips.

Blaine hummed in response, "Thank you, gorgeous," he replied, smiling into the kiss before eventually pulling away. Kurt rolled back into his original position and there they lay, side by side. After what felt like an eternity too long, Kurt reached out between them and slid his hand into Blaine's, and the younger – but by only a few months now – boy responded by pulling Kurt into his arms, cradling his boyfriend against his chest as they watched the sun set in the twilight sky.

Unwilling to break the silence though he was, one question itched in the back of Blaine's mind. "How did you find this place?" He asked.

Kurt tilted his head up to meet Blaine's eyes, smiling. "Do you remember that horrific night at Scandals?"

"The horrific one?" There had been many after the one with Sebastian that they had actually enjoyed as a couple, but Blaine knew exactly which one Kurt was referring to. "The one that I spent half of dancing with another guy?"

"That very one," Kurt nodded, chuckling, "Well, after I drove next to you the whole way back to Westerville to make sure you got home safe, I didn't exactly feel like going home. So I just drove. I'd read about people doing it billions of times, when they're trying to 'discover themselves' or some such crap. But I'd never just let myself drive wherever my hands wanted to take me. It was oddly liberating. And I ended up here."

"In the field from Twilight?" Blaine supplied.

Kurt giggled. "Well, actually, Taylor Lautner will be joining us at any moment…"

"Oh, well, I'd better leave you alone so that you can fulfil your wish of having relations with him in a dewy meadow," Blaine retorted jokingly, making to get up, but Kurt grabbed his hand and pulled him back.

"Oh, no you don't!" Kurt laughed as Blaine returned to his position beside him. "This meadow isn't nearly dewy enough for what I had in mind."

Blaine arched an eyebrow. "Do tell, Mr Hummel,"

"Nope," Kurt replied, popping the 'p', "because if I can't get Taylor Lautner to agree, then I suppose I'll have to try it out with you, and I plan to take you completely by surprise."

"I look forward to it," Blaine grinned at Kurt, leaning down to kiss him. "I love you, you know," he whispered, stroking his boyfriend's cheek gently.

"I know," Kurt beamed up at him, "and you're a dork, but I love you, too." A few moments of silence passed, and then Kurt continued, "Blaine? I know you're worried about the future – hell, I am, too. But I see a whole load of birthdays spent like this one – together. You were my first in a lot of things, and I want you to be my last in everything. We're gunna make it, Blaine. It's you and me, baby," Kurt accented this last sentence with a soft kiss to his boyfriend's neck.

Blaine blinked back tears, his hold on Kurt tightening. "I know, baby, I know. I love you too much for this to not work."

Kurt smiled up at him, before turning his eyes on the stars that gleamed above them. And later that night, when they made love and fell asleep underneath the blanket of black sky that engulfed them, Blaine knew that no birthday would ever compare to his 17th, where he was exactly where he wanted to stay for every birthday to come – in Kurt's arms and firmly in his heart.

Thanks for reading - happy birthday Emily!