After working together for a year, Kush finally decided to put thought into action and ask Lauren out. For the last meeting of the year, the team spent time reminiscing and writing each other personalized "warm & fuzzy" notes. Most notes read "Good luck after graduation!" or "Great job this year!", but Kush, ever the romantic, decided to shoot his shot (but not without the encouragement of Nick Sachs & Olivia Diab). Upon receiving the warm & fuzzy note, Lauren was... confused. Kush was quiet all year and the note's vague language made it hard to decipher whether it was friendly or more. Clearly Nick and Olivia should've critiqued his word choice. With the help of Sarah Finch's sleuthing, Lauren decided to assume the note was in fact flirty, and shoot her shot too. And now Lauren & Kush have gone from warm & fuzzy to Forever Fansiwala. 

Lauren, being much cooler than Kush, took the initiative to recommend a number of East Village establishments for their first date. Kush, wanting to prove he too was cool, selected a beer/wine bar at random that just happened to be around the corner from Lauren's apartment at the time. She accepted, impressed by his apparent knowledge of good neighborhood spots (but mostly by the convenience). After margaritas with her very best friend Hilary Clark, Lauren felt ready to carry the conversation with Kush, who she knew only to be quite shy (but cute, obviously). Kush managed to surprise Lauren yet again, and the not-yet-couple spent the next four hours talking and laughing without pause. Both Kush and Lauren texted their respective friends shortly after the date with their takeaways: - "She's really quite cool. And kind of crazy, but in a good way." - "He's not as quiet as I thought! And really funny too." That cool, crazy girl and the not-so-quiet guy have been on a mission to discover new bars, restaurants, and ice cream shops ever since. 

The planning began in March 2020 with the expectation of a May proposal. Kush had even secretly gone ring shopping with Lauren's mom, Elizabeth, and her best friend, Hilary. Unfortunately before he could make the final decision, the COVID pandemic hit. As you can imagine, planning a romantic proposal in the midst of a pandemic was not the easiest task. Masking important phone calls as "coffee runs" and jewelry appraisals as "hospital training", it's safe to say Kush has earned international man of mystery status. However, he knew he couldn't do it alone and enlisted the help of their dear friends Connor & Emily Peterson to pull off the perfect proposal. Under the guise of wine on "Uncle Jimmy's" rooftop, Emily & Connor lured the soon-to-be-engaged couple to a picturesque St. Marks locale. Lauren, not knowing what was to come, used their walk to "Uncle Jimmy's" as an opportunity to reminisce on dates and memories from the past four years. Arriving at the location, Kush hurried to the rooftop garden to prepare to ask the most important question of his life. Lauren, after responsibly putting the ice cream they brought in the freezer, walked up the stairs to find Kush waiting. Kush got on one knee and asked Lauren to be his wife. After making sure he wasn't kidding, she said yes! After the shock of this huge moment, Lauren turned to see a table filled with her favorite things: ham, chicken McNuggets, uni, a Flavortown t-shirt, and of course a photo of their dog Bean. They spent the rest of the afternoon drinking natural wine and celebrating in the rooftop garden.  Kush and Lauren are forever grateful for the roles played by Connor & Emily Peterson and all of their parents in the proposal of their dreams.