"This is Claws and Paws. How may I help you?"

"Hi. I'd like to talk to whoever is in charge please."

Blaine winced at the sharp tone of the voice speaking to him over the phone. He glanced down at Noodle, running a hand over the dog's head, and rolled his eyes. He covered the receiver with his hand and whispered to his pet.

"Ouch. We've got a grumpy one."

He uncovered the receiver once again and took a deep breath.

"This is Blaine. I'm the owner. What can I do for you?"

"I'm just wondering if you make a regular habit of selling impregnated animals to unsuspecting customers?"

Blaine blinked in surprise.

"Um, no. We take very special care of our pets here. Any animals that are not spayed or neutered are kept in separate cages. I can guarantee..."

"Um, no, you don't actually. I bought a Jack Russell Terrier from you a couple months ago. She hasn't been alone with any other dogs since I bought her! I just got back from the vet, to get her spayed ironically enough, and found out that she's going to have puppies in less than a month! That puts the timing of her getting knocked up right back with you!"

"Ma'am..."

"I'm a guy!"

"I-I... oh my god. I am so sorry." Blaine felt his face turning bright red. The voice on the other end sighed.

"It's not a big deal. Trust me, it happens all the time." Blaine cringed, feeling like he was coming off less credible every second.

"I'm sure that there has been some kind of mistake," he went on carefully. "I am incredibly careful with the animals here. Are you sure..."

He trailed off then, and paled. A female Jack Russell Terrier. The only purebred Jack Russell in the shop... besides his own... his own that sometimes ran lose in the shop... and had yet to neutered. He swallowed hard before covering the receiver once again with his hand and whispering harshly at Noodle.

"Dude! What did you do?!"

Removing his hand again, he closed his eyes before speaking.

"Um," he cleared his throat. "I actually remember your dog. Mocha, right?"

"Yes, that's my girl."

Blaine smiled a little, hearing the sudden tenderness in the man's voice for his pet, despite his obvious irritation.

"I think..." he sighed heavily, feeling a sense of dread. "I think I may know what happened."

Silence on both ends.

"Okaaay, would you like to elaborate on that?"

"Well," Blaine took a deep breath, steeling himself before plunging in, head first. "I meant it when I said that I'm very careful if an animal hasn't been fixed, and I have been... but a couple months ago, just before you bought her..." he silently smacked his head down against the counter as he spoke. "I was in the back room for less than five minutes, I came out and the lock on her cage must have been broken because she was out. Noodle, my dog, who is also a Jack Russell, was sitting next to her. They were kind of close and snugly but nothing seemed weird so I just put her back. She wasn't acting like she was in heat. It honestly didn't even occur to me..."

"You have an un-neutered pet, running lose in your pet store, impregnating unsuspecting females?" The voice on the other end had gone up an octave as he spoke in extreme disbelief.

"Look!" Blaine shot out defensively then. "I took him to get fixed, but when we were in the waiting room he just looked at me with those huge, sad eyes! All I could think of was what if someone took me to get my balls snipped off without my consent?!"

He paled, then blushed. Oh my god! I just said 'get my balls snipped off' to a complete stranger!

There was more silence and then a melodic burst of laughter.

Okay, at least I didn't offend him.

"Look, is there any chance that we can talk about this more in person? I'll have your address in my records, I'm sure. I could come by." When there was no immediate response he rushed on. "Or you could come here... or we could meet somewhere..." he bit his lip nervously, realizing that he was probably coming off as some creepy, loner shopkeeper who stalked his customers. He wasn't creepy and he certainly didn't stalk people. Loner... lonely... well, that word actually fit.

"No, sure... I mean, you are more than welcome to come over here. Thanks. I'm Kurt, by the way. Kurt Hummel, though if you have my address filed under Mocha I'm assuming you have my name too. Look, I'm sorry if I came on a little strong. It was just a big shock and I only found out an hour ago, so..."

"Sure, I totally get that." Blaine's heart started to beat quickly. Once this man wasn't incredibly pissed off, he sounded nice, and his voice... wow, it was breathtaking. Now that he knew it was a man, he could definitely hear the masculine undertones, but it was so melodious. It kind of reminded him of the elves in "The Lord Of The Rings". He was finding it hard to believe that he didn't remember meeting this man. Then again, he was often oblivious. That was part of his problem. Anytime a guy showed interest, he was either too busy playing with Noodle or had his nose stuck in a book, and wouldn't catch on until it was too late. He shook his head, pulling himself from the little rabbit trail his thoughts had gone down.

"When, uh, when would you like me to come over?"

"Tonight's good for me if you're free. This is kind of time sensitive so I'm thinking we should figure it out as soon as possible."

"That sounds good. Um, if it's okay with you, I'll just, uh, plan on coming over around seven. I do see that I have your address here, so as long as you haven't moved in the last month..." he laughed nervously, before realizing that what he had said wasn't actually funny. He silenty called himself a dick before finishing his sentence. "... I know where to go."

"Nope. I'm in the same place. I'll see you then, Blaine."

"O-Okay. Great. I-I'll see you tonight..." he was about to hang up when he realized that he hadn't said the other man's name yet...

"Kurt!"

He closed his eyes in mortification when he realized that he had basically just shouted into the phone. He quickly hung up before he could embarrass himself further and plopped his head down in his arms, thinking that he seriously could not be any more awkward. He lifted his head up when he felt a small nudge and a lick at his gelled down hair. He looked Noodle in the eye and glared.

"I'd tell you that you need to learn to keep it in your pants, but seeing as you don't wear any I suppose it would be pointless."

Kurt bustled around his apartment, arranging and primping the already immaculate space. He was suddenly feeling nervous. He actually had fond memories of the day he picked out Mocha, and it wasn't just because he had bought a beautiful little dog. It was also because of a certain shopkeeper.

Kurt had walked into the shop that day and immediately felt his heart beat faster when his eyes fell on a short guy with gelled down hair and chunky black glasses. There was an undeniable nerdiness to the man, but it was paired with an adorableness that more than made up for it. He was dressed pretty fashionable, and when Kurt saw that he set aside a copy of "Out" magazine he felt excitement tingle inside of him.

That excitement had quickly faded though when he laughed and flirted, doing all but beg for the guy's number, and got absolutely no response. He had left feeling pretty bummed, but he was toting an adorable little dog, so he figured it hadn't been a complete fail.

When he initially called the shop that afternoon, he had legitimately forgotten about the man. It wasn't until the very end... when the guy had started stuttering and tripping over his own words, and ending the call by blurting Kurt's name loudly before abruptly hanging up... that he remembered. Oh yeah, the super-cute, nerdy guy.

He had no idea why he was getting so worked up now. The guys hadn't been interested in him then. He wouldn't be interested now.

Mocha trotted into the room just then, already beginning to waddle just a bit, her rounded stomach swaying between her legs. Kurt looked at her and his lips pursed. The nervous excitement he had been feeling started to fade and the irritation began to set back in.

Oh yeah, the whole reason I called this guy in the first place. He sold me six dogs in the guise of one.

He knelt down in front of her, stroking her head and rubbing behind her ears, just like she loved. He sighed, trying to figure out what in the world he was going to do. A ring of his buzzer interrupted his thoughts, and he gave Mocha a final pat on the head before moving to buzz his guest in.

Less than a minute later there was a knock on his door and he was opening it wide, only to immediately crack up at the sight in front of him. There was the shopkeeper, frantically spinning as a small dog on a leash ran around him in circles.

"Noodle! Stop! What the hell is wrong with you! Oh my gosh..."

The little brown and white dog had suddenly noticed that the door was open, and made a mad dash inside. Unfortunately the leash had wrapped twice around the man's legs and he was knocked off of his feet completely as the dog darted inside.

Kurt's eyes widened and he instinctively reached out his arms, trying to catch the man before he fell. The impact was a little too much for him though, and they both ended up tumbling to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked in a strained voice, trying not to show that the other man was kind of crushing him.

"Yeah, I'm..." the dark haired man yanked the leash from around his legs. "I'm fine. Are you... okay?"

He looked up just before he said the last word. Time seemed to slow for just a moment. Blue eyes met hazel. Two hearts started to beat a little faster. The position in which they were lying, that was awkward and embarrassing just moments ago, suddenly seemed comfortable... and just where they wanted to be.

"I'm good," Kurt answered softly. Thinking that he really was, in fact, feeling very good.

"Good," Blaine answered a little breathlessly. "Thanks for catching me."

The shopkeeper felt his cheeks turning pink. He knew he was staring, but he couldn't look away. I could get lost in those eyes.

"I'm Blaine... by the way."

Kurt smiled at the rose colored tinge to the other man's cheeks. This is officially the most adorable man I've ever met. I think I want to marry him.

"You're welcome. I'm Kurt."