Blaine decides he's going to call Kurt. He's going to call Kurt and say he's checking on how things are going and how he's adjusting to being a pet-owner. He's going to call Kurt. He can do this.

He thinks over his plan for the billionth time as he feeds the dogs. He knows exactly what he's going to say. It's going to be perfect, he just knows it.

He's been feeling a lot more optimistic, since he decided he would talk to Kurt again. He first decided while he was cleaning up a theater and saw a boy who looked too much like Kurt to be comfortable but not enough to be nearly as good as the real thing. He knew this wasn't something that was going to go away, so he finally decided. This weekend, when I get to the shelter, I'm going to call Kurt.

“Blaine,” Sharon called from her office. He returned the dog food to its place and hummed to himself as he practically skipped to the small room in the back.

“What's up, boss?” he asks brightly.

“Close the door.”

His face falls and the sudden change of mood in the room is unnerving. He shuts the door behind him and leans against the wall. Sharon sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“We have to close.” Blaine blinks slowly.

“Pardon?”

“We have to close the shelter,” she says.

“For the day? Is Mark back in the hospital?” Blaine asks quickly.

“No—Blaine, permanently. We have to close the shelter. We can't afford to keep running it and some company wants to buy the property. We really don't have a choice. We've got about two or three months, tops.”

“No,” Blaine is saying before she even finishes her sentence. “No, no, they can't do that. They can't do this, Sharon. I need this place, and the animals need this place. This is the only good thing in my life right now. I love working here.”

“I know,” she says gently, “but Blaine, we really don't have more options here. We can't afford to keep it running and we're going to get bought out.”

Blaine walks out of the back office and goes to sit at the front desk. It's just him and Sharon today. Help is getting harder to find. No one wants to work for free in a crap economy. No one has the time to waste in a place where they can't make any money.

He sits at the desk and puts his head in his hands. He wants to cry. Everything in him wants to cry, but he doesn't. He stares down at the desk and his eyes focus in on a piece of paper on top of the rest of the files and paperwork, and a highlighted phone number belonging to Kurt Hummel.

He needs a pick-me-up. He picks up the phone.

“Hello?” Kurt doesn't work on Saturdays. It's nice, but he never has anyone to spend those days with, except for Toby, who is currently curled up on his chest (which may sound cute in theory but some cats kind of weigh a lot and it can get really uncomfortable.) He'd been trying to convince the cat to move so he could see the TV screen until his phone lit up with an unfamiliar number calling.

“Hey, Kurt, this is Blaine... from the animal shelter.” Kurt sat up, tossing the cat off of him with an aggravated meow.

“Oh, hi!” His heart is racing. Why is Blaine calling? Don't be stupid, it has to do with the cat.

“Hey, I just wanted to check in, see how everything is going with you and Toby. Just a matter of personal interest.” Kurt's heart nearly stops. “I mean, he's always been one of my favorites.” Right. Of course. The cat. He's interested in the cat.

“Oh, it's going well. We were just watching TV. We've sort of settled into a routine where I decide I want to do things and he decides that he needs to make it as difficult as possible, but I enjoy the company nonetheless,” he admits.

“That's great,” Blaine replies, sounding tired. Definitely not the same as he sounded the other day.

“Are you... alright?” Kurt finds himself asking. He mentally kicks himself for being creepy.

“I-yeah, yeah, just fine. Just... We don't get a lot of people around here anymore. The shelter, I mean. We don't get as many people in as we used to, and we don't get a lot of volunteers or community support, you know? So I'm really glad you came in. Toby really needed a good home.”

“I'm happy to help,” Kurt says. “It's a shame more people don't adopt pets. And hey, I'll donate some money whenever I can to help you guys out.”

Blaine lets out a bitter laugh that surprises Kurt. “Don't bother. They're closing this place in a few months either way.” Kurt's heart drops.

“What? Why?” Sure, it wasn't the nicest place, but it had heart. More than that, it had Blaine.

“They really can't afford the place. The boss used to put in a lot of her own money but her husband's been having health problems and they can't afford to pay staff so it's strictly volunteer. I can only be there on the weekends because I have another job and they don't get a lot of donations, like I said. Some company wants to buy the property and make it into something else.”

“But... what'll happen to the animals?” Kurt looks at Toby, who is now curled up in a big arm chair.

“I dunno. I hope they find a place that'll take them, or at least some free homes.”

“I'm really sorry,” Kurt says.

“Yeah, me too.” Blaine sounds so broken that it makes Kurt's heart ache. “Anyway, sorry, I didn't mean to... unload on you. That was... I'm glad you and Toby are well. That's good to hear. But uh, I'll just... let you go.” Kurt wants to tell him not to, but he realizes again how stupid that is.

“Yeah. Thanks for calling, Blaine. I'm really sorry about the shelter.”

“Yeah. Bye, Kurt.”

Blaine stares at the phone. He should've said more. He should've asked if Kurt wanted to do something together sometime (anything but a movie). Instead he spilled his soul like Kurt was his freakin' diary and made a fool of himself. He sighs.

He gets up to feed the cats, straightening up and plastering on a fake smile. Maybe the place is closing, and maybe this sanctuary will vanish, but until then, dammit, he's going to make the most of it.