It was 3:47 and still the front door of the quiet little shop had not opened. Blaine had made himself a habit of leaning around his desk to check the front door so often it looked like he had a twitch. A few kittens, perched on top of their cages, looked inquisitively up at the brunette with the pointed eyebrows. Either he had gone particularly overboard with the gel today or their observations were sparking their curiosities- Kurt was late for the first time since Blaine had gotten the job.
A bell tinkled softy, but Blaine didn't look up from his desk this time. He knew who it was even before he saw him. The animals in cages and pens to his right seemed to know too- they were barking and purring and screeching as the footsteps continued on to where Blaine stood behind a counter. Blaine resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he placed a can of fish food atop his counter. Every single animal at the petshop went insane when his boyfriend crossed into the shop.
"Medium drip." Kurt pushed the plastic coffee cup into Blaine's hands and grinned. "As always."
"Thanks." Blaine set down the cup and leaned over the counter to hug his boyfriend. When they broke apart, he raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Kurt suppressed a smile.
"You've never been late before. This coffee better be good."
"It's not the coffee that made me late…" For some reason, Kurt's wide, gray eyes were having trouble reaching Blaine's.
Blaine sipped his coffee while trying to meet Kurt's eyes. It really wasn't that good.
"I forgot my application papers at home and I had to go back and get them. I've been thinking of applying for a job here… if you'd like that?"
"Kurt! That'd be great!" Blaine's eyes lit up and Kurt actually met them.
"Really?"
"Of course… I'll show you to the manager." He took Kurt's hand and led him quickly to the back room. A few of the animals looked happily after the couple. The dogs were wagging their tails, the mice were out of their little igloos, and the pet shop seemed noisier and happier than it had been for a long, lonely while.