A/N: This is a goofy little thing, which turned out to be a goofy BIG thing, I wrote when I scanned my living room looking for a little drabble prompt and my eyes settled on one of my cats. This fic is written in honor of my late "first child" Bentley, who was also adopted from a shelter. June is Pet Adoption Month - please consider looking for your new best friend in a shelter before you seek a breeder or buy from a pet store. Some of the most wonderful animals in the world are just waiting for you to bring them home.

xXxXxXx

"And our kittens are over here in this room," the woman said enthusiastically.

Kurt turned to face the animal shelter employee and said, "I think I'll stick with the older cats. There's someone out there for all those kittens, but there might not be someone for the older ones."

"Excellent!" she exclaimed. "I wish more people had your opinion. I will leave you to it, then. There are six kitties to a room, and they each have a name on their collar. If you find one you like, match the name to their information card in the hanging file outside the door. The visiting rooms are across the aisle; feel free to bring one you'd like to get to know better into one for some one on one time. If you have any questions, there's always one of us floating around somewhere. Good luck!"

"Thank you!"

Kurt opened the door to the first room of cats and slipped in carefully, just in case someone decided to make a break for it. He was open to any cat that would be a good fit in his home, but he had always wanted a tuxedo cat. As someone to whom fashion was important, it always felt just right that a tuxedo cat was all dressed up no matter what the occasion.

He perused the occupants, a bit disappointed that this appeared to be group naptime. Granted, every time was naptime for a cat, but he thought maybe someone might be awake. He moved to pet the cat closest to him, but as soon as his hand made contact, it woke up with a hiss and a swiping clawed paw. Okay, maybe not this one, he thought.

The next kitty woke with a yawn and a stretch, and Kurt gently scratched around its ears. It was a beautiful long-haired cat, but as much as he tried, he couldn't see himself enjoying this cat's company without worrying about all the tangled fur, the vomited hairballs, and the giant fuzzballs in every corner. He was well aware that cats shed, but adopting a longhair seemed to be inviting trouble.

Kurt decided that before he really got down to the business of finding his new companion, he would peek in the other two rooms and the cages first. Maybe his formally attired friend would be housed elsewhere.

There was a wall of kitties in individual cages, but Kurt discovered these cats were kept separate because they did not play well with other cats. He wanted to leave his options open for possibly adopting a second cat at another time, so a cat that fought with others was not ideal.

He was just about to step into another of the group rooms when he heard a soft voice. "Can I help you find someone?" he asked.

Kurt turned around abruptly and was met with a pair of sparkling caramel eyes that immediately commanded his attention. He chanced looking elsewhere at the man who had spoken to him, and was equally taken. He was about Kurt's age, slightly shorter, and very attractive. Those curls would give me something to hang onto as we… Kurt shook his head. Shut up! How much more inappropriate can you be?

It took him a few moments to realize he was staring and that he had better say something before the man decided he was too mentally challenged to be able to properly care for a pet.

"Uhhh…" Oh Kurt, you are such a brilliant conversationalist, he mentally chided himself. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Oh, umm, I'm just kinda… browsing?" You IDIOT. You're not at Macy's shopping for clothes. Kurt had to stop himself from physically facepalming and settled for the internal variety.

The man grinned and said, "I get it. The task of choosing your new best friend can be daunting. What kind of kitty are you looking for? I'm here among them nearly every day; maybe I can help you find the right one for you."

THIS, Kurt could handle. "Oh! Well thanks. I, um… well, I live alone, so it would be nice to have an animal that would meet me at the door, or at least not hide itself constantly, when I come home for the day. A lap cat would be great – I tend to just crash in front of the TV for hours after work and watch a bunch of stuff off my DVR." Great, Kurt, you've just painted yourself to be incredibly boring in front of this seriously gorgeous man. Way to go! "But not TOO lazy, either. I'd like to be able to play with it, too."

"Perhaps I could interest you in a dog if you want some level of guaranteed activity?" The man chuckled. Oh my GOD, his laugh is adorable. "Most of our kitties here right now are pretty much furniture paperweights. But there ARE a few who do tend to gravitate towards me when I come around to check on them – maybe one of them would interest you?

"Sure!" Kurt said, far too enthusiastically. Calm yourself, Hummel. Play it cool. "Show me the way."

"By the way, my name's Blaine," the man said, holding out his hand.

Kurt took it, noting how soft and gentle it felt, and shook. "I'm Kurt. Pleasure."

"Pleasure's all mine," Blaine said.

Holy shit, did he smile at me?

Blaine took Kurt into the farthest room from the entrance to the cat area. "My best cat friends are in this room." He pointed at an oversized striped longhaired cat who struggled to hoist himself out of his bed to greet the visitors. "That's Herman. He's eighteen pounds and a lap cat, so if you want him, you better have a strong lap."

Kurt smiled at the cat that was lumbering towards them. He bent down to offer the giant a hand to sniff, but he knew this would not be the right cat for him. "He looks like a sweetheart, but it's the fur I'm more worried about than anything. I've resigned myself to the fact that cat hair will get on everything I own, but I think long hair will be more than I can handle."

"Okay, then. Maybe you'd prefer Cleo." Blaine looked up to a high perch and snapped his fingers. "C'mere girl! Come on down!" Amazingly, the cat got up and started to make her way down.

"I thought cats wouldn't come when they are called," Kurt said.

"Most don't. Most will look at you like you're insane. But Cleo acts like a dog sometimes."

The cat jumped onto Blaine's shoulder and looked at Kurt. She was a beautiful orange tabby.

"She kind of reminds me of the goldfish Cleo from Pinocchio," Kurt noted. "She has the same color."

"That was my idea," Blaine said proudly. "It's my job to name any kitties that are dropped off without names so we have something to call them while they're here at the shelter."

"Well, you did good. It suits her." Kurt peered around the room and didn't see any traces of black fur. "Actually, do you have any tuxedo cats around here? I've kind of always wanted one."

"Oh, you mean the 'always dressed up but nowhere to go' type?"

Kurt laughed lightly and said, "Yeah, the fashion minded part of me has always appreciated that in a cat."

"Well, you're in luck. I do have one buddy in the other room that might be a good fit for you. You two would definitely make a handsome pair. Come on, I'll introduce you."

Blaine opened the door and allowed Kurt to exit first, and then he quickly slid out before Cleo could get out (Herman, of course, would not have been capable of a quick escape). He opened the last door and gestured for Kurt to precede him. Like the first room, all of the cats were curled up somewhere sleeping so Blaine didn't need to be fast closing the door. He quickly scanned all the perches, and his eyes settled upon one that was just above his head.

"Here. See that one?" Blaine pointed at the cat nest above him. "Go ahead, reach your hand in and pet him. I promise you won't get bitten."

Kurt did as he was told and stroked the fur that he felt inside. Immediately a black head appeared over the edge of the carpeted perch, and a pair of sleepy green eyes stared back at Kurt.

"Kurt, meet Bentley." Bentley stood up and stretched, and Kurt was able to see a strip of white fur that started at his whiskers, ran down his chin, and ended at his white chest and tummy. "You'll see he's a little paunchy; that's because he's quite the chowhound. He doesn't really meow unless he's demanding his breakfast. Once he's done eating, he's back to being the strong, silent type."

"Why is he called Bentley? That's a car, isn't it? Or The Jeffersons' annoying British next door neighbor?"

Blaine laughed sweetly, and Kurt immediately wished for the opportunity to make him laugh more often. "You're right on both counts, of course, but there's another reason for the name. Run your fingers down his tail."

Kurt complied with Blaine's request and found a kink in Bentley's tail, right at the tip. "Bentley's previous owners didn't tell us what happened to his tail, but it is bent at almost a ninety degree angle. Hence, Bentley."

"I love it! It's classy. It reminds me of a proper English butler, and with the tuxedo, it's even more perfect."

"I thought it might appeal to you. Just be careful not to manipulate the kink in his tail too much. It's an old injury, but because it didn't heal right, he's still a bit sensitive to touch there."

"Thanks for the warning."

Blaine reached up and grabbed the cat from his perch and held him out to Kurt. "Why don't you take him to one of the visiting rooms? Do you know the proper way to hold a cat?"

Kurt did, but he allowed Blaine to show him how to firmly yet gently hold the cat in a comfortable position. Blaine held the door open for him and then opened up a visiting room for Kurt and Bentley to go into.

"I've got litter boxes to scoop and all that happy fun stuff, so I'll be around. When you are done hanging out with him, just put him back in his room, and if you decide in favor of taking him home with you, grab his card from outside the door. A missing card indicates that the cat is pending adoption so anyone else visiting the kitties knows he's not currently available. Let me know what you decide, okay?"

"I will. Thank you so much for all your help."

"It's no problem at all."

Kurt went inside the room and shut the door. He set Bentley down on the floor and allowed him to stretch his legs. Bentley turned around and immediately stared Kurt down. Kurt sat on the bench and patted the space next to him, inviting the cat to join him. Bentley jumped up effortlessly and began to rub his nose all over Kurt's hand. "Oh! That's cold," he said. Realizing it was Bentley's way of saying, Hey you, pet me!, he began to stroke the cat's back.

"You're such a good boy, aren't you?" he said, praising the cat. "Do you want to come home with me? Do you like reality TV? I promise you, Tyra Banks is more bark than bite. And Gordon Ramsay is a big softy if you haven't pissed him off. You'll like them both."

Blaine stood outside the room, straining to hear the bits of "conversation" coming from Kurt. Blaine felt a little guilty that he had purposely put Kurt in the room that wasn't QUITE soundproofed; he could hear a little bit of what was said inside if it was a quiet day at the shelter. He knew right away in the cat room that Bentley would be a good match with Kurt. It took him only a few minutes of eavesdropping on Kurt in the visiting room to know that Kurt would be a good match for himself.

Blaine reluctantly pulled himself away from spying on Kurt and engrossed himself in his daily duties around the shelter. Ten minutes later, he noticed Kurt slip out of the room and put Bentley back in the big room with the other cats. He came out and wandered around, peeking through the doors of the other rooms.

Come on, come on, grab the card, Blaine mentally urged Kurt. After an extremely long five minutes, Kurt rifled through the cards outside of Bentley's door and pulled one out. YES! Blaine thought. I knew it!

Kurt scanned the room and his eyes settled upon Blaine, who was pouring some dry cat food in a bowl inside an individual cage. "Blaine?" he called. God, what I wouldn't do to have that voice screaming my name all the time…

"Yes, Kurt? Have you decided?"

Kurt waved the card in the air in response and gave him a tentative smile. Blaine, before he could stop himself, threw his arms around Kurt. "That's great! You're going to love him!"

Kurt seemed a little startled, Blaine noticed. Shit, I always screw things up, he thought. Way to go, dumbass.

"Oops, I'm so sorry! I'm a hugger, and sometimes I get a little carried away."

"No, no, it's no problem," Kurt said a little warily. "I'm often randomly hugged by strange men."

"You're just saying that to be nice."

Kurt laughed. "Yeah, I am, but that's okay. It's really no big deal. It's nice to be hugged once in awhile. So…" he said, changing the subject. "Bentley?"

"Oh! Yes, of course, right this way." Blaine brought Kurt up to the front desk and introduced him to the older lady sitting behind it. "Shirley, this is Kurt. He'd like to adopt Bentley."

"Excellent. I'll take care of Kurt, and Blaine, will you bring Bentley up to one of the holding cages here while we get the paperwork sorted?"

Blaine knew that Kurt would be filling out forms for a little while, so he took the opportunity to brush Bentley and make his fur shine for his new owner. "I feel bad that I won't get to see you anymore, buddy," he said to the cat, "but I've got a good feeling about this guy. I think you and he will be good friends."

Kurt was dotting the last i and crossing the last t when Blaine emerged from the cat room, placing Bentley in a holding cage near the front desk before crossing over to Kurt. "He's all ready for you."

"Good!" Shirley said, obviously not noticing that Blaine was pretty much only speaking to Kurt at that moment. "I just need to check Mr. Hummel's references and then we'll be able to collect the adoption fee and send Bentley on his way to his new home."

A half hour and several hundred dollars in adoption fees and cat food and supplies later, Bentley was nestled in a sleek new cat carrier and ready to begin his new life as Kurt's furry companion.

"This is it, I guess," Blaine said as he reached a finger through the grid of Bentley's carrier, gently scratching the cat's fuzzy head. "I'll miss you, buddy. Be good for Kurt, and he'll be good to you."

Kurt shuffled uncomfortably. "Um, thanks a lot, Blaine. I appreciate all you've done to help me."

"Just give him a good home, okay? He's one of my favorites and I'm kind of sad to see him go."

"I promise I will."

Kurt and Blaine stood in silence for a moment before Blaine got the courage to say, "Well, goodbye. And good luck!"

"Thanks. Um, bye."

Kurt headed off to the parking lot, and Blaine turned to go back to his duties. Before he could get all the way back inside, he had a brainstorm. "Shirley! I'm taking a break – I'll be back in fifteen!"

Before Shirley could say a word, Blaine dashed out the door into the parking lot. Kurt was still there working out how he would fit the cat carrier in his car in the safest way.

"With most small cars like yours, that size carrier perfectly fits between the back of the seat and the dash in the passenger seat so it won't fly anywhere. Though if you don't want him up front with you, if you pull the passenger seat up a bit, it'll fit on the floor in the back," Blaine pointed out.

Kurt jumped at the sound of Blaine's voice. "Ooh, you scared me," he said. "But thanks, I appreciate the advice." Kurt stepped back to consider his options. "I think I'll put him in the back. It feels like he'd be safer back there."

He fit the carrier between the seats and shut the door securely. "Well, I guess that's it." He moved to the driver's side of the car, but then he seemed to remember that Blaine had not walked out of the building with him, that he came out later.

"Um, can I help you with something? I mean, did you have a reason to be out here other than giving me some good travel advice?"

"What? Oh, um…" Blaine stalled. "Um, I normally don't do this, but I thought maybe I could give you my number? You know, in case you have any questions or anything. Like I said, he's one of my favorites, so…"

Kurt immediately felt a little disappointed. Damn. Was kinda hoping he would be asking for MY number instead of giving me his just to talk about the cat. "Of course, thank you. I don't really know a whole lot about caring for a cat, but I'm sure he and I will figure it out together. I'll let you know if I need you."

Blaine nodded as he handed Kurt a slip of paper with his name and number on it. Please need me.

Kurt hopped in the driver's seat and waved as he drove away. Blaine trudged reluctantly back into the building, kicking himself for being too shy to even find out if Kurt was gay.

xXxXxXx

The moment Kurt released the latch on the carrier, Bentley was out like a shot, searching. Within minutes, Bentley was holed up in the far back corner underneath Kurt's bed. Kurt could've kicked himself for not taking the time to close a few doors before he let the cat out. Shirley had warned him that most cats would hide for long periods of time when arriving in a brand new environment, so he busied himself with making room in his life for his new friend.

Kurt set up the litter pan in his laundry room and set the shiny new food and water bowls on the floor in his kitchen. He had read once that cats don't like to use the litter box where they ate, and he really, really couldn't blame them, so he was more than happy to create separate areas for Bentley.

After filling the water and food dishes, Kurt grabbed a bag of treats, shaking it enticingly and calling, "Here Kitty Kitty!" He was hoping to take advantage of his "chowhound" status and appeal to his stomach to get him to come out, but no such luck. He sighed and put the treats away, and then he went about his own chores for the evening.

Every so often, he would check under the bed to see if anything had changed. But nothing had; every time he looked, he would be met with a pair of shining green eyes staring back at him. He went to bed, and in the morning he woke up hoping that the cat would sense a warm body in the bed and join him, but no such luck. He checked the litter box and food dishes – no sign of use.

He sighed heavily. "Okay, Bentley. Everything you need is sitting out ready for you if you'd just come out and get it. I'm going to work now. I'll be back in about nine hours." He stopped abruptly, feeling silly for talking to a cat that wasn't even in the room with him. Without another word, he grabbed his messenger bag and headed out the door to begin his day.

Two more days went by with no change in the situation.

"Come ON, boy, you've GOT to be getting hungry. And how do you not need to pee by now? I can barely go three HOURS, let alone three days. Damn you cats are stubborn!"

Kurt sat at his kitchen table with his head in his hand, thinking. He had no clue what to do. He had done some research; nearly everything he read suggested that in most instances, the cat would have ventured out to explore his new surroundings long before now.

I wonder if I should call the shelter and ask for advice? he thought. Finally, a little lightbulb in his head flickered on. "Oh, way to go, dumbass," he said out loud to himself as he remembered a little slip of paper a beautiful curly-haired someone handed him as he took his kitty home with him. "You are NOT smarter than a fifth grader, I swear to god," he chastised himself, shaking his head.

He went to his bedroom where he had stuck the piece of paper to the mirror. The mirror had become somewhat of a bulletin board over the years where he kept his most important things. He had made an unconscious decision that Blaine's number was a "most important thing" and placed it there rather than on the fridge where he usually put things like phone numbers.

Kurt stood in front of his mirror, staring at the number and willing himself to just put on his big boy briefs and dial the damn number already. He punched in the digits, but his thumb hovered over the green call button.

If Kurt's inner voice could have done so, it would've reached out and pressed the button for him, because it was sure angry at him for not having done so already. "Okay, okay, fine!" he said. "Oh great. First I talk to an empty room, now I'm talking to myself. Real smooth, Hummel." Putting himself out of his misery, he forced himself to press the call button, and then he put it on speaker and set it down so he couldn't "accidentally" press the disconnect button.

It rang once, twice, three times. Kurt was just about convinced that he wouldn't pick up when in the middle of the fourth ring, just before most phones would've gone to voicemail, the call connected.

"Hello?"

Kurt, not thinking that he'd actually get Blaine on the first try, was at a momentary loss for words.

"Hello?" Blaine called again. "Who is this? Cooper, if that's you pranking me again, I swear to god I'm going to kick your ass into next week the next – "

Kurt hurriedly picked up the phone and turned off the speaker. "Um, Blaine?"

"Oh there IS someone there. Hi! Who's this?"

"I don't know if you remember me, but I adopted Bentley a couple – "

"Oh Kurt! Hi! How is Bentley?"

Kurt smiled when Blaine greeted him by name, clearly pleased that Blaine remembered him.

"Well, that's just it. He's STILL under my bed. He hasn't moved one inch since we got home the first day. As far as I can tell, his food, water, and litter have all gone untouched."

"Oh no. Well, Bentley has always been one of the shyer cats we've had, but I would've thought he'd given up sulking by now. And you don't want him to get dehydrated."

There was a long pause, but Kurt didn't feel comfortable filling it, so he waited patiently for Blaine to speak again. "Tell you what," Blaine finally said. "I hate to just invite myself over, but maybe I could come over and see if I could get him to come out?

Kurt hesitated. On one hand, oh YES, YES, HELL YES! but on the other, Blaine, in his house? Oh my god, the place was a mess, what would Blaine think of him, and –

"Kurt? Are you still there?"

"Oh, um yeah! Yeah, I think it's probably time to admit defeat, here." Kurt recited his address to Blaine and they agreed on a time for Blaine to come over.

"My shift here gets done in about an hour, so I'll see you about 7?"

"Yes, that sounds fine. Thank you."

They hung up, and Kurt flew round his house making sure that everything was neat and tidy and just so. Especially since Blaine would be in his bedroom.

Oh god, his bedroom.

Kurt trudged out into the living room, conceding that his house was as good as it was going to get, and plopped himself down on the couch. He played a couple of rounds of Draw Something on his phone and he was just about to turn on the TV for a distraction when his ears caught a foreign sound.

Skritch skritch… skritch skritch.

He furrowed his eyebrows trying to think of what it might be. Not coming up with any ideas, and no longer hearing the odd sound, he shrugged his shoulders and again went to turn on the TV.

Again he heard a strange sound, this time coming from the kitchen.

What the hell?

Kurt got up from his seat on the sofa and crept quietly to the kitchen. It wasn't quite dark in his house, but it was dark enough to create shadows, and there indeed was a dark shadow in the corner that had not been there the previous evening.

He reached around the corner, flipped the switch, and…

"BENTLEY!"

Startled, the cat spun his head around, mid-crunch if the scattered kitty kibbles had anything to say about it, and stared at Kurt with extremely guilty looking green eyes.

"You little brat! Have you been sneaking out this whole time?" Kurt leaned up against the doorway. "It's like you knew Blaine was coming and decided to make a fool out of me, didn't you?"

Bentley tipped his head and went back to burrowing through the dry cat food bowl, occasionally selecting a bit he deemed worthy enough to eat.

Knock knock knock

"That'll be Blaine," Kurt said, and he jogged to the front door to open it. On his way there, Kurt caught sight of a well used litter box in the laundry room out of the corner of his eye. Well, I guess that was the skritch skritch noise I heard.

Kurt yanked open the door for Blaine. "Hi," he said a bit breathlessly, and not because he had just jogged to the door.

"Hi yourself!" Blaine said cheerfully. For just having gotten off a shift at an animal shelter, he looked absolutely amazing, and Kurt was having trouble forming words.

"Oh, pardon me?" Kurt said, clearly having missed something Blaine was saying.

"I was just asking where Bentley's holed up."

Kurt shook his head. "Would you believe not long after I called you, the little snot snuck out of the bedroom and scared me by making all these totally normal cat noises that I wasn't expecting to hear? I found him at the food dish, munching away."

Blaine laughed warmly. "I totally believe it. Cats KNOW, I know they do. They are totally in tune with what will make their humans look the most stupid."

"It worked. I feel like a total moron calling you here for nothing."

"Well, I wouldn't call it nothing. I wouldn't mind seeing him again. I missed him around the shelter the last couple of days."

"Sure! We can do that!"

Both men stood staring at each other.

"Um, could I maybe come in?"

"Huh? Oh for crying out loud," Kurt cried. "I don't know what has turned me into a blithering idiot, but I apologize. Please, come in."

Blaine chuckled. "Don't worry about it." He stepped inside the doorway and looked around Kurt's home. "Wow, your place is beautiful! Did you decorate it yourself?"

"Guilty!"

"Damn, I am impressed! I should have you do my place. Well, I would, if my mom hadn't decorated it. She thinks herself an interior designer and I haven't the heart to tell her she's not. I'm not home much, so it doesn't bother me."

"Wild social life?" Kurt asked impulsively. He couldn't believe he had just said that.

Blaine had a good laugh. "Hardly! No, I just spend a lot of time around the shelter. My life is dead boring otherwise, so I just hang out with my furry friends. They don't seem to mind. Enough about me, though. How about you?"

"Me? Oh, no. The most excitement in my life is trying to figure out which housewife will be the most desperate this week and whether or not Tyra's head will spin around like Linda Blair when she has one of her hissy fits."

Blaine grinned. "I have to admit, I do the same thing. I thought we were even going to get the green projectile vomit during last week's episode. She was on FIRE!"

Kurt shuddered. "Well, now if THAT wasn't a revolting mental picture!"

"Oops, sorry!" Blaine apologized. "Sometimes I tend to word vom – oh, bad choice of words. Don't mind me. I hang with the animals too long and lose my people skills."

Kurt laughed softly. "I hear ya. I'm alone so often that I adopted a cat for the captive audience."

Blaine perked up internally at Kurt's confession. "So, no roommates to break up the monotony?"

"Nope, it's just me. And Bentley, now. But I haven't exactly gotten a chance to practice my conversational skills because SOMEONE HAS BEEN PLAYING ME THIS WHOLE TIME!" Kurt turned and called down the hallway.

Blaine burst out laughing. "You crack me up, Kurt! So, Bentley. Can I see him?"

"Yeah, sure." Kurt led him to the kitchen. "He was in here Hoovering up the dry food bowl when the doorbell ra… dammit, Bentley, where'd you go?"

Blaine stood behind him trying to stifle a giggle.

"Yeah yeah yeah, laugh it up. You're not the one who's being made a fool of by a CAT." He walked down the hallway called for the cat. "Bentley! Where are you? Here kitty kitty!"

Blaine stood in the doorway of the kitchen watching Kurt. "He's not going to come when you call him unless you have food, you know. He's a cat."

Kurt slumped up against the wall next to Blaine. "You're right. C'mon. He's probably back where he started." Kurt was so frustrated by the cat that he forgot to feel nervous that Blaine would be in his room.

"Oh, I like this!" Blaine exclaimed as he entered the room. "And my phone number, place of honor on the mirror? I'm flattered."

Kurt blushed deep red and chose to ignore Blaine's comment at that moment.

"Go right ahead and take a look – he's probably in the back corner under the bed."

Blaine dropped to his hands and knees and crouched low to peek underneath the bed. Which oh so conveniently gave Kurt a great view of his ass….ets. Oh hot damn, he thought. His knees felt a little weak and he had a hard time keeping his hands to himself. He was so tempted to reach out and grab a nice –

"Well, I can't get him to come out, either," Blaine said as he got to his feet and turned to face Kurt, "but I think now that he's been out at least once, he'll gradually stay out for longer periods of time."

"And now that we know he's a dirty little sneak, I won't have to worry about him so much," Kurt said wryly.

"Something tells me you will keep each other on your toes, though."

"You're probably right."

"Well, I've got to be going. For once in my life, I actually have plans tonight!"

Kurt couldn't stop himself from feeling a little bit crushed. "Hot date?" he teased.

"Sure do!"

Damn. "Oh," he said, not without a little disappointment in his tone. "Well I'll let you – "

"With my brother," Blaine continued. "He just got the newest Halo game and he's insisting I help him break it in."

Oh thank god.

"I can't even begin to tell you how many times my brother Finn has dragged me into a game of Halo," Kurt complained. "I don't know why he keeps bothering. I kick his ass every single time."

Blaine perked up. "REALLY now? I never would've guessed it!"

"Never judge a book by its cover, Blaine."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Kurt and Blaine slowly approached Kurt's front door. They stood silent for a moment, not knowing what to say. Finally, Kurt broke the silence.

"So, would you like to come back again? You know, to visit Bentley?" Kurt asked shyly.

"I'd love that. And maybe I could visit with his owner some, too, next time?"

"He'd like that, too."

Long pause…

"So… I'll talk to you later?" Kurt asked.

"Absolutely. I'll call you. Soon," Blaine confirmed.

"Sounds great. Have a good time with your brother."

"I will! Goodnight!" Blaine turned and jogged to his car.

"Goodnight," Kurt said softly, but Blaine was already too far away to hear him.

Kurt shut the door and spun around to lean up against it. Bentley came slinking through the room on his way to who knows where.

"YOU! You planned this the whole time, didn't you?" Kurt accused him.

Bentley sat on his haunches a few feet in front of Kurt and stared at him. He casually licked a paw and bathed his whiskers and then stared at Kurt some more. Slowly Bentley tilted his head, still watching Kurt, and closed one eye in a wink.

Kurt's jaw dropped, just for a moment. He shook his head and stalked off to his bedroom, mumbling something about being "fucking crazy" for thinking his cat was trying to communicate with him.

Bentley watched Kurt stomp down the hallway, his mouth forming what almost looked like a smile. Then, with a flip of his tail, he sauntered off to the kitchen, eager to catch up on all the eating he hadn't done in his sacrifice.