Author's Note: Blaine's point of view again, and you'll get some more information about the curse and how Blaine deals with it.
Many thanks to my wonderful beta VoyageAsia/HKVoyage!
Chapter 2: The Dog Walker
New York, November 2011 - January 2012
Blaine closed the front door with a weary sigh and took off his coat and shoes. He rubbed a hand over his eyes and headed to the living room.
"Hey Trent, I'm…"
Blaine's voice trailed off when he heard people laughing and talking in a low voice. It came from the direction of the sofa. The TV wasn't on, so that meant that Trent was entertaining. Did he have friends over?
Blaine hesitated for a moment. Should he go to his bedroom and wait until Trent's guests were gone? Or should he go say hello and offer them something to drink? Yes, that was probably the polite thing to do.
His mind made up, Blaine walked over to the sofa, mentally preparing himself for polite conversation with at least one stranger.
He froze when he saw Trent spread out on his back with another guy lying on top of him, Trent's hands in the guy's hair, their lips now fused and their hips moving rhythmically.
Luckily, they both had their eyes closed and they weren't paying attention to their surroundings at all, so Blaine backed away and out of the room without making a sound.
Half an hour later, he heard footsteps approach the kitchen, and turned away from the sauce he was stirring with a welcoming smile. "Hey!"
"Blaine, you're home!" Trent said. "I didn't hear you come in."
Blaine shrugged.
"This is Ashton," Trent continued. "He's a colleague of mine. And uhm… He asked me out two weeks ago. So now we're boyfriends."
Trent blushed, and Ashton slung an arm around his waist and kissed his cheek.
Blaine beamed and held out his hand to shake. "It's great to meet you! And I'm so happy for you both. Will you stay for dinner, Ashton? There's more than enough to go around."
Ashton accepted eagerly, and praised the meal Blaine had made to the high heavens.
"I told you Blaine was an excellent cook," Trent said. "Why else would I have stayed with him for so long?"
Blaine pouted. "Because I'm your best friend and you love me?"
Ashton laughed. "Aww, look at those puppy eyes! You've hurt his feelings, hon!"
K&B
Ashton was a great guy, and Blaine was glad to see that he stuck around, and that he made Trent very happy.
Of course, it meant that more and more often, Blaine came home to an empty apartment, or to sounds and sights that made him flee to his bedroom or to the kitchen, but that was a small price to pay for Trent floating on air day in day out. Trent deserved this. He'd been single for way too long.
Blaine and Ashton got along well, though Ashton sometimes raised his eyebrows when Blaine moved in to cuddle Trent on the sofa, or called him by a pet name.
Ashton never said anything, though, except that one time Blaine came home with a box of artisanally made caramels because Trent had mentioned loving them and not having had any in ages.
"Are you… like… making a move on my boyfriend?" Ashton asked.
Blaine, who'd been watching Trent enjoy his caramels with an indulgent grin, whipped his head around to look at Ashton, shocked. "What? No! I like spoiling him from time to time, that's all. I've always done that."
Trent hummed in assent, and helped himself to another caramel.
"So you're not… like… crushing on Trent and, like, trying to one-up me?"
Blaine's brow furrowed. "One-up you?"
Trent laughed. "Aww, Ash, sweetie, no… If Blaine were into me, he'd serenade me with an inappropriate song at my workplace."
"I did that only once," Blaine pouted. "And you promised you'd never bring it up again!"
Trent giggled. "I promised no such thing."
"I sense a good story here," Ashton smiled.
"Oh, just you wait!" Trent said. "That was when we were sophomores in high school, right, Blaine? And there was this older guy that Blaine was into, you know. His name was Jeremiah. And he worked at the Gap."
Blaine sighed. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."
He slinked away to the kitchen, laughter following him, and thought, not for the first time, that this dog curse he was under was actually a blessing if it kept him from behaving like an idiot around anyone he remotely liked. He might not like only having his right hand for company, but it sure beat making a fool of himself again, first with Jeremiah, by imagining a connection where there was actually none, and then with Alexei, by accidentally leading him on. He was just no good at romance. He did the world a favour by staying single, really.
Now that it had been over eleven years since Alexei cursed him, Blaine's doggy episodes were far and between, only occurring once every two months at most. Of course, they still came as an unwelcome surprise. Once he could feel the transformation starting, he had little more than a minute to run away and hide, so wherever he went, he checked the venue for restrooms and other useful hiding places, and made sure he always stayed near them.
The last time it had happened, Blaine had been at a vernissage at Trent's gallery, and he'd made it to the janitor's closet in the nick of time for his clothes to shed and him to change into a dog.
He'd been talking to a colleague of Trent's at the time, who was hitting on him so blatantly that Blaine felt the need to tell her gently that he was gay. Of course, now she'd think he'd rudely run away from her because she came on too strong, but that couldn't be helped.
The transformation back was even more mortifying. When he changed into a dog, his human clothes fell off him, so that meant he was buck-naked any time he turned human again. That was bad enough when it happened indoors and it was Trent or Pam who witnessed him transform, but one time he'd transformed back into a human right smack in the middle of the park where Trent had taken him for his morning walk. Luckily, it was early in the morning, and there weren't many people out and about, only a homeless man who leered at him and an old lady tutting at him and telling him that if he kept using drugs, he'd end up dying before his time. It could have been worse, but it still took Blaine weeks to get over the incident. He'd been asleep when he became a dog that time, so he'd had no idea when the actual transformation had taken place.
Blaine supposed it could have been worse, though, all in all. All those years ago, Pam and Trent had devised a pretty water-proof system to deal with his curse.
Blaine always wore a pendant with a personal alarm button around his neck. Whenever he transformed, it was easy enough for him to find the pendant in the heap of clothes surrounding him and activate the alarm with his paw.
Then Trent and Pam's phones would start to buzz and a message would pop up on their phone, and Trent would come and help him as fast as he could, bringing the collar with the contact details under which Blaine was registered as a dog.
Pam would check in with Trent later that day or the next morning, just to make sure Blaine had been found and everything was okay. And it always was.
Blaine was SO lucky that Trent had heard Alexei curse him that day. He was such a great and dependable friend, and Blaine probably owed him about a million favours by now, but all Trent asked was for Blaine to cook and do his share of the other household chores.
Of course, Blaine did try to make it up to Trent, somehow. Whenever Trent had a craving for a certain food, Blaine went out of his way to make or buy it for him. Whatever programme Trent wanted to watch on the television, they watched, without a murmur of protest from Blaine. Wherever Trent wanted to go on vacation in summer, they went. Any time Trent wanted a back rub or foot rub, he got one. And Blaine kept a list on his phone with all the stuff Trent mentioned that he liked, year-round, so that he could get it for Trent's birthday, or for Christmas, or for any other occasion. It never felt like enough, but he did what he could to show his appreciation for Trent's help.
K&B
The evening before the start of the spring semester, Blaine was sitting at his desk at home, going over his lesson preparations, when he felt the tell-tale signs of another dog spell coming on. He cursed under his breath as he realised that Ashton was staying over for the whole weekend.
I hope he won't find out…
Blaine rushed to his ensuite bathroom to pee, so that he could spare Trent a late-night walk. Then he waited, sitting on the bathroom floor, until he'd become a dog, and pushed the alarm button.
Moments later, a very grumpy Trent, dressed only in his boxers, stomped into his room. "Ugh, this is SO not a good time! Where are you, Blaine?"
Blaine wuffed softly.
"Right. Do you need a walk before bed?"
Blaine shook his head.
"Do you need something else?"
Blaine padded to his desk, jumped onto the desk chair and pointed to his laptop.
Trent squinted at it. "Huh. You have class tomorrow. Okay. I'll send an e-mail to Paula."
Trent composed a quick e-mail telling Paula that Blaine would be indisposed for a week, and could she please fill in for him? He looked at Blaine for confirmation, and Blaine nodded.
Trent sent the e-mail, but didn't turn off the laptop yet. Instead, he Googled dog walker agencies, and called one to set up a week's worth of appointments.
"Where's your credit card?" Trent hissed at Blaine, who ran to the bathroom and came back with his wallet in his mouth. Trent fished the credit card out of it and used it to pay for the dog walking services.
As soon as Trent was off the phone, he saw how shocked and wounded Blaine looked. He shrugged. "You know Ashton's going to find out about you if I have to spend the next seven days looking after you morning, noon and night. Stay in your room until I come and fetch you for your walk tomorrow morning, okay? I'll bring you the dog food from the pantry, and your food and drink bowls as well."
When Trent came back with the food and the bowls, Blaine let out a soft whine.
"Oh, don't go all drama queen on me," scoffed Trent, now putting Blaine's collar around his neck. "You have everything you could possibly need. I'm going back to my boyfriend now. Do NOT disturb us again."
K&B
The following morning, Blaine's bladder woke him up, and he hoped that the dog walker was on their way already, and that Trent would come and fetch him any minute now.
The only sound he could hear from Trent's room, though, was snoring, so Blaine paced his room and tried to think of anything, anything else, but that became increasingly harder, and he couldn't help whimpering a little.
And then the doorbell rang. The dog walker! Blaine wanted to run to the front door, but Trent had asked him to wait in his room, so he stayed put.
He heard stumbling in Trent's room, and then Ashton saying, "I'll get it."
Blaine froze.
Uh-oh… Why didn't Trent push Ashton back into bed and tell him he'd deal with it? How was Trent going to explain the dog walker? How was he going to explain Blaine's alter ego?
And now Blaine could hear the dog walker introduce herself in a clear soprano voice. Kurt? That was a weird name for a girl…
Ashton had a sneezing fit, and then called for Trent.
Yes, where WAS Trent?
The next thing Blaine knew, the door to his room flew open, and Trent hissed, "Come!"
Blaine followed him, and then outran him in his eagerness to get outside and finally be able to pee. He stopped short when he saw that the dog walker was in no way or shape a girl. It was a guy, and he looked like he came straight out of Blaine's fantasies: tall and pale and beautiful as an elf, with wide shoulders and a jawline for days. And the way he smelled… Blaine's nose twitched in his eagerness to get another whiff of that delightful scent, and then another. Then he got himself under control and sat down in front of… what was his name again? Oh yes, Kurt!
Kurt introduced himself to Blaine in a way his dog self more than approved of, and attached a leash to his collar, but when Blaine wanted to sprint down the hallway to get outside, Trent stopped him with a "Wait!"
Blaine froze and turned his head around, but Trent was looking at Kurt, and handing him a spare key to the apartment.
What? You don't know this guy at all! Why are you giving him a key to our apartment?
Kurt took it in stride. Apparently, he was very used to this sort of thing. His key ring was chock-full of keys, names scribbled on nearly all of them. How many dogs did this guy walk?
It wasn't until they were all in the park, their leashes off, that Blaine payed attention to the other dogs Kurt had brought with him. A snow husky, a golden retriever and a bichon frise. They seemed friendly enough. The husky had moved in to smell Blaine's butt as soon as Kurt had attached the leash to his collar, and the two others had crowded in to catch a whiff, too. Then, on the way to the park, the husky had challenged Blaine to a race, and he'd been more than happy to oblige, glad for any excuse to stretch his legs.
Now, the bichon frise bumped its nose against Blaine's and then let out a series of high yips. Blaine responded by rubbing their noses together again and then play-bowing with his legs in front of him. The golden retriever copied him and pawed at him gently.
The husky raced around the three of them, barking loudly and sniffing at everything and anything.
And then Kurt summoned them to play fetch, and Blaine couldn't remember ever having had such a good time, racing the husky, playfully fighting with the retriever for one of the tennis balls Kurt threw, and then showing off by catching a Frisbee mid-air.
Once Blaine got over the nuisance of his planning being disturbed, he always enjoyed being a dog for a week. Dogs led such a simple and rewarding life. Not much to worry about except getting your belly full, running around and playing, and getting cuddles from every dog-loving person that crossed your path. It was more relaxing and reinvigorating than a beach vacation.
And now that he got to play with three other dogs, it was three times as much fun. Trent should have contacted a dog walker for him long before now. This was amazing!
Kurt gave good rubs, too, seeming to know instinctively what spots Blaine favoured. Trent only rarely petted Blaine when he was a dog. He said it felt too weird. So now that Blaine was being looked after by someone who didn't know him, he took full advantage of that to get as much petting as he wanted.
When Kurt dropped him off at the apartment again, Blaine was in an excellent mood. As he trotted into the living room, though, he saw a human thundercloud.
He tilted his head to the side and wuffed softly, meaning, "What's the matter?"
Trent glared at him. "Ashton's gone back to his own place."
Blaine wuffed again in understanding. Trent was so gone on Ashton that he missed him as soon as he was out the door these days, though he usually wasn't that grumpy about it.
"I'll be off for work soon. Do you still have water?"
Blaine shook his head.
"I'll come fill up your bowl, then. The dog walker will come by at noon and at six. I'll pop in after work to make sure you have food and water, and then I'll go sleep at Ashton's."
Blaine whined, not liking the prospect of being all alone for the night.
"You'll be fine," Trent said. "I booked you the longest walks I could sign up for, and three walks a day is plenty. You'll have enough to eat and to drink, and if you get bored, you can binge-watch your favourite shows with your own special controller."
That made Blaine cheer up a little. He'd been meaning to watch Downton Abbey, but hadn't gotten round to it yet. Binge-watching sounded like a great idea, and he followed Trent to his room to get the Wagg controller for the television.
"You still have your alarm button, don't you?" Trent asked, and Blaine jumped onto his bed to show Trent it was on his pillow.
"All right, then." Trent sighed, and he shuffled back to the kitchen to drink some more coffee before heading to work.
K&B
The dog spell flew by faster than any of the previous ones ever had. Trent only dropped in twice a day to give Blaine food and water, choosing to stay at Ashton's place, but thanks to Kurt and Blaine's three dog companions, Blaine got all the exercise and affection he could wish for. In between the walks, he binge-watched Downton Abbey and took naps in the afternoon.
On Sunday evening, when Kurt dropped him off at the apartment after his last walk and squatted down to take his leash off, Blaine leaned against Kurt and put his head on Kurt's knee.
"Aww, you want some more cuddles, boy?" Kurt cooed, and rubbed Blaine under his chin, moving to his neck next. Blaine closed his eyes and let out a happy sigh.
"I'm going to miss you," Kurt confided to him. "You're such a ray of sunshine. You never seem to be in a bad mood at all. Always happy, always affectionate. Such a good boy."
Kurt straightened up with a sigh. "Well, bye, Devon. I hope your owner hires me again soon."
He left the apartment and closed the door with a soft click.
Blaine sat there staring at it for a good long while before he trotted back to his room, and when he turned back into a human later that evening, he wasn't as glad about it as he usually was.
He told himself that was because he didn't want to deal with all the work that had piled up during this week's absence, nor with the questions Ashton was bound to have. But when he got into bed, after changing the bedding and vacuuming everything thoroughly, Kurt's face swam in front of him as soon as he closed his eyes.
I'll miss him too.
