When the tour bus rolled into New York and up to the back door of the venue - Puck couldn't quite remember its name at the moment - it was late morning and everyone but Puck and the driver was still asleep. Gil, the driver, put the bus into park and killed the engine before practically leaping out of his seat and down the stairs, cigarette already in his mouth, ready to be lit. Puck had been on e-nicotine for the past three years and his lungs were certainly thanking him for it; plus, most groupies these days hated making out with a dude who smoked. Gil was married to a fat woman who smoked cigars, so he was happy lighting up whenever he could.

Yawning into a stretch, Puck kicked Larsen, the band manager, to wake him up so they could start setting up the show. Larsen made some pouting noises before finally shaking himself awake, standing up and stretching as well. "We here?"

"Yep," Puck replied, shrugging on his jacket and looking around for his phone. It had been plugged into one of the outlets here near the front of the bus... Oh, there it was. Behind where Larsen had been sleeping, along with, "Oh, shit."

"What?" Larsen asked, obviously startled by the tone in Puck's voice. He pointed and the manager echoed his exclamation, "Oh, shit!" Eyes wide and voice low so no one else would hear, Larsen asked, "That was the last one we had, wasn't it?"

Puck reached past him to pick up the tan cowboy hat Larsen had been sleeping on, revealing that not only was it squished to high heaven, but the brim was also ripped and stained with wine in several places. Keeping his voice low, Puck remarked, "He's not gonna go on without it."

"Guess who's problem that is," Larsen replied, his voice leaving no room for argument.

"Shit."

Puck sighed and made sure he had his phone, his wallet, and his work credit card before stumbling off the bus and out into the daylight. Squinting as he pulled his shades from the pocket of his jacket and pushed them on, Puck jogged away from the bus and out toward the main street. A quick search showed a slew of hat shops in the city, and Puck contemplated getting a coffee and calling them all up one by one until he found the exact right make, color and size, but then he had a better idea. He scrolled through his contacts and selected one with a grin.

His contact answered on the third ring, "What could you possibly want, Puckerman? I'm not letting you crash on my couch again. You still owe me for the slip cover you destroyed. And my favorite coffee mug. And emotional damages, which don't come ch-"

"Yeah, great," Puck interrupted, knowin Kurt could chew him out for four hours straight if he set his mind to it. "Hey, Listen. I've got a wardrobe emergency here. Any chance you could help me out?"

There was a long moment of silence before Kurt sighed into the microphone and asked, "What sort of emergency?" Puck smirked at how Kurt sounded more than a little intrigued. "I need..." Puck pulled back his phone and sent Kurt a quickly-snapped picture of the hat before continuing, "another one of these hats, in the right size, before eight o'clock tonight. My boss won't go on without one and I somehow got voluntold that I was the man for this particular job."

"I don't know..." Kurt wavered. "If it was a blazer, maybe I could help, but a cowboy hat? That's going to take some actual work on my part."

"C'mon, pleeease?" Puck begged. "I'll come by tonight and do that thing you like."

"Hmm," Kurt said, like he was thinking it over, which Puck knew he would do. Puck was about eighty percent sure Kurt was going to say yes, too. "How long are you in town?"

Well, that question was a good sign. "Five days," Puck replied, "maybe eight if Dan doesn't go on any benders and I take the train up to Boston next Tuesday."

Puck must have said the right thing, because Kurt said, "Text me the size and I'll see what I can do."

"Sweet, babe," Puck replied, making his way back to help set up the show before he disappeared on them and crossing his fingers for the first time the whole tour that his services as understudy guitar player weren't going to be needed. "See ya soon!"

Again, reviews are very much appreciated!