There was a gifset on Tumblr of a basket full of puppies and then this happened. I'm not ashamed.

The shout of "Blaine! Come grab the door for me, please?" nearly made Blaine fall off the couch, where he was sprawled and watching an ANTM marathon.

"Coming!" he yelled back. The crack of his long-settled joints made him wince as he slid the door open, revealing Kurt, Rachel, and a large laundry hamper that was – yipping? "Is that our hamper? Wait, it's not laundry day."

"Astute as ever, B," Kurt said. "Rach, grab your side again." He started walking backwards slowly into the loft, keeping the hamper steady before nodding to Rachel to set it down in the middle of the living room. "Meet our new temporary roommates."

"What?" Blaine walked over to the hamper and peeked inside. "Oh my God, where did you find six puppies?" He tried to step away as surreptitiously as possible, feeling his heart speed up in his chest.

"They were just sitting in this hamper a couple blocks down the street, yipping and howling like their hearts were breaking!" Rachel said. "Whoever abandoned them there deserves to be shot, I should really call the ASPCA or something."

"As much as I agree with you, if our landlord finds out we brought home six dogs, Blaine and I are about to have to live in this hamper on a corner somewhere too," Kurt pointed out. "Maybe just content yourself with hoping their former owners get crapped on by a pigeon like I am."

"Fine," Rachel said, visibly fuming.

"If I give you first pick of the puppies, will you stop pouting and help me give them a bath?" Kurt asked, sounding like an incredibly patient father. Oh God, what if our children are as stubborn as Rachel if she's still willing to surrogate for us in the future? Blaine thought, getting a bit hysterical. "Blaine? You'll help out too, right, honey?"

"Wh- sure, yeah," Blaine said, hoping he sounded casual. Unfortunately for him, he noticed Kurt's brow furrowing in his special you're full of shit way.

"Hey, Rach, could you go get the water running for us? We'll be in after I change, I don't want to get water on this shirt," Kurt said. Once Rachel had obligingly scurried off, two puppies nestled in her arms, he continued, "What are you not telling me, B?"

Blaine took a deep breath, blowing out carefully through his mouth. "I'm kind of afraid of dogs," he admitted quietly, feeling his cheeks heat up. "I know it's dumb when I'm almost twenty years old, but I got knocked over by this huge German Shepherd once when I was like four, and ever since then I've been terrified. If you'd brought one home I probably could've dealt with it, but six is kind of freaking me out."

"Sweetie," Kurt said, "You know we're not keeping all of them, right? I already promised Rachel one, and Brittany promised she'd take one, too. That's two gone by the end of the day, since both of them have to get back to LA soon, and then a couple of my coworkers at the diner said they'd take the other three. I was kind of hoping we could keep one, but if you really don't want to-"

"No, Kurt, one is fine, I promise," Blaine said. "Just...can it be a calmer one?"

"It can be whichever puppy you want – as long as it's not the one Rachel claimed, unless you're willing to listen to her screech about it for the rest of the day," Kurt said. "I'm sorry I didn't know you were afraid of dogs. I actually decided to bring these babies home because I thought you'd be super excited and probably try to keep them all. You loved that dog at the benefit!"

"Hey, it's not your fault. It never came up, and I can honestly say I wasn't expecting a situation like this to happen when we moved to New York. And I only held that dog because it was half-asleep and didn't look threatening," Blaine joked. "But hey, at least you didn't find a cage full of snakes or something, right?"

"Oh my God, Blaine, don't even joke about that," Kurt said, shuddering in horror. "I've seen too many news stories about finding alligators in people's toilets, I can't handle the thought of reptiles sneaking around our home."

"They've found alligators where?" Blaine asked, aghast. "You know what, don't explain. Let's just go help Rachel before I'm too scared to sleep tonight."

"Great idea," Kurt said. "I really do want to go change out of this shirt, so I'll meet you in there?"

"Sounds perfect," Blaine said, sneaking a quick kiss before stripping down to his undershirt and jeans to go help Rachel in the bathroom, grabbing the hamper on his way in. "How's it going, Rach?"

"I think I got the water just warm enough to feel good but not so hot it'll burn these poor little babies," Rachel said, smiling up at him. She was kneeling next to their bathtub, sleeves pushed up and arms in the water. "Help me get the other pups in the tub?"

"Of course." Blaine carefully grabbed the rest of the puppies one by one to hand them off to Rachel, who held each one up in front of her eyes and cooed before placing them in the water. "Which one's yours?"

"I was thinking this little boy," Rachel said, scooping a damp blond puppy out of the tub. The dog immediately began wriggling and yapping happily, pleased at the attention. "He looks like he can handle a lot of attention, which is important if I get disturbed by paparazzi all the time in LA."

"Uh huh," Blaine said, skirting that minefield. He knelt next to Rachel. "Got a name in mind yet?"

"He looks like a Cary to me."

"As in Cary Grant?" Blaine asked. At Rachel's nod, he continued, "Perfect."

"I think Brittany's probably going to want this one," Rachel said, pointing at the chubbiest of all the puppies (though that really wasn't saying much), who was sneezing in fits before trying to chase its own tail.

"Yeah, that seems like a pretty safe bet," Blaine said.

"Do I have to supervise everything?" Kurt said, startling Blaine a little. "You guys haven't even added any shampoo yet, come on."

"I didn't want to use the wrong one of your eight million products and then have you snipe at me for the rest of the day," Rachel said. "I figured it would be safer for me to just let you decide."

"You might have a point there," Kurt conceded. "Alright, how I about I wash, you rinse, and Blaine dries?"

"Works for me," Blaine said as Rachel gave a thumbs-up. He stationed himself behind Rachel to give Kurt room at the tub, grabbing a spare towel from the shelf nearby as he moved. He daydreamed aimlessly for a couple minutes as Kurt and Rachel got the first puppy washed, jumping a bit as Rachel placed the first puppy – her Cary, of course – in his lap.

"Get to work, slacker," she teased.

"Yes, your highness," he shot back before contenting himself with the tiny, light-colored fuzzball in his lap. Cary was a relatively calm dog, thankfully, so he got to ease himself into working with the puppies, only flailing slightly when Cary lunged at his chest for no apparent reason. The next few dogs got increasingly rowdier, and Blaine made the observation that Kurt's coworkers were going to have their hands full, especially the girl who said she'd take two. The puppy earmarked for Britt was docile, staring off into space with his head quirked in a way that made Blaine wonder if that whole "puppies resembling their owners" belief actually had some truth behind it. Finally, the last puppy was coming out of the tub, and Kurt and Rachel left the room chattering about finding some dog food while Blaine began toweling the little girl off.

"Well, aren't you a pretty thing?" he asked, filling the silence. "Your brothers and sisters have got to be jealous of you, with that sleek fur and button nose." He tapped the quiet puppy on the tip of her nose, prompting a high-pitched, happy "yip!" that made Blaine coo. "You cutie pie. You were so patient when your siblings were getting their bath, too. Such a sweet little girl."

"It sounds like you've found our new dog," Kurt cut in, poking his head into the bathroom. He gave Blaine a sweet smile. "I thought that might be the one."

"She's much calmer than the dog that tried to kill me," Blaine said, smiling back at his gorgeous fiance.

"Got any name ideas in mind?" Kurt asked, entering the room properly and leaning back against the sink.

"I was thinking Lana, as in-"

"Lana Turner." Kurt and Blaine said her name simultaneously. "It's perfect, B. I approve."

"Because Lord knows I needed your approval to name our dog."

"Blaine, you get my approval on the outfits you wear everyday. Of course I get final approval on the name of our dog."

"Lana, your other daddy is mean," Blaine grumbled, pouting at the champagne-colored puppy in his arms, who gave an inquisitive "arf?"

"Why yes, it is dinner time, Lana," Kurt said. "Now get out there before your brothers and sisters eat all the puppy food!"

Blaine set the dog down on her feet, and she immediately scrambled out of the gap in the curtain to the kitchen, slipping every few steps on the floor of the loft. "You know, I think I'm gonna be glad you rescued these dogs, babe."

"I'm not surprised," Kurt said, tossing his head back arrogantly. "All my decisions are good decisions."

"Like saying yes to me?"

"Like saying yes to you."