Mail Order Bride 3/?
Title: Mail Order Bride 3/?
Author: 1farmer_girl
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s): Puck/Kurt
Genre: Historical AU, Romance, Drama
Warning: Mpreg and slight genderbending and crossdressing
Spoilers: None, I pretty much used names and basic personality outlines
Disclaimer: If I owned Glee I would probably make it unsuitable for broadcast television and it would be taken off the air which would be sad, so I’ll let Ryan Murphy keep it.
Author Notes: This is the result of a dare from a friend who said it wasn’t possible to make a believable historical mpreg. I can’t pass up a challenge, so here is my historical mpreg, whether it is believable or not I shall leave up to the reader. Also, just to clarify there are three genders in this universe; male, female, and intesex which are basically males who are able to carry children. Both female and intersex are referred to as carriers.
Summary: The year is 1855 and the east coast of America is tense with the possibility of an upcoming Civil War, but in Northern Minnesota Noah Puckerman knows nothing of such politics. He only has to worry about how he’s going to live with the bride he’s mother is sending him.
Word Count: 3,414
Puck
Puck couldn’t see his ceiling in the dark, but he scowled up at it anyway. This was not at all how he thought his night would be going. Since he’d first seen Kurt at the train station his mind had supplied fantasy after fantasy of all the amazing sex he could have with Kurt, since there was no way anyone could be that beautiful and not be capable of providing amazing sex. Seriously, Puck thought Kurt could probably just lie on the bed and do nothing and it would still be amazing sex.
However, in all Puck’s years of fornicating he had never once found pain to be sexually stimulating, so that slap had cooled his ardor considerably. At first Puck had been royally pissed off. His advances had never once been turned down and his ego had been stung to have his perfect record ruined.
The result being, Puck had lashed out and said some truly hateful things to Kurt that he did not deserve. Puck never intended to go to a whorehouse when he’d stormed out of the house earlier; he just knew that he needed to get out of the house before he said anything else cruel to Kurt.
The cold air outside had helped considerable towards cooling Puck’s anger. However, once he was no longer angry he hadn’t wanted to face Kurt after the things that had been said. So, he’d waited in the barn until the light in the house had gone out before going back inside.
In the dark, Puck could make out the shape of Kurt lying on the bed and doing a rather poor job of pretending to be asleep. His breathing was uneven, almost like he was trying to hold back sobs. And didn’t that just make Puck feel like the biggest asshole on God’s green earth. Kurt was a good kid, who deserved a lot better than Puck.
As Puck tried to make himself comfortable on the floor of the loft he thought, that he wasn’t really a bad man, just one who wasn’t very good at doing the proper thing. He’d never seriously courted a carrier before, female or intersex. He’d always been able to get all the sex he could ever want just by laying on the charm, so he’d never seen the point of getting laid the proper way through marriage.
But of course, Kurt was good at being proper and had probably never even considered having sex before there was a ring on his finger. No wonder he reacted so strongly to Puck’s advances. He probably knew Puck, or at least Puck’s mother, had paid for the carrier provider’s services just like Puck paid his prostitutes for sex. Kurt probably thought that was all Puck saw him as, just a prostitute he didn’t have to travel all the way to Clarksville to get.
Puck didn’t think that at all though, but he knew he and Kurt were going to get married as soon as he could arrange it with Pastor Schuester, so what was the point of waiting to have sex when they knew they were going to have it anyway?
Of course, Puck thought rolling onto his side, there was a chance Kurt might go back east now. It was fairly unorthodox for carriers to leave after they’d essentially been engaged, but Kurt seemed like he was upset enough that he just might do it. If it was anyone else Puck probably would just let them go. But there’s just something about the sweet little intersex with his plump lips and feisty attitude and mouthwatering cooking. Puck can’t quite put his finger on it, but nobody has ever captured his attention quite like Kurt had managed to do in less than a day. Puck wasn’t going to let such a good thing just walk away and he fell asleep wondering how he was going to convince Kurt to give him a second chance.
Puck woke in the morning to the smell of coffee brewing and meat frying. It had been years since anyone had made breakfast for him and he lay still for a long moment reveling in what a comfortable feeling it gave him. Surely, if Kurt bothered to make coffee it meant that he couldn’t hate Puck too badly.
Peeking over the side of the loft, Puck could look down and see Kurt setting at the table. He had his hands wrapped around a mug of coffee and he was staring out the window at the rising sun. His hair was once again styled perfectly and he was wearing a red gingham dress. Damn, red was definitely Kurt’s color.
Puck would have liked to stay in the loft and perve on Kurt a while longer, but he figured he should probably try to smooth things over with the intersex. Puck got up and stretched, trying to word his apology as he headed down the steps. He realized his work was cut out for him when Kurt didn’t acknowledge his presence at all, though there was no way he couldn’t have heard Puck coming down those creaky steps.
“Good morning,” Puck said, pouring himself some coffee and picking some ham out of the frying pan above the fire with his fingers. That got him a glare, but at least Kurt was looking at him now. “Listen, about last night-.”
“Last night?! You want to talk about last night? Fine, then let me just say this. Believe it or not, I have actually been around my fair share of immoral behavior in the past. My father worked on a dock wharf, so I’ve been around sailors my entire life, these things happen. I even indulged a couple of their advances. But never, never, in my entire life have I been treated as rudely as I was last night and that is all I have to say on the subject.” With that Kurt lifted chin and turned his gaze back towards the window.
Puck felt something in his chest tighten at the thought of Kurt allowing as strange sailor to kiss him, but he didn’t want to think about what that might mean, so he pushed it aside and began his planned apology.
“Well, I’ve got a couple of things I’d like to say to you. First of which, is that I’m sorry for the things I did and even more sorry for the things I said last night. I know it’s not really an excuse, but I don’t really know what I’m doing here. I’ve never really courted anyone before. My parents were always trying to get me interested in carriers from good families, but I always thought they were stuck up so I never started anything with them. When I got older I was actually propositioned by a couple of older, widowed carriers.”
That got Kurt’s attention and he turned to stare at Puck, his mouth slightly agape. “It was nothing serious. They were just lonely people who thought I was handsome, but I learned that I didn’t have to tie myself down to one of those obnoxious carriers in order to, uh, have certain manly needs met. So what happened last happened because I’ve never gone through the proper steps and I forgot that you were the sort of carrier who would expect them. I still don’t really see why it’s such a big deal to wait until after the wedding since we’re getting married anyway, but I can see that it’s important to you, so for that reason I shall wait until our wedding night before taking you to bed. That is, if you are still willing to marry me?”
Some time passed while Kurt just sat with his head tilted adorably to the side before he said, “I suppose there really isn’t any question of me going back east. No matter how despicable you behavior was last night, it still didn’t come close to what I’m sure Karofsky is capable of. So, I’m willing to give you another chance, provided you remember your promise to wait.”
Puck ducked his head as if in agreement, but actually if was to hide his grin. He’d been really worried Kurt would go back east, but hearing that he would stay seemed to lift a huge weight off Puck’s shoulders that he hadn’t realized he had.
“Thank you for accepting my apology,” Puck said. “I promise to do my best to make sure you never regret it.” Kurt smiled sweetly at those words and Puck realized he was willing to do a lot of things he’d never wanted to do before, just to keep seeing that smile. That unfamiliar feeling reminded him of Kurt previous admission to having previous sailor liaisons.
“So, when you say that you’ve indulged advances previously, what exactly does that mean?” Puck asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.
Kurt flushed, “Well, if you must know, I let my father’s helmsman, Matthew, kiss me on multiple occasions last summer. Of course, they were proper, chaste kisses; nothing at all like whatever you were doing last night. But he never even asked my father’s permission to court me or anything.” Kurt sounded quite proud of his so-called scandalous actions.
Puck snorted, “That’s it? A couple of quick, undercover pecks is the best you got for indecent behavior?”
“Oh, shut up. Don’t you have…chores or something you need to be doing?” Kurt scowled.
“That I do, beautiful, that I do.” Puck headed out to the barn, chuckling under his breath.
Kurt
After Puck left, Kurt felt a little unsure of himself. He couldn’t remember the last time his emotions had been pulled in so many different directions so fast. On the train ride he’d been nervous and apprehensive, then annoyed when Puck was late. Then there were those few glorious hours when he thought things were going to work out for the two of them. Then there’d been the anger over the kiss and the heartbreak it caused Kurt. Now, after his conversation with Puck, Kurt felt like he was back to being nervous and apprehensive.
He was unsure if he was doing the right thing staying with Puck, but he’d didn’t see any other choices. Kurt had heard rumors about how Karofsky treated his servants. Kurt wasn’t usually inclined to listen to rumors, but those bruises on Karofsky’s scullery maid, Mary, hadn’t gotten there by themselves. It wasn’t that far a stretch for a man who would physically harmful to his servants to be hurt other people in his life. Puck might be a bit lewd, but Kurt didn’t think he was violent. Sighing, Kurt figured there was no point worrying about his decision and got to work cleaning up the breakfast dishes.
Before too long, Puck was coming back inside. “I’ve hitched up the wagon if you want to go get your suitcases,” he opened with.
“Oh, yes! Just give me a few minutes.” In all the excitement of the last day Kurt had actually forgotten about his abandoned wardrobe. Hurriedly, Kurt finished drying the dishes and smoothed his hair before putting on his coat. Puck had also promised they would go to the general store after picking up the luggage and Kurt wanted to make a good impression on the townspeople, if only to insure he got an invite to what few social gatherings there were.
The winter air was biting, but Puck had several thick furs that Kurt could bury himself under, so he didn’t really notice the cold. Puck didn’t seem to want to tempt the truce the two of them had reached and didn’t say anything during the trip. Kurt didn’t mind the silence though since it gave him a chance to pay closer attention to the land they were traveling through.
Kurt had never seen so many trees before. On either side of the road there were huge trees that seemed older than time itself. Right now the trees were bare and there was sunlight reflecting off the snow, making everything bright and friendly. However, it wasn’t hard for Kurt to imagine that the woods would be rather scary at night during the summer with leaves rustling in the wind.
As they drove into Oak Grove, Kurt couldn’t help thinking that it looked like something in a picture. The few little buildings were covered in snow and there was a person dotted here and there so picturesquely it seemed almost as though it had been done on purpose. Puck pulled the wagon up to the train stop and began piling in the luggage. Kurt was a little ashamed to realize that it took up almost half the space in the wagon.
He really shouldn’t have brought so much, there wasn’t anywhere to put it all back at Puck’s house, but he’d been so sad to be forced to leave the house he grew up in that Kurt hadn’t been able to part with anything. It seemed like everything had either been given to him by his father or had some precious memory tied to it.
“What am I going to do with all this?” Kurt wondered, not realizing he’d said it out loud until Puck responded.
“I wouldn’t worry about it. We’ll find a place for everything. If you want I could build a couple shelves for some of it.”
“You’d really do that for me?” Kurt asked incredulous.
“Sure, the only reason my home is so empty right now is cause nothing from my old house was worth bringing, but I’m guessing all this stuff is pretty important to you.”
Kurt was so taken aback by Puck’s insight that all he could do was nod in agreement as Puck urged the oxen down the street. He pulled up in front of a building with a sign reading “BERRY’S GENERAL STORE” above the door.
“Berry?” Kurt queried as Puck helped him down from the wagon.
“Yeah, it’s owned by Thomas and David Berry. They opened it nearly 15 years ago before Oak Grove was really even a town. They got a daughter, Rachel, about your age, but she’s studying at the university in New York City right now.”
After Kurt was safely on the ground Puck reached back into the wagon seat and pulled out a couple of the furs. “I’ve been meaning to bring these in to sell for some time now,” he explained in response to Kurt’s curious glance.
The general store was a lot smaller than any store Kurt had been to before, but it was packed with objects ranging from massive bags of flour to bolts of colorful cloth to a beautiful wooden rocking chair. Kurt would have stopped just inside the door to try and take in all the things to see, but Puck tugged him further inside and up to a countertop at the back of the shop. Behind the counter was an older man tallying up figures in a large account book.
“Thomas!” Puck called in greeting, “Pull your nose out of that book for a minute. There’s someone I’d like to introduce you to.”
The man, Thomas apparently, looked up and smiled when he recognized Puck. “Why Puck this is a pleasant surprise. I think this is the first time I’ve seen you in town on a day that wasn’t Sunday.”
“Well, Kurt here thought my food supply was a little inadequate so I thought we’d come in and see if we could fix that. Kurt, come on up here and meet Thomas Berry. Thomas, this is Kurt Hummel, the carrier whose going to be my bride.” Kurt blushed, unsure how he felt about this introduction, but he stepped forward gamely in order to shake hands with Thomas.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Thomas. This is a lovely shop you have.”
“Well, aren’t you a polite one,” Thomas said shaking Kurt’s hand. “My partner, David, will be sorry he missed you, but he went into Clarksville for a few days to visit his sister.”
Puck apparently wasn’t all the big on pleasantries, because he cut in saying, “Kurt why don’t you see what they have in stock while I work out a price with Thomas for these furs.”
Kurt could see that Puck hadn’t been kidding about the lack of selection, but he headed over to see what he could find that would be useful. There weren’t any fresh fruits or vegetables, but Kurt picked out two pint jars of canned peaches, a crate of four dozen large brown eggs packed in sawdust so they wouldn’t break, a large wheel of yellow cheese, some yeast to make bread with and some other spices to flavor his cooking. He also picked out another box of coffee beans and a 10 lbs bag of flour. Kurt brought all his selections up to the counter and then turned his attention back of the rocking chair he’d noticed earlier.
Kurt had never seen a chair like that one before in his life. The seat was ordinary enough, but the back and legs looked like random tree branches had just been stuck together, but when Kurt reached out to touch it he found that the wood had been sanded until it was as soft as satin.
So enthralled was Kurt that he didn’t notice Puck come up next to him. “Do you like that?” Puck asked.
“It’s quite remarkable,” Kurt said, “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
“I made it,” Puck said nonchalantly. “Is this all the stuff you wanted?” He asked gesturing towards Kurt’s pile.
“What? Yes, that’s everything, but wait, you made that chair?” Kurt asked, trying to keep up with Puck’s long strides as he headed back to the counter. “That’s amazing, I had no idea you were so talented. That’s…What are you doing?” Once they’d made it back to the counter, Puck had grabbed Kurt’s hand and was wrapping a piece of string around his left ring finger, startling Kurt enough to make him forget about the chair for the moment
“What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m measuring you for a ring obviously.” Puck said gruffly, handing the string back to Thomas, “You’ll have that ready by Sunday right?”
“No problem, I’m sure we have something in this size, I just need to dig it out of the back room,” Thomas said. “And don’t worry about Pastor Schuester. He’s eating with me tonight and I’ll tell him you’re in need of his services then.”
“Great, then I guess if you’ll just add Kurt’s selections to the tab we’ll be all set.”
Kurt didn’t hear Thomas ring up their purchases, still floored by what he’d just heard. It wasn’t until he and Puck were taking their packages back out to the wagon that he managed to ask, “You’re really getting me a wedding ring?”
Puck looked at him like he’d said he wanted to go bear hunting tomorrow. “Of course, I’m getting you a wedding ring. You want one don’t you?”
“Yes, I just, I mean, I wasn’t expecting one is all.”
“You’re kind of an odd one you know that. One minute you’re saying you want things done properly, and the next you’re surprised when I do what you say you want me to do,” Puck said while helping Kurt back into the wagon.
“No, I just meant, oh never mind. Let’s just get home before the eggs freeze and crack open. The temperature seems to have dropped quite a bit.”
“Naw, it just seems that way cause we don’t have as many furs as when we drove in.”
“Oh right,” Kurt said, shivering.
“You cold?”Puck asked as they headed out of town. “Here, maybe this will help,” and he moved his arm as if he was going to wrap it around Kurt’s shoulder’s, but stopped before he set it down. “You’re not going to slap me again, right?” Puck clarified.
Kurt shook his head, figuring his decorum teachers would surely forgive this questionable behavior since it was so cold. Kurt sighed at the warm weight being wrapped around him as Puck pulled him closer to his side. Kurt buried his face in Puck’s shoulder and breathed deep, smelling not a hint of cologne, but rather sweat and earth. Kurt was surprised to realize he liked this smell far better than any of the fancy scents from back east. Yes, Kurt thought as he snuggled even closer, he had most definitely made the right decision staying to marry Puck.
A/N If anyone's interested, here's a picture of Kurt's dress, only his would have long sleeves, since Minnesota winters are seriously cold and a picture of the rocking chair Puck made.
http://lulusvintage.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/05/08/ebay1.jpg
http://www.moriental.com/zoomify.asp?catalogid=1794&image=assets/images/TX5041.jpg
Author: 1farmer_girl
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s): Puck/Kurt
Genre: Historical AU, Romance, Drama
Warning: Mpreg and slight genderbending and crossdressing
Spoilers: None, I pretty much used names and basic personality outlines
Disclaimer: If I owned Glee I would probably make it unsuitable for broadcast television and it would be taken off the air which would be sad, so I’ll let Ryan Murphy keep it.
Author Notes: This is the result of a dare from a friend who said it wasn’t possible to make a believable historical mpreg. I can’t pass up a challenge, so here is my historical mpreg, whether it is believable or not I shall leave up to the reader. Also, just to clarify there are three genders in this universe; male, female, and intesex which are basically males who are able to carry children. Both female and intersex are referred to as carriers.
Summary: The year is 1855 and the east coast of America is tense with the possibility of an upcoming Civil War, but in Northern Minnesota Noah Puckerman knows nothing of such politics. He only has to worry about how he’s going to live with the bride he’s mother is sending him.
Word Count: 3,414
Puck
Puck couldn’t see his ceiling in the dark, but he scowled up at it anyway. This was not at all how he thought his night would be going. Since he’d first seen Kurt at the train station his mind had supplied fantasy after fantasy of all the amazing sex he could have with Kurt, since there was no way anyone could be that beautiful and not be capable of providing amazing sex. Seriously, Puck thought Kurt could probably just lie on the bed and do nothing and it would still be amazing sex.
However, in all Puck’s years of fornicating he had never once found pain to be sexually stimulating, so that slap had cooled his ardor considerably. At first Puck had been royally pissed off. His advances had never once been turned down and his ego had been stung to have his perfect record ruined.
The result being, Puck had lashed out and said some truly hateful things to Kurt that he did not deserve. Puck never intended to go to a whorehouse when he’d stormed out of the house earlier; he just knew that he needed to get out of the house before he said anything else cruel to Kurt.
The cold air outside had helped considerable towards cooling Puck’s anger. However, once he was no longer angry he hadn’t wanted to face Kurt after the things that had been said. So, he’d waited in the barn until the light in the house had gone out before going back inside.
In the dark, Puck could make out the shape of Kurt lying on the bed and doing a rather poor job of pretending to be asleep. His breathing was uneven, almost like he was trying to hold back sobs. And didn’t that just make Puck feel like the biggest asshole on God’s green earth. Kurt was a good kid, who deserved a lot better than Puck.
As Puck tried to make himself comfortable on the floor of the loft he thought, that he wasn’t really a bad man, just one who wasn’t very good at doing the proper thing. He’d never seriously courted a carrier before, female or intersex. He’d always been able to get all the sex he could ever want just by laying on the charm, so he’d never seen the point of getting laid the proper way through marriage.
But of course, Kurt was good at being proper and had probably never even considered having sex before there was a ring on his finger. No wonder he reacted so strongly to Puck’s advances. He probably knew Puck, or at least Puck’s mother, had paid for the carrier provider’s services just like Puck paid his prostitutes for sex. Kurt probably thought that was all Puck saw him as, just a prostitute he didn’t have to travel all the way to Clarksville to get.
Puck didn’t think that at all though, but he knew he and Kurt were going to get married as soon as he could arrange it with Pastor Schuester, so what was the point of waiting to have sex when they knew they were going to have it anyway?
Of course, Puck thought rolling onto his side, there was a chance Kurt might go back east now. It was fairly unorthodox for carriers to leave after they’d essentially been engaged, but Kurt seemed like he was upset enough that he just might do it. If it was anyone else Puck probably would just let them go. But there’s just something about the sweet little intersex with his plump lips and feisty attitude and mouthwatering cooking. Puck can’t quite put his finger on it, but nobody has ever captured his attention quite like Kurt had managed to do in less than a day. Puck wasn’t going to let such a good thing just walk away and he fell asleep wondering how he was going to convince Kurt to give him a second chance.
Puck woke in the morning to the smell of coffee brewing and meat frying. It had been years since anyone had made breakfast for him and he lay still for a long moment reveling in what a comfortable feeling it gave him. Surely, if Kurt bothered to make coffee it meant that he couldn’t hate Puck too badly.
Peeking over the side of the loft, Puck could look down and see Kurt setting at the table. He had his hands wrapped around a mug of coffee and he was staring out the window at the rising sun. His hair was once again styled perfectly and he was wearing a red gingham dress. Damn, red was definitely Kurt’s color.
Puck would have liked to stay in the loft and perve on Kurt a while longer, but he figured he should probably try to smooth things over with the intersex. Puck got up and stretched, trying to word his apology as he headed down the steps. He realized his work was cut out for him when Kurt didn’t acknowledge his presence at all, though there was no way he couldn’t have heard Puck coming down those creaky steps.
“Good morning,” Puck said, pouring himself some coffee and picking some ham out of the frying pan above the fire with his fingers. That got him a glare, but at least Kurt was looking at him now. “Listen, about last night-.”
“Last night?! You want to talk about last night? Fine, then let me just say this. Believe it or not, I have actually been around my fair share of immoral behavior in the past. My father worked on a dock wharf, so I’ve been around sailors my entire life, these things happen. I even indulged a couple of their advances. But never, never, in my entire life have I been treated as rudely as I was last night and that is all I have to say on the subject.” With that Kurt lifted chin and turned his gaze back towards the window.
Puck felt something in his chest tighten at the thought of Kurt allowing as strange sailor to kiss him, but he didn’t want to think about what that might mean, so he pushed it aside and began his planned apology.
“Well, I’ve got a couple of things I’d like to say to you. First of which, is that I’m sorry for the things I did and even more sorry for the things I said last night. I know it’s not really an excuse, but I don’t really know what I’m doing here. I’ve never really courted anyone before. My parents were always trying to get me interested in carriers from good families, but I always thought they were stuck up so I never started anything with them. When I got older I was actually propositioned by a couple of older, widowed carriers.”
That got Kurt’s attention and he turned to stare at Puck, his mouth slightly agape. “It was nothing serious. They were just lonely people who thought I was handsome, but I learned that I didn’t have to tie myself down to one of those obnoxious carriers in order to, uh, have certain manly needs met. So what happened last happened because I’ve never gone through the proper steps and I forgot that you were the sort of carrier who would expect them. I still don’t really see why it’s such a big deal to wait until after the wedding since we’re getting married anyway, but I can see that it’s important to you, so for that reason I shall wait until our wedding night before taking you to bed. That is, if you are still willing to marry me?”
Some time passed while Kurt just sat with his head tilted adorably to the side before he said, “I suppose there really isn’t any question of me going back east. No matter how despicable you behavior was last night, it still didn’t come close to what I’m sure Karofsky is capable of. So, I’m willing to give you another chance, provided you remember your promise to wait.”
Puck ducked his head as if in agreement, but actually if was to hide his grin. He’d been really worried Kurt would go back east, but hearing that he would stay seemed to lift a huge weight off Puck’s shoulders that he hadn’t realized he had.
“Thank you for accepting my apology,” Puck said. “I promise to do my best to make sure you never regret it.” Kurt smiled sweetly at those words and Puck realized he was willing to do a lot of things he’d never wanted to do before, just to keep seeing that smile. That unfamiliar feeling reminded him of Kurt previous admission to having previous sailor liaisons.
“So, when you say that you’ve indulged advances previously, what exactly does that mean?” Puck asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.
Kurt flushed, “Well, if you must know, I let my father’s helmsman, Matthew, kiss me on multiple occasions last summer. Of course, they were proper, chaste kisses; nothing at all like whatever you were doing last night. But he never even asked my father’s permission to court me or anything.” Kurt sounded quite proud of his so-called scandalous actions.
Puck snorted, “That’s it? A couple of quick, undercover pecks is the best you got for indecent behavior?”
“Oh, shut up. Don’t you have…chores or something you need to be doing?” Kurt scowled.
“That I do, beautiful, that I do.” Puck headed out to the barn, chuckling under his breath.
Kurt
After Puck left, Kurt felt a little unsure of himself. He couldn’t remember the last time his emotions had been pulled in so many different directions so fast. On the train ride he’d been nervous and apprehensive, then annoyed when Puck was late. Then there were those few glorious hours when he thought things were going to work out for the two of them. Then there’d been the anger over the kiss and the heartbreak it caused Kurt. Now, after his conversation with Puck, Kurt felt like he was back to being nervous and apprehensive.
He was unsure if he was doing the right thing staying with Puck, but he’d didn’t see any other choices. Kurt had heard rumors about how Karofsky treated his servants. Kurt wasn’t usually inclined to listen to rumors, but those bruises on Karofsky’s scullery maid, Mary, hadn’t gotten there by themselves. It wasn’t that far a stretch for a man who would physically harmful to his servants to be hurt other people in his life. Puck might be a bit lewd, but Kurt didn’t think he was violent. Sighing, Kurt figured there was no point worrying about his decision and got to work cleaning up the breakfast dishes.
Before too long, Puck was coming back inside. “I’ve hitched up the wagon if you want to go get your suitcases,” he opened with.
“Oh, yes! Just give me a few minutes.” In all the excitement of the last day Kurt had actually forgotten about his abandoned wardrobe. Hurriedly, Kurt finished drying the dishes and smoothed his hair before putting on his coat. Puck had also promised they would go to the general store after picking up the luggage and Kurt wanted to make a good impression on the townspeople, if only to insure he got an invite to what few social gatherings there were.
The winter air was biting, but Puck had several thick furs that Kurt could bury himself under, so he didn’t really notice the cold. Puck didn’t seem to want to tempt the truce the two of them had reached and didn’t say anything during the trip. Kurt didn’t mind the silence though since it gave him a chance to pay closer attention to the land they were traveling through.
Kurt had never seen so many trees before. On either side of the road there were huge trees that seemed older than time itself. Right now the trees were bare and there was sunlight reflecting off the snow, making everything bright and friendly. However, it wasn’t hard for Kurt to imagine that the woods would be rather scary at night during the summer with leaves rustling in the wind.
As they drove into Oak Grove, Kurt couldn’t help thinking that it looked like something in a picture. The few little buildings were covered in snow and there was a person dotted here and there so picturesquely it seemed almost as though it had been done on purpose. Puck pulled the wagon up to the train stop and began piling in the luggage. Kurt was a little ashamed to realize that it took up almost half the space in the wagon.
He really shouldn’t have brought so much, there wasn’t anywhere to put it all back at Puck’s house, but he’d been so sad to be forced to leave the house he grew up in that Kurt hadn’t been able to part with anything. It seemed like everything had either been given to him by his father or had some precious memory tied to it.
“What am I going to do with all this?” Kurt wondered, not realizing he’d said it out loud until Puck responded.
“I wouldn’t worry about it. We’ll find a place for everything. If you want I could build a couple shelves for some of it.”
“You’d really do that for me?” Kurt asked incredulous.
“Sure, the only reason my home is so empty right now is cause nothing from my old house was worth bringing, but I’m guessing all this stuff is pretty important to you.”
Kurt was so taken aback by Puck’s insight that all he could do was nod in agreement as Puck urged the oxen down the street. He pulled up in front of a building with a sign reading “BERRY’S GENERAL STORE” above the door.
“Berry?” Kurt queried as Puck helped him down from the wagon.
“Yeah, it’s owned by Thomas and David Berry. They opened it nearly 15 years ago before Oak Grove was really even a town. They got a daughter, Rachel, about your age, but she’s studying at the university in New York City right now.”
After Kurt was safely on the ground Puck reached back into the wagon seat and pulled out a couple of the furs. “I’ve been meaning to bring these in to sell for some time now,” he explained in response to Kurt’s curious glance.
The general store was a lot smaller than any store Kurt had been to before, but it was packed with objects ranging from massive bags of flour to bolts of colorful cloth to a beautiful wooden rocking chair. Kurt would have stopped just inside the door to try and take in all the things to see, but Puck tugged him further inside and up to a countertop at the back of the shop. Behind the counter was an older man tallying up figures in a large account book.
“Thomas!” Puck called in greeting, “Pull your nose out of that book for a minute. There’s someone I’d like to introduce you to.”
The man, Thomas apparently, looked up and smiled when he recognized Puck. “Why Puck this is a pleasant surprise. I think this is the first time I’ve seen you in town on a day that wasn’t Sunday.”
“Well, Kurt here thought my food supply was a little inadequate so I thought we’d come in and see if we could fix that. Kurt, come on up here and meet Thomas Berry. Thomas, this is Kurt Hummel, the carrier whose going to be my bride.” Kurt blushed, unsure how he felt about this introduction, but he stepped forward gamely in order to shake hands with Thomas.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Thomas. This is a lovely shop you have.”
“Well, aren’t you a polite one,” Thomas said shaking Kurt’s hand. “My partner, David, will be sorry he missed you, but he went into Clarksville for a few days to visit his sister.”
Puck apparently wasn’t all the big on pleasantries, because he cut in saying, “Kurt why don’t you see what they have in stock while I work out a price with Thomas for these furs.”
Kurt could see that Puck hadn’t been kidding about the lack of selection, but he headed over to see what he could find that would be useful. There weren’t any fresh fruits or vegetables, but Kurt picked out two pint jars of canned peaches, a crate of four dozen large brown eggs packed in sawdust so they wouldn’t break, a large wheel of yellow cheese, some yeast to make bread with and some other spices to flavor his cooking. He also picked out another box of coffee beans and a 10 lbs bag of flour. Kurt brought all his selections up to the counter and then turned his attention back of the rocking chair he’d noticed earlier.
Kurt had never seen a chair like that one before in his life. The seat was ordinary enough, but the back and legs looked like random tree branches had just been stuck together, but when Kurt reached out to touch it he found that the wood had been sanded until it was as soft as satin.
So enthralled was Kurt that he didn’t notice Puck come up next to him. “Do you like that?” Puck asked.
“It’s quite remarkable,” Kurt said, “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
“I made it,” Puck said nonchalantly. “Is this all the stuff you wanted?” He asked gesturing towards Kurt’s pile.
“What? Yes, that’s everything, but wait, you made that chair?” Kurt asked, trying to keep up with Puck’s long strides as he headed back to the counter. “That’s amazing, I had no idea you were so talented. That’s…What are you doing?” Once they’d made it back to the counter, Puck had grabbed Kurt’s hand and was wrapping a piece of string around his left ring finger, startling Kurt enough to make him forget about the chair for the moment
“What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m measuring you for a ring obviously.” Puck said gruffly, handing the string back to Thomas, “You’ll have that ready by Sunday right?”
“No problem, I’m sure we have something in this size, I just need to dig it out of the back room,” Thomas said. “And don’t worry about Pastor Schuester. He’s eating with me tonight and I’ll tell him you’re in need of his services then.”
“Great, then I guess if you’ll just add Kurt’s selections to the tab we’ll be all set.”
Kurt didn’t hear Thomas ring up their purchases, still floored by what he’d just heard. It wasn’t until he and Puck were taking their packages back out to the wagon that he managed to ask, “You’re really getting me a wedding ring?”
Puck looked at him like he’d said he wanted to go bear hunting tomorrow. “Of course, I’m getting you a wedding ring. You want one don’t you?”
“Yes, I just, I mean, I wasn’t expecting one is all.”
“You’re kind of an odd one you know that. One minute you’re saying you want things done properly, and the next you’re surprised when I do what you say you want me to do,” Puck said while helping Kurt back into the wagon.
“No, I just meant, oh never mind. Let’s just get home before the eggs freeze and crack open. The temperature seems to have dropped quite a bit.”
“Naw, it just seems that way cause we don’t have as many furs as when we drove in.”
“Oh right,” Kurt said, shivering.
“You cold?”Puck asked as they headed out of town. “Here, maybe this will help,” and he moved his arm as if he was going to wrap it around Kurt’s shoulder’s, but stopped before he set it down. “You’re not going to slap me again, right?” Puck clarified.
Kurt shook his head, figuring his decorum teachers would surely forgive this questionable behavior since it was so cold. Kurt sighed at the warm weight being wrapped around him as Puck pulled him closer to his side. Kurt buried his face in Puck’s shoulder and breathed deep, smelling not a hint of cologne, but rather sweat and earth. Kurt was surprised to realize he liked this smell far better than any of the fancy scents from back east. Yes, Kurt thought as he snuggled even closer, he had most definitely made the right decision staying to marry Puck.
A/N If anyone's interested, here's a picture of Kurt's dress, only his would have long sleeves, since Minnesota winters are seriously cold and a picture of the rocking chair Puck made.
http://lulusvintage.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/05/08/ebay1.jpg
http://www.moriental.com/zoomify.asp?catalogid=1794&image=assets/images/TX5041.jpg
