The Bad Idea
Title: The Bad Idea
Author: Harikari
Pairing/Characters: Puck/Kurt, Ensemble
Rating: R
Word Count: 1881
Spoilers: Spoilers up to and including 2x05.
Disclaimer: Not mine. This was written for fun, not profit.
Warnings: Strong language, violence, pre-slash, not an AU, etc.
AN: Happy Halloween!
Summary: Puck and Kurt bond on Halloween night.
"Dude! Dude. What the hell is that thing? It's like...like something out of fucking Beowulf or something!
Puck slid to a stop so abruptly that a cloud of dust kicked up from under his sneakers and Kurt slammed into him hard from behind. Puck didn't seem to notice the impact; the countertenor made a rather embarrassing squeak sound and grabbed the larger teenager's arm to steady himself before quickly letting go and stepping back.
Puck crouched behind the squat, crumbling mausoleum they had stopped near and Kurt followed suit. They hardly moved for a long minute, their breathing loud in the otherwise eerily quiet cemetery and their eyes darting and unnaturally wide.
"Wait," hissed Kurt once he had managed to catch his breath. "You've read Beowulf?" He realized it was a stupid thing to ask the moment he asked it. But he hadn't been able to help himself; his thoughts were rushed and disoriented. He was very, very afraid and his heart was pounding fast in his chest and the fact that Noah "Puck" Puckerman had actually read an eighth century epic poem written in Old English was -- to be fair -- rather shocking.
"I saw the movie," answered Puck in a strained sounding voice. Kurt nodded but didn't turn to look at the football player. He swept his eyes across the long stretch of cemetery in front of them, chanced a quick look behind them before turning back. "You know. The one with Angelina Jolie? This thing...that thing we saw looks kind of like what Grendel would-"
A high pitched howl came suddenly from the direction of the cemetery's main gate. They both tensed. The howl seemed to linger in the air.
"Puck," snapped Kurt as he clicked off the flashlight he was holding (his former bully had already tucked his own miniature flashlight away somewhere). "Puck. What are we going to do?"
Puck didn't answer and the slender teenager clenched his teeth.
I never should have listened to Finn, he thought.
The outing had been Finn's idea. He had managed to badger Kurt and four other members of Glee club into going trick-or-treating with him. (The former quarterback had completely ignored both Kurt and Quinn when they had cautioned that a group of geeks hitting the streets on such an active night would only invite trouble).
They had all just reached the little cluster of houses -- a cluster of houses very near the old graveyard they were currently stuck in -- behind McKinley High, their various treat bags already weighed down with candy, when they had been attacked.
"Puck!" he hissed again and the football player finally turned to look at him. Kurt didn't care that his voice sounded panicked and even higher than usual, he didn't care that he was shaking or that the other teenager was eyeing him slowly. He just wanted to be out of this situation. He wanted to-
"Hey," said Puck, successfully cutting off his frantic train of thought.
Puck reached out. His hand caught the countertenor's shoulder and squeezed. Kurt didn't wrench away; he blinked at the other boy. Gripped his flashlight more tightly.
"Hummel. Don't freak out on me, okay?" He stopped, seemed to take a moment to consider and then opened his mouth as if to say more.
But there was movement behind them. The football player made a choked noise and his grip on the countertenor's shoulder tightened. Kurt started to turn -- shouted when a muscled arm wrapped around his waist from behind and yanked.
He was lifted off of his feet and spun around before being thrown carelessly to the ground. He landed hard; noticed Puck shooting up from his crouch as he started to scramble backwards like a crab.
The figure looming over him was huge. Its slightly furred skin looked strangely slick in the moonlight and its eyes were bright yellow and it was breathing loud and harsh and fast. It leaned closer and Kurt gasped...
"Okay," came Puck's voice from somewhere near the thing's shoulder. "Game over, asshole." And then the creature spun around and Puck punched it square in the face.
"Shit!" cried the creature. "Ow. That fucking hurt, Puckerman! What the hell? It was a joke."
Puck shook out his hand as Kurt got to his feet. "Yeah? Well I didn't find it funny, Azimio. You and your friends jumping out from behind a bush dressed in your crazy ass costumes and scaring the crap out of us all is one thing. Attempting to attack us with eggs and toilet paper after scaring us and then chasing us all down and separating us when we bolted and then targeting and actually throwing around the gay kid is over the top."
Azimio pulled his mask off and shook his head. "You shouldn't have done that, man. We just wanted to chase you guys around some so you would drop your candy and freak out a little. Now I'm going to have to mess you up. And when I find Karofsky and-"
There was distinct plop sound. Azimio went quiet; an egg had hit him in the chest and the yolk was oozing down the fur and skin of his costume. They all turned to stare in the direction it had been launched from.
Sam and Quinn were standing shoulder to shoulder next to a huge angel statue. The blonds were both gripping an egg in one hand and a carton was open at their feet.
"What the hell? My mom made this costume for me. What did you do? She's gonna' kill me!"
Kurt blinked at Azimio, more than a little stunned that the large and intimidating jerk was actually whining about his mother's wrath.
Sam shrugged and hefted the egg in his hand like a baseball. "There's more where that came from if you don't step away from them."
Azimio shot a quick look at Puck before turning back to Sam. He was probably wondering if he could take them both. He took a step toward the two blonds and Quinn hefted her own egg.
"Try it," she challenged. "I want you to. Finn caught that weasel you guys brought along to hold your two backpacks of supplies -- we have an entire backpack to ourselves. And Finn and Rachel are chasing down your buddy Karofsky right now so don't expect him to show up and save you."
Azimio let out a frustrated growl. "Screw you guys! You just wait, geeks. We'll get all of you losers at school next week."
"Don't you always?" asked Kurt.
Azimio turned and gave him an unreadable look before stomping off.
Puck smirked. "So. Finn liberated the supplies, huh? I guess that makes us the winners of this...whatever this was."
Sam nodded and grinned. "Yup. Those two jerks made the mistake of putting Karofsky's younger brother in charge of all of their prank stuff. He's only, like, thirteen years old. He yelled something about Finn being a giant before handing everything over."
"Thank you," said Kurt and both Sam and Quinn just nodded.
"You too, Puck. That was...I know it was just supposed to be funny but he threatens me all the time and I thought maybe he would finally go through with it. I thought that he might take the opportunity to really start hitting me or something."
The football player shrugged. He looked uncomfortable.
A beeping sound broke the suddenly awkward silence. Quinn reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She examined the screen and pressed a few buttons. "It's a text message from Rachel. We're all going to meet in front of the high school."
She tucked her phone away, straightened the cat ear headband she was wearing and then bent to pick up both egg cartons; Sam took off the backpack he was carrying and held it out. They stuffed the cartons away and zipped up the bag.
"I guess we should go," said Sam as he shrugged the backpack's straps onto his shoulders. He grabbed Quinn's hand and the two bypassed both Puck and Kurt -- Quinn gave Kurt what was probably supposed to a comforting pat on the shoulder -- and started toward the main gates.
The countertenor retrieved his flashlight (it had gone flying when he had been grabbed and had landed near a tombstone) and moved to follow.
"Hey," said Puck and Kurt froze.
"I know we aren't close or anything, dude. But you looked really scared so..." He trailed off and stepped closer to the countertenor.
Undoubtedly expecting Puck and Kurt to follow, Sam and Quinn kept going. The couple dodged around a tall statue of a saint and vanished from sight.
"You know I wouldn't have let him really hurt you, right? Because I'm a badass and I've been to juvie and I have these guns and everything but I'm not like that. I know I've done some shit to you... I've shoved you around a little in the hallways and I've tossed you in dumpsters but I would never do anything like that. And I wouldn't let anyone else do anything like that."
Kurt could only nod. His stomach was twisting and goosebumps were rising on his flesh.
Puck frowned. Perhaps convinced the countertenor didn't believe him or didn't quite understand he continued, "I mean it. Like, if Karofsky and Azimio or anyone else ever escalates their crap Finn isn't the only one who will step in. I wouldn't have let Azimio really hurt you tonight and I wouldn't-"
Before the jock could go on Kurt moved forward and kissed him firmly on the cheek.
The slender teenager stepped back and away from the other boy. His eyes were wide and his heart was pounding fast in his chest again. He hadn't really meant to do it. He wouldn't have done it if he had been thinking clearly. But he was coming down from the high of being afraid and was grateful for what the larger teenager had done and he was surprisingly touched by what the football player had been in the middle of revealing to him and...it had happened.
It had just happened.
"I understand what you're saying, Puck. Thank you." He spun around and walked away. He hugged his arms across his chest and waited anxiously. Would the football player jump him in a rage from behind? He kind of deserved it; the other boy had been in the middle of telling him something nice and the countertenor had practically attacked him. Of course, Puck had done a lot of horrible things to him over the years. There was a possibility his former tormentor would simply consider them even now...
"Fuck," came Puck's voice after a few moments of thick silence. "I'm so badass even the gay dudes want me. I knew it. My awesome reached new heights after the whole juvie thing."
He quickly caught up to the smaller teenager. Kurt glanced sideways and noticed that some of the glitter makeup Rachel had insisted he wear in lieu of a costume had smudged onto Puck's left cheek.
"Please don't call me dude anymore, by the way. I hate that."
Puck snorted.
They maneuvered around another mausoleum and the main gates came into view.
Author: Harikari
Pairing/Characters: Puck/Kurt, Ensemble
Rating: R
Word Count: 1881
Spoilers: Spoilers up to and including 2x05.
Disclaimer: Not mine. This was written for fun, not profit.
Warnings: Strong language, violence, pre-slash, not an AU, etc.
AN: Happy Halloween!
Summary: Puck and Kurt bond on Halloween night.
"Dude! Dude. What the hell is that thing? It's like...like something out of fucking Beowulf or something!
Puck slid to a stop so abruptly that a cloud of dust kicked up from under his sneakers and Kurt slammed into him hard from behind. Puck didn't seem to notice the impact; the countertenor made a rather embarrassing squeak sound and grabbed the larger teenager's arm to steady himself before quickly letting go and stepping back.
Puck crouched behind the squat, crumbling mausoleum they had stopped near and Kurt followed suit. They hardly moved for a long minute, their breathing loud in the otherwise eerily quiet cemetery and their eyes darting and unnaturally wide.
"Wait," hissed Kurt once he had managed to catch his breath. "You've read Beowulf?" He realized it was a stupid thing to ask the moment he asked it. But he hadn't been able to help himself; his thoughts were rushed and disoriented. He was very, very afraid and his heart was pounding fast in his chest and the fact that Noah "Puck" Puckerman had actually read an eighth century epic poem written in Old English was -- to be fair -- rather shocking.
"I saw the movie," answered Puck in a strained sounding voice. Kurt nodded but didn't turn to look at the football player. He swept his eyes across the long stretch of cemetery in front of them, chanced a quick look behind them before turning back. "You know. The one with Angelina Jolie? This thing...that thing we saw looks kind of like what Grendel would-"
A high pitched howl came suddenly from the direction of the cemetery's main gate. They both tensed. The howl seemed to linger in the air.
"Puck," snapped Kurt as he clicked off the flashlight he was holding (his former bully had already tucked his own miniature flashlight away somewhere). "Puck. What are we going to do?"
Puck didn't answer and the slender teenager clenched his teeth.
I never should have listened to Finn, he thought.
The outing had been Finn's idea. He had managed to badger Kurt and four other members of Glee club into going trick-or-treating with him. (The former quarterback had completely ignored both Kurt and Quinn when they had cautioned that a group of geeks hitting the streets on such an active night would only invite trouble).
They had all just reached the little cluster of houses -- a cluster of houses very near the old graveyard they were currently stuck in -- behind McKinley High, their various treat bags already weighed down with candy, when they had been attacked.
"Puck!" he hissed again and the football player finally turned to look at him. Kurt didn't care that his voice sounded panicked and even higher than usual, he didn't care that he was shaking or that the other teenager was eyeing him slowly. He just wanted to be out of this situation. He wanted to-
"Hey," said Puck, successfully cutting off his frantic train of thought.
Puck reached out. His hand caught the countertenor's shoulder and squeezed. Kurt didn't wrench away; he blinked at the other boy. Gripped his flashlight more tightly.
"Hummel. Don't freak out on me, okay?" He stopped, seemed to take a moment to consider and then opened his mouth as if to say more.
But there was movement behind them. The football player made a choked noise and his grip on the countertenor's shoulder tightened. Kurt started to turn -- shouted when a muscled arm wrapped around his waist from behind and yanked.
He was lifted off of his feet and spun around before being thrown carelessly to the ground. He landed hard; noticed Puck shooting up from his crouch as he started to scramble backwards like a crab.
The figure looming over him was huge. Its slightly furred skin looked strangely slick in the moonlight and its eyes were bright yellow and it was breathing loud and harsh and fast. It leaned closer and Kurt gasped...
"Okay," came Puck's voice from somewhere near the thing's shoulder. "Game over, asshole." And then the creature spun around and Puck punched it square in the face.
"Shit!" cried the creature. "Ow. That fucking hurt, Puckerman! What the hell? It was a joke."
Puck shook out his hand as Kurt got to his feet. "Yeah? Well I didn't find it funny, Azimio. You and your friends jumping out from behind a bush dressed in your crazy ass costumes and scaring the crap out of us all is one thing. Attempting to attack us with eggs and toilet paper after scaring us and then chasing us all down and separating us when we bolted and then targeting and actually throwing around the gay kid is over the top."
Azimio pulled his mask off and shook his head. "You shouldn't have done that, man. We just wanted to chase you guys around some so you would drop your candy and freak out a little. Now I'm going to have to mess you up. And when I find Karofsky and-"
There was distinct plop sound. Azimio went quiet; an egg had hit him in the chest and the yolk was oozing down the fur and skin of his costume. They all turned to stare in the direction it had been launched from.
Sam and Quinn were standing shoulder to shoulder next to a huge angel statue. The blonds were both gripping an egg in one hand and a carton was open at their feet.
"What the hell? My mom made this costume for me. What did you do? She's gonna' kill me!"
Kurt blinked at Azimio, more than a little stunned that the large and intimidating jerk was actually whining about his mother's wrath.
Sam shrugged and hefted the egg in his hand like a baseball. "There's more where that came from if you don't step away from them."
Azimio shot a quick look at Puck before turning back to Sam. He was probably wondering if he could take them both. He took a step toward the two blonds and Quinn hefted her own egg.
"Try it," she challenged. "I want you to. Finn caught that weasel you guys brought along to hold your two backpacks of supplies -- we have an entire backpack to ourselves. And Finn and Rachel are chasing down your buddy Karofsky right now so don't expect him to show up and save you."
Azimio let out a frustrated growl. "Screw you guys! You just wait, geeks. We'll get all of you losers at school next week."
"Don't you always?" asked Kurt.
Azimio turned and gave him an unreadable look before stomping off.
Puck smirked. "So. Finn liberated the supplies, huh? I guess that makes us the winners of this...whatever this was."
Sam nodded and grinned. "Yup. Those two jerks made the mistake of putting Karofsky's younger brother in charge of all of their prank stuff. He's only, like, thirteen years old. He yelled something about Finn being a giant before handing everything over."
"Thank you," said Kurt and both Sam and Quinn just nodded.
"You too, Puck. That was...I know it was just supposed to be funny but he threatens me all the time and I thought maybe he would finally go through with it. I thought that he might take the opportunity to really start hitting me or something."
The football player shrugged. He looked uncomfortable.
A beeping sound broke the suddenly awkward silence. Quinn reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She examined the screen and pressed a few buttons. "It's a text message from Rachel. We're all going to meet in front of the high school."
She tucked her phone away, straightened the cat ear headband she was wearing and then bent to pick up both egg cartons; Sam took off the backpack he was carrying and held it out. They stuffed the cartons away and zipped up the bag.
"I guess we should go," said Sam as he shrugged the backpack's straps onto his shoulders. He grabbed Quinn's hand and the two bypassed both Puck and Kurt -- Quinn gave Kurt what was probably supposed to a comforting pat on the shoulder -- and started toward the main gates.
The countertenor retrieved his flashlight (it had gone flying when he had been grabbed and had landed near a tombstone) and moved to follow.
"Hey," said Puck and Kurt froze.
"I know we aren't close or anything, dude. But you looked really scared so..." He trailed off and stepped closer to the countertenor.
Undoubtedly expecting Puck and Kurt to follow, Sam and Quinn kept going. The couple dodged around a tall statue of a saint and vanished from sight.
"You know I wouldn't have let him really hurt you, right? Because I'm a badass and I've been to juvie and I have these guns and everything but I'm not like that. I know I've done some shit to you... I've shoved you around a little in the hallways and I've tossed you in dumpsters but I would never do anything like that. And I wouldn't let anyone else do anything like that."
Kurt could only nod. His stomach was twisting and goosebumps were rising on his flesh.
Puck frowned. Perhaps convinced the countertenor didn't believe him or didn't quite understand he continued, "I mean it. Like, if Karofsky and Azimio or anyone else ever escalates their crap Finn isn't the only one who will step in. I wouldn't have let Azimio really hurt you tonight and I wouldn't-"
Before the jock could go on Kurt moved forward and kissed him firmly on the cheek.
The slender teenager stepped back and away from the other boy. His eyes were wide and his heart was pounding fast in his chest again. He hadn't really meant to do it. He wouldn't have done it if he had been thinking clearly. But he was coming down from the high of being afraid and was grateful for what the larger teenager had done and he was surprisingly touched by what the football player had been in the middle of revealing to him and...it had happened.
It had just happened.
"I understand what you're saying, Puck. Thank you." He spun around and walked away. He hugged his arms across his chest and waited anxiously. Would the football player jump him in a rage from behind? He kind of deserved it; the other boy had been in the middle of telling him something nice and the countertenor had practically attacked him. Of course, Puck had done a lot of horrible things to him over the years. There was a possibility his former tormentor would simply consider them even now...
"Fuck," came Puck's voice after a few moments of thick silence. "I'm so badass even the gay dudes want me. I knew it. My awesome reached new heights after the whole juvie thing."
He quickly caught up to the smaller teenager. Kurt glanced sideways and noticed that some of the glitter makeup Rachel had insisted he wear in lieu of a costume had smudged onto Puck's left cheek.
"Please don't call me dude anymore, by the way. I hate that."
Puck snorted.
They maneuvered around another mausoleum and the main gates came into view.