(What's the Complication) It's Only Conversation
Title: (What’s the Complication) It’s Only Conversation
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Puck/Sam
Genre: romance, fluff
Warnings: none
Spoilers: nothing specific, this verse is canon-compliant until 3x07
Summary: “Hey, this is Sam. If you leave a message, I’ll call you back when I can.” Part 3 of the Love It When You Call verse
Word count: 900ish
Author’s note: Title borrowed from ‘Love It When You Call’ by The Feeling, from which this verse has now taken its name. :)
You got Puck. Leave a message and I might call back.
“Hey it’s me. You must still be on the plane. Call me when you get in, I wanna hear all about Nationals.”
* * *
Hey, this is Sam. If you leave a message, I’ll call you back when I can.
“Hey, babe. It’s really late and you’re probably asleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
* * *
Hey, this is Sam. If you leave a message, I’ll call you back when I can.
“Baaaaaabe, two calls in a row? Did you lose your phone charger again?”
* * *
You got Puck. Leave a message and I might call back.
“I found my charger. Call me?”
* * *
Hey, this is Sam. If you leave a message, I’ll call you back when I can.
“Talk about mismatched schedules, dude. Where are you?”
* * *
You got Puck. Leave a message and I might call back.
“Sorry Puck. I got called in to work. Talk tomorrow?”
* * *
You got Puck. Leave a message and I might call back.
“Stevie’s birthday party is tomorrow. I totally forgot. I’d call you after, but it’s going to be late and you have your calc final. Call me after that on Thursday.”
* * *
Hey, this is Sam. If you leave a message, I’ll call you back when I can.
“Calc final done. Where are you?”
* * *
Wrking again. Sorry. :(
This is fucking insane.
I know. Tomorrow?
Whatever
* * *
Hey, this is Sam. If you leave a message, I’ll call you back when I can.
“Are we talking tonight or what?”
* * *
Hey, this is Sam. If you leave a message, I’ll call you back when I can.
click
* * *
Hey, this is Sam. If you leave a message, I’ll call you back when I can.
click
* * *
Hey, this is Sam. If you leave a message, I’ll call you back when I can.
“Jesus Sam. Where the fuck are you?”
* * *
“I’m so so sorry.”
“This sucks.”
“I know. This week was crazy. Next week won’t be so bad.”
“Is there something going on I should know about, babe?”
“It’s nothing you don’t already know.”
“What do you mean?”
“Puck, we lost all our savings last year. Yeah, my dad is working again, and my mom is temping whenever she can, but money is still tight. And that’s hard on Stacey and Stevie. They don’t get it. It’s my paychecks that keep them in light-up sneakers and Silly Bandz. That stuff matters to kids. Plus I’m trying to save as much as I can, cuz I don’t see having much time for a job between football and class.”
Puck sighs, his annoyance disappearing, because really it’s impossible to be annoyed with Sam when he says things like that. He’s a good brother, and a good son, and a good person in general.
“I’m sorry,” Puck says quietly.
“Why?” Puck can hear the frown behind Sam’s words. “I’m the one that kept bailing on you.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t have to be a dick about it.”
Sam sighs, “We had one bad week. We’ll figure this whole thing out, and it’ll be okay.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Good.”
“Tell me about Nationals,” Sam says, and Puck can’t believe how long ago Nationals feel. Somehow not talking to Sam all week has made it seem like the longest week ever, and Puck wonders if that’s pathetic or to be expected, considering he’s used to talking to Sam every day. “I know you didn’t win, because it would have been all over Rachel’s Facebook if you had.”
“Very true.”
“Did she and Finn screw it all up again?”
“Nah. The club was just all over the place this year. There was the Troubletones splinter group thing, and all of Finn and Rachel’s drama, and Quinn’s drama, and college apps, and Schue couldn’t make up his mind if he wanted to be a dictator or his usual inept self. Really we didn’t stand a chance. Plus, our dancing sucked and Blaine and Rachel sang all our songs.”
“The usual, then.”
“Yeah. But we were sixth this year instead of twelfth, so I guess that counts for something.”
“Sixth is really good. Probably would’ve been first if I were there though.”
“Probably,” Puck agrees, laughing.
He fills Sam in on the rest of his week, and listens while Sam vents a little about work and Stacey and Stevie driving him up the wall. He figures Sam sort of hoped moving back to Tennessee would mean that he wouldn’t have to be a substitute parent anymore, but obviously that’s not happening with his parents working so much. He can tell Sam is worried about how they’re going to manage when he leaves in the fall, and Puck gets that, since his mom has been using him for free babysitting pretty much since Sarah was born.
They talk about whatever comes to mind after that, and Puck thinks he could probably talk to Sam for years without running out of things to say (which is good, since he doesn’t think either of them plan on going anywhere anytime soon). It’s only once Sam starts yawning every other sentence that Puck realises how late it is.
“You have work tomorrow?”
“No, but it’s Sunday, so church. And finals start Monday.”
“Get some sleep,” Puck advises. “From what I hear, falling asleep in church isn’t okay.”
Sam snorts, “Night Puck.”
“Night babe. Sleep tight.”