When You're the Best of Friends Chapter 12/?
Title: When You’re the Best of Friends
Chapter Title: Fish Tacos
Author: xLessxThanx3x
Rating: PG
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Kurt Hummel, Noah Puckerman, Quinn Fabray, Mercedes Jones, Tina Cohen-Chang, Artie Abrams, Finn Hudson, Burt Hummel, Brittany Pierce, Santana Lopez, and April Rhodes; mentions of Sue Sylvester, Matt Rutherford, Will Schuester, and Carole Hudson Current Pairings: Barole, hints of Tartie/Artina, one-sided Kinn
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Romance
Warnings: AU, Fluff, hurt!Kurt
Spoilers: Nothing past “Home”
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee
Author Notes: Part of a series, cross-posted to my ff.net account. I just realized I hadn't updated my posting of this fic over on LJ and so I'll be rushing to do that now, sorry for the spam!
Summary: AU. Puck and Kurt hold hands, cuddle, know each other’s biggest secrets, and make the other a priority…but they’re not dating, they’ve just been best friends for years. Multi-chapter. Eventual Puckurt. Based off a Puckurt meme prompt.
Chapter Summary: Rewrite of "Home"
Word Count: 6,353
"Noah?" Kurt asked, leaning his back against a locker next to Puck's as he waited to go to Glee with him.
"Yes?"
He bit his lip, "Do I have hips like a pear?"
"Eh, I don't know if they're really pear-shaped. They're kind of girlish but they aren't, like, childbearing hips or anything. And it's just something more for a guy to hold on to; guys like having hips to hold onto," Puck said with a shrug. He pulled his head out of his locker, Kurt still frowning. "Why?"
Kurt sighed, his eyebrows furrowing, "Coach Sylvester said I do…"
Now it was Noah's turn to frown. He loved seeing Kurt so happy and seeing him in that Cheerios outfit was beyond hot, but if he had to watch Kurt go on one of those crazy Cheerios diets…he wouldn't be able to handle it. Drawing him in with his free arm, he started walking him down the hallway. "Listen, Kurt, Coach Sylvester runs a good cheerleading team because she preys on the self esteem issues of all the girls on it. That's just how she rolls. You can't fall victim to that. You, Kurt, are hot. Don't let her convince you otherwise."
Sighing, Kurt shook his head. "I won't drink her poisonous slop, but she's right. I have pear hips." With a nod he said, "I'm losing this weight."
Puck continued to frown, "Fine. Be careful though, okay?"
-
Puck finally started packing up after most everyone in New Directions had left, watching Kurt bring out a portfolio full of wallpapers for Finn to look at. Finn pointed to one quickly and left, Kurt smirking as he did so. "Kurt," Puck started carefully as he folded up his binder. "What are you doing?"
"Well you know how every time you come over, Dad's out with Carole?" Puck nodded and Kurt continued, "Well, I think that it won't be long until the Hudson's move in with us, so I want to remodel my room with something Finn would appreciate because, after all, he'll be staying there."
Noah stared at him for several moments. "You are so creepy, Kurt! Please tell me you didn't tell him all that."
Kurt frowned, "I didn't, but what would be wrong with that? I love him, yeah, but I'm not like going to do anything to him, we've discussed that. And I'm really excited that my dad is happy. And I've helped Carole shop for new clothes and it's amazing, she really likes me and I kind of…I kind of always thought that I'd be a deal breaker for anyone my dad tried to date in this town because I'm gay, but…she really likes me. I enjoy her company and she enjoys mine. Maybe I want her to be my mother-in-law as well as stepmom, but it's not my fault she hit it off so well with Dad."
Staring at Kurt, he thought over what all he had said. He had to admit, Kurt had a point. It might be creepy, but he hadn't forced himself on Finn and definitely never would and he didn't make Burt and Carole such a great match. Finally, he smiled and ruffled Kurt's hair, much to his protests, "Fine. Just know no matter what happens, Fridays are our nights. I don't care if he lays around in nothing but a condom, we're keeping our Friend Date Night."
"Well doesn't that just bring a great image to mind," Kurt said fondly as they left the choir room. They were halfway to the parking lot when Kurt's stomach let out a loud growl.
"Dude, was that an earthquake or did you skip lunch?"
"Neither. I had lunch," Kurt said, his nose in the air.
"Yeah, what did you eat?"
"Peeled celery, you were at the same table as me."
Puck pulled away and stared at him, "I thought that was a snack since you had already eaten." He continued to look at Kurt until finally, without a warning, picking him up and throwing him over his shoulder, the contents of his bag barely managing not to fall to the floor.
"Noah! What are you-put me down!" Kurt protested, hitting Puck's back. But his best friend kept on walking to the parking lot, telling Quinn to get in the passenger's seat as he belted Kurt into the back.
"Noah, I drove here today, you can't just-"
"Then we'll come back and get your car afterwards," Puck said simply as he got off of school premises.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because I don't trust any diet run by someone in a team run by Sue Sylvester," Puck said simply.
Quinn's eyes softened from the frown she wore from Kurt's loud protests earlier. "You mean he-" she cut herself off and looked back at Kurt, who was glaring at Noah's seat in front of him, looking about ready to kick it like a child would. "Kurt, I've been on those, they're so dangerous, and you're still growing!"
"It's not like I'm doing the liquid diet, I'm just watching what I eat a bit more than normal. There's nothing wrong with that," Kurt said snidely.
"It starts that way and then it just gets so much worse," Quinn said. Kurt still had his arms crossed so she added, "I'm worried about Mercedes. She talked to Santana and Brittany about the Master Cleanse and I know Coach wants her to lose all that weight for the magazine, but…she's going to hurt herself if she does it how she plans on it."
"'Cedes can take care of herself," Kurt said simply, but his voice was slightly softer. "It's not going to be that hard on her."
"Says someone who is, a, a guy and therefore not aware how much you go through weight wise as a girl and b, someone who is naturally the size of a stick," Quinn said incredulously.
"Did you not see me last semester? I was a lot chubbier," Kurt protested.
"That was something called baby fat, hence why it disappeared when you grew, like, five inches."
"But I have pear hips!" Kurt cried out. "Coach even says so."
"Everyone has pear hips compared to Coach's man ones," Quinn said with an eye roll. "And come on, guys will like that, it gives them something to hold on to."
"That's what I said!" Puck interjected brightly as he stopped at a four way. He and Quinn smiled at each other for a brief but wonderful (in Puck's opinion) time before Quinn turned her head back to Kurt as Puck left the intersection.
"Look, just eat, please? You grew a lot over a short time and I'm pretty sure you're growing still, so eat. Just eat."
The car was silent for a moment before Kurt sighed, "You know, being pregnant has made you much more maternal and loving. What happened there?"
With a shrug, she answered, "I've realized I actually want to take care of people."
"Here we are!" Quinn and Kurt looked up and saw they were pulling into a McDonald's, Puck heading for the drive thru.
"I can't eat here," Kurt whined.
"You eat here or I tell Burt that you're not eating properly and have him feed you steak every night," Puck smirked, his friend wincing. Kurt absolutely hated steak and it had taken years to convince his dad not to make it.
"Fine. Grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo and a Diet Coke. One of you can have my fries."
"How about Chicken Selects?"
"But that's fried-" Noah brought out his phone and Kurt sighed at the threat. "Sounds good."
"If you want a Diet Coke you have to have either fries or a McFlurry," Quinn added, Puck nodding in agreement.
"Fine," Kurt grumbled, "McFlurry has dairy, so get me an Oreo one."
Five minutes later they sat in Puck's car, devouring their food like none other-two teenage boys and a pregnant girl, after all. "Okay, that was much better than peeled celery," Kurt conceded.
"No shit, Sherlock," Puck teased, letting out a loud belch.
"Charming," Quinn commented drily as Kurt laughed slightly, shaking his head as he licked at his McFlurry spoon.
Puck bowed in his seat, "It's what I do."
-
"So you're eating, right? I don't have to force feed you Subway or something today, do I?"
Kurt smiled, "I ate. I should've known that now that I finally had this growth spurt I wouldn't be able to eat as little as I used to, or less than I used to, rather." Puck whooped in victory and Kurt laughed, bumping his shoulder against Puck. "But I am trying to lose weight. I have another feminine wiles about me, I don't need to add body parts so close to my very male parts to that list."
Puck frowned, "But I like your hips." At Kurt's raised eyebrow he insited, "What? I do!" As Kurt continued to raise it, he rolled his eyes, "Fine, just be safe, okay?"
"Of course."
"So, you wanted to talk about movie night this Friday…"
"Yes! Okay, I will be late-"
"Hey, Kurt, wait up!"
Kurt looked at Puck with wide eyes, recognizing the voice as they turned around. Turning back to his confident smirk, he greeted, "Finn, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"What the hell is going on with our parents?" Finn exclaimed, giving Puck an evil eye before going back to Kurt. "How did they even meet each other?" Puck sighed; Finn wasn't one to beat around the bush (except his own bush…ha…ha…okay, he really needed to focus on the conversation).
"Parent teacher conference, about a month ago. The welcome back to the semester thing? I always take my dad to act as a sort of…translator. They flirted, my dad even pulled out a fashion term, you don't know how big of a deal that is for him," Kurt replied, smiling fondly at the memory. "It was an instant connection."
"…That's impossible."
"When will you learn that nothing is impossible when it comes to love?" Kurt asked hopefully. Puck looked back at Kurt and felt something odd in his stomach, something not very pleasant. He really shouldn't eat the school's food. "Haven't you noticed anything different about your mom? New clothes, new make up, a haircut that doesn'tlook like it's styled by the Amish? Who do you think Pretty Woman-ed her up?" Finn looked not too pleased as Kurt had a vague sense of pride around him. "Has she started selling the furniture yet?"
"Yeah, she…she got rid of the bedroom set and tried getting rid of my father's couch…how…how did you know that?"
"People our parents' age don't wait around for love to bloom; they know what they want," Kurt replied, looking at him like he stepped right out of his dreams. Puck tried to follow the conversation, but it seemed whenever he looked over at Kurt looking at Finn, his stomach started acting up. Damn fish tacos (if only Quinn would let him haveher fish taco…ha…ha…okay that actually made his stomach feel worse). "I suppose we'll be roommates with Mom and Dad cohabiting upstairs by midterms."
"No way," Finn said firmly, starting to move away.
"Give in to the inevitable, Finn," Kurt stated, taking his hand out of Puck's and stepping towards him (his stomach lurching was totally not a good sign about those fish tacos). "I want us to redecorate our room together," he continued coyly, playing with the buttons of Finn's flannel over shirt like he was some girl about to lay one on her boyfriend (this had to be what girls complained about during their time of the month). "That's why I had you look at those swatches. And don't sweat that chair, I have a lovely chaise picked out," Kurt finished with a breathy, low voice, the flirtiest Puck had ever seen him have ever (God, was he pregnant or something?).
"Look, screw your swatches and your…your chess!"
"Chaise."
"Whatever. I like my house and we're not moving and she's not selling that damn chair!" Finn exclaimed before storming away.
Kurt watched him go for several moments before turning back to Puck, noting the pained look on his face. "Are you okay, Noah?" Kurt asked, putting his hand on Puck's forehead to check for fever.
"Yeah…yeah, I'm good. Just had one too many fish tacos at lunch," Puck muttered, grabbing Kurt's soft hand back in his and walking them towards the choir room, starting to feel a bit better.
Kurt made a face, "You better mean actual tacos."
-
Puck was really regretting that extra fish taco as Kurt started singing. That phrase "sour stomach" was totally starting to make sense as he watched him sing his heart out to Finn. Puck grimaced, trying to look supportive of Kurt but unable to stop frowning. Not that it mattered since he seemed completely unable to look away from Finn anyways. God, he was never eating fish tacos again.
As he threw a glare in Finn's direction, Quinn looked over at Tina who turned to look at Artie. Well shit.
Trust Fish Taco Wednesday to bring about the most drama.
-
"Guys, major drama of the Puckurt category," Artie panicked into the phone, Tina pushing him while holding up her own.
"Puckurt? Oh! Like a portmanteau," Tina realized.
Artie looked back at her, "I love it when you use big words."
"Okay, okay, enough with the foreplay," Quinn said exasperatedly into her phone, a hand on her belly. "I'm pregnant and I had fish tacos today, not a smart move. Let's make this quick."
"At least you ate today," Tina muttered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mercedes sassed into the phone.
"It means-"
"Guys, Puckurt drama, remember?" Artie sighed, the girls stopping their fight before it started. "Not only does Puck feel a responsiblity to be with Quinn-no offense, Quinn-"
"None taken."
"But now Kurt is in love with Finn?" Artie finished.
"Guys, he's liked him for a while now, before he was even on the football team," Mercedes said, not getting the big deal.
"Wait…what?"
"You knew Kurt felt that way and didn't tell us?" Tina gasped.
"I don't see the big deal. He likes someone, or thinks he does, and it's basically the more socially acceptable version of Puck anyways: a built jock, not the brightest bulb, has the tendency to let people walk all over him when he loves them, all that. It's just a harmless crush," Mercedes insisted. Then the line went quiet for a while until she admitted, "Okay, that song seemed a bit more than just a crush, I'll admit."
"What do we do?" Quinn asked. "I mean, if you guys have some sort of secret missions you want me to go on, I live with Puck, I could get some dirt."
"The thing is, we've talked about this, and there's really nothing we can do," Tina explained.
"…What?"
"Yeah, we can talk about it but that's about it."
"So, what, we do this like every week or something? Talk about how they have the hots for each other like we're discussing a soap opera and then let the cards play out like we don't even know them?"
"You can bring popcorn if you want," Artie said brightly. Quinn scoffed as Artie continued, "Either way, Kurt is setting himself up for disaster, especially if their parents are dating. We need to keep a watch out for them."
"At least Puck seems to be realizing something; he looked miserable-maybe even jealous-when Kurt sang," Tina offered.
Quinn made a face, "I don't know if it was jealousy; he had the fish tacos, too…"
-
"Okay, so Dad and I are leaving for Breadstix in a few minutes."
"Uh huh."
"So come over at your usual time and use your key. I cut up the vegetables, so just entertain yourself and then we can start our movie about an hour later than usual if that much later," Kurt finished with a smile, craning his head around to look at his body from all angles in the mirror.
"Sounds good."
"Are you sure you're okay with this, Noah?" Kurt asked, looking at his reflection head on, holding up a phone with his right hand.
"Yeah. I mean, I know you guys would invite me if Finn and I weren't in such a rocky position right now. Hopefully sometime in the future we can move past it but for now it's cool," Puck shrugged, lifting one of his weights in a bicep curl.
"Good."
Puck sighed at Kurt's tone, "Kurt, calm down. You'll be fine. It's not even really a date for you."
"But maybe we'll be going on dates shortly," he said dreamily. Puck rolled his eyes, managing not to say anything in response; he couldn't help it that he was starting to get sick of Kurt pining over a guy who didn't like him back.
There was a gruff call and Kurt yelled, "Be right there, Dad!" Turning back to the phone, he squealed, "Gotta go. Wish me luck!"
"Good luck," Puck said half-heartedly, Kurt not even noticing the tone.
"Thanks! Love you!"
"Lo-" There was the dial tone. Puck sighed. "Love you, too," he muttered, dropping his phone onto the bed.
-
This was not how the date was supposed to go.
He didn't want to be the center of attention or anything. He wanted the focus to be equal between all four members of what could be his family, or maybe a bit more attention and love on Finn so he could accept the Hummel-Hudson idea. Just a shout out to Carole's new outfit would've been fine with him.
His dad wasn't supposed to be more interested in Finn than in him.
Burt had always seemed willing to listen to him wax on about Liza at the Palace or the latest Judy Garland movie he unearthed or how black and navy didn't go together. Kurt tried to talk about stuff Burt liked, he did, but it seemed much more easier for Burt to nod his head and chuckle at his son's enthusiasm with clothing and music than for Kurt to pretend he knew anything about football or baseball. His dad always just corrected what he said and made him feel stupid anyways.
It didn't hurt when Puck and Burt talked about Deadliest Catch or jammed to Melloncamp together, but Puck was his family already. And he had bonded with his dad before that was all Kurt had; Puck was fully integrated into the Hummel household by then. Finn was supposed to be the guy his dad felt the need to protect him from, the guy he was going to threaten a shotgun with on their first date. Finn wasn't supposed to make a joke that made the whole table laugh while Kurt's political reference was ignored.
Finn wasn't supposed to be the son Kurt's dad always wanted.
Kurt's eyes lowered to the table as he pushed his Shirley Temple away. He wasn't feeling so bubbly anymore.
-
Puck was chewing on a sandwich when Kurt ran down the stairs going straight to the swatches on the wall. Puck attempted to swallow his large bite before asking how the date was-he knew Kurt hated people talking with their mouth full-but he was interrupted by Burt coming downstairs.
"Pick one out yet?" he asked, assuming his son had since he was tearing them down with such ferocity.
"No. They're all wrong."
"I gotta tell ya, they all look gray to me," Burt shrugged. Puck nodded in agreement but stopped cold at Kurt's words.
"Maybe if they were different colored sports uniforms you'd remember them better."
Oh fuck. It was this stuff again. Kurt always claimed he was cool with how Puck and Burt could talk about sports and other things, and for the most part he was, but every now and then Kurt would have to excuse himself from the room as they discussed stats to calm himself down. If they had just gotten back from the family dinner and Kurt was starting in on this…
Oh fuuuuck.
"I knew it, I knew as soon as I started in on the football with Finn that you would take it personally." Burt stated as Kurt walked across the room to throw out the swatches.
"How could I not, Dad?" Kurt asked. "When was the last time you were that engaged in a conversation with me?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know what you want here."
"What I want is for you to recognize how hard it is for me to watch you bond with the son you obviously always wanted," Kurt hissed, walking back to his chair. Puck watched awkwardly from the couch, not sure if he should reassert that he was there or not.
"So I'm not the same guy who sat through Riverdance three years in a row?" Burt asked incredulously, crouching down by Kurt's vanity. "Look, I love you. And I love Puckerman over there," he added, nodding his head toward Puck as the teen stood up. "And I'm sympathetic to all your stuff, and you're perfectly fine with me and Noah watching games together. I don't know what's wrong with discussing football with Finn."
"Noah's my best friend and has been here all my life," Kurt whispered. "He's your second son already. Finn's not. You don't even know him and you prefer him to me."
"I don't at all, kid, c'mon," Burt insisted. "You know we have a deal anyways: I don't try to change you and you don't try to change me. You are my son and a little guy talk with some other kid isn't going to change that."
Puck winced inaudibly. That was definitely poor word choice on Burt's part.
"Guy talk?" Kurt asked, his voice thick with unshed tears. "I'm a guy."
"C'mon, you know what I mean," Burt said softly.
"Maybe I was wrong…maybe it is too soon for you to start being serious with someone."
Burt looked fatally wounded at Kurt's words, Puck noted as he stood absolutely still, not wanting to interrupt. "Your mom's been dead eight years, y'know that?" He stood up and nodded at Puck before walking to the stairs and stopping himself. Turning back around, he asked rather loudly, "Why did you set me up with her then? You said it was to make me happy."
"Can you please go? Noah and I are a half an hour behind in our movie schedule and I still need to moisturize tonight," Kurt said stiffly.
Begging with his eyes for Puck to comfort or smack sense into him, Burt slowly turned around and walked upstairs. As soon as the door clicked shut, Puck was at Kurt's side.
"I love Mama Mae, but she's rarely here. I already lost Mom; I can't lose Dad, too," Kurt said softly, as Puck rubbed his back.
Puck murmured shh's at him until Kurt was taking deep breaths. "Okay, babe," Puck said softly, "I'll get the ice cream-I think we need that instead of healthy stuff-and you get dressed and we'll watch Mamma Mia and have a cry about growing up, okay?"
About two hours later, Puck was holding Kurt as he sniffed into a melted pint of Ben and Jerry's Phish Phood, both of them singing along to "Slipping Through My Fingers". But if anyone ever asked, Puck didn't have the whole soundtrack memorized. Nope.
"The feeling that I'm losing her forever and without really entering her world…"
-
Kurt lifted his arms in victory as he stuck the landing on his jump at the roller rink, laughing and bowing as Tina and Artie clapped. "So you're the best in the wheelchair besides me and the best on regular wheels, too. You sure you weren't born on roller skates or something?" Artie laughed.
"No," Kurt laughed, "But I may just be a muse with an Australian accent sent to make Gene Kelly rich." Artie and Tina stared at him blankly. "…Xanadu? The Olivia Newton John classic? Really?" He shook his head, "Talk to you later."
He raced around the rink a few times, lapping Puck once, twice, three times until he finally skated backwards in front of him. "Need some help?"
Puck grumbled, "We grew up together; how in the hell did you end up a skating pro but I can barely stand?"
"I wanted to be like Michelle Kwan, remember? Mom signed me up for lessons." Kurt stated, watching Puck cling to the wall.
"And I wanted to be like Gretsky but I had to quit my skating class as soon as it started because my dad's an asshole," Puck nodded, remembering now. Kurt nodded back, Puck barely moving along the wall with how slow he had to go.
"Here, take my hands," Kurt said, offering them to Puck. Puck looked up at him warily. "Come on, you take them all the time, you can handle them now." He looked at the hands hesitantly before straightening up against the rink's edge and grabbing them, lurching forward slightly. "Good, good, now get your balance," Kurt murmured, smiling as Puck got it. "Now trust me, okay? You can do this, I promise. Just trust me."
"Okay," Puck said seriously. "I trust you."
"Good," Kurt smiled. "Let's go." And before Noah could stop him, Kurt slowly started backing up.
Puck tensed up immediately, falling forward and almost collapsing onto Kurt. Kurt managed to keep his balance, using his Cheerio training to keep Puck up with his arms. "You have to stay relaxed or you'll fall. Trust me, I got you. Okay? I got you."
Slowly, Puck looked back up at Kurt, locking eyes with him. "You got me. Okay."
"Okay," Kurt smiled. "I'm moving again, okay?" Puck nodded and Kurt started backing up again, slower than before. Puck started relaxing more, moving his feet to mimic Kurt's movements. Kurt got them going faster and faster, not noticing the eyes of the Glee club watching them suspiciously or how Mr. Schue hadn't tried to start practicing yet, too busy talking with April. He was too focused on Puck's hands in his, Puck's laughter as they started going faster, and then on dropping his hands all together, clapping and whooping as Puck managed to skate by himself.
Kurt attacked him with a hug, both of them managing not to fall over after a bit of scrambling of their feet. "See? I knew you could do it!" Kissing him on the cheek, Kurt asked, "Victory lap?" Then, without a warning, Kurt skated away, laughing as Puck grumbled and cursed at him as he tried to catch up.
Artie, Tina, and Mercedes looked over at Quinn, who was skating with Brittany and Santana, and she looked back to them before all four turned back to Puck and Kurt. The four raised eyebrows as Puck chased Kurt around the rink, both laughing joyously. Out of the corner of his eye, Artie noticed Brittany smiling at them knowingly-a creepy, foreign look on her face. Huh. That was something to investigate later. Except it was hard for Artie to talk to her; she always asked about how his friend R2-D2 was doing.
A few seconds later, Kurt jolted as he felt hands on his hips. Turning to see Puck, he laughed and continued to skate. "Told you you could skate," he teased, Puck gripping at his hips, his body getting closer to the back of Kurt's.
Puck grinned, "Told you guys would like having something to hold onto."
-
Kurt walked partway to where Finn stood at his locker, almost chickening out until he finally walked all the way over and said, "Finn, we have to talk." Finn looked down at him and Kurt continued, "We need to break up our parents immediately. I screwed up. I feel like the guy who set up Liza and David Gest…"
"It hurt you, didn't it?" Kurt looked up in Finn's eyes, surprised by his statement. "When I was talking sports with your dad and stuff. I could tell you felt…" Finn trailed off, not sure what was the right word to use.
"Left out? Invisible? Forgotten? Yeah," Kurt said sadly, avoid Finn's eyes. He never expected that the person he was in love with would inadvertently make him feel so unworthy.
Finn seemed to realize Kurt didn't want to dwell on it anymore so he continued, "Well, I don't like that my mom's forgetting about my dad. It's up to me to keep his memory alive. And I don't want to live with you." After a pause he added, "No offense."
"None taken," Kurt said with a smile. Oh wait, that actually totally hurt him. Why did he think anyone would want to live with him? "So we put an end to them. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Finn said firmly, shaking Kurt's outstretched hand and walking out of the hallway.
Kurt stood in silence for a few seconds until a voice interrupted his thoughts, "What was that?"
Turning to his best friend, Kurt sighed, "Nothing, Noah."
"That's bullshit and we both know that," Puck said forcibly, ignoring Kurt tensing up. "What were you talking about?" he asked tensely. Kurt opened and closed his mouth multiple times, trying to figure out what to say. His silence was all Puck needed to know, "You want to end the relationship." Kurt looked down and Puck gave a humorless laugh, "You want to end the first thing Burt has done since Mama Kate's death that has made him happy? You can't do that, you can't."
Kurt grabbed at his books in his hands, stuttering out a response, "I-I don't want him to be unhappy I just, I can't…I can't-"
"What? Do you think he doesn't love you? Are you still focused on that? Really?" Noah asked, still angry as Kurt shrugged helplessly. "Kurt, you can't just break people up because you aren't the center of that person's universe anymore. He has a possible stepson there who doesn't want another father in his life. It doesn't mean he doesn't love you."
Kurt looked down and to the side, tears forming in his eyes. "Babe," Noah sighed, pulling him in for a hug, Kurt snuggling his head in the crook of Puck's neck. Noah rubbed circles into Kurt's back, occasionally glaring at a few stragglers in the hallway who stared at them. "You're not going to lose him, okay? He loves you more than anyone else in the world. Burt and I love you more than anyone else, more than anyone else. He loves you, Kurt, so much." Puck kept repeating the sentiment until Kurt finally whispered an okay.
Puck pulled back and looked him in the eye, "You can't break them up, okay? I know you're hurt and all that, but you can't hurt him like that."
"Okay," Kurt said quietly. "You're right. I won't…I won't try to stop it."
-
"What is she doing?" Kurt hissed over at Santana and Brittany as Mercedes started talking. He loved the girl, he did, but they had a whole routine for the cheer magazine journalist to see and if she didn't do it, Coach would surely castrate her. Or whatever the female equivalent was, he wasn't sure what she used to threaten the female Cheerios but her seriousness when she told him that threat was enough to almost have his balls undrop.
Santana and Brittany shrugged but he was sure he saw a gleam in their eyes like they knew what was going on.
Then the song started.
Kurt stood up even straighter, his whole body tensing. He was a gay boy who grew up in the 90s and 00s, of course he recognized the song as soon as soon as it started. "Beautiful", one of Christina's finest, and the song he wore out on his copy of Stripped. He swallowed the lump in his throat as Mercedes sang the opening verse, and while her riffs were slightly different from Christina's, she sounded just as flawless on it.
As the Cheerios turned around and started singing back up, Kurt's mind raced. Why was he letting his insecurities eat him away? First with his hips, then with his relationship with his dad…his dad loved him and he loved Carole and he couldn't just let his insecurities about not being the son his dad wanted ruin something that made his dad so happy.
He turned around and was shocked for a moment to realize that a whole bunch of people from the audience-including the entirety of the Glee club-had gotten up and joined Mercedes on back up. Searching through the crowd of people, Kurt eventually found Puck.
Noah turned at the feel of a warm body pressing up tightly against him. Looking over, he smiled and wrapped his arm around Kurt's waist, his other arm wrapping around Quinn's shoulders lightly as she gave him a small smile.
When the song ended, Kurt got out of Puck's hold and went to Mercedes. "I was wrong," he sighed with a smile, "I'm sorry." They pulled into a hug and Puck smiled over at them, his arm still over Quinn's shoulders. Kurt was going to be fine.
-
The honk of Kurt's car locking filled the otherwise quiet air in the neighborhood as he walked to Finn's house. He planned on telling him that they weren't going to break up their parents, hoping that he hadn't already tried or succeeded at getting Carole to leave his dad.
He reached the front door of the house when he turned around: that was his dad's car. Why was it there? He had told Kurt he was going to Carole's and Kurt assumed he meant on a date, but that was over an hour ago and they were still in the house. Frowning, Kurt went around the back of the house, a sneaking suspicion of what his dad's car was there for causing his stomach to sink. When he reached the sliding glass door, the doors that led straight to the living room of the house, he felt his heart drop to his feet.
Burt was there, pointing out football moves to Finn as the teen nodded intently. His dad not only preferred to spend time with Finn, he also didn't feel the need to tell Kurt what was going on or to ask him to join. To say it stung was a bit of an understatement.
After several long moments, Carole looked in from the kitchen, smiling as her two favorite men bonded. There was even visual evidence of how well they fit together: beautiful mother, manly father and son; Kurt wouldn't fit in their family portrait like that. He wasn't manly enough to be the right son, his flamboyancy and feminine features would stand out in a stark contrast to the perfect American family they had going right there.
It was too much to handle.
Kurt ran to his car and drove, not even noticing the tears in his eyes. At a red light, Kurt sent Puck a text to meet him at his house.
Thirty minutes later, Puck was caught up on the story as Kurt fell asleep in his arms, Puck rubbing circles in his back. Ten minutes after that, Puck was asleep as well, his head nuzzled into Kurt's neck. An hour after that, Burt made it home, not at all concerned at seeing Puck's car in the driveway; he probably came over to do homework and fell asleep, something the two did all the time. He looked in on his boys before going up to bed with a smile on his face, glad on the progress he made with Finn that night. He couldn't wait to add Finn and Carole to his little family he had with his son and the boy who was sure to be his son-in-law.
-
Puck was thankful that he had avoided April this whole time. She was so focused on nailing Mr. Schue that she barely gave him a passing glance. But as Puck waited for Kurt to be ready to leave, she finally spoke to him again.
"Hey there, Skipper, we had sex, right?"
"Yeah…yeah we did."
She said a soft oh in realization. "Right! You and that handsome young black gentleman! I got you to kiss. That was hot."
Puck's jaw clenched. It was something that caused him so much questioning and made him think…things about his best friend and all she could say was that it was hot? "Yeah, whatever."
"You know, you might be even hotter now," April started, looking at him dreamily before shaking her head quickly, "No, I'm gettin' sober, no more fucking high schoolers." Puck nodded idly, just wanting her to leave. She made him question himself and got Kurt drunk off his ass for "courage". He felt no need to deal with her.
"Yeah, I think you all got cuter. But you know he got really hot? The little gay kid I gave my muscle mags to. Have you seen his ass in that cheerleading outfit? Woo!" She fanned herself, not noticing Puck's reaction.
Thankfully Kurt came out of the choir room, back over his shoulder before Puck could say anything. "Oh, hi, April…" Kurt said awkwardly, grabbing Puck's hand. "Congrats on the money and everything. Good luck."
"Thanks, kiddos," she smiled widely. "Congrats on the relationship, he's a great lay!" She turned around and left, Puck and Kurt gaping in her wake.
"We're not-"
Kurt shushed him, "I'm pretty sure she's already drinking again, just ignore her." He squeezed Puck's hand and gently pulled him into walking the other way.
Puck snorted and walked with him, both of them content in silence. God, why could anyone think they were in a relationship? He was straight for the most part and in love with Quinn. Besides, even if he wanted Kurt, Kurt wanted Finn, they weren't ever going to be together. Ever.
Puck's stomach gave a painful twinge, puzzling him. They didn't have the fish tacos at lunch…