Highlander/Glee part 2 - slash, AU, PG
Title: you’re listening for a song that I don’t know, that no one has yet sung
Chapter: ii
Fandom: Highlander/Glee
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Denise Levertov
Warnings: AUish after “Born This Way” for Glee; post-series for Highlander; the timelines may not exactly match up-I *handwave* this away, as is my right as author
Pairings: one-sided Karofsky/Kurt; pre-Kurt/Puck; implied Methos/Kronos
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 1065
Point of view: third
Notes: for maldeluxx , because she got me to thinking about a continuation
part 1
Methos had planned for the kids to be well into their twenties before their first deaths. He’s been teaching Katie’s son and the mohawked punk for a month: basic self defense and some forms no one else in the world remembers, so no one will be able to counter.
He’s calling himself Matt, a common enough name, and playing at Katie’s nephew, searching for family. A black belt in four martial arts. Being paid in room and board to teach his cousin Kurt how to protect himself. The mohawked punk-Puck, of all the silly names-dropped in, curious, one day (and that may have been Matt’s doing). He stayed because he’d never seen anyone fight like Hummel’s cousin. (There’s a good reason for that, of course, and one day, they might even learn it.)
A month in, Matt’s running late. He’d gotten caught up in some drama, nothing that will bother the kids, and he’s heading to the garage when he feels Puck to the south. Puck has no business being in the bad part of town fifteen minutes into their training time-and then Puck is gone.
The Matt-mask is dropped and Death stalks down the street, tearing into the half dozen men who just killed his student.
When he’s done, he’s the only thing living on that particular corner.
Matt carries Puck to his car and then returns for the bodies. He stuffs them all into his trunk, breaking bones to make them all fit. They seem like the rough sort, hopefully that no one will miss. They clearly only got Puck because of superior numbers; with time, Puck could even rival MacLeod, but he is still just a boy. Now, he’ll forever be a boy. Damnit.
0o0
Seven hours after he dies on the street in the middle of an unfair brawl, Noah Puckerman wakes up and groans. I“What?” he asks, looking around. He recognizes the room: Matt’s been staying here, in the small apartment attached to the garage.
There’s an incessant pounding in his head; it grows louder and louder, then Matt steps into sight and it fades.
“Welcome back,” Matt says. “It’d have been nice of you to wait a little longer, you know.”
Puck stares at him, memories rushing though his mind. “I don’t hurt at all,” he says. “I should hurt a whole hell of a fucking lot. Coulda sworn I died.”
Matt’s smile is gentle. Puck’s seen him give that look to Hummel a couple times, but nothing close to it has ever been directed at Puck.
“You did die, kid,” he says.
Puck closes his eyes and lets himself fall back onto the bed. He feels Matt come close, feels his hand strong on Puck’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright,” he says softly. He sounds so sure. “I’ve done this before-I’ll take care of you.”
“I died,” Puck whispers. “Fucking hell.”
Matt sits down next to him and pulls Puck into a hug. Puck hasn’t been held in… forever. Not since he got bigger than Ma. And when he starts crying, Matt just holds him tighter.
0o0
In the morning, Puck doesn’t go to school. Matt explains everything to him, including how Hummel is like them. Puck had already felt protective of the gleek, because of his utter failure last time, so he says, “I’ll watch out for him, Teach.”
Matt smiles at him, the warm one Hummel gets when he does a move correctly.
Hummel’s actually surprisingly good at martial arts. He muttered about dancing and cheering when Puck mentioned it.
“I want Kurt to grow as much as possible,” Matt says. “You look like a man, even if you are only seventeen. But Kurt?”
Puck winces. “Yeah,” he says. “I see what you mean.”
0o0
That afternoon, they meet in the backroom of the garage. Puck barely even notices Matt’s buzz anymore, but Hummel’s pre-immi one is… enticing. Fluttery like a hummingbird. Puck can scarcely concentrate and Hummel actually manages to dump him on his ass.
Matt smirks and Hummel grins up at him. “Good job, kid,” he says. “Now, do it again while Puck pays attention.”
So Puck flips up to his feet and ignores Hummel’s baby buzz till it goes away.
He swears to himself and Matt and Hum-Kurt that Kurt won’t die at seventeen. He’ll get taller still and stop looking like a little kid and he’ll have the life he’s been dreaming about, if Puck has to kill every immortal in the world. Kurt could be something great, and Puck wants that for him.
When Kurt decides to take a break, Matt meets Puck’s eyes and nods to the middle of the room. “I have a trick to show you,” he says. “Only my students know it, and those are rare indeed.”
Puck grins and hurries to him.
A new component is added to the regimen that day: swordplay.
0o0
Puck isn’t there the day Azimio learns about Karofsky being a homo. Puck doesn’t see Azimio slam Kurt into a locker so hard his head breaks.
Kurt dies alone in a locker room and wakes up to Karofsky’s tearstained face.
Puck’s too young to feel a pre-immortal die and become immortal. But Methos feels it. He meets Kurt in the parking lot, where Karofsky is helping him to his car. Kurt stumbles when he feels Methos’ buzz for the first time.
“I’ve got him,” Methos says, taking Kurt from Karofsky.
“He was outta it,” Karofsky says. “He needs the hospital.”
Methos looks at him. “I’ve got Kurt now,” he says, letting Death peek out.
Karofsky nods, leaving with a lingering look at Kurt.
Kurt, who’s staring at Methos with wide eyes. “I died,” he says. “I know I died.”
Methos pulls him in close, presses a kiss to the crown of his head. He was there at Kurt’s birth. He’d sworn to keep Kurt safe, for Katie and himself.
“Let’s get you home,” he murmurs. “I’ll tell you everything there.”
And he’ll kick Puck’s ass, then let Puck kick his, for this utter clusterfuck of failure.
0o0
Methos doesn’t sleep that night. He watches Kurt and Puck, curled around each other like he and Kronos had, the first night they trusted each other, almost four thousand years ago. He hopes these two, his boys, have a happier ending. He calls Burt as the sun rises.
He owes the man a better explanation than training ran late.
He’ll let Burt kick his ass, too.
parts 3-5 here