Everything: Catching Up
Title: Catching Up
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairing: established Puck/Kurt, a little glimpse of Burt
Genre: romance, family, some angst
Spoilers: Seasons 1 and 2
Summary: Kurt has no problem telling Puck things he needs to hear. Part 22 of the Everything verse.
Word count: 1200ish
Author’s note: This jumps forward a couple weeks (ish) from Part 21. Although, really, sketchy timelines aren’t exactly new for this verse, are they?
Puck is having a hard time getting a hold of Kurt. They’re not fighting or anything. Kurt’s just…a little bit AWOL. He’s not answering his phone or texting Puck back and when he calls Finn, the other boy claims to have no clue where his stepbrother is today. Puck doesn’t call Mercedes and ask her, because he knows two seconds after he does, Mercedes will call Rachel and Rachel will call everyone and he’ll get to school on Monday and the rumour will be that he and Kurt are having problems. Which they aren’t. Just because his boyfriend won’t call him doesn’t mean something’s wrong.
On a whim, he gets in his truck and drives over to Hummel Tires and Lube, thinking maybe Kurt’s working on his Mustang or helping his dad out. The garage is pretty quiet for a Saturday and Puck finds Burt taking the snow tires off a Hyundai. Seems a little early to do that, since it’s March in Ohio and there’s probably at least one last snowstorm headed their way, but Puck doesn’t know enough about cars to question it.
“Hey Mr. H,” Puck says, sliding his hands into his pockets.
“Noah,” Burt nods in his general direction.
“I’m, uh, looking for Kurt.”
“I figured as much. He has some stuff he needs to do today.”
Puck doesn’t like how secretive everyone is being, from Kurt’s unanswered phone to Finn’s I dunno, dude, and now Burt’s brush-off, he’s maybe starting to get a little bit worried.
“Is everything all right?” Puck asks warily.
“It’s fine, Noah. Kurt will tell you what’s going on when he’s ready.”
Puck doesn’t like the sound of that any more than stuff he needs to do. He nods and thanks Burt anyway, before getting back in his truck and driving home.
He spends the afternoon working on a too-depressing song before giving up and tossing his new journal across the room. He feels guilty about it a second later, rolling off his bed and crossing the room to pick it up and set it on his desk. He wanders into the kitchen and makes mac and cheese for himself and Sarah, since his mom is working late tonight.
He’s watching the serial killer show Kurt and Finn are always talking about when he hears a car in the driveway. It’s only ten, but maybe his mom got off work early or something.
It’s not his mom. There’s a quiet knock on the front door, and Puck jumps up to answer it. When he swings the door open, Kurt’s standing on the steps, looking cold and slightly apologetic.
“Hi,” he says quietly. “Can I come in?”
Puck nods and steps aside, closing the door behind Kurt. Puck twists the lock back into place, and it triggers something in Kurt. His shoulders slump and he crosses his arms tightly over his chest like he’s holding himself together and even though Puck is a little bit pissed off about being left out of the loop for so long, all he can do is pull Kurt into a hug. Kurt tucks his face against Puck’s neck, and he’s cold like he’s been outside for a while.
“I’m not a fan of this whole disappearing thing.” Puck says quietly.
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll tell you about it in a minute.”
Puck steers them into the living room, dropping onto the couch and pulling Kurt with him. Kurt curls up against his side, his head resting on Puck’s shoulder.
“Do you ever have days where you wake up and miss someone so much it hurts?”
Puck doesn’t even have to think about it. “Yes.”
“Today was one of those days. I hid out in my room with old pictures and stuff and then I went to the cemetery to visit my mom.” Kurt says softly. “I don’t go very often anymore. When I was little, my dad and I would go a lot. Just to tell her how we were. I just woke up this morning and knew there was stuff I needed to catch her up on.”
Puck nods because he gets it. Of course, it works in the reverse for him. He’s missing so much of his daughter’s life and he’d give anything if someone felt like catching him up.
He’s not actually aware that he said anything out loud until Kurt twists to look at him.
“Have you thought about calling Ms. Corcoran and asking her?”
“Huh?” is all Puck can come up with, because he’s not totally sure how they’ve gone from talking about Kurt’s mom to talking about Beth.
“Did you agree to a closed adoption? If you didn’t, you can try to arrange something with her.”
“How do you know?” Puck frowns. He remembers signing a lot of paperwork at the hospital, but that week is pretty much a blur for him.
“You can learn a lot from watching Juno, apparently.”
“You like that movie?” Puck pulls a face. He’d seen the first fifteen minutes and hadn’t been able to stomach her glib attitude, like giving up a baby wasn’t a huge fucking deal.
“I watched it. There was nothing else on.” Kurt corrects. “I guess having an open adoption means you can get pictures and letters and sometimes even visitations.”
“I don’t want to talk about this. Even if all that’s true…I still missed a whole fucking year.” Puck says, and immediately feels like shit when Kurt flinches at the vehemence in his voice.
“I’m sorry,” Kurt says and Puck feels even shittier because it’s not like Kurt did anything wrong. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“You don’t have to apologise. I just…can’t talk about it.”
Kurt nods and says “okay” which doesn’t make Puck feel much better about anything.
“That serial killer show you like is probably still on. Wanna watch an episode?”
Kurt shakes his head. “I should go. I told my dad I wouldn’t be late.”
He gets to his feet and Puck walks him to the door, not entirely sure where they stand.
“Are we okay?” He asks while Kurt is lacing up his combat boots.
“Yes.” Kurt stands and steps closer to Puck, his hands landing on Puck’s hips. He kisses Puck softly, before stepping back and reaching for the door. “You know where to find me if you need me, Noah.”
“Yeah. I do.”
“I love you.” Kurt adds. They’ve both said it before, of course, but neither of them feels like they have to say it all the time. Puck really only says it when he thinks Kurt needs to hear it. He figures that’s what Kurt’s doing for him now.
“Love you too.” Puck says, unable to resist pulling Kurt in for another kiss.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kurt says, and then he’s slipping out the door. Puck stays standing in the doorway until he can’t see the Navigator’s taillights anymore. The things Kurt said to him are still ringing in his ears, and there’s a smallish part of him that’s grateful Kurt doesn’t hesitate to tell him the things he needs to hear.
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairing: established Puck/Kurt, a little glimpse of Burt
Genre: romance, family, some angst
Spoilers: Seasons 1 and 2
Summary: Kurt has no problem telling Puck things he needs to hear. Part 22 of the Everything verse.
Word count: 1200ish
Author’s note: This jumps forward a couple weeks (ish) from Part 21. Although, really, sketchy timelines aren’t exactly new for this verse, are they?
Puck is having a hard time getting a hold of Kurt. They’re not fighting or anything. Kurt’s just…a little bit AWOL. He’s not answering his phone or texting Puck back and when he calls Finn, the other boy claims to have no clue where his stepbrother is today. Puck doesn’t call Mercedes and ask her, because he knows two seconds after he does, Mercedes will call Rachel and Rachel will call everyone and he’ll get to school on Monday and the rumour will be that he and Kurt are having problems. Which they aren’t. Just because his boyfriend won’t call him doesn’t mean something’s wrong.
On a whim, he gets in his truck and drives over to Hummel Tires and Lube, thinking maybe Kurt’s working on his Mustang or helping his dad out. The garage is pretty quiet for a Saturday and Puck finds Burt taking the snow tires off a Hyundai. Seems a little early to do that, since it’s March in Ohio and there’s probably at least one last snowstorm headed their way, but Puck doesn’t know enough about cars to question it.
“Hey Mr. H,” Puck says, sliding his hands into his pockets.
“Noah,” Burt nods in his general direction.
“I’m, uh, looking for Kurt.”
“I figured as much. He has some stuff he needs to do today.”
Puck doesn’t like how secretive everyone is being, from Kurt’s unanswered phone to Finn’s I dunno, dude, and now Burt’s brush-off, he’s maybe starting to get a little bit worried.
“Is everything all right?” Puck asks warily.
“It’s fine, Noah. Kurt will tell you what’s going on when he’s ready.”
Puck doesn’t like the sound of that any more than stuff he needs to do. He nods and thanks Burt anyway, before getting back in his truck and driving home.
He spends the afternoon working on a too-depressing song before giving up and tossing his new journal across the room. He feels guilty about it a second later, rolling off his bed and crossing the room to pick it up and set it on his desk. He wanders into the kitchen and makes mac and cheese for himself and Sarah, since his mom is working late tonight.
He’s watching the serial killer show Kurt and Finn are always talking about when he hears a car in the driveway. It’s only ten, but maybe his mom got off work early or something.
It’s not his mom. There’s a quiet knock on the front door, and Puck jumps up to answer it. When he swings the door open, Kurt’s standing on the steps, looking cold and slightly apologetic.
“Hi,” he says quietly. “Can I come in?”
Puck nods and steps aside, closing the door behind Kurt. Puck twists the lock back into place, and it triggers something in Kurt. His shoulders slump and he crosses his arms tightly over his chest like he’s holding himself together and even though Puck is a little bit pissed off about being left out of the loop for so long, all he can do is pull Kurt into a hug. Kurt tucks his face against Puck’s neck, and he’s cold like he’s been outside for a while.
“I’m not a fan of this whole disappearing thing.” Puck says quietly.
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll tell you about it in a minute.”
Puck steers them into the living room, dropping onto the couch and pulling Kurt with him. Kurt curls up against his side, his head resting on Puck’s shoulder.
“Do you ever have days where you wake up and miss someone so much it hurts?”
Puck doesn’t even have to think about it. “Yes.”
“Today was one of those days. I hid out in my room with old pictures and stuff and then I went to the cemetery to visit my mom.” Kurt says softly. “I don’t go very often anymore. When I was little, my dad and I would go a lot. Just to tell her how we were. I just woke up this morning and knew there was stuff I needed to catch her up on.”
Puck nods because he gets it. Of course, it works in the reverse for him. He’s missing so much of his daughter’s life and he’d give anything if someone felt like catching him up.
He’s not actually aware that he said anything out loud until Kurt twists to look at him.
“Have you thought about calling Ms. Corcoran and asking her?”
“Huh?” is all Puck can come up with, because he’s not totally sure how they’ve gone from talking about Kurt’s mom to talking about Beth.
“Did you agree to a closed adoption? If you didn’t, you can try to arrange something with her.”
“How do you know?” Puck frowns. He remembers signing a lot of paperwork at the hospital, but that week is pretty much a blur for him.
“You can learn a lot from watching Juno, apparently.”
“You like that movie?” Puck pulls a face. He’d seen the first fifteen minutes and hadn’t been able to stomach her glib attitude, like giving up a baby wasn’t a huge fucking deal.
“I watched it. There was nothing else on.” Kurt corrects. “I guess having an open adoption means you can get pictures and letters and sometimes even visitations.”
“I don’t want to talk about this. Even if all that’s true…I still missed a whole fucking year.” Puck says, and immediately feels like shit when Kurt flinches at the vehemence in his voice.
“I’m sorry,” Kurt says and Puck feels even shittier because it’s not like Kurt did anything wrong. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“You don’t have to apologise. I just…can’t talk about it.”
Kurt nods and says “okay” which doesn’t make Puck feel much better about anything.
“That serial killer show you like is probably still on. Wanna watch an episode?”
Kurt shakes his head. “I should go. I told my dad I wouldn’t be late.”
He gets to his feet and Puck walks him to the door, not entirely sure where they stand.
“Are we okay?” He asks while Kurt is lacing up his combat boots.
“Yes.” Kurt stands and steps closer to Puck, his hands landing on Puck’s hips. He kisses Puck softly, before stepping back and reaching for the door. “You know where to find me if you need me, Noah.”
“Yeah. I do.”
“I love you.” Kurt adds. They’ve both said it before, of course, but neither of them feels like they have to say it all the time. Puck really only says it when he thinks Kurt needs to hear it. He figures that’s what Kurt’s doing for him now.
“Love you too.” Puck says, unable to resist pulling Kurt in for another kiss.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kurt says, and then he’s slipping out the door. Puck stays standing in the doorway until he can’t see the Navigator’s taillights anymore. The things Kurt said to him are still ringing in his ears, and there’s a smallish part of him that’s grateful Kurt doesn’t hesitate to tell him the things he needs to hear.