Fic: This Is the Story of a Boy; Part IV: What If This Is Just the Beginning, chapter vi
Title: This Is the Story of a Boy; Part IV: What If This Is Just The Beginning, chapter vi
Author: patchfire
Rating: overall, NC-17; this chapter, R
Characters(s): Puck, Kurt, Finn, Puck/Kurt, Furt brothership
Genre: romance
Warnings: none
Spoilers: Canon compilant through 2x22
Disclaimer: Glee doesn't belong to me. It'd be better if it did.
Author Notes: You just don't understand how much I love all your comments and that you love this little world. <3
Beta: My best girl, my raving_liberal, my Finn <3
Summary: This is the story of a boy; this is the story of three boys. Two brothers, two best friends, two lovers.
Summary for Part IV: Songs, texting, walks, meals, secrets: convincing.
Chapter Summary: RENT. Also, Monday. Can't trust that day.
Word Count: 7935
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV, chapter i
Part IV, chapter ii
Part IV, chapter iii
Part IV, chapter iv
Part IV, chapter v
This Is the Story of a Boy
Part IV: What If This Is Just the Beginning
chapter vi
Kurt knocks on the door to the apartment at exactly 2:30, which makes Puck smile. He managed to convince his mom and Hannah both to hang out in their respective bedrooms for a little while, because the last thing he wants right then is an extended hi-how-are-you session before he and Kurt have any time to themselves. He opens the door and pulls Kurt into his arms as he's closing the door behind him.
"Hello to you too," Kurt laughs, sliding his arms around Puck.
Puck pulls Kurt closer and kisses him in lieu of a verbal response. They stay there, just inside the front door, kissing slowly, for long minutes. Kurt's pressing himself ever closer to Puck, but Puck's still surprised when he's jolted as Kurt's erection presses up against his. "Kurt…." He pulls his head back briefly to look at Kurt, but Kurt just shakes his head and recaptures Puck's lips, thrusting his hips into Puck's.
Puck thinks that maybe he's not the only one who's bad at rules.
He lets Kurt back him up three steps, until he's up against the wall, arms tight around Kurt's waist, drawing them together. He can think of a lot of reasons that this is a bad idea, with the main one being that his mom and his sister are just down the hall, but none of them make enough of an impression for Puck to make any effort to stop Kurt. There's a couple of great reasons that it's a good idea, and so the next time Kurt's hips thrust forward, Puck rolls his own hips to meet them. Kurt groans into Puck's mouth and grasps at Puck's shirt. Puck slides his hands down Kurt's back and cups Kurt's ass in them, pulling him forward. Kurt's head is tilted back, exposing his neck, and Puck nuzzles down it, pulling Kurt's shirt aside to find a place he can remark Kurt.
They settle into a fast, frenzied rhythm, Puck gently squeezing Kurt's ass as they thrust. He's pretty sure that he's leaving a pretty large, relatively dark mark on Kurt's shoulder, but it should be easy for Kurt to hide under clothes, especially since he doesn't often wear a shirt without a collar to school. Kurt's gasping and moaning, and Puck's thinking that it's damn lucky his mom or, worse, Hannah hasn't come out to investigate. Kurt's thrusts grow faster, and Puck gives his shoulder one last nip, then puts his mouth to Kurt's ear. He pulls Kurt tight against him, not letting him move back, and whispers. "Come for me, Kurt. Please."
Kurt groans in response, and then his body thrusts up one more time before shuddering with his orgasm. The sight of his face and the feeling of him against Puck's body is enough for Puck, and he follows Kurt over the edge, leaning heavily on the wall as his arms keep Kurt pressed against him.
Kurt starts to recover first, tucking his head on Puck's shoulder, forehead resting on Puck's neck. "I think I have another hickey to keep hidden," he finally says with dry amusement.
"You like it," Puck says confidently. He brings up one hand to poke at it gently. "Yep, it's a big one," he adds.
Kurt laughs. "You sound so very self-satisfied. Smug."
"And why shouldn't I be?" Puck kisses Kurt's temple.
"Point," Kurt murmurs after a moment, then adds, "We should probably move."
"True." Puck straightens and slides his arm around Kurt's waist, steering him to Puck's bedroom. "There went that rule," he says with a smirk, and Kurt just laughs.
"It was a stupid rule," he declares as he sits in Puck's desk chair. He furrows his brow for a minute. "Did we just… Um. Are your mom and Hannah home?"
Puck flushes. "Um. Yeah."
Kurt's blushing, too. "Whoops."
"Seriously," Puck chuckles, sitting on the edge of his bed. "We probably should be more careful when Hannah's around, I guess."
"But not your mom?"
"Eh." Puck shrugs. "She can deal."
Kurt shakes his head, lips pressed together, but doesn't argue.
"You want to watch a movie?"
"Sure. After I visit the little boys' room," Kurt adds, wrinkling his nose.
"Oh, yeah. Good idea." Puck points down the hall, and while Kurt's gone, he just changes his own jeans, then heads down the hall. He raps on the door lightly. "I'm going to the living room, come pick out something when you're done."
Puck grabs two cans of pop and a package of cookies, then slumps on the couch just as Kurt walks down the hall. "What do you want to watch?"
Kurt shrugs, running a finger over the cases as he reads the titles. "Ooh, you have RENT?"
"I guess? Some of those are my mom's."
"We are watching RENT," Kurt declares, plucking it from the shelf. "I think you'll like it."
"Okay." Puck shrugs. "What's it about?"
"Friends in the East Village of New York City. Life. Love. AIDS." Kurt pops the DVD into the player and then sits down. "The guy from the older Law & Orders? Jesse L. Martin? He's in it. Also Idina Menzel. They got most of the original Broadway cast for the movie."
"Cool," Puck hands Kurt one of the cans of pop and then curls his arm around Kurt's shoulders. They fit together easily, and Puck can't help but think how quickly they've become so familiar with each other. There's nothing that feels awkward between the two of them; it's just dealing with other people that introduces the occasional wrench in the works.
Kurt slides his free hand down Puck's side, resting it on Puck's thigh, and leans into Puck's side. Puck spends a few minutes thinking that he's just humoring Kurt, but then the opening song starts, and Puck's hooked.
They remain in nearly the same position on the couch for the next two hours. Puck vaguely registers his mom walking through once or twice, and periodically he finds a couple of cookies pressed into his hand, courtesy of Kurt, who's obviously seen the movie multiple times.
When the movie finally ends, Puck's pretty sure his jaw has dropped. Kurt's maneuvered them to the alternate ending, and there's a couple of tears trailing down Kurt's cheek. "Sorry," he sniffs. "It gets me every time."
Puck just nods, then starts a little as Kurt wipes a thumb across his cheek. "Guess I'm not the only one," Kurt adds softly, and kisses Puck's cheek. "You liked it?"
"That was awesome," Puck agrees.
"I've been trying to get him to watch it for years," a voice interjects, and their heads whip around to see Puck's mom standing at the doorway to the kitchen. She crosses the room with a smile. "Hello, Kurt."
"Hello, Ms. Puckerman."
"Call me Rina."
"Yes, Ms. Puckerman," Kurt replies with a grin, and Rina laughs, and Puck smiles.
"Noah, are you two having dinner here?" Puck looks at Kurt, who just shrugs with a half-nod. Puck nods once and then turns back to his mom.
"Sure, Mom. Thanks."
"It'll be about twenty minutes," she adds, and they nod as she returns to the kitchen.
"She likes you," Puck points out, even though he's pretty sure Kurt picked up on that.
"Yeah?" Kurt responds, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Puck reassures him. "I'm sure. Trust me. She asked you to call her by her first name and she invited you to stay for dinner. She likes you."
Kurt smiles, then, and Puck decides that he needs to be kissed properly. At first Kurt tries to stop Puck, gesturing towards the kitchen, but Puck finally convinces Kurt that it's not a big deal. Either that, or Kurt just gets tired of fending Puck off. Puck's not sure and doesn't particularly care which it is, since either way, he's getting to kiss Kurt.
Dinner's ready a little sooner than Puck would've liked, but he leads Kurt into the kitchen anyway, and they wait for Hannah to bound into the room as well. "What're we having, Mom?"
"Chicken and broccoli casserole."
Puck shrugs and nods. "Sounds good." He sits down and Kurt settles next to him. As soon as Hannah stops bouncing and starts sitting, his mom dishes out the food, and everyone starts to eat. It's a pretty big casserole, which is good, because both he and Kurt are eighteen year old boys. He thinks that it's not going to be nominated for Kurt's new favorite dish, but Kurt still eats two servings to Puck's three.
Puck has the absent thought that forget the cost of living in New York City, he hopes food isn't too expensive.
Puck stands up automatically to help clear the table, and he hears his mom protesting a minute later that Kurt shouldn't help, he's a guest. Kurt protests right back, and the end result is that Hannah and Puck have most of the clearing done before Kurt and his mom finish their discussion. When they look around, they laugh, but apparently they've come to an agreement for the future.
Puck's mom tries to interest them in watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with her, but Puck protests immediately, and they decide to walk around downtown for a bit. They duck into the comic store for a moment, and Puck laments that Rage isn't a real series. Then they walk back towards where Kurt is parked.
"I should be done around 10, if you're still going to pick me up."
Kurt nods. "I'll be there." He leans against the Navigator. "Just one more year."
"One more year," Puck agrees, and takes Kurt's hand briefly, squeezing it before releasing it. "Be good."
"I'm always good," Kurt replies with a smirk, and climbs into the driver's seat.
Puck feels sluggish and out of sorts from the moment he wakes up on Monday morning. He remembers to grab a change of clothes for after work, and walks to work with his earbuds in, listening to the soundtrack from RENT which he did, in fact, download the night before. He manages to feel like he's found a bit of a groove before the first customers come in, and by 9, his manager catches him humming.
"RENT, right?"
Puck startles a little and looks up. "Oh, yeah." He smiles a little sheepishly. "Sorry, I watched it yesterday w-for the first time."
"Girlfriend convince you to watch it?"
Puck shakes his head. "No, no girlfriend."
His manager smiles a little and nods, but doesn't say anything else, leaving Puck feeling even more unsettled. When the clock hits 9:55, he makes a drink for himself and one for Kurt, then grabs his bag and heads outside to wait. He doesn't have to wait long; Kurt pulls up within a minute, and Puck's happy to settle into his seat.
"Can we just… drive? They'll let us into college without that last English credit, right?"
Kurt half-heartedly chuckles with him, but he sees Kurt's eyes flick to the gas gauge, and he knows the idea holds an appeal for both of them. "How was 9:04 man today?"
"Relatively normal. For him." Puck shakes himself a little. "I just feel… I don't know. Rattled. Restless."
Kurt nods.
"Can I use the shower at your house? I smell like coffee and caramel."
"Neither bad smells," Kurt smiles, "but sure. If you want Wal-Mart brand toiletries, use Finn's shower. If you want to smell like mint or fruit, use mine. Or if you want to smell like a nurse, use Dad and Carole's."
Puck laughs. "I'll skip smelling like a nurse, thanks. Doesn't anyone in your house go for unscented products?"
"Apparently not."
Puck takes a quick shower after they arrive at the Hudmel house, refusing to answer Kurt's query as to whose shower he was going to use. When he comes back down the stairs in fresh clothes, Finn's watching a Law & Order re-run in the living room, and Kurt's typing on his laptop at the kitchen table. Puck watches the TV from the doorway for a few minutes, then sits down at the table across from Kurt.
"What're you working on?"
"My essays," Kurt replies, making a face. "At least for Hunter. I figure I can use the time in the afternoons before dual enrollment starts to work on the others."
"Yeah, the dual enrollment thing is kind of fucked," Puck agrees. "It's gonna make October suck when all that free time evaporates."
"Yes," Kurt agrees. They spend the next hour discussing classes, and applications, and it almost feels like any other day from earlier in the summer, except that Kurt picks up Puck's hand after just a few minutes, and their bare feet are pressed together in a jumbled mess.
Almost, except Puck is far happier, and the restless feeling is gone for the first time all day.
Eventually Finn turns off the television and shuffles into the kitchen. "Lunch?"
"I suppose it is about that time," Kurt agrees, and Puck just nods. After a small debate, they settle on a frozen pizza, and Finn slides it into the oven. They work well together; Kurt gets out plates, Puck retrieves pop, and Finn finds the pizza cutter. Their talk is light, though, and Puck's pretty sure Finn is deliberately trying not to mention Rachel at all. A small part of Puck says that he should tell Finn not to worry about it, but the rest of Puck doesn't really care and is still pretty angry, so he lets Finn continue avoiding her in his conversation.
There's some debate over whether Mr. Schue will wear a vest even though school doesn't officially start until the next day; Finn claims no, but Kurt and Puck both think he will. Kurt's is more wishful thinking; he's been bored with critiquing fashion of anonymous shoppers at the mall and is ready to go back to critiquing his friends and teachers. Puck just thinks that Schue's going to think of it as a school function; ergo, a vest. Then the conversation turns to what themes they'll be forced to work with this year, so Puck and Kurt fill in Finn on their theory of country music within the first few weeks. By the time they finish talking and clean up, it's past one, and Kurt stretches, letting go of Puck's hand for the first time in awhile.
"I'm going to go change."
"Is there some kind of dress code I don't know about?" Finn asks, looking down at his own t-shirt and jeans, and then at Puck, who raises his hands up.
"I didn't want to smell like coffee," he defends himself.
"Someone decided for me that maybe I shouldn't wear collarless shirts for the next week," Kurt says, rolling his eyes at Puck with a little smirk.
"Yeah, yeah, put the blame all on me," Puck shakes his head. "It's blame poor Puck day."
"I'll put all the blame on you because it was all you."
"Oh, yeah. Good point. No, don't want anyone else contributing to that."
Finn rolls his eyes. "You two are awful. Kurt, go change or whatever. Puck, let's play Mario or something."
Kurt comes back down the stairs just as Finn's lost, and Puck follows Kurt into the kitchen. He throws a quick glance at Finn, but he's started a new game, so Puck doesn't think he'll be interrupting anytime soon.
Kurt's wearing what looks like one of the navy shirts he wears at the garage, but with a light blue scarf, and tight green pants with dark brown leather sandals. As much as Puck likes seeing Kurt more casual in the summer, there's something about seeing him dressed for school that makes Puck smile and pull Kurt close, kissing him deeply.
"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"
"You look… delectable."
Kurt takes a step back and runs his eyes deliberately over Puck. "Don't think I didn't notice you." He steps close again. "You look rather fetching yourself." Kurt runs his hands down Puck's chest, smoothing the fabric. "In fact, if I recall correctly, I have a picture of you in this shirt on Friday, too."
"Mmmhmm," Puck agrees, wrapping one arm around Kurt's waist. "My mom thought it would be too tight."
Kurt smirks. "Oh, I think it's just right." He runs his hand up over Puck's chest again and down one arm. "Definitely just right."
Puck laughs and then kisses Kurt again. "Maybe we should just skip the meeting and get started on that drive we were talking about earlier."
"I wish," Kurt grumbles, and puts both his arms around Puck's neck, kissing him slowly and deeply.
"Ahem."
Puck rolls his eyes as Kurt pulls away slightly. "What, Finn?"
"It's, like, 1:50."
"It's a five minute drive," Kurt says with his own roll of the eyes. "We'll leave in five minutes."
"Oh. Okay," Finn shrugs, but he crosses the kitchen and goes to the refrigerator, and with a sigh, Puck and Kurt break apart.
They pull into the parking lot with the clock in the Navigator reading exactly 2:00, and Kurt turns the key to off in the midst of a deep breath. The three exit at the same time, Finn and Puck waiting on the passenger side until Kurt joins them. They all stand still, staring at the school.
"Ready?" Kurt says after a moment.
"Begin as we mean to go on, right?"
"Right."
"Well." Puck starts forward, an arm slung casually over Finn's shoulders and the other resting on Kurt's. "Let's do this thing, Munsters."
Puck catalogues the rest of the vehicles in the lot as they walk in, and concludes that they're the last three to show. When they reach the choir room, he can sense Kurt steeling himself, and he mentally does the same. Kurt pushes the door open and the three of them walk in, Kurt first, Puck on his heels, and Finn bringing up the rear.
The conversation in the room is at a low buzz, and most of the room stops to look at the somewhat unexpected trio. There's a pair of seats next to Rachel on the left hand side of the room, which Kurt deliberately walks past, climbing to the top row on the right hand side, and Puck follows suit. Both make a point of looking anywhere but at Rachel as they cross in front of her. Finn looks apologetically at Puck before sitting down next to Rachel, and the low buzz increases a little in volume.
Puck notices a few strange looks already starting, and he can tell Santana's about to open her mouth when Mr. Schuester walks in front of them and claps his hands twice. "Now that we're all here, we can get started!"
Puck looks at the rest of the room for the first time. There's a new bulletin board, covered with an oversize red sheet. There's a table that obviously has some food on it, but the food is also covered with a big red sheet. Finally, there's a table with rectangular pieces of white and yellow paper stacked on it, with cups of markers spread out on top of it.
"First of all, I'm so glad you all could make it today!" Schue looks around the room, beaming, before continuing. "I thought we could talk a little about the year, catch up after the summer, and maybe even get started on working for Sectionals. First, though, I want to show you our new addition." He gestures to the covered bulletin board.
"As a reward for our twelfth-place finish at Nationals, Principal Figgins installed a bulletin board for us. I was in here last Tuesday morning trying to decide what to do with it when Em-Ms. Pillsbury stopped by. She had a great suggestion that we're going to try.
"She mentioned that as a whole, the twelve of you represent the most motivated students in the senior class with regards to college and your plans for post-high school life. Not just the obvious ones," and he smiles at Rachel for a moment, "but others of you, too, she assured me. And so, I've divided this board into twelve sections." Schue pulls the sheet off the bulletin board, revealing a design that looked something like a crazy quilt, with each section naming one of them. "You can do whatever you like with your section, as long as it relates somehow to what you're doing after high school. I'll explain more about it later."
Puck smirks and leans back in his chair, crossing his arms. Yeah, Schue and Pillsbury were totally dating.
"Now, before I continue, Sam wanted to say something."
Sam rises from his seat between Mercedes and Mike, and stands up at the front of the room. "So, um. You guys have got to stop." He scans the room. "Seriously. Some of you have just given us overt help." He looks at Quinn, Mercedes, Tina, Mike, and Artie each in turn. "Some of you think you're being sneaky. Really big tips on pizza orders?"
"Kurt, you said Sam would totally never figure it out!" Finn protests, and Kurt smirks, biting back laughter.
"Santana said we had to give a bigger tip if we knew the delivery driver," Brittany muses. "Is that not true?" Santana's got her head in her hand, shaking it slowly.
"And then there's the really sneaky. Like whoever bought Captain America school supplies for Stevie." Sam's wrinkling his forehead, and everyone's looking around the room. Puck knows this is probably a good time to practice his poker face, but he's already got two really big secrets hanging around, so he chuckles after a moment and holds out his hands, palms facing Sam.
"I know absolutely nothing about Stevie's binder preferences that were definitely not communicated to me by Hannah while school supply shopping."
Sam gapes for just a moment, and everyone turns to look at Puck, who just raises an eyebrow and shrugs. "Seriously, though, you all must stop." And now Sam's grinning. "Because my mom found a great new job."
Everyone's up on their feet immediately, congratulating Sam and passing him from handshake to embrace to handshake, and if Puck notices Mercedes holding on a little longer than everyone else, well, he's not going to mention it. To anyone except Kurt, and maybe Finn.
Then Schue is getting everyone back in their seats. "Now, I wasn't going to have performances today, but Rachel was very insistent that she get a chance to sing."
Rachel stands up, and walks to the piano, a long look on her face, and she casts an apologetic look up towards where Puck and Kurt are sitting. Puck stifles a groan, and Kurt passes a hand over his eyes. Rachel's planning to apologize via song. "I, um. Just wanted to express my sorrow at hurting two of my good friends," she says quietly, and Puck can't help but feel a little sorry for her. "So this is for the two of you."
Puck wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't a mournful yet jazzy version of Credence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" Puck looks around surreptitiously during her performance and sees knowing looks on several places, plus the occasional sympathetic glance in his direction. She ends the song standing in front of Puck, and he embraces her briefly when she initiates the contact. Then she turns to Kurt and whispers in his ear before planting a kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you, Rachel," Schue interrupts the silence that follows. "Now, before we attack our snacks," he gestures to the still-covered table, "let me explain the function of the paper and rectangles. As I said, the bulletin board sections are yours, and I anticipate seeing notes about auditions, acceptance letters, and other plans posted on it over the course of the year. Since it's still only August, however, I thought you could each write one or two things that you want to see in your space. A quote, a goal, an important date: whatever is motivating to you." Schue claps his hands again. "So, without further delay. Snacks! And decorating." He removes the sheet, revealing a generous spread, by high school club standards. There's a cheese platter, fruit, and one of those giant Subway sandwiches. There are cookies from Pat's arranged on a platter, and at the very end there's an enormous cake from Save-A-Lot, decorated with music notes and inscribed "Welcome Back Glee Club 2012!"
"Sweet!" Puck's on his feet. "Free food!" Everyone laughs, and the rest of the guys follow suit, the girls approaching at a less voracious pace. In the melee, Mike and Sam pull Puck aside (after he fills his plate, thankfully), to ask him what Rachel's song and apology were about. Puck shrugs. "We were hanging out at Finn's on Saturday and she lost her filter," he finally settles on, and the other two boys nod. Puck sits down at the other table, absently doodling on one of the rectangles of paper, trying to decide what to write. He looks at Kurt from the corner of his eye; Mercedes, Tina, and Brittany had swarmed around him as soon as everyone stood up, and Puck's pretty sure they're pumping him for details of the Rachel fiasco as well. Finn drops into the seat next to Puck, and Artie rolls up on his other side, each of them staring at their own rectangles. Slowly, a few people put theirs up, commenting on others, and inspiration finally hits Puck. He grins and writes out a short quote before tacking it in the middle of his section.
We gotta get out of this place, if it's the last thing we ever do. Eyes on the prize, keep your mind on your goal. That's what all the different inspirational movies and motivational posters all come down to, in the end, and while Puck has bigger dreams, the most important and the most pressing is simple: to get himself (and Kurt) the hell out of Dodge.
He reads a few of the others' rectangles, and finds nothing surprising. Rachel's is simple: Broadway Bound. Finn's, the section next to Rachel's, says Football scholarship. Brittany's drawn an excellent, if somewhat inappropriate to the assignment, squirrel. Quinn's reads Golden days ahead.
As he sits down, Tina stands to put hers up, and he can read that it says Be the change. Tina's still standing at the board, and Finn's gotten back up to read more, when Kurt posts his with a smile.
"Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred," Finn reads. "What's that mean, Kurt?"
"Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes," Kurt sings softly, and then Tina picks up the next line, "Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred moments so dear," before they sing the next two together, and a look of confused understanding passes over Finn's face. When the next stanza starts, Rachel, Santana, and Puck all join in.
After the chorus, Tina takes the solo with brilliance, after Kurt nods at her imperceptibly. While she's singing, Kurt meets Puck's eyes and raises an eyebrow questioningly. Puck shrugs and takes the Law & Order dude's solo. The five of them finish the song in chorus, and Schue starts the clapping.
"That was awesome, dude," Sam claps Puck on the shoulder, and Schue even makes noises about using that number in a competition. No one notices Kurt runs his fingers over Puck's quote, or the small smile they share while everyone is talking. Puck would put good money on the idea that Kurt meant it more as a countdown than a celebration of the time they had left, no matter how much Kurt may love his friends.
After everyone's written something, Schue makes everyone sit in a circle and they're supposed to go around and explain what their thing means, if it's not self-explanatory, and also what they did this summer. Puck mentally groans at the requirements. Yeah, he's done a lot this summer, but very little of it is anything he wants to share with the rest of them.
I worked, I saved a lot of money, realized I was gay, then realized I want Kurt. I've spent the last week or so trying to convince Kurt he wants exactly what I want.
Yeah, that's a little too honest. Rachel, naturally, volunteers to go first, and then they're going around the circle from there, which means Puck's going to be the fourth person to speak. After Rachel comes Finn, and then Artie, who apparently spent three weeks on a cross-country road trip with his parents, looking at colleges. His rectangle has just one word: OCEAN.
Puck straightens in his seat a little as he starts talking, and gestures towards the bulletin board. "It says we gotta get out of this place, if it's the last thing we ever do, which is a quote from an Animals song from the '60s. I think it's pretty self-explanatory."
"That's a great song," Schue enthuses, breaking in. "We should do it one week, too."
Puck just nods and continues. "I spent the summer working. And hanging out at the Hudmel house." He inclines his head first in Finn's direction, then in Kurt's, then shrugs. "That's it."
Yeah, right.
Brittany goes next, explaining that she drew a squirrel because it's her best animal to draw, and says she spent most of the summer dancing and hanging out with Santana. Puck's pretty sure that in Britt-speak, it means she wants to do something with animals after high school, and that she and Santana are, at the very least, doing the "benefits" thing again, but everyone else seems to take Brittany's words at face value.
Tina talks excitedly about Asian camp and her trip to California to visit some of her relatives. Mike's summer is similar to Tina’s, minus the trip to California, and his rectangle says SYTYCD. Also self-explanatory.
Sam's summer consisted of pizzas and more pizzas, and his rectangle has something to do with going back south for college-another song quote, A southern man don't need him around, anyhow. Mercedes is sitting right next to him, shooing him sidelong glances as she talks about babysitting and maybe finding a place for college where she's not such a minority. Her square reads “stand out for the right reason,” she says, because she wants to be notable for being amazing, not for being one of the only black girls in the school.
Kurt's sitting next to her, and Puck wonders what Kurt will say about his summer. "I passed tests A1 through A6 of the ASE Automobile/Light Truck Certification Test Series," he starts with a small smirk, "worked at my dad's shop, and still have better looking nails than most of you," he concludes, holding up his hands to admire them. Most of the girls just nod in agreement with him.
Puck resists the urge to inspect his own nails. If they're dirty, Kurt hasn't seemed to mind so far.
Puck concludes that they're a pretty boring bunch by the time Schue steps into the middle of the circle (and, for the record, Schue is wearing a vest, just like Puck suspected). He starts to speak, but then Finn's insisting that he has to share his summer, too.
"All right, all right," Schue laughs, and any idiot can tell he's pleased to be asked. "I did help April out with her show for a few weeks, then I came back here to find a new, smaller apartment. I went to a couple of professional conferences, one in Topeka and one in Atlanta." Finn nods, satisfied, and Puck suppresses a snort of laughter. "Now, I forgot that I wanted to go over our schedule for the year. Everyone, move the chairs back."
While they're dutifully rearranging their chairs, Schue turns to write on the whiteboard. Monday-Thursday-Friday it reads, and he points to each in turn, reviewing their usual Monday class period, Thursday afternoon, Friday class period schedule. Then he writes below it Tuesday-morning and Wednesday-lunch. "These are only for the month or so before competitions," Schue elaborates, "and I'm not including Invitationals as a competition. Even though," he adds with a grin, "we are hosting Invitationals at the beginning of October!"
Because that's such good timing for everyone! Puck's mind can't help but finish the sentence, but outwardly he smiles along with everyone else.
"Now," Schue says dramatically as he erases the board, "your assignment for the week." He pauses to write expectations across the board, and then under it unexpected. "I want songs that deal with either the unexpected or expectations, in some way. Boys versus girls, boys over here," he gestures to the side of the room where Puck is slouched, "girls over here," waving in Brittany and Santana's direction. Everyone starts to move as Schue turns back to erase the board yet again, and fumble through some papers. Kurt's just dropped into a chair in front of Puck, turning it slightly, when Schue opens his mouth again. "Kurt. Other team."
Kurt freezes, and the rest of them do, as well. Puck can tell by looking at Kurt's face that, for once, he hadn't considered going with the girls' team. The girls all have stunned expressions on their faces, but it's Finn who finally breaks the silence.
"Uh, Mr. Schue? I thought you said girls versus boys. Not likes girls versus likes boys."
"I did," Schue says patiently, still not facing them.
"Then why'd you tell Kurt to go with the other team?"
Schue wheels around at that, takes in where everyone is seating, and flushes deeply. "I… I apologize, Kurt," he says after a moment. "I made a faulty assumption."
Kurt shrugs and waves it off, but when they start talking about what song they should do, he doesn't say anything for a few minutes.
Yeah. This sucks, and it's not even the first day of school yet. Because what he needs to do is kiss that look off Kurt's face, but instead he's sitting there pretending to be interested in Googling "great expectations" with Finn and Mike.
Sam speaks up after a few minutes of back and forth discussion. "What if we didn't take it so literally? I mean, the song doesn't have to have the word expectation or unexpected in it to still fit the assignment, right?"
Kurt perks up at this, at last, and nods. "That's an excellent point, Sam. My inner lyricist approves highly."
"Like what kind of song, then," Artie asks, frowning a little.
"Well, something like 'Time to Move On,' by Tom Petty," Sam elaborates. "It's about when it's time to see what's next. To me, that's expectations, that there's something else around the next corner, but it's unexpected. You don't know what's happening." There are nods and a couple of frowns.
Puck knows the song, but he's not sure if everyone does. Kurt's a step ahead of him, though, already pulling it up on YouTube on his phone. He keeps the volume low and puts the phone in the middle of their imperfect circle for everyone to hear. When the song finishes, Kurt nods in approval, as do Puck and Mike.
"I like it," Finn voices his own approval. Artie still looks a little skeptical, but shrugs and acquiesces.
"Can you pull up the lyrics?" Sam asks Kurt, since Kurt's still got his phone out, and Kurt nods. They spend ten minutes dividing up who will sing what part, and then talking amongst themselves. It takes longer for the girls to agree on a song, and no one on that side of the room looks completely happy when they finally announce that they've selected their number.
"Great!" Schue says with a nod. "We'll do the boys' performance on Thursday and the girls' on Friday. I think that was everything I wanted to cover today. It was great to see all of you and I know we're going to have a great year!"
"Let's all go get dinner!" Rachel announces as soon as Schue finishes, and as everyone enthusiastically agrees with her, Puck surrenders to the inevitable. He'd told his mom that he'd miss dinner, even though it was Monday, but he'd been hoping it'd mean he and Kurt could slip off together, or even with Finn tagging along. Not the entire glee club.
As it turns out, Sam volunteers to drive himself, Mercedes, Mike, and Tina, which makes Puck smirk. Artie calls his dad to come drive him, and Kurt does a quick count of the remaining members. "Everyone else can fit in with us," he announces, and everyone heads towards the parking lot.
There's the awkwardness of seating: Quinn, Santana, Brittany, Rachel, and Finn all in one vehicle, plus Puck and Kurt. Santana finally drags Brittany and Quinn into the rear seat, at which point Finn claims the middle seats for himself and Rachel. Puck nods at him imperceptibly, because yeah, he would've been kind of pissed if he wasn't sitting shotgun, but it wasn't like he could outright claim it. Not that day, anyway.
Kurt's barely started the engine before he turns to Puck. "Music," he says imperiously, handing his phone to Puck. Puck grins and plugs it in before hitting shuffle, and then leans his head against the window. "Where're we going, anyway?" he asks the car at large, and it's Finn who answers.
"Godfather's. You can't go wrong with a buffet of pizza."
Puck nods and listens to everyone's chatter. Quinn and Santana seem to be discussing whether or not they should consider rejoining the Cheerios. Rachel's muttering something to Finn, and periodically Finn says "It's fine, Rach. It's fine," or a variant thereof. Kurt's singing along with some of the songs that are playing.
"What do you think, Puck?"
"What?" He turns sideways in his seat to look behind him, where the three girls in the back are looking at him expectantly.
"Uh…" Puck stalls. Finn looks at him blankly, and Kurt's giving him a sympathetic look, since no one else can really see Kurt's face. "Um. Not really?"
"That's too bad," Quinn shakes her head, and then the three of them bend their heads together.
Puck turns back to to the front, shaking his own head slowly. Why had he thought he was into girls, again? They were confusing at best. Difficult. Or maybe they weren't difficult so much as Kurt was just… easy. He understood Kurt, and Kurt seemed to understand him.
They arrive at Godfather's and convince the hostess to shove enough tables together for them all to sit in a group before setting off for the buffet. Puck finds himself sandwiched between Mike and Brittany for the duration of the meal, which is definitely better than it could have been. The rest of the evening passes without too much awkwardness and a fair amount of laughter, and Puck thinks maybe he can manage the year. At least when it is just the glee club, he doesn't feel like he is hiding as much. He is still hiding a lot, though, and he can't help scowling for few moments during a lull in the conversation before he's once again caught up in the discussions and laughter.
When they arrive back at the school parking lot, everyone climbs out, giving each other hugs and exchanging 'see you tomorrows!' and 'seniors, baby!' before dispersing to their own vehicles. Santana and Brittany are the last to walk away from where Kurt, Finn, and Puck are standing.
"You could've dropped off Puck on the way here," Santana notes absently.
"Didn't even think about it," Kurt responds quickly in a way that tells Puck that he probably did think about it, at least briefly.
"Yeah, well. See you losers tomorrow," Santana grins to take the sting out of her words.
"Good night, Satan," Kurt smirks back, and the two girls climb into Brittany's car. After they've driven away, the three boys leave at last, Puck and Kurt joining hands with unspoken accord as soon as the doors are closed.
"Well, that didn't go so badly!" Finn enthuses, and Puck just turns and raises an eyebrow. "What? It didn't," he defends himself.
"I suppose so," Kurt concedes, and Puck supposes that, from Finn's point of view, it went well. Rachel apologized, Puck didn't accidentally out himself, and the day was relatively drama-free.
"You two notice the Samcedes goin' on?"
"Yes!" Kurt responds.
"Yeah, they seemed to be touching an awful lot," Finn agrees, wrinkling his brow. "You think they're dating?"
"I do," Puck nods. "The too-long hug, the touching, the sitting next to each other, and let's not forget the 'oh sure I'll drive Mercedes!' moment."
Kurt's nodding as Puck speaks. "Definitely. I think Mercedes kept her body turned towards him all day, even when she was ostensibly addressing someone else."
"Good point," Finn agrees. "Think they're going to tell anyone?"
Kurt shrugs. "I don't know. I think it would be rather hypocritical of us to complain if they don't."
Puck smiles and meets Kurt's eyes briefly, because yeah, the mention of an us does all sorts of funny things to him.
They get to Puck's apartment building long before he'd prefer, and he considers asking Finn to take a walk around the block but then he catches sight of the clock and groans, running a hand over his face.
"Opening?"
"Every weekday morning," Puck confirms. "It's technically two and a half hours, so that's twelve and a half right there." He sighs and drops his head back against the seat, squeezing Kurt's hand gently. "I should go on up."
"Okay," Kurt pouts for just a second, but it's enough to draw Puck in, leaning over for a quick kiss.
"Be good," he says, squeezing Kurt's hand a final time before letting go and opening the door.
"I'm always good," Kurt grins, and Puck heads for the door without looking back.
If he looks back, he's never going to get to bed at a time that will feel good come 5 am in the morning
"Hi, Noah." His mom's sitting in the living room, reading a book, and she sets it down as he comes in. "How was your day?"
Puck pauses, standing still, and furrows his brow. "Weird. Good. Weird again. Hard. Disappointing." He crosses the room and sits down on the couch beside her. "Really, really hard," he finally settles on, and leans back.
"I wondered if it would be," she says with a nod, and Puck's suddenly really, really grateful for his mom. "You know I'm fine with however you want to do this, Noah, but are you sure you want to keep everything a secret? It's not going to get any easier."
Puck swallows but shakes his head. "No. As much as part of me wants to at least come out… this town scares me, Mom. The things that have happened to Kurt. Some people around here really would think Kurt managed to 'make me gay.'" His hands gesture sarcastically. "Then I'm going to get harassed and things would get worse for Kurt, and it'd be harder for me to do anything about it." Puck shakes his head. "No, I don't see any other way to do this. This is hard, but at least it's not permanent-harm hard."
"You really think it would be that bad, Noah?"
"Honestly? Yeah, I think it could be." Puck frowns. "And, no, the other kids in glee club wouldn't be bad, but the more people that know, the more likely it is for even more people to find out."
I just can't be the reason behind anything causing Kurt any more pain, Puck would like to explain, but he's not sure that his mom would understand, and even if she did, she'd probably talk about how Puck shouldn't let anyone else dictate for him what he is and isn't comfortable revealing to others. She'd make it sound like Kurt was selfish, or Puck was giving Kurt too much power (whatever that means), but Puck knows what it is.
In her heart of hearts, his mom probably would, too, and Puck thinks that the idea of her baby boy feeling that way about someone would make her uncomfortable. In the end, he just won't even attempt to articulate all of his reasoning and motives.
His mom nods slowly, seeming to accept what he's saying. "Let me know if there's anything I can do, Noah," she says finally, holding his gaze for a moment, and Puck nods slowly.
"Thanks, Mom," he says at last. "I'd better go to bed."
"Good plan. I won't see you in the morning," she smirks at his grimace, "so have a good first day of school."
Puck rolls his eyes a little but smiles. "I'll try. Good night."
"Good night, Noah."
Puck nearly collapses into bed, bone tired and emotionally exhausted. He peels off his clothes and climbs under the covers. His eyes are already closing when his phone buzzes, and he considers not checking it, but ultimately Kurt's going to win out over everything, even sleep.
Want a ride tomorrow morning? I'll be there at 8 unless you tell me no. xx
You're the *best*. C u then. xxx
Author: patchfire
Rating: overall, NC-17; this chapter, R
Characters(s): Puck, Kurt, Finn, Puck/Kurt, Furt brothership
Genre: romance
Warnings: none
Spoilers: Canon compilant through 2x22
Disclaimer: Glee doesn't belong to me. It'd be better if it did.
Author Notes: You just don't understand how much I love all your comments and that you love this little world. <3
Beta: My best girl, my raving_liberal, my Finn <3
Summary: This is the story of a boy; this is the story of three boys. Two brothers, two best friends, two lovers.
Summary for Part IV: Songs, texting, walks, meals, secrets: convincing.
Chapter Summary: RENT. Also, Monday. Can't trust that day.
Word Count: 7935
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV, chapter i
Part IV, chapter ii
Part IV, chapter iii
Part IV, chapter iv
Part IV, chapter v
This Is the Story of a Boy
Part IV: What If This Is Just the Beginning
chapter vi
Kurt knocks on the door to the apartment at exactly 2:30, which makes Puck smile. He managed to convince his mom and Hannah both to hang out in their respective bedrooms for a little while, because the last thing he wants right then is an extended hi-how-are-you session before he and Kurt have any time to themselves. He opens the door and pulls Kurt into his arms as he's closing the door behind him.
"Hello to you too," Kurt laughs, sliding his arms around Puck.
Puck pulls Kurt closer and kisses him in lieu of a verbal response. They stay there, just inside the front door, kissing slowly, for long minutes. Kurt's pressing himself ever closer to Puck, but Puck's still surprised when he's jolted as Kurt's erection presses up against his. "Kurt…." He pulls his head back briefly to look at Kurt, but Kurt just shakes his head and recaptures Puck's lips, thrusting his hips into Puck's.
Puck thinks that maybe he's not the only one who's bad at rules.
He lets Kurt back him up three steps, until he's up against the wall, arms tight around Kurt's waist, drawing them together. He can think of a lot of reasons that this is a bad idea, with the main one being that his mom and his sister are just down the hall, but none of them make enough of an impression for Puck to make any effort to stop Kurt. There's a couple of great reasons that it's a good idea, and so the next time Kurt's hips thrust forward, Puck rolls his own hips to meet them. Kurt groans into Puck's mouth and grasps at Puck's shirt. Puck slides his hands down Kurt's back and cups Kurt's ass in them, pulling him forward. Kurt's head is tilted back, exposing his neck, and Puck nuzzles down it, pulling Kurt's shirt aside to find a place he can remark Kurt.
They settle into a fast, frenzied rhythm, Puck gently squeezing Kurt's ass as they thrust. He's pretty sure that he's leaving a pretty large, relatively dark mark on Kurt's shoulder, but it should be easy for Kurt to hide under clothes, especially since he doesn't often wear a shirt without a collar to school. Kurt's gasping and moaning, and Puck's thinking that it's damn lucky his mom or, worse, Hannah hasn't come out to investigate. Kurt's thrusts grow faster, and Puck gives his shoulder one last nip, then puts his mouth to Kurt's ear. He pulls Kurt tight against him, not letting him move back, and whispers. "Come for me, Kurt. Please."
Kurt groans in response, and then his body thrusts up one more time before shuddering with his orgasm. The sight of his face and the feeling of him against Puck's body is enough for Puck, and he follows Kurt over the edge, leaning heavily on the wall as his arms keep Kurt pressed against him.
Kurt starts to recover first, tucking his head on Puck's shoulder, forehead resting on Puck's neck. "I think I have another hickey to keep hidden," he finally says with dry amusement.
"You like it," Puck says confidently. He brings up one hand to poke at it gently. "Yep, it's a big one," he adds.
Kurt laughs. "You sound so very self-satisfied. Smug."
"And why shouldn't I be?" Puck kisses Kurt's temple.
"Point," Kurt murmurs after a moment, then adds, "We should probably move."
"True." Puck straightens and slides his arm around Kurt's waist, steering him to Puck's bedroom. "There went that rule," he says with a smirk, and Kurt just laughs.
"It was a stupid rule," he declares as he sits in Puck's desk chair. He furrows his brow for a minute. "Did we just… Um. Are your mom and Hannah home?"
Puck flushes. "Um. Yeah."
Kurt's blushing, too. "Whoops."
"Seriously," Puck chuckles, sitting on the edge of his bed. "We probably should be more careful when Hannah's around, I guess."
"But not your mom?"
"Eh." Puck shrugs. "She can deal."
Kurt shakes his head, lips pressed together, but doesn't argue.
"You want to watch a movie?"
"Sure. After I visit the little boys' room," Kurt adds, wrinkling his nose.
"Oh, yeah. Good idea." Puck points down the hall, and while Kurt's gone, he just changes his own jeans, then heads down the hall. He raps on the door lightly. "I'm going to the living room, come pick out something when you're done."
Puck grabs two cans of pop and a package of cookies, then slumps on the couch just as Kurt walks down the hall. "What do you want to watch?"
Kurt shrugs, running a finger over the cases as he reads the titles. "Ooh, you have RENT?"
"I guess? Some of those are my mom's."
"We are watching RENT," Kurt declares, plucking it from the shelf. "I think you'll like it."
"Okay." Puck shrugs. "What's it about?"
"Friends in the East Village of New York City. Life. Love. AIDS." Kurt pops the DVD into the player and then sits down. "The guy from the older Law & Orders? Jesse L. Martin? He's in it. Also Idina Menzel. They got most of the original Broadway cast for the movie."
"Cool," Puck hands Kurt one of the cans of pop and then curls his arm around Kurt's shoulders. They fit together easily, and Puck can't help but think how quickly they've become so familiar with each other. There's nothing that feels awkward between the two of them; it's just dealing with other people that introduces the occasional wrench in the works.
Kurt slides his free hand down Puck's side, resting it on Puck's thigh, and leans into Puck's side. Puck spends a few minutes thinking that he's just humoring Kurt, but then the opening song starts, and Puck's hooked.
They remain in nearly the same position on the couch for the next two hours. Puck vaguely registers his mom walking through once or twice, and periodically he finds a couple of cookies pressed into his hand, courtesy of Kurt, who's obviously seen the movie multiple times.
When the movie finally ends, Puck's pretty sure his jaw has dropped. Kurt's maneuvered them to the alternate ending, and there's a couple of tears trailing down Kurt's cheek. "Sorry," he sniffs. "It gets me every time."
Puck just nods, then starts a little as Kurt wipes a thumb across his cheek. "Guess I'm not the only one," Kurt adds softly, and kisses Puck's cheek. "You liked it?"
"That was awesome," Puck agrees.
"I've been trying to get him to watch it for years," a voice interjects, and their heads whip around to see Puck's mom standing at the doorway to the kitchen. She crosses the room with a smile. "Hello, Kurt."
"Hello, Ms. Puckerman."
"Call me Rina."
"Yes, Ms. Puckerman," Kurt replies with a grin, and Rina laughs, and Puck smiles.
"Noah, are you two having dinner here?" Puck looks at Kurt, who just shrugs with a half-nod. Puck nods once and then turns back to his mom.
"Sure, Mom. Thanks."
"It'll be about twenty minutes," she adds, and they nod as she returns to the kitchen.
"She likes you," Puck points out, even though he's pretty sure Kurt picked up on that.
"Yeah?" Kurt responds, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Puck reassures him. "I'm sure. Trust me. She asked you to call her by her first name and she invited you to stay for dinner. She likes you."
Kurt smiles, then, and Puck decides that he needs to be kissed properly. At first Kurt tries to stop Puck, gesturing towards the kitchen, but Puck finally convinces Kurt that it's not a big deal. Either that, or Kurt just gets tired of fending Puck off. Puck's not sure and doesn't particularly care which it is, since either way, he's getting to kiss Kurt.
Dinner's ready a little sooner than Puck would've liked, but he leads Kurt into the kitchen anyway, and they wait for Hannah to bound into the room as well. "What're we having, Mom?"
"Chicken and broccoli casserole."
Puck shrugs and nods. "Sounds good." He sits down and Kurt settles next to him. As soon as Hannah stops bouncing and starts sitting, his mom dishes out the food, and everyone starts to eat. It's a pretty big casserole, which is good, because both he and Kurt are eighteen year old boys. He thinks that it's not going to be nominated for Kurt's new favorite dish, but Kurt still eats two servings to Puck's three.
Puck has the absent thought that forget the cost of living in New York City, he hopes food isn't too expensive.
Puck stands up automatically to help clear the table, and he hears his mom protesting a minute later that Kurt shouldn't help, he's a guest. Kurt protests right back, and the end result is that Hannah and Puck have most of the clearing done before Kurt and his mom finish their discussion. When they look around, they laugh, but apparently they've come to an agreement for the future.
Puck's mom tries to interest them in watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with her, but Puck protests immediately, and they decide to walk around downtown for a bit. They duck into the comic store for a moment, and Puck laments that Rage isn't a real series. Then they walk back towards where Kurt is parked.
"I should be done around 10, if you're still going to pick me up."
Kurt nods. "I'll be there." He leans against the Navigator. "Just one more year."
"One more year," Puck agrees, and takes Kurt's hand briefly, squeezing it before releasing it. "Be good."
"I'm always good," Kurt replies with a smirk, and climbs into the driver's seat.
Puck feels sluggish and out of sorts from the moment he wakes up on Monday morning. He remembers to grab a change of clothes for after work, and walks to work with his earbuds in, listening to the soundtrack from RENT which he did, in fact, download the night before. He manages to feel like he's found a bit of a groove before the first customers come in, and by 9, his manager catches him humming.
"RENT, right?"
Puck startles a little and looks up. "Oh, yeah." He smiles a little sheepishly. "Sorry, I watched it yesterday w-for the first time."
"Girlfriend convince you to watch it?"
Puck shakes his head. "No, no girlfriend."
His manager smiles a little and nods, but doesn't say anything else, leaving Puck feeling even more unsettled. When the clock hits 9:55, he makes a drink for himself and one for Kurt, then grabs his bag and heads outside to wait. He doesn't have to wait long; Kurt pulls up within a minute, and Puck's happy to settle into his seat.
"Can we just… drive? They'll let us into college without that last English credit, right?"
Kurt half-heartedly chuckles with him, but he sees Kurt's eyes flick to the gas gauge, and he knows the idea holds an appeal for both of them. "How was 9:04 man today?"
"Relatively normal. For him." Puck shakes himself a little. "I just feel… I don't know. Rattled. Restless."
Kurt nods.
"Can I use the shower at your house? I smell like coffee and caramel."
"Neither bad smells," Kurt smiles, "but sure. If you want Wal-Mart brand toiletries, use Finn's shower. If you want to smell like mint or fruit, use mine. Or if you want to smell like a nurse, use Dad and Carole's."
Puck laughs. "I'll skip smelling like a nurse, thanks. Doesn't anyone in your house go for unscented products?"
"Apparently not."
Puck takes a quick shower after they arrive at the Hudmel house, refusing to answer Kurt's query as to whose shower he was going to use. When he comes back down the stairs in fresh clothes, Finn's watching a Law & Order re-run in the living room, and Kurt's typing on his laptop at the kitchen table. Puck watches the TV from the doorway for a few minutes, then sits down at the table across from Kurt.
"What're you working on?"
"My essays," Kurt replies, making a face. "At least for Hunter. I figure I can use the time in the afternoons before dual enrollment starts to work on the others."
"Yeah, the dual enrollment thing is kind of fucked," Puck agrees. "It's gonna make October suck when all that free time evaporates."
"Yes," Kurt agrees. They spend the next hour discussing classes, and applications, and it almost feels like any other day from earlier in the summer, except that Kurt picks up Puck's hand after just a few minutes, and their bare feet are pressed together in a jumbled mess.
Almost, except Puck is far happier, and the restless feeling is gone for the first time all day.
Eventually Finn turns off the television and shuffles into the kitchen. "Lunch?"
"I suppose it is about that time," Kurt agrees, and Puck just nods. After a small debate, they settle on a frozen pizza, and Finn slides it into the oven. They work well together; Kurt gets out plates, Puck retrieves pop, and Finn finds the pizza cutter. Their talk is light, though, and Puck's pretty sure Finn is deliberately trying not to mention Rachel at all. A small part of Puck says that he should tell Finn not to worry about it, but the rest of Puck doesn't really care and is still pretty angry, so he lets Finn continue avoiding her in his conversation.
There's some debate over whether Mr. Schue will wear a vest even though school doesn't officially start until the next day; Finn claims no, but Kurt and Puck both think he will. Kurt's is more wishful thinking; he's been bored with critiquing fashion of anonymous shoppers at the mall and is ready to go back to critiquing his friends and teachers. Puck just thinks that Schue's going to think of it as a school function; ergo, a vest. Then the conversation turns to what themes they'll be forced to work with this year, so Puck and Kurt fill in Finn on their theory of country music within the first few weeks. By the time they finish talking and clean up, it's past one, and Kurt stretches, letting go of Puck's hand for the first time in awhile.
"I'm going to go change."
"Is there some kind of dress code I don't know about?" Finn asks, looking down at his own t-shirt and jeans, and then at Puck, who raises his hands up.
"I didn't want to smell like coffee," he defends himself.
"Someone decided for me that maybe I shouldn't wear collarless shirts for the next week," Kurt says, rolling his eyes at Puck with a little smirk.
"Yeah, yeah, put the blame all on me," Puck shakes his head. "It's blame poor Puck day."
"I'll put all the blame on you because it was all you."
"Oh, yeah. Good point. No, don't want anyone else contributing to that."
Finn rolls his eyes. "You two are awful. Kurt, go change or whatever. Puck, let's play Mario or something."
Kurt comes back down the stairs just as Finn's lost, and Puck follows Kurt into the kitchen. He throws a quick glance at Finn, but he's started a new game, so Puck doesn't think he'll be interrupting anytime soon.
Kurt's wearing what looks like one of the navy shirts he wears at the garage, but with a light blue scarf, and tight green pants with dark brown leather sandals. As much as Puck likes seeing Kurt more casual in the summer, there's something about seeing him dressed for school that makes Puck smile and pull Kurt close, kissing him deeply.
"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"
"You look… delectable."
Kurt takes a step back and runs his eyes deliberately over Puck. "Don't think I didn't notice you." He steps close again. "You look rather fetching yourself." Kurt runs his hands down Puck's chest, smoothing the fabric. "In fact, if I recall correctly, I have a picture of you in this shirt on Friday, too."
"Mmmhmm," Puck agrees, wrapping one arm around Kurt's waist. "My mom thought it would be too tight."
Kurt smirks. "Oh, I think it's just right." He runs his hand up over Puck's chest again and down one arm. "Definitely just right."
Puck laughs and then kisses Kurt again. "Maybe we should just skip the meeting and get started on that drive we were talking about earlier."
"I wish," Kurt grumbles, and puts both his arms around Puck's neck, kissing him slowly and deeply.
"Ahem."
Puck rolls his eyes as Kurt pulls away slightly. "What, Finn?"
"It's, like, 1:50."
"It's a five minute drive," Kurt says with his own roll of the eyes. "We'll leave in five minutes."
"Oh. Okay," Finn shrugs, but he crosses the kitchen and goes to the refrigerator, and with a sigh, Puck and Kurt break apart.
They pull into the parking lot with the clock in the Navigator reading exactly 2:00, and Kurt turns the key to off in the midst of a deep breath. The three exit at the same time, Finn and Puck waiting on the passenger side until Kurt joins them. They all stand still, staring at the school.
"Ready?" Kurt says after a moment.
"Begin as we mean to go on, right?"
"Right."
"Well." Puck starts forward, an arm slung casually over Finn's shoulders and the other resting on Kurt's. "Let's do this thing, Munsters."
Puck catalogues the rest of the vehicles in the lot as they walk in, and concludes that they're the last three to show. When they reach the choir room, he can sense Kurt steeling himself, and he mentally does the same. Kurt pushes the door open and the three of them walk in, Kurt first, Puck on his heels, and Finn bringing up the rear.
The conversation in the room is at a low buzz, and most of the room stops to look at the somewhat unexpected trio. There's a pair of seats next to Rachel on the left hand side of the room, which Kurt deliberately walks past, climbing to the top row on the right hand side, and Puck follows suit. Both make a point of looking anywhere but at Rachel as they cross in front of her. Finn looks apologetically at Puck before sitting down next to Rachel, and the low buzz increases a little in volume.
Puck notices a few strange looks already starting, and he can tell Santana's about to open her mouth when Mr. Schuester walks in front of them and claps his hands twice. "Now that we're all here, we can get started!"
Puck looks at the rest of the room for the first time. There's a new bulletin board, covered with an oversize red sheet. There's a table that obviously has some food on it, but the food is also covered with a big red sheet. Finally, there's a table with rectangular pieces of white and yellow paper stacked on it, with cups of markers spread out on top of it.
"First of all, I'm so glad you all could make it today!" Schue looks around the room, beaming, before continuing. "I thought we could talk a little about the year, catch up after the summer, and maybe even get started on working for Sectionals. First, though, I want to show you our new addition." He gestures to the covered bulletin board.
"As a reward for our twelfth-place finish at Nationals, Principal Figgins installed a bulletin board for us. I was in here last Tuesday morning trying to decide what to do with it when Em-Ms. Pillsbury stopped by. She had a great suggestion that we're going to try.
"She mentioned that as a whole, the twelve of you represent the most motivated students in the senior class with regards to college and your plans for post-high school life. Not just the obvious ones," and he smiles at Rachel for a moment, "but others of you, too, she assured me. And so, I've divided this board into twelve sections." Schue pulls the sheet off the bulletin board, revealing a design that looked something like a crazy quilt, with each section naming one of them. "You can do whatever you like with your section, as long as it relates somehow to what you're doing after high school. I'll explain more about it later."
Puck smirks and leans back in his chair, crossing his arms. Yeah, Schue and Pillsbury were totally dating.
"Now, before I continue, Sam wanted to say something."
Sam rises from his seat between Mercedes and Mike, and stands up at the front of the room. "So, um. You guys have got to stop." He scans the room. "Seriously. Some of you have just given us overt help." He looks at Quinn, Mercedes, Tina, Mike, and Artie each in turn. "Some of you think you're being sneaky. Really big tips on pizza orders?"
"Kurt, you said Sam would totally never figure it out!" Finn protests, and Kurt smirks, biting back laughter.
"Santana said we had to give a bigger tip if we knew the delivery driver," Brittany muses. "Is that not true?" Santana's got her head in her hand, shaking it slowly.
"And then there's the really sneaky. Like whoever bought Captain America school supplies for Stevie." Sam's wrinkling his forehead, and everyone's looking around the room. Puck knows this is probably a good time to practice his poker face, but he's already got two really big secrets hanging around, so he chuckles after a moment and holds out his hands, palms facing Sam.
"I know absolutely nothing about Stevie's binder preferences that were definitely not communicated to me by Hannah while school supply shopping."
Sam gapes for just a moment, and everyone turns to look at Puck, who just raises an eyebrow and shrugs. "Seriously, though, you all must stop." And now Sam's grinning. "Because my mom found a great new job."
Everyone's up on their feet immediately, congratulating Sam and passing him from handshake to embrace to handshake, and if Puck notices Mercedes holding on a little longer than everyone else, well, he's not going to mention it. To anyone except Kurt, and maybe Finn.
Then Schue is getting everyone back in their seats. "Now, I wasn't going to have performances today, but Rachel was very insistent that she get a chance to sing."
Rachel stands up, and walks to the piano, a long look on her face, and she casts an apologetic look up towards where Puck and Kurt are sitting. Puck stifles a groan, and Kurt passes a hand over his eyes. Rachel's planning to apologize via song. "I, um. Just wanted to express my sorrow at hurting two of my good friends," she says quietly, and Puck can't help but feel a little sorry for her. "So this is for the two of you."
Puck wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't a mournful yet jazzy version of Credence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" Puck looks around surreptitiously during her performance and sees knowing looks on several places, plus the occasional sympathetic glance in his direction. She ends the song standing in front of Puck, and he embraces her briefly when she initiates the contact. Then she turns to Kurt and whispers in his ear before planting a kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you, Rachel," Schue interrupts the silence that follows. "Now, before we attack our snacks," he gestures to the still-covered table, "let me explain the function of the paper and rectangles. As I said, the bulletin board sections are yours, and I anticipate seeing notes about auditions, acceptance letters, and other plans posted on it over the course of the year. Since it's still only August, however, I thought you could each write one or two things that you want to see in your space. A quote, a goal, an important date: whatever is motivating to you." Schue claps his hands again. "So, without further delay. Snacks! And decorating." He removes the sheet, revealing a generous spread, by high school club standards. There's a cheese platter, fruit, and one of those giant Subway sandwiches. There are cookies from Pat's arranged on a platter, and at the very end there's an enormous cake from Save-A-Lot, decorated with music notes and inscribed "Welcome Back Glee Club 2012!"
"Sweet!" Puck's on his feet. "Free food!" Everyone laughs, and the rest of the guys follow suit, the girls approaching at a less voracious pace. In the melee, Mike and Sam pull Puck aside (after he fills his plate, thankfully), to ask him what Rachel's song and apology were about. Puck shrugs. "We were hanging out at Finn's on Saturday and she lost her filter," he finally settles on, and the other two boys nod. Puck sits down at the other table, absently doodling on one of the rectangles of paper, trying to decide what to write. He looks at Kurt from the corner of his eye; Mercedes, Tina, and Brittany had swarmed around him as soon as everyone stood up, and Puck's pretty sure they're pumping him for details of the Rachel fiasco as well. Finn drops into the seat next to Puck, and Artie rolls up on his other side, each of them staring at their own rectangles. Slowly, a few people put theirs up, commenting on others, and inspiration finally hits Puck. He grins and writes out a short quote before tacking it in the middle of his section.
We gotta get out of this place, if it's the last thing we ever do. Eyes on the prize, keep your mind on your goal. That's what all the different inspirational movies and motivational posters all come down to, in the end, and while Puck has bigger dreams, the most important and the most pressing is simple: to get himself (and Kurt) the hell out of Dodge.
He reads a few of the others' rectangles, and finds nothing surprising. Rachel's is simple: Broadway Bound. Finn's, the section next to Rachel's, says Football scholarship. Brittany's drawn an excellent, if somewhat inappropriate to the assignment, squirrel. Quinn's reads Golden days ahead.
As he sits down, Tina stands to put hers up, and he can read that it says Be the change. Tina's still standing at the board, and Finn's gotten back up to read more, when Kurt posts his with a smile.
"Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred," Finn reads. "What's that mean, Kurt?"
"Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes," Kurt sings softly, and then Tina picks up the next line, "Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred moments so dear," before they sing the next two together, and a look of confused understanding passes over Finn's face. When the next stanza starts, Rachel, Santana, and Puck all join in.
After the chorus, Tina takes the solo with brilliance, after Kurt nods at her imperceptibly. While she's singing, Kurt meets Puck's eyes and raises an eyebrow questioningly. Puck shrugs and takes the Law & Order dude's solo. The five of them finish the song in chorus, and Schue starts the clapping.
"That was awesome, dude," Sam claps Puck on the shoulder, and Schue even makes noises about using that number in a competition. No one notices Kurt runs his fingers over Puck's quote, or the small smile they share while everyone is talking. Puck would put good money on the idea that Kurt meant it more as a countdown than a celebration of the time they had left, no matter how much Kurt may love his friends.
After everyone's written something, Schue makes everyone sit in a circle and they're supposed to go around and explain what their thing means, if it's not self-explanatory, and also what they did this summer. Puck mentally groans at the requirements. Yeah, he's done a lot this summer, but very little of it is anything he wants to share with the rest of them.
I worked, I saved a lot of money, realized I was gay, then realized I want Kurt. I've spent the last week or so trying to convince Kurt he wants exactly what I want.
Yeah, that's a little too honest. Rachel, naturally, volunteers to go first, and then they're going around the circle from there, which means Puck's going to be the fourth person to speak. After Rachel comes Finn, and then Artie, who apparently spent three weeks on a cross-country road trip with his parents, looking at colleges. His rectangle has just one word: OCEAN.
Puck straightens in his seat a little as he starts talking, and gestures towards the bulletin board. "It says we gotta get out of this place, if it's the last thing we ever do, which is a quote from an Animals song from the '60s. I think it's pretty self-explanatory."
"That's a great song," Schue enthuses, breaking in. "We should do it one week, too."
Puck just nods and continues. "I spent the summer working. And hanging out at the Hudmel house." He inclines his head first in Finn's direction, then in Kurt's, then shrugs. "That's it."
Yeah, right.
Brittany goes next, explaining that she drew a squirrel because it's her best animal to draw, and says she spent most of the summer dancing and hanging out with Santana. Puck's pretty sure that in Britt-speak, it means she wants to do something with animals after high school, and that she and Santana are, at the very least, doing the "benefits" thing again, but everyone else seems to take Brittany's words at face value.
Tina talks excitedly about Asian camp and her trip to California to visit some of her relatives. Mike's summer is similar to Tina’s, minus the trip to California, and his rectangle says SYTYCD. Also self-explanatory.
Sam's summer consisted of pizzas and more pizzas, and his rectangle has something to do with going back south for college-another song quote, A southern man don't need him around, anyhow. Mercedes is sitting right next to him, shooing him sidelong glances as she talks about babysitting and maybe finding a place for college where she's not such a minority. Her square reads “stand out for the right reason,” she says, because she wants to be notable for being amazing, not for being one of the only black girls in the school.
Kurt's sitting next to her, and Puck wonders what Kurt will say about his summer. "I passed tests A1 through A6 of the ASE Automobile/Light Truck Certification Test Series," he starts with a small smirk, "worked at my dad's shop, and still have better looking nails than most of you," he concludes, holding up his hands to admire them. Most of the girls just nod in agreement with him.
Puck resists the urge to inspect his own nails. If they're dirty, Kurt hasn't seemed to mind so far.
Puck concludes that they're a pretty boring bunch by the time Schue steps into the middle of the circle (and, for the record, Schue is wearing a vest, just like Puck suspected). He starts to speak, but then Finn's insisting that he has to share his summer, too.
"All right, all right," Schue laughs, and any idiot can tell he's pleased to be asked. "I did help April out with her show for a few weeks, then I came back here to find a new, smaller apartment. I went to a couple of professional conferences, one in Topeka and one in Atlanta." Finn nods, satisfied, and Puck suppresses a snort of laughter. "Now, I forgot that I wanted to go over our schedule for the year. Everyone, move the chairs back."
While they're dutifully rearranging their chairs, Schue turns to write on the whiteboard. Monday-Thursday-Friday it reads, and he points to each in turn, reviewing their usual Monday class period, Thursday afternoon, Friday class period schedule. Then he writes below it Tuesday-morning and Wednesday-lunch. "These are only for the month or so before competitions," Schue elaborates, "and I'm not including Invitationals as a competition. Even though," he adds with a grin, "we are hosting Invitationals at the beginning of October!"
Because that's such good timing for everyone! Puck's mind can't help but finish the sentence, but outwardly he smiles along with everyone else.
"Now," Schue says dramatically as he erases the board, "your assignment for the week." He pauses to write expectations across the board, and then under it unexpected. "I want songs that deal with either the unexpected or expectations, in some way. Boys versus girls, boys over here," he gestures to the side of the room where Puck is slouched, "girls over here," waving in Brittany and Santana's direction. Everyone starts to move as Schue turns back to erase the board yet again, and fumble through some papers. Kurt's just dropped into a chair in front of Puck, turning it slightly, when Schue opens his mouth again. "Kurt. Other team."
Kurt freezes, and the rest of them do, as well. Puck can tell by looking at Kurt's face that, for once, he hadn't considered going with the girls' team. The girls all have stunned expressions on their faces, but it's Finn who finally breaks the silence.
"Uh, Mr. Schue? I thought you said girls versus boys. Not likes girls versus likes boys."
"I did," Schue says patiently, still not facing them.
"Then why'd you tell Kurt to go with the other team?"
Schue wheels around at that, takes in where everyone is seating, and flushes deeply. "I… I apologize, Kurt," he says after a moment. "I made a faulty assumption."
Kurt shrugs and waves it off, but when they start talking about what song they should do, he doesn't say anything for a few minutes.
Yeah. This sucks, and it's not even the first day of school yet. Because what he needs to do is kiss that look off Kurt's face, but instead he's sitting there pretending to be interested in Googling "great expectations" with Finn and Mike.
Sam speaks up after a few minutes of back and forth discussion. "What if we didn't take it so literally? I mean, the song doesn't have to have the word expectation or unexpected in it to still fit the assignment, right?"
Kurt perks up at this, at last, and nods. "That's an excellent point, Sam. My inner lyricist approves highly."
"Like what kind of song, then," Artie asks, frowning a little.
"Well, something like 'Time to Move On,' by Tom Petty," Sam elaborates. "It's about when it's time to see what's next. To me, that's expectations, that there's something else around the next corner, but it's unexpected. You don't know what's happening." There are nods and a couple of frowns.
Puck knows the song, but he's not sure if everyone does. Kurt's a step ahead of him, though, already pulling it up on YouTube on his phone. He keeps the volume low and puts the phone in the middle of their imperfect circle for everyone to hear. When the song finishes, Kurt nods in approval, as do Puck and Mike.
"I like it," Finn voices his own approval. Artie still looks a little skeptical, but shrugs and acquiesces.
"Can you pull up the lyrics?" Sam asks Kurt, since Kurt's still got his phone out, and Kurt nods. They spend ten minutes dividing up who will sing what part, and then talking amongst themselves. It takes longer for the girls to agree on a song, and no one on that side of the room looks completely happy when they finally announce that they've selected their number.
"Great!" Schue says with a nod. "We'll do the boys' performance on Thursday and the girls' on Friday. I think that was everything I wanted to cover today. It was great to see all of you and I know we're going to have a great year!"
"Let's all go get dinner!" Rachel announces as soon as Schue finishes, and as everyone enthusiastically agrees with her, Puck surrenders to the inevitable. He'd told his mom that he'd miss dinner, even though it was Monday, but he'd been hoping it'd mean he and Kurt could slip off together, or even with Finn tagging along. Not the entire glee club.
As it turns out, Sam volunteers to drive himself, Mercedes, Mike, and Tina, which makes Puck smirk. Artie calls his dad to come drive him, and Kurt does a quick count of the remaining members. "Everyone else can fit in with us," he announces, and everyone heads towards the parking lot.
There's the awkwardness of seating: Quinn, Santana, Brittany, Rachel, and Finn all in one vehicle, plus Puck and Kurt. Santana finally drags Brittany and Quinn into the rear seat, at which point Finn claims the middle seats for himself and Rachel. Puck nods at him imperceptibly, because yeah, he would've been kind of pissed if he wasn't sitting shotgun, but it wasn't like he could outright claim it. Not that day, anyway.
Kurt's barely started the engine before he turns to Puck. "Music," he says imperiously, handing his phone to Puck. Puck grins and plugs it in before hitting shuffle, and then leans his head against the window. "Where're we going, anyway?" he asks the car at large, and it's Finn who answers.
"Godfather's. You can't go wrong with a buffet of pizza."
Puck nods and listens to everyone's chatter. Quinn and Santana seem to be discussing whether or not they should consider rejoining the Cheerios. Rachel's muttering something to Finn, and periodically Finn says "It's fine, Rach. It's fine," or a variant thereof. Kurt's singing along with some of the songs that are playing.
"What do you think, Puck?"
"What?" He turns sideways in his seat to look behind him, where the three girls in the back are looking at him expectantly.
"Uh…" Puck stalls. Finn looks at him blankly, and Kurt's giving him a sympathetic look, since no one else can really see Kurt's face. "Um. Not really?"
"That's too bad," Quinn shakes her head, and then the three of them bend their heads together.
Puck turns back to to the front, shaking his own head slowly. Why had he thought he was into girls, again? They were confusing at best. Difficult. Or maybe they weren't difficult so much as Kurt was just… easy. He understood Kurt, and Kurt seemed to understand him.
They arrive at Godfather's and convince the hostess to shove enough tables together for them all to sit in a group before setting off for the buffet. Puck finds himself sandwiched between Mike and Brittany for the duration of the meal, which is definitely better than it could have been. The rest of the evening passes without too much awkwardness and a fair amount of laughter, and Puck thinks maybe he can manage the year. At least when it is just the glee club, he doesn't feel like he is hiding as much. He is still hiding a lot, though, and he can't help scowling for few moments during a lull in the conversation before he's once again caught up in the discussions and laughter.
When they arrive back at the school parking lot, everyone climbs out, giving each other hugs and exchanging 'see you tomorrows!' and 'seniors, baby!' before dispersing to their own vehicles. Santana and Brittany are the last to walk away from where Kurt, Finn, and Puck are standing.
"You could've dropped off Puck on the way here," Santana notes absently.
"Didn't even think about it," Kurt responds quickly in a way that tells Puck that he probably did think about it, at least briefly.
"Yeah, well. See you losers tomorrow," Santana grins to take the sting out of her words.
"Good night, Satan," Kurt smirks back, and the two girls climb into Brittany's car. After they've driven away, the three boys leave at last, Puck and Kurt joining hands with unspoken accord as soon as the doors are closed.
"Well, that didn't go so badly!" Finn enthuses, and Puck just turns and raises an eyebrow. "What? It didn't," he defends himself.
"I suppose so," Kurt concedes, and Puck supposes that, from Finn's point of view, it went well. Rachel apologized, Puck didn't accidentally out himself, and the day was relatively drama-free.
"You two notice the Samcedes goin' on?"
"Yes!" Kurt responds.
"Yeah, they seemed to be touching an awful lot," Finn agrees, wrinkling his brow. "You think they're dating?"
"I do," Puck nods. "The too-long hug, the touching, the sitting next to each other, and let's not forget the 'oh sure I'll drive Mercedes!' moment."
Kurt's nodding as Puck speaks. "Definitely. I think Mercedes kept her body turned towards him all day, even when she was ostensibly addressing someone else."
"Good point," Finn agrees. "Think they're going to tell anyone?"
Kurt shrugs. "I don't know. I think it would be rather hypocritical of us to complain if they don't."
Puck smiles and meets Kurt's eyes briefly, because yeah, the mention of an us does all sorts of funny things to him.
They get to Puck's apartment building long before he'd prefer, and he considers asking Finn to take a walk around the block but then he catches sight of the clock and groans, running a hand over his face.
"Opening?"
"Every weekday morning," Puck confirms. "It's technically two and a half hours, so that's twelve and a half right there." He sighs and drops his head back against the seat, squeezing Kurt's hand gently. "I should go on up."
"Okay," Kurt pouts for just a second, but it's enough to draw Puck in, leaning over for a quick kiss.
"Be good," he says, squeezing Kurt's hand a final time before letting go and opening the door.
"I'm always good," Kurt grins, and Puck heads for the door without looking back.
If he looks back, he's never going to get to bed at a time that will feel good come 5 am in the morning
"Hi, Noah." His mom's sitting in the living room, reading a book, and she sets it down as he comes in. "How was your day?"
Puck pauses, standing still, and furrows his brow. "Weird. Good. Weird again. Hard. Disappointing." He crosses the room and sits down on the couch beside her. "Really, really hard," he finally settles on, and leans back.
"I wondered if it would be," she says with a nod, and Puck's suddenly really, really grateful for his mom. "You know I'm fine with however you want to do this, Noah, but are you sure you want to keep everything a secret? It's not going to get any easier."
Puck swallows but shakes his head. "No. As much as part of me wants to at least come out… this town scares me, Mom. The things that have happened to Kurt. Some people around here really would think Kurt managed to 'make me gay.'" His hands gesture sarcastically. "Then I'm going to get harassed and things would get worse for Kurt, and it'd be harder for me to do anything about it." Puck shakes his head. "No, I don't see any other way to do this. This is hard, but at least it's not permanent-harm hard."
"You really think it would be that bad, Noah?"
"Honestly? Yeah, I think it could be." Puck frowns. "And, no, the other kids in glee club wouldn't be bad, but the more people that know, the more likely it is for even more people to find out."
I just can't be the reason behind anything causing Kurt any more pain, Puck would like to explain, but he's not sure that his mom would understand, and even if she did, she'd probably talk about how Puck shouldn't let anyone else dictate for him what he is and isn't comfortable revealing to others. She'd make it sound like Kurt was selfish, or Puck was giving Kurt too much power (whatever that means), but Puck knows what it is.
In her heart of hearts, his mom probably would, too, and Puck thinks that the idea of her baby boy feeling that way about someone would make her uncomfortable. In the end, he just won't even attempt to articulate all of his reasoning and motives.
His mom nods slowly, seeming to accept what he's saying. "Let me know if there's anything I can do, Noah," she says finally, holding his gaze for a moment, and Puck nods slowly.
"Thanks, Mom," he says at last. "I'd better go to bed."
"Good plan. I won't see you in the morning," she smirks at his grimace, "so have a good first day of school."
Puck rolls his eyes a little but smiles. "I'll try. Good night."
"Good night, Noah."
Puck nearly collapses into bed, bone tired and emotionally exhausted. He peels off his clothes and climbs under the covers. His eyes are already closing when his phone buzzes, and he considers not checking it, but ultimately Kurt's going to win out over everything, even sleep.
Want a ride tomorrow morning? I'll be there at 8 unless you tell me no. xx
You're the *best*. C u then. xxx