There are two people at fault for this story. The first is nubianamy, because she made me fall in love with Finn/Puck just when I was becoming quite comfortable with Sam/Puck as my OTP. The second is kidenagain, because she drew a ridiculously fluffy picture of Finn, Puck, and Beth. Read nubianamy's work (found on ) and join sofucked on lj to admire kidenagain's drawing.

There are relatively few things I own in this world… Glee is not one of them.

I do, however, hold a firm grasp of English Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics, as well as a fertile and dirty imagination. Please enjoy.

~~X~~

Breakfast for Dads

Ever since he can remember, Finn and his mom have had a special ritual for Father's Day. They wake up and make his dad's favorite breakfast: sausage, made-from-scratch biscuits, gravy, freshly-sliced tomatoes, and coffee. Now, this may seem like a generic breakfast for any American family heading straight toward obesity, Type II diabetes, and a heart attack, but Finn and his mom have an unspoken rule that this is the only time the whole year that they eat it.

Finn's a little sleepy as he puts the cut-out biscuits on the buttered baking sheet. This is the first time he's been up before noon this summer. He doesn't mind, though, because cutting out the biscuits is one of his most favorite activities. It might be totally lame, but he still likes using the star-shaped cookie cutter instead of the circle one.

He's rolling the dough back out to cut a few more, when his mom says, "Finn, did you mean to buy turkey sausage?"

Finn pauses before answering, because he's really not sure why he bought turkey sausage. "No. Is that okay? I can run to the store and – "

"No, honey, that's fine."

"But, what about our tradition?"

"Well, how about this. We'll try the turkey sausage this year, and if we like it, we'll start a new tradition. If it's not as good, we'll go back to regular sausage."

Finn nods his head and goes about finishing up the biscuits.

It's when they're loading their plates that his mom changes everything. "I wonder how Noah's doing today."

Finn's fingers go numb and he drops his biscuit on the plate. "What?"

"Oh, you know, it's his first Father's Day."

The thought had never even crossed Finn's mind. Aside from noting the circles under Puck's eyes in the last couple months of school, Finn had never once thought what Puck's life's like raising Beth. They're not bros anymore, so Finn hadn't felt the need to spend time thinking about him.

Truthfully, Finn is jealous that Puck and Beth get to have each other while Finn gets nothing.

His mom continues, "Do you know how he's adjusting? I haven't heard anyone mention Lima's most popular pool cleaning service resuming business."

Finn shakes his head and goes back to concentrating on breakfast, even if his appetite is almost gone. His mom carries their conversation, going on about SATs, Burt, college applications, Burt, scholarship applications, Burt, clothes shopping with Kurt, Deadliest Catch, and, inevitably, Burt. If Carole notices that Finn is uncharacteristically quiet and not eating with the enthusiasm he usually possesses, she doesn't say anything. Finn's doing nothing more than trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Puck's a dad. He's a dad.

He's loading the dishwasher, still thinking about Puck and what Beth looks likenow, when his mom touches his arm. He turns around. "Here, you go, Finn." She hands him the keys to her car and a saran-wrapped plate of their breakfast left-overs.

"What's this for? You want me to take it to Burt?"

"Not Burt." She touches Finn's cheek, and walks out of the kitchen.

It takes him a few minutes, but Finn finally gets it and leaves the house.

~~X~~

"Come on, baby girl, let Daddy get that – ow!"

On the one hand, Puck feels he should be proud that Beth is already a total badass with mad ninja skills, but on the other hand, he's seriously going to have to clip her nails for times like this when she's mad as hell and he needs to suck a booger out of her nose. He yawns, wishing that his mom or Sarah were home so he could sleep for another couple of hours.

"Dude, what are you doing to her?"

Puck freezes, registering the fact that Finn's there, that he's just let himself into Puck's house like he'd done countless times before babygate, before things went to shit. He doesn't answer as he makes another attempt to de-booger his daughter. This time, although she can't quite turn all the way over, she twists so hard to the left that Puck barely stops himself from poking her in the cheek with the nasal aspirator. "Okay, kid, you win." Puck puts down the booger sucker. "Don't blame me if you can only breathe out of one nostril."

Finn's voice sounds quiet—almost hesitant—even though he has to speak loudly to be heard over the screaming four-month old. "Can I try?"

Puck turns to look at Finn, noting that, like Puck, Finn's wearing a pair of McKinley sweatpants; although, where Puck is wearing a white tank, Finn's wearing a thin white T-shirt. He bows out of the way and says, "Be my guest." He stands next to the changing table, prepared to rescue Finn in thirty seconds when Beth's crying escalates. She's not exactly receptive to strangers.

Finn picks up the aspirator and leans over Beth. "Uh, hey there, baby." Finn's barely said anything yet, but Beth immediately stops crying and relaxes. Puck can't believe it. "You might remember me. I thought I was your daddy for awhile." Puck had thought that he had gotten over how much he had hurt Finn, but the tightness in his chests says otherwise. "But, it's cool, though, because your daddy is kinda an alright guy." The tightness loosens and Puck releases tension he didn't even know he had been holding. He watches Finn smile at Beth. Finn's hair is still sticking up like he's just woken up. It makes him look younger. Finn suddenly looks up. "So, do I just put it in her nose and let go of the bulb thing?"

"Yeah. Just, uh, try to use the side of her nose like an anchor."

Finn nods his head then his brows furrow together, like he's working the quadratic equation. Puck stays quiet, just watching Finn's face. When he smiles and says, "Dude, she's grinning at me! Look!" Puck's mouth opens in an O of surprise, because Finn's entire face alights with joy.

A warmth, where there was only tightness moments ago, spreads through his chest. It's the same warmth that Puck feels every morning when he goes to Beth's room and she smiles at him, as though she had been waiting all night for that moment. Puck barely closes his mouth before Finn looks up and sees. Puck tries to ignore that the warmth intensifies as Finn directs his smile at Puck. Puck rolls his eyes and says, "You do know that it's total garbage that she's letting you do that. I'd been trying for ten minutes before you got here."

Finn smirks and looks back down at Beth, setting the aspirator aside. "Your daddy's a hater, did you know that?" Finn brushes a finger across her cheek and Beth grabs it, sticking it in her mouth. "That's awesome, man."

"You say that now, but I bet you anything that you won't think it's so awesome when she's waking you up at three AM and you gotta be up at six." As if to accentuate his words, he lets out another jaw-cracking yawn. "Come on, dude, I need coffee." He walks around Finn and heads to the kitchen.

"Uh, what about the baby?"

"Pick her up. She won't bite." He runs a hand over his face, willing himself not to yawn again. "Gum you, maybe." He's mixing some cream in with his coffee when Finn walks into the kitchen with Beth holding onto his shoulder, his arms supporting her. "So, what brings you here, man?" Puck turns, leaning against the counter, and this time he can't stop the yawn from overwhelming him again.

"Brought you breakfast."

"What?"

Finn nods his head to where the microwave is, the plate he brought resting on top of it. "Just make sure you take the tomatoes off before heating it up."

Puck pulls the plate down. "Sausage, biscuits and gravy, tomatoes. This is your dad's breakfast. You only eat… Shit." Puck sets the plate down on the counter. "It's Father's Day. I didn't even realize."

"The sausage is turkey."

Puck doesn't respond, because he's shocked and there's a burning at his eyes that shouldn't be anywhere near badasses, but he's overwhelmed that Finn would share this with him.

Finn steps behind him. "Puck, are you… crying?"

Puck wants to scoff and tell him that he's not, but he can't. He keeps his back to Finn, though, trying to maintain some dignity. "Yeah, man, I guess I am."

"I didn't mean to, I mean, I'm sorry if I – "

"No, Finn, this is awesome. I just didn't know it was Father's Day and then you brought your dad's breakfast, and, god, I'm just so tired. Beth's not been sleeping great the past couple of nights. With Mom's work schedule and Sarah away at camp, I've had to be with her 24/7 and I really just want to sleep."

"Aren't you supposed to sleep when she does? I mean, I've heard that that's what you're supposed to do."

"Works in theory, dude. But, I can't shut my stupid brain up long enough to go to sleep. I keep thinking that she might be hungry, or cold, or sick, or scared, and I can't hear her crying, so I have to get up and go check on her. And then, I'll almost be asleep and I'll think about SIDs and I have to get up and check on her again, and – " So, he's really crying now and he feels like he's betraying Beth when he says, "Sometimes, I just wish I'd listened to Quinn. I'm a fuck-up. How the hell am I supposed to raise a baby?"

Finn reaches out and puts a hand on Puck's shoulder, and, dignity be damned, Puck turns around leans into Finn's embrace. Beth reaches out and touches Puck's face and the heat from Finn's body causes Puck to relax completely. It feels good, standing in his kitchen, the smell of coffee in the air, the promise of breakfast from Finn, the touch of Beth's hand on his cheek, and the feel of Finn's shoulder on his other cheek while Finn holds him close. It's heady, and Puck has a sudden vision of the three of them in a park. He and Finn are holding hands, Beth's riding on Puck's shoulders. She's about five and her hair is blonde, held back with a pink barrette. Her eyes are Quinn's eyes. Her front two teeth are missing. It's a perfect image, one he wants to hold on to forever, but he lets it pass out of his mind. That's not a future he and Finn will have.

He pulls Beth's hand off his cheek and kisses it before stepping away from Finn. "I'm so – "

"Don't say you're sorry. I'm not. Besides, you're tired."

"Yeah. I better finish that coffee, and maybe three more, and heat up this breakfast. Beth's going to want to play soon, and if I don't get on the floor with her, she'll pitch a fit." He yawns again.

"Dude, I can do that for you. Go to sleep."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah." He kisses Beth's cheek. "I totally got this. Don't I, little girl?" Beth smiles at him again. "See? She agrees."

"I don't know, man, she might need – "

"Remember when I said Daddy's a hater earlier? Well, he's also a big meanie." Finn sticks his lip out.

"Okay, okay, fine. Just, don't pout. Let me show you where her cereal is."

Puck sets a bottle with formula on the table, just in case. "If you have to give her a bottle, make sure you fill the bottle up to the top line. Warm water, or she won't take, but not too hot, or it will burn her." Finn doesn't answer, too caught up in feeding Beth another spoonful of cereal. "Finn? Did you hear me?"

"Warm water, to the line. Go to bed, Puck."

"Two hours, dude, then wake me up."

Finn waves his hand at Puck. "Go."

"Change her diaper if the line turns green, and wake me up if she gets fussy."

"Hey, Beth, tell that daddy that he worries too much. Because he does, doesn't he?"

"Douche."

"Puck, not in front of the kid!"

Puck's confused when he wakes up and the room is way darker than it should be. He turns over and finds his phone is missing from his nightstand. He curses Finn, because it's obvious that he snuck in and stole his phone, and rolls out of the bed. He hears someone moving around in the kitchen, but it's not Finn. "Ma?" God, it has to be after five if his mom's home from work.

"Shh." She points to the living room and Puck walks quietly to the door.

Finn's lying propped up on the couch, his legs crossed at the ankles. He's asleep, with Beth curled up on his chest. Her legs are tucked up towards her belly, her arms tucked under her chest. Puck's heart stutters, and he backs out of the living room towards the kitchen.

The microwave beeps and his mom pulls his breakfast plate out, replacing the tomatoes. Puck sits down at the table and stares down at the food. His fingers feel too numb to handle a fork and knife right now.

His mom sits across from him. "Noah, I think I've changed my mind." Puck looks up at his mom, confused. "I don't want you to look for a nice Jewish girl anymore."

Puck blinks at her. "What are you talking about, Ma?"

"Oh, honey, you and I both know that you've been in love with that boy since the first day of kindergarten. You came home and went on and on about Finn and how he liked Leonardo more than Raphael, but that was okay because he let you have some of his pudding cup, and nobody ever shares their pudding cup." Puck's face flushes, but he doesn't deny what she says. "I think it's finally dawned on Finn that he loves you too."

"No, he doesn't. He can't, Ma. There's too much bad shit for us to be together."

She stands up and moves beside him before sliding the plate closer to Puck. "Noah, he brought you his Father's Day breakfast." She leans down and kisses him on top of his head. "I'm going to go pick Sarah up."

She's been gone for five minutes by the time Puck is able to move again. He picks up the plate and goes to the living room, intent on enjoying both of his Father's Day gifts at the same time.