Bronze and Porcelain


Run with me now, soldier of Rome. We sew our own fate and under my face, I smile. I'll never forget how I felt that moment I became free.


Kurt told him not to worry about the things eating away at his flesh. When Noah started thrashing about, worried that they were eating him just as they'd eaten his mother, Kurt was the one who threatened to knock him out if he didn't calm down. He said that they would allow him to heal, allow him to live on.

It was Kurt's hand touching the small of his back during the trek to the encampment, and Kurt who sat at his side for the duration of his fever. It was his gentle hands prodding at Noah's shoulder, massaging a mixture of plant material and his saliva into Noah's open wound. It was his voice that pulled Noah back from the edge, and his guidance that kept Noah from being killed right away.

"Stay close to me." Kurt shouted to be heard over the roaring arena, and he touched the back of Noah's neck just before the gate opened, just before the slaves poured into the court and their blood spilled onto the dusty earth.

It was Kurt at the other end of Noah's chain, Kurt who grunted and cried out with each successful strike of his sword and block with his shield. Kurt killed the man whose ax almost split Noah's head right in half, and he moved just in time for Noah to stab the man Kurt had almost missed. It was Kurt's back pressed warmly against his - slighter, but just as firm and probably much wearier. He and Kurt stood as the last two alive in the center of the slaughter, while the crowd cheered and shouted about Bronze and Porcelain.

Kurt understood what it meant to lose a family; Kurt whose mother died from the plague, whose father was killed in battle, whose brother had been separated and left to an uncertain fate. It was Kurt who whispered to Noah at night in the damp darkness, an arm's length away after the fire died. Kurt was the one who pushed Noah to fight for freedom from their corrupt Emperor, who smiled triumphantly when they praised Noah's name brighter than when they praised his own. Once Noah began to gain enemies higher up, Kurt insisted on testing his food for poison.

It was Kurt's worried frown when Noah told him about the Emperor's hatred. Kurt's tousled hair and smudged cheeks and calloused fingertips. It was the coldness in his eyes when he cut down the most famous gladiators, each more acclaimed than the last. It was the warmth in his eyes when Noah spoke fondly of his lost sister. Kurt supported him with more zeal than all the masses.

It was Kurt who intercepted the Emperor's sword aimed at Noah's heart, and it was in Kurt's memory that Puck took vengeance and gave Rome back to the people with a dying man's wish.

It was Kurt's love and hand that awaited him first when Noah crossed over, and Kurt who smiled saying, "Now, we are free."


Warning: Non-graphic character death.

A/N: The Puckurt Community at LJ is currently holding a Drabble-Off, and this was my submission for Round Two: Time Periods: Ancient Rome. The link is on my profile, so tune in for the last two rounds! Round Three will be posted on Sunday, October 14th. I do not own Glee or "Now We Are Free" by Lisa Gerrard.