Rating: R for references to sexytimes.
Warning: Cheating
Spoilers: Up to New York.
Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with Glee, I'm just a fan with an overactive imagination.
Author Notes: Sequel to One Night, One Night More? and One Night Apart.
On Thursday morning, Kurt awoke, rolled over and looked at the clock. Seven o'clock. An inhuman hour to be awake during the holidays, he thought, so he rolled back over and tried to sleep again.
Try as he might, however, he couldn't stop running through the previous night in his head. He had been telling Blaine the truth when he said that he really did love him, albeit as a friend rather than anything more, and he couldn't forget the hurt, angry look on Blaine's face as he as realised what Kurt was telling him.
He knew he had done the right thing last night – to try to continue with a relationship that he to which he wasn't fully committed was folly, and unfair to both of them.
He just couldn't stop that roiling feeling of guilt in his stomach as he thought about what he had done with Puck, what he had allowed to happen.
At the time, it hadn't occurred to him, he hadn't thought about it. Not seriously, at any rate. He had just wanted to forget about Blaine and his humdrum Lima life for one night in the big city.
Kurt had always held cheaters in contempt before – after all, how difficult was it to be romantically involved with only one person? – but he had never realised just how easy it was to let yourself get lost in a moment, when the person who was with you right there and then felt like the only one who mattered.
So Kurt had put it behind him, trying to forget the thrill he felt every time he remembered the way Puck's hands moved over his skin. Pretending that night had never happened. After all, it hadn't meant anything, had it? Not really.
And then, Puck had come and found him, and told him that he loved him. And Kurt was thrown into a tumult, not knowing what, or who, he wanted. Now that there were other options available, he had started to see that it wasn't worth being in a bad relationship just for the sake of being in one.
He was dangerously close to being in way over his head.
Rolling over once more, Kurt stumbled out of his bed and into his bathroom, trying to find some sense of normalcy in his everyday routine. He carefully completed his morning skin regimen. It wasn't distracting him.
He looked at his face in the mirror and remembered Puck's standing him in front of the mirror, talking him through his best attributes. Without him there it was hard to remember what they had been.
Once he had let that one thought of Puck slip through, it opened the floodgates to more, every memory hitting him more vividly than the last. And then, suddenly, the look on Blaine's face when Kurt had told him what he'd done.
It was strange what a difference a night's sleep could make. Some images faded with sleep, but others were brought to the forefront of your mind, lingering there, making you feel all the guiltier for not thinking of it the night before.
Kurt sighed.
He had to talk to someone. But he didn't know to whom he could possibly talk about this.
Definitely not Finn, Kurt decided. Kurt thought he might perhaps understand his point of view, given that he had also cheated on his girlfriend. But then again, Finn had refused to forgive Rachel for a similar offense… there was no way of knowing what he would think of Kurt and Puck's little adventure. It was, after all, cheating on boyfriends with Puck that seemed to be Finn's particular peeve.
No, there had to be someone else.
Not Rachel – she liked Blaine too much. Kurt doubted she would understand his motives for cheating on his apparently perfect boyfriend.
Mercedes was out, too; she was too much of a blabbermouth.
Other than those three, there wasn't really anyone in Glee to whom Kurt felt close enough for this sort of conversation.
Then he heard a loud clunk from the dishwasher downstairs, and it hit him.
His dad. Of course.
Six months ago, he would never even have dreamed to going to his father about something like this. But after the never-to-be-forgotten sex talk, perhaps his dad was ready for something like this.
As it was, his dad would probably realise something was up when Kurt wasn't his usual chirpy self in the evening.
Kurt went back into his bedroom and dressed himself hastily, rushing downstairs to speak to his father before he left for work.
Burt Hummel was sitting at the kitchen table, poking half-heartedly at a grapefruit.
He looked up at his son as he entered, acknowledging him with a nod and a comment of, "You see the crap I gotta eat?"
Before Kurt could respond, however, Burt did a double take. "Hold up… it's the summer vacation? What are you doing up?"
"I need to talk to you," Kurt said, sitting down opposite his father. "It's about… boys."
Burt assumed a grimly determined expression and nodded, "Okay, Kurt. I'm here for you. What is it you wanna talk about?"
"It's about… Blaine… and… someone else. I… I broke up with Blaine yesterday. Well. It was sort a mutual thing."
"Okay. Do you wanna tell me why?" Burt suggested, trying to support his son without pushing him.
"Because… of several reasons. One of which was that I cheated on him."
"Kurt?" His father looked at him with a disbelieving expression.
"When I was in New York. With… another member of New Directions."
Burt nodded. He was clearly unimpressed.
"Dad, please say something."
"I don't know what to say, Kurt. What you do is your business. But I thought I raised you better than that." Disappointment seemed to radiate off him.
"I know. You did. I just… I had a moment of weakness."
Burt made no reply, so Kurt took a breath and continued.
"Last night, when I was out with Blaine, I realised that I couldn't keep pretending that everything was okay. If I was willing to do that, then there was obviously something badly wrong. So I ended it. And I told him about me and P-… and New York. And he doesn't want to see me any more, even as a friend."
"I can't say I blame him, Kurt."
"Anyway, that's over now. 'Cos Dad, I realised I was only with him because he was my only choice. He was the onlyout gay guy I knew. And I knew that before, but it never really hit me that that wasn't reason enough for a relationship. I really did like him. But not in the right way."
Burt nodded, taking his time before he replied. "Okay, so you seem pretty okay with the breakup thing. You know why things went wrong and you're okay with not being with him any more. So what is it that got you so upset you're up before nine on a vacation?"
"The guy I… um… cheated with. I thought it was just a one time thing. But then he came over the other day and told me that he's in love with me. And I don't know what to do."
Burt took a deep breath. "You say you 'cheated' with him." He mimed air quotes. "What exactly did you do? And bear in mind, I'm just looking for the bare essentials here."
Kurt flushed beetroot red as he replied. "We… um… were naked. There was… um… thrusting. We didn't… there wasn't any… oral… or… anal… stuff… happening."
Burt was visibly attempting to ensure that no mental images were conjured of Kurt taking part in any of these activities.
"Okay. I just want to make sure that you're protecting yourself, Kurt," Burt said in a worried tone. "It's like I said, doing something like that does something to you. You're letting someone see you at your most vulnerable."
"I know, Dad. But somehow… I don't know. He made me feel… appreciated. It felt right with him. And that scares me. I hardly know him and it just… felt right."
Burt nodded. "Okay. So what you gotta do is figure out what you want with him."
"I don't know, Dad! He's just so serious about me, and I don't… I know I like him. And I like the idea of going out with him. And having s-"
Kurt cut himself off, eyes bulging at what he had been about to say, to his father of all people.
He continued, "And just… being his boyfriend. But he's already told me he's in love with me, and I'm nowhere near there yet. I don't want to suddenly get into a relationship that serious."
Burt opened his mouth, but Kurt cut him off before he could speak, "I know, Dad. If we're... doing things, then it's already kind of serious. I just felt so safe with him."
"Kurt. I can't tell you what you should do here. You've gotta decide for yourself. I understand that this has been difficult for you. You got all kinds of thoughts and feelings going on. But you already hurt one guy with all of this stuff. You gotta be careful that you don't hurt this other guy, whoever he is.
"Don't let yourself be talked into something you're not ready for. It'll just be the worse for both of you in the long run."
"He's not trying to talk me into-"
"I'm not saying that he is. But just remember that, even though you… did things… that doesn't mean you have to date him."
Kurt opened his mouth to reply, amazed, but his father interrupted him. "I am notcondoning you having meaningless sex, Kurt, because you matter far too much to throw yourself around like that.
"But if you agree to go out with him just 'cos you feel obligated, or whatever, because of what you did in New York… that's just as dumb a reason as dating a guy because he's there and he happens to be gay."
With a faint smile, Kurt nodded. "Okay. I'll bear that in mind." He reached forward to squeeze his father's hand. "Thanks, Dad."
Kurt got up from he seat and started to move towards the stairs.
"Sure thing, kiddo. And Kurt!" Burt called after his son.
"Yes, Dad?" Kurt replied, turning around.
"Where exactly was Mr Schuester when all this was happening?"
Kurt coloured slightly. "I was feeling a bit bummed out about Nationals, and leaving New York, so I stayed in. Puck stayed behind to find out what was wrong."
"He just left you in the hotel room?"
"They couldn't all stay behind just because of me, Dad. There was only Mr Schue there for all twelve of us."
Burt nodded, deciding not to point out the fact that his son had let Puck's name slip. He was going to have to black out large sections of this conversation for the sake of his sanity as it was, adding Noah Puckerman's name to that shouldn't be too difficult.
Kurt went back up to his room, sat at the desk and gazed out of the window. He had a lot of thinking to do. At the end of the day, it all boiled down to this: did he want Noah Puckerman to be his boyfriend? His full time, out in public, sexy, muscled boyfriend.
He would just have to stick to his original plan: get to know Puck a little better over the family dinner tomorrow night, and hope that he could make up his mind by the time it was over. He couldn't keep him hanging on forever, after all.
Could the two of them ever be a happy couple? Only time would tell.