Yes, here I go again. This time, I'm tainting Glee with my schoolgirl imagination. I've just recently got into this, and totally fell in love with Kurt the minute I laid eyes on him. It's so unfortunate that Chris Colfer's gay in real life. Anyway, I much prefer this pairing to Kurt and Finn, simply because I think it would be funny if it turned out Puck was into guys as well, after being so awful to Kurt.
Oh, and a point about the perspective. It's not a character's perspective, it's mine. E.g. it's me talking. I thought it would be easier than having to write in character for someone else.
After it happened, we didn't dare leave Kurt on his own.
I mean, it was bad enough when he finally came to terms with Finn. I thought that was going to last forever.
He got over it though, and finally started looking around.
We were doubtful about Puck, but underneath all the bad attitude, he was a good person, and after experiencing how painful infidelity can be from Santana, we thought maybe he'd be good for Kurt. He certainly made Kurt smile again.
They weren't out about it, not even to us, although when we're all so close, it wasn't hard to notice. I suspect it started it started about the physical, but I knew Kurt better. It didn't stay like that for long. That boy's got a huge heart.
I don't know whether Puck actually ever felt anything for Kurt. He definitely felt an attraction, and he came out as bisexual to Glee about two months after they got involved.
But doing this to Kurt, so soon after the attack and Finn…
Kurt goes through so much crap every day, just because of who he is, does he really need his so-called boyfriend to add to it? No.
Four months after the two of them got together; Santana came crawling back to Puck, begging to be taken back. She knew about him and Kurt, you'd have to be blind not to, but instead of pointing out to her that he was taken, Puck re-started something with her, and neglected to tell Kurt.
Until about a week ago. Kurt found out.
I really don't know what to do. He's like a zombie, going through the motions of life. He almost quit Glee, for God's sake. He's avoiding Puck like the plague, not that I blame him.
What I'm really worried about is that he refuses to talk to us as well. We can't even get him excited by fashion anymore. He just shrugs and looks away, staring into space.
He has me worried sick. We all are, me, Tina, Mercedes, heck, even Finn and Rachel are, though the pair of them are so oblivious to anything. Finn's gone mad. I've never seen him so angry with Puck. The strange thing was, Puck just took it.
Me, Mercedes and Tina came up with a plan. There's always one of us in a class with Kurt. We stick by him the entire day, and then either he sleeps around one of our houses, or one of us sleeps over with him. His dad hasn't complained. I think he knows Kurt needs people around right now.
I was sure of one thing though. I was never letting Puck anywhere near Kurt again. It would only make it worse. Kurt needed to heal and he could only do that without Puck.
When I'm around Kurt's house, we watch films and listen to music. We do our homework together. And every night, when Kurt thinks I'm asleep and he's alone, he cries. Those muffled sobs are the most painful things I've ever heard.
I creep into his bed and hold him, letting him cry on my shoulder. We never talk about it, and both of us pretend it never happened come the morning, but I know he still feels it. Sometimes he cries without even realising.
That's why I'm going to kill Puck.
I already offered to, but Kurt told me not to. That's the only thing that's stopping me so far, but if he tries anything with Kurt, he will lose his life.
Mercedes and Tina told me Kurt cries when he's with them as well. I wonder if Puck knows how badly he's scarred Kurt. I wonder if he was counting on it.
I hate this. Kurt's trying so hard not to let this affect Glee, or his friendship with Finn, Rachel or Santana, but every time Puck and Kurt are in the same room, the tension hikes so much the rest of us can hardly breath.
Practice usually ends with one or other of them leaving. I guess Puck feels guilty. He'd better.
Santana's been ousted. Now nobody will talk to her, except Puck and Brittany, but that's because she's blonde and she forgets.
I just wish Kurt could see how many are on his side, how much he is loved even without Puck. But he won't, because all he wants is Puck's love and I'm not sure he ever had it.
It's been two months now. Kurt's been getting better without Puck interfering. There was a minor blip when it would have been their six-month anniversary, but apart from that, Kurt's better.
He doesn't cry anymore and he can be in the same room as Puck without the tension making me want to kill myself.
All in all, things are good. Until about two days ago.
Me, Mercedes and Kurt were all at Kurt's house, rehearsing our song that was our Glee homework. There was a knock on the door, and Mr Hummel yelled that it was definitely one of our friends, so one of us should go and answer it.
I got nominated, so I went and opened it. Standing on the doorstep, not looking nearly nervous enough for my liking, was Puck.
We just stared at each other in shock for a few minutes, and then I glared and slammed the door in his face, before gong back and saying it was someone selling something.
Literally only a minute later, the doorbell rang again, and this time, Mercedes went. She came back with a grim look on her face and saying it was a wrong number. She looked over to me and mouthed Puck's name. I knew it.
The doorbell rang again. Mercedes and I looked at each other and by unspoken agreement, we both went. Puck stood there, looking defiant. Mercedes had kicked off at him, while I stood by and grinned, when Puck's focus suddenly shifted and he called out Kurt's name.
I looked over my shoulder and saw that Kurt was standing there, frozen, a look of shock on his face. I went to him as Mercedes yelled something like 'you've done enough damage' and slammed the door. We pulled Kurt back to his room and waited for the tears.
We were surprised though. Kurt's face was paler than I've ever seen it, and when he spoke, his voice shook, but his eyes remained dry as he stated that he wanted to talk to Puck.
Of course, our instantaneous reactions were to say no way. Kurt was insistent, however, and it was the first thing that had really got him animated in a long time. So we gave in.
But with conditions. Firstly, we went with him. We would stand outside the door while he spoke to Puck.
Secondly, if we heard any shouting, crying or complete silence after five minutes, we were coming in to get him.
Thirdly, unless Puck went to town on the apologies and was already broken up with Santana, under no circumstances was Kurt to take him back.
The next day, Mercedes grabbed Puck and took him to the room Glee usually met in. I was already there with Kurt and after three, I half-pushed, half-guided him through the door and shut it.
Mercedes and I sat on the floor outside the door and did the only thing we could do. We waited.
We could hear the low murmur of voices, Puck's deep one and Kurt's higher pitched one serving only to emphasize the many and vast differences between them. We were all mad to think this could work. They were just too different.
Suddenly, the voices raised and were getting dangerously close to shouting. Mercedes and I tensed, ready to leap in and fish Kurt out, when it all went quiet again. It stayed that way for a few minutes, and then the most bizarre thing happened.
Kurt started to sing. It was a song I'd heard before, but I had no idea Kurt knew the words.
Kurt began "Is our secret safe tonight
And are we out of sight?
Or will our world come tumbling down?
Will they find our hiding place?
Is this our last embrace?
Or will the walls start caving in?"
There was silence for a few minutes on all our parts. Kurt had sent us all into shock, but what blew us all away was that Puck responded "It could be wrong, could be wrong"
Then Kurt "But it should have been right"
Puck "It could be wrong, could be wrong"
Kurt "To let our hearts ignite"
Puck "It could be wrong, could be wrong"
Kurt "Are we digging a hole?"
Puck "It could be wrong, could be wrong"
Kurt "This is out of control"
Puck "It could be wrong, could be wrong"
Kurt "It can never last"
Puck "It could be wrong, could be wrong"
Kurt "Must erase it fast"
Puck "It could be wrong, could be wrong"
Kurt "But it could have been right"
Puck "It could be wrong, could be..."
Kurt "Love is our resistance
They'll keep us apart and they won't stop breaking us down
Hold me
Our lips must always be sealed"
Puck "If we live our life in fear
I'll wait a thousand years
Just to see you smile again
Kill your prayers for love and peace
You'll wake the thought police
We can't hide the truth inside"
Kurt "It could be wrong, could be wrong"
Puck "But it should have been right"
Kurt "It could be wrong, could be wrong"
Puck "To let our hearts ignite"
Kurt "It could be wrong, could be wrong"
Puck "Are we digging a hole?"
Kurt "It could be wrong, could be wrong"
Puck "This is out of control"
Kurt "It could be wrong, could be wrong"
Puck "It can never last"
Kurt "It could be wrong, could be wrong"
Puck "Must erase it fast"
Kurt "It could be wrong, could be wrong"
Puck "But it could have been right"
Kurt "It could be wrong, could be..."
Puck "Love is our resistance
They'll keep us apart and they won't stop breaking us down
Hold me
Our lips must always be sealed"
Kurt "The night has reached its end
We can't pretend
We must run
We must run
It's time to run"
Puck "Take us away from here
Protect us from further harm
Resistance"
As they sang the entire song together, I couldn't help thinking how appropriate the song was for both of them. The low murmur of voices was back, and then it went quiet again. Mercedes and I were just getting ready to bust down the door, when Kurt stepped out, quickly followed by Puck.
Kurt just smiled weakly at us and began to walk away. We fell into step with him, but weren't even halfway down the corridor when Puck called Kurt's name, a hint of pleading in his voice.
Without even turning around, Kurt replied "I love you, Noah, but I can't trust you again so soon. You have to be patient. You have to give me time."
After that, things almost went back to normal. Kurt and Puck no longer avoided each other, but nor did they spend more time together than usual.
Glee was doing brilliantly and we were back on track for Regionals. Although Finn and Rachel headlined most of the songs, there were still some excellent solos from Mercedes, Tina and finally Kurt. He was singing Affirmation by Savage Garden. The first time he sang it, he got a standing ovation from Glee.
Puck was doing the guitar for it, and it was really nice to see the two of them working on the song together. The rest of us made sure Santana stayed out of the way.
The day after Puck and Kurt talked; Puck rather publicly dumped Santana and came out as bisexual. Glee stood by him and apart from one or two slushies, which were almost normal now, things carried on. Life always moved on.
Then one day, when Mercedes, Kurt and I entered the room Glee usually met in, on the chair where Kurt always sat was a single red rose, with a typed note that said a red rose means admiration. Kurt went red and very carefully picked the flower up.
He got teased the rest of the day about having an anonymous admirer.
He got another the next day, put inside his locker, with another note saying two red roses mean loyalty. The third turned up four days later, on top of Kurt's music for Regionals. The note said three red roses mean innocence. The fourth was two days later, on the passenger seat of Kurt's car, with the note declaring that four red roses mean beauty.
The fifth came three days later, in the auditorium with the note stating that five red roses mean protection. The sixth was on the same day, on Kurt's doorstep, saying that six red roses mean honesty.
There was a lag of about five days before numbers seven (seven red roses mean romance), eight (eight red roses mean kindness) and nine (nine red roses mean tenderness) all turned up in quick succession, all planted in places where they could only be meant for Kurt.
Kurt never failed to blush bright red every time he received a rose, and later told us that no one had ever done something so romantic for him. He still had all the roses in water in his room, adding a splash of colour to it.
We were all eagerly waiting for the mystery person to reveal himself. None of us had any idea who it could be. It had to be someone from school, yet none of us could think of a boy that would do something so sweet.
The tenth rose appeared in Kurt's English class, put on top of his desk and the note, apart from telling Kurt that ten red roses mean adoration, also had a little piece of poetry 'A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.'
The eleventh rose somehow managed to be tucked into Kurt's bag without it being damaged or Kurt noticing who put it there. I suppose it was appropriate that apparently eleven red roses mean commitment.
Two days later, a month after the roses started to appear, a note was put in Kurt's locker, but without a rose to accompany it. This is what it said: It's been a month and it's time for me to explain.
Admiration- how could I not?
Loyalty- I'll stand by you
Innocence- I hope you never lose it
Beauty- you have so much of it
Protection- I will always offer it, even if you don't think you need it
Honesty- I mean everything I've said, and everything I will say
Romance- I know you love it, so I'll do it for you
Kindness- you really are, far more than people know
Tenderness- you taught me it
Adoration- isn't a strong enough word for this feeling
Commitment- I'm ready for it, if you are
You've had eleven roses, but there's one more to have. If you want to find out what twelve red roses mean, come to the auditorium after you find this. I'll be waiting for you there.
When Kurt showed this to me and the other girls from Glee, I think every single one of us sighed dreamily. Kurt was almost shaking in anticipation, his face flushed and excited, his hands unable to stay still, fixing his hair, his clothes, his hair again until Mercedes caught his hands and told him to go, but he'd better spill everything tomorrow at school.
Kurt headed of to the auditorium and when he pushed the door open, he could see, right in the middle of the stage was the twelfth red rose. There was nobody in sight, so Kurt got on the stage and picked it up and the note next to it. It said: End of the road. Twelve red roses mean undying love and I hope I don't have to explain that. Now turn around, and find out who I am.
With a deep breath, clutching the rose in one hand and the note in the other, Kurt turned around.
Standing behind him, no more than five paces away, running a hand nervously through his hair, was Puck.
The shock on Kurt's face must have been obvious, because Puck shrugged and said, "I guess from the look on your face, you weren't expecting it to be me. Not that I can blame you. I'm not quite sure how I managed to do this either."
Kurt managed to get out a faint "Why?"
Sighing, Puck replied, "Because I wanted to do things properly, the way I should've the first time we were together. And, I guess I couldn't wait any longer. You asked me to give you time to think. It's been a month and a half since then and I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. Can you give me an answer now?"
Kurt's blue eyes flickered up to meet Puck's, before nervously flickering down to the rose in his hand. Half-whispering, he asked, "Did you mean it? Everything you wrote?"
Puck laughed a little "Six roses meant honesty, remember, Kurt? I meant all of it. Did you like it? The roses, I mean."
Kurt nodded "Yes. Very much. It was so romantic and sweet and it made me feel so special…"
There was silence for a bit, while Puck nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot. Suddenly, Kurt put the rose and the note down and closed the distance between them, until they were almost chest-to-chest.
Kurt bit his lip gently before stretching up and kissing Puck softly. He pulled away after a few seconds. Puck had gone very still before suddenly he groaned, pulled Kurt into his arms, tipped his chin up and kissed him hard. Kurt's arms wrapped around Puck's neck and he kissed him back just as passionately, parting his lips under Puck's and moaning as Puck's tongue flicked over his, tangling them together.
Puck's hands had moved from around Kurt's waist and had slipped under his shirt, moving up and down his back in a way that made Kurt shudder in delight, pulling his mouth away from Puck's, gasping as he did so "Noah…"
Puck just leant forward and began to kiss Kurt's exposed throat, sucking and gently biting at places that made Kurt squirm with pleasure and clutch harder at Puck's shoulders. Puck was just about to move his hands below Kurt's waist when there was the sound of a door opening and an exclamation of "Holy crap!"
It was then that Puck and Kurt realised that they were making out in the middle of an empty stage, where nobody who entered the auditorium could fail to see them. They jerked apart, Kurt going to retrieve his rose and the note and Puck looking around to see Finn, with his back to them and his hands over his eyes.
Inwardly laughing, Puck called "Hey man, uh, you can turn around now."
Finn did so, complaining "Jeez, man, I really didn't need to see that. If I need therapy, you're paying for it…"
Then Finn seemed to really register who it was that he'd seen with Puck. Finn glanced at Kurt as he asked "Uh, I thought the two of you weren't together anymore. What happened?"
Puck glanced over at Kurt as well, unconsciously stepping closer to the smaller boy. Eventually, Kurt looked up and held up the rose to Finn. It took him a little while to get it, but eventually, he clicked and asked "Puck was the one leaving you flowers and notes?"
Kurt nodded and with his free hand, reached out and took Puck's. Puck was a little surprised, but squeezed it reassuringly and lifted his chin defiantly at Finn. Yeah, he knew he'd messed up the first time, but it wasn't going to happen again.
Maybe Finn saw some of that, because he just said "If you're sure Kurt, then I'm happy for you. You too, bro. I'll, um, leave you to do… whatever you were doing."
As if realising just how wrong the end of his sentence sounded, Finn turned and fled the auditorium. Puck turned to Kurt, who raised an eyebrow in query. Puck just grinned and tugged Kurt back over to him, catching him in a deep kiss that was swiftly broken as Kurt attempted to protect the delicate flower in his hand.
Sighing, Puck realised he would have to wait a little while, at least until Kurt had put the rose in water before the two of them could fully resume their relationship.
As Puck drove Kurt to his house, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kurt twirl the rose as he asked "Undying love?"
"Okay, I made most of them up, but that really is true."
"Don't worry. I liked it. I just wanted to say… me too."
In surprise, Puck looked at Kurt fully. The smaller boy was looking down, his face as red as the rose he held. Feeling Puck's gaze on him, Kurt looked up and smiled shyly. Puck went to pull over, but Kurt stopped him and said "Oh no. You'll get me home before we do any kind of celebrating."
"Is that a promise?"
Kurt laughed and Puck realised how much he had missed the sound "Yes, Noah. That's a promise."
The next morning, Kurt and Puck walked in together, with Kurt's arm wrapped around Puck's waist and Puck's arm slung across Kurt's shoulders. As the bell went for first lesson, Puck bent down, kissed Kurt goodbye and walked off. Kurt practically skipped off in the other direction and I just about exploded with happiness and pride for both of them.
There was a school reunion ten years later on. After everyone had graduated, everyone went off to different places. Kurt and Mercedes were off to New York, to do fashion and Rachel had gone to Julliard. Puck and Finn were off to Texas, both on football scholarships. The others had gone to various places, but none of the Glee club had been stuck in Lima, Ohio, apart from Quinn.
I was terribly excited to see the others again and I couldn't wait to see what they had become. I know Rachel had hit Broadway like a ton of bricks and had refused to move. In other words, she was a huge success. I heard Kurt's name every now and again, and occasionally Finn's, but not anyone else's and I was curious.
I was the first there out of the Glee club to the meeting place and watched eagerly for the others to come in. Quinn was first, on the arm of a man I didn't recognise. Santana and Brittany were next, and there were promptly squeals of delight from all three girls.
Rachel was next in, walking high and proud. She had grown up into a very beautiful woman, and the voice that had been the delight of the Glee club had been modulated into an equally beautiful instrument. She was alone, but seemed much happier with it than she had been at high school.
Then suddenly, I was off running. Tina and Mercedes had just walked through the door together and I threw myself at them. We were so involved in catching up that I didn't notice Artie just behind Tina, and a massive tall black man hovering next to Mercedes.
When I did, Artie and I caught up and I was delighted to hear that Tina and Artie were still together. The tall black man was called Darrell Samson, and Mercedes was apparently Mercedes Samson now. She worked for a fashion magazine, highlighting the up and coming fashion designers.
As I went to ask whether she had heard from Kurt at all, the boy himself appeared, breaking into our little group with seemingly natural ease. He promptly almost collapsed under the weight of three girls as we all hugged him.
Kurt had grown a bit from our school days, but he was still only about 5'6" and Darrell towered over him. But he was smiling and confident, his face unchanged from high school days and his taste in fashion was absolutely impeccable, as usual.
As I asked what he was doing, he laughed and said "What do you think I'm doing? The only thing I was ever good at, of course. I'm a fashion designer, under the name Kalum Jones, as Mercedes helped a lot with my set-up and I didn't want to use my real name."
I gasped when I heard that. Kalum Jones was famous, and his clothes were always in high demand from celebrities and the like. I couldn't help hugging Kurt again, unable to take in such a transformation from our high school days.
Then Mercedes casually asked "You know, I've seen everyone from our old Glee club, apart from two. Have you seen Puck and Finn at all, Kurt?"
Kurt nodded "They're outside, playfully punching and insulting each other in the way most men seem to do. I still don't understand it. Anyway, they'll be along in a minute. Finn's a football player now, though apparently he's considering doing some amateur singing. Noah's a football coach, but unlike Coach Tanaka, he's actually a good one. He coaches amateur teams that are trying to break through into the big time."
Now, when we were in high school, Kurt had a habit of gesturing with his hands when he spoke, and the more into the conversation he got, the more he gestured. He hadn't lost it. At the end of his little explanation, Kurt had thrown his hands up in the air and nobody could miss the unmistakable glint of gold on his left hand.
Tina caught his hand and Mercedes and I crowded around to inspect it. It was just a simple gold ring on Kurt's ring finger, but there was no doubt as to the significance. It was a wedding band.
I traced the ring with a finger as I asked "So Kurt, who's the lucky guy? Did you bring him with you tonight?"
Mercedes interrupted me "Stuff that, I want to know exactly how long it's been and why you didn't tell me, Kurt!"
Kurt was red, but a glance down at the ring showed the pride in his face and the love he had for the person who wore the matching one. He shrugged, his fingers going to toy with it as he answered "It's been about three years. As for why I didn't tell you, Mercedes, it's because it was kind of sudden, and I got caught up with it. We'd gone to Canada for a holiday, and while we were there, he just asked me to marry him."
I laughed "You, the picky perfectionist, essentially eloped with some guy."
"We'd been together four years before that. I guess he thought it was the right time to ask."
Before I could reiterate my question, about who he was and where he was, Puck and Finn ambled over to join our little circle. They were quickly introduced to Darrell and updated on what had been going on in our lives since they saw us.
I noticed that Finn was looking over his shoulder at Rachel, so I pushed him gently and told him to go for it. When I turned back, Mercedes had finished "…And Kurt's got married but won't tell us to who!"
"Hey!" Kurt protested "You never gave me a chance to say who it was!"
"Oh." Puck deadpanned "Is that all? That's easily solved."
Puck held out his hand for Darrell to shake, and for a few seconds, I was confused, when I realised that Puck had held out his left hand to shake, and on his ring finger was a matching band of gold.
I think me; Mercedes and Tina raised the roof with our squeals. Puck look a bit embarrassed, but Kurt just sighed and took his hand, murmuring "This is why I wasn't going to tell them until we were out of the room, love."
"OH MY GOD!" Mercedes yelled "You married Puck!"
Kurt shrugged again "He asked. I said yes. That's what you do."
"Still, Puck…"
"Hey." Puck jumped in "I am still in the room and we've been together for seven years, married for three. He hasn't left me yet."
Mercedes just rolled her eyes at him and addressed Kurt "Are you happy?"
Kurt glanced up at Puck, his face softening as he looked at his husband. Puck looked back at him, and he had the most peaceful expression that I have ever seen on his face. Kurt smiled softly, squeezed Puck's hand and replied "Yes. I love Noah. We've made it work together. I work in New York; Puck travels around a bit, though never far, and does his work and we live together."
I tipped my head to the side and regarded them. They were standing very close together, hands wrapped together. As I watched, Puck moved to stand behind Kurt, twisting his arms around Kurt's waist and resting his head on Kurt's shoulder. Kurt leaned his head back against Puck's shoulder and whispered softly to him. Puck grinned and kissed Kurt's lips. It wasn't full out, but it wasn't particularly chaste either.
I nodded to myself. I didn't need to worry about Kurt anymore. He had Puck.