MADE FOR EACH OTHER

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GLEE. IT SOLELY BELONGS TO RYAN MURPHY. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT WAS EVER INTENDED IN THE PROCESS OF WRITING THIS FANFIC.

I'M REALLY SORRY I TOOK SO LONG WITH THIS CHAPTER, BECAUSE I HAD TO REVISE FOR MY FINAL EXAMS. JUST SO YOU KNOW, CHAPTER THREE WILL ALSO TAKE A WHILE, DUE TO PHASE TWO OF FINAL EXAMS.

YES, SO KURT AND BLAINE ARE NO LONGER A COUPLE, BUT SERIOUSLY, THAT'S LIKE THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE PUCKURT/PURT/PUMMEL HAPPEN, RIGHT?

SPECIAL THANKS TO THOSE WHO REVIEWED THE FIRST CHAPTER; YOU GUYS REALLY KEPT ME GOING, AND THAT WAS GREAT! SO HERE'S ANOTHER ONE FOR YOU. ENJOY!

THE SONG IN THIS CHAPTER IS SAY THE WORD…I'LL BE THERE BY KYLIE MINOGUE. I DO NOT OWN THIS SONG EITHER, AND NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT WAS EVER INTENDED AS WELL.

Chapter Two: What Are Siblings For

Kurt is overwhelmed by the unexpected disaster that spoiled his near-perfect day and plans to go back to Dalton Academy immediately, while Puck, in an attempt to get rid of his guilt, plans to do something wild. They could have been killed. However, fortunately for them, they are stopped by the most unlikely people.

Kurt stormed into his basement angrily when he reached home. He had been crying throughout the ride home. Burt and Carole were out attending Carole's cousin's silver wedding anniversary somewhere in Akron. They have been gone for about three days, and they were not in when Kurt came home two days ago. According to Finn, they would be back by tonight. Meanwhile, Finn was probably upstairs in his room, trying to achieve a new score in Angry Birds. Not knowing how else to vent out his frustration, he slammed his door hard.

Yes, Kurt was so mad at how things turned out today. He did not want his breakup with Blaine to mar the course of his day out of Dalton Academy, but it happened. Why oh why on Earth did Puck have to ruin this special day? Did he do it deliberately, perhaps as a better alternative to those yucky dumpster tosses? Everything was going fine, until Puck voiced out his suspicions and forced Kurt to spill the beans of the dilemma he had been so eager to elude for just a day. What a prick, thought Kurt as he rummaged for his suitcase under his bed. Going back to Dalton Academy was all he could think of. He was about to fling open his wardrobe to gather his clothes and pack themwhen he heard a knock on his basement door. Tired from just being angry, he got up wearily to answer the door. It was Finn.

"Hey Kurt, I thought I heard something crashing. Are you, um, okay?" he stammered when he saw Kurt's bloodshot eyes.

"I'm fine, really. My basement is a little dusty today, so I figured I got to clean it up a bit, hence the red eyes. I'm allergic to dust, you know," Kurt lied, but Finn saw right through his artifice. After all, didn't he just vacuum his basement this morning? Kurt read the look of disbelief on Finn's face and bit his lip.

"C'mon, something is up, I know. You were pretty hard on your door just now," said Finn, but Kurt refused to budge. "Kurt, I'm your stepbrother. I can tell that you're upset. Care to share?" he asked with a gentle kindness that almost made Kurt cry again. It was true that he used to harbour a schoolboy crush on Finn, but it had been quite a long while since Kurt outgrew his desire for the boy who was now his stepbrother. For the sake of his father's marriage to Carole, he taught himself to view Finn from an altogether different perspective. In the span of an entire year, they have even learnt to start loving each other as brothers, and it was indeed a beautiful lesson learned. Kurt was now overcome with love for his stepbrother, and it was this brotherly love that prompted him to bury his face into Finn's ready arms and actually cry. He never expected Finn to treat him as such, yet he was thankful that Finn was quick to learn the ropes of their new relationship. He could not have asked for a better stepbrother.

"Hey, s' okay, I've got your back," comforted Finn. He was really confused at Kurt's mood swings, although he had somewhat gotten use to it. "What happened? I thought everything went well today. I mean, I kept your secret," assured Finn. It was then that Kurt broke away from his hug, still teary-eyed.

"It wasn't you, Finn," replied Kurt.

"Then, why are you so sad? Are you missing Blaine?" he asked, and a fresh flow of tears cascaded down his stepbrother's flushed cheeks. Kurt did not tell Finn, Burt and Carole about his breakup. He feigned illness two days ago and convinced them that he needed to be home so he can recuperate. Therefore, Finn's innocuous question seemed all the more painful and offensive. It was true that he missed Blaine terribly. They were still on friendly terms, but it hurt him a great deal to see Blaine so much happier with his new boyfriend than he was with him. However, Kurt knew that the breakup was the right thing to do, although it brought countless pain to Blaine as well as himself. Blaine and Kurt were basically in need of someone to provide them with a protective form of love, and they both agreed that the continuance of their relationship could lead to disastrous misunderstandings in the future, because neither boy could provide each other with the kind of love and passion they craved for. Alas, Blaine was the luckier one, for he quickly found someone to fill up the void in his life that Kurt was not even able to enter. The breakup had left Kurt insecure, vulnerable and lonelier than ever. He could not bring himself to envy or hate Blaine, though. The sight of Blaine walking hand in hand with his devilishly handsome new boyfriend did not sicken him either, but Kurt simply needed a change of scenery.

"Did you two have a quarrel or something?" asked Finn, but Kurt shook his head wearily.

"Finn, I seriously don't feel like talking about Blaine tonight," he replied, leaving Finn bewildered.

"C'mon, Kurt, you know you can always tell me anything," he prodded gently, but it was the wrong thing to say. He did not know how much Kurt was suffering, which was why it came as a shock to him when Kurt let out an exasperated groan.

"Gosh, first it's Puck, then you!" snapped Kurt irritably, "If you really must know, Blaine and I broke up, because we weren't made for each other. He has moved on, but I still miss him. I just want to experience at least one day without having to feel empty or heartbroken. Clearly, I made a mistake coming home," Kurt sobbed bitterly as he resumed packing his clothes.

"Kurt, what are you doing?" asked an alarmed Finn. Outside, a roaring thunder blared, signalling a heavy downpour.

"I'm packing my bags, what does it look like to you?"

"Whoa, slow down, Kurt. Where're you heading to? It's almost eight." Finn had to shout at Kurt, because the rains had come, and he feared the storm would drown his voice.

"Back to Dalton, where else?"

"You can't travel like this, not when you're all mad and angry. Besides, it's going to rain. At least wait until Mom and Burt get back. They've been dying to see you after they heard you were sick. You can go back to Dalton first thing tomorrow morning if you want to," coaxed Finn. He had lived with Kurt long enough to know that his stepbrother, although more sensible than he was at most times, had a tendency to act rashly out of uncontrolled emotional outbursts.

Kurt, for his part, considered Finn's suggestion and sat back down on his bed. Finn was right. It was dangerous to travel in anger, especially when the weather at night was bad. Finn, seeing that Kurt had calmed down reasonably well, decided to help him unpack some of his clothes and replace them in his wardrobe.

"Be careful with those, Finn. Those are Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen originals, and the black one is by Armani. Please try not to wrinkle them," said Kurt as he sat subdued on his bed. Clearly, Kurt was quite shattered at the way things turned out today because he would never in normal circumstances let anybody even finger the fabric of his beloved shirts, but here he was, allowing Finn, one of the clumsiest people he knew, to actually handle them.

Meanwhile, Finn was trying to figure out what, or who was responsible for Kurt's sudden bout of black temper. Just then, he remembered Kurt mentioning Puck's name.

"Does Puck have anything to do with this?" asked Finn, curious.

"Excuse me?"

"Puck; what did he do? You said his name just now," said Finn.

"Just forget about it, Finn. I'm really too upset to talk now," said a tired Kurt.

"No, I want you to explain to me what did he do or say to bother you this much. I know he used to toss you into the dumpsters and shove you into lockers before he joined the glee club, but even then, you were never hurt by his actions, no matter how embarrassing they were. Now, here you are, crying and angry, because of something he did. I won't let him go if it really was him," said Finn.

"Quit the protective big brother act, will you? It's about high time you realised that although actions speak louder than words, it is words that cause more damage," snapped Kurt.
"So, he said something to upset you. Exactly what was that?" demanded Finn.

"It'd be nothing to you, Finn. Just drop it, will you?"

"Look, Puck and I may be best friends even after he knocked up Quinn and almost got into Rachel's pants, but you mean more to me, Kurt. Of course it matters to me. I can't stand to see you being hurt, even if Puck's responsible," said Finn.

"Maybe I overreacted, okay? All he asked was whether Dalton Academy sent me to spy on New Directions, because he knew that Nationals were coming soon, and I wasn't the type to skip class deliberately. I was really hurt and insulted, considering the fact that we were actually getting along quite well since he joined New Directions. I even told him to ask you if he wasn't convinced, but he still wouldn't buy it. I had to defend myself, and all I had was the truth. So I told him. I told him about my breakup, Finn. It was painful to even think of it, let alone bring it up. I was so mad at Puck, I actually hit him," said Kurt tearfully.

"That jerk," cursed Finn, "I feel like punching him in the face now."

"Did I not tell you to just drop it? Besides, I've already punished him," said Kurt as he dried his tears.

"Okay, fine, I leave that to you, but I can't promise I'll be nice to him after what he did," said Finn, and all of a sudden, his stomach let out a soft rumble. Upon hearing it, Kurt stifled a giggle.

"You're hungry," said Kurt, smiling.

"Kind of; I haven't had a thing since lunch hour," confessed Finn, and Kurt shook his head amusedly.

"Let me fix you something to eat. All that crying and ranting is making me hungry, too," said Kurt. When they were in the kitchen, Kurt made him a hearty giant subway sandwich with lots of ham, cheese and mayo. Finn grinned broadly as he dug into his dinner.

"Go slow with that. I don't want you to make headlines as America's first teenager to die instantly of overeating," advised Kurt as he munched on his carrot sticks, dipping them occasionally into a bowl of whipped yoghurt.

"You didn't have to do this for me," said Finn, his mouth still busy chewing a chunk of sandwich.

"Please don't talk with your mouth full, and yes, I was obliged to make you your favourite sandwich. Consider it as my way of saying thank you, and sorry," said Kurt.

\ "For what?" asked a puzzled Finn.

"Thank you, first of all, for knocking some sense into my head just now; if I had just driven out in a rage to Dalton in the heavy rain, something bad could've happened. I could've crashed my car. Besides, I'm sorry if I was too harsh with you just now. You saved me from doing something stupid today, Finn. I owe you my life," said a grateful Kurt.

"Chill, man; it's no big deal. That's what brothers are for. I'm your brother now, it's my duty to look out for you," replied Finn, and Kurt smiled.

"As overprotective as that sounds, I'm really touched. Who would've known Finn Hudson can be such a wonderful brother?" said Kurt, and they both laughed as they resumed eating their dinner.

XXX

It was already six-thirty when Puck returned to find his house empty. His mother must have gone out for her night shift. Deep down in his heart, he pitied his mother for working such odd hours. It was the only job she could find at the moment. As much as he hated her constant nagging on him to study hard and obtain a degree, Puck actually valued each time she offered him that particular piece of advice. Suddenly feeling hungry, he entered the kitchen to find a message on the dining table. It read:

Noah,

I've gone to work. Your dinner's in the microwave, along with Sarah's. Please heat it up if it's too cold already. See to it that Sarah finishes her food, and please keep an eye on her. I'll be back by eleven. Tell Sarah not to stay up and wait for me, because she has school tomorrow. Take care.

Love,

Mom

Puck opened the microwave and saw that there was only one plate left inside. He turned to the sink and found a dirty plate. Sarah had had her dinner. Not only that, she had taken a chunk out of his own dinner as well. Poor girl, she's growing up so fast, thought Puck with a chuckle as he sat down to eat. She must probably be upstairs now, doing her homework. Unlike Puck, Sarah was a studious girl. She may not be bright, but she made up for it with her unusual diligence. Puck himself was extremely proud of her when she emerged first in her class last year. At least mom didn't have to raise two bums. Thank God for Sarah, thought Puck sadly. If he was not the one to succeed in life and make his mother proud, then Sarah would.

When he had finished his dinner and washed the dishes, Puck decided to play his guitar. He had no intention of studying. He was aware that his homework was piling each day, but he was just too lazy to even open his exercise books. He knew very well that even his own mother had stopped worrying about his future. Many a time he had felt singled out when he realised his mother had started to pin her hopes on Sarah, but he kept his peace. He was sick of the petty arguments he and his mother would get into whenever she started nagging. However, he had often longed to prove to his mother that he did not have to be brilliant at school to make her proud. He had his music, and with some luck, he could probably make it big one day, as a singer, guitarist, or both. Furthermore, he was good at videogames, and he had dreamed of participating in one of those rare nationwide championships and come home with a huge bonanza enough to keep his family of three happy for years, or maybe he could come up with a new game. That would be so cool, especially when the money comes in. He would be rich like Bill Gates. Additionally, he was good at football, and if he trained hard enough, he could join an all-stars' league. Then, he thought of what would happen if his luck happened to run out. What could he fall back onto? The world out there was pretty ruthless, especially to someone who knew little of its conniving ways. It was then that he realised he needed a good education. A Bachelors Degree, at the very least, but how and where was he to start? He had been limping his way through his grades throughout most of his school life. Even though those with the hardest of hearts have never called him stupid before, Puck began to think that he could be stupid. If he was smart, he would not have found virtually every class in school dreadfully boring. He would have been dedicated to his homework, like Sarah. He had sought help from some of his fellow glee clubbers on his homework. Artie in particular was a great help, yet he cannot depend on Artie alone. In a worst case scenario, he would most probably turn to Kurt no matter how bitchy and defensive the male diva was, because Puck had to admit that Kurt was in fact an academically good role model. Then, he remembered that Kurt was no longer at McKinley High. Most of all, he remembered all the times he had bullied Kurt; the dumpster dives, the locker-shoving and the hallway-tripping, but even those combined together could not match up to what he just did to the other boy. Kurt came to visit McKinley High because he needed some time to heal his own wounds, but Puck mistook him to be a spy for the Warblers. Puck knew he should have known better than to accuse Kurt as such, not only because Kurt was now his best friend's stepbrother, but rather because Puck understood the need to retreat from pain all too well. How could he have been so insensitive? He felt disgusted by his own actions, but he did not know how to make it up to Kurt. As the thoughts wafted in and out of his mind, Puck strummed a melancholic tune on his guitar, but he soon got bored. A heavy drowsiness began to loom over him, and he dozed off on the couch.

It was ten when Puck awoke with a start. His cell was ringing. Outside, he could hear water dripping from the roof, indicating that it had just stopped raining. He was still slouching on the couch when he activated his keypad to answer whoever was calling him. It was Finn.

"Yeah?" greeted Puck casually.

"Screw you, Puck," hissed Finn over the phone.

"Beg pardon?"

"I said 'screw you', you asshole."

"If this is about Kurt, I'm really sorry, dude. I told him I didn't mean it."

"Yeah, yeah, like you didn't mean to get Quinn all knocked up, too," said Finn with a sneer, and it caused Puck a great deal of hurt.

"Why are you even bringing that up? We're cool about that, remember?"

"That's not the point, Puck. You seem to be really good at hurting people."

"That's not true. Where's Kurt? I need to sort this out with him."

"Forget it, Puck. I doubt he'll ever speak to you again. Besides, he's had enough worry on his mind now. I think you should leave him alone."

"Look, can you just tell him I called to say I'm sorry?"

"No, I can't do that, Puck. What you did is unforgivable. You're a fucking dick, you know that?" said Finn coldly as he hung up.

Puck allowed the silence to engulf him. He had made the mistake of misjudging Kurt, and now he had to suffer the consequences. He just had his hard-regained friendship with Finn jeopardised again. Hating himself for what he did, he grabbed his keys and proceeded to leave the house, perhaps to Santana's, to quell his overriding sense of guilt. In spite of her razor-edged tongue, she was good at restoring his bruised ego. He knew he was in the wrong, but he did not want to dwell on it. He had unknowingly let his pride govern his senses. A second storm was already brewing outside.

Just as he was about to leave, a loud booming thunder resonated in the air, and with it came a horrified shriek. It was Sarah. She was hugging Puck's waist now, crying softly.

"Noah, I'm scared," she trembled.

"Sarah, go back to bed. Everything will be fine, I promise," assured Puck, but even he was aware that he sounded lame. He just had to get out.

"I can't, Noah. It's creepy up there," sobbed Sarah. She may be top in her class, but she was still a little girl who had yet to overcome her fears. She was hugging him so tightly that Puck could not bear to pull her away from him. Thunder came a second time, and Sarah buried her face into Puck's waist, shaking.

A strange instinct urged Puck to ruffle his sister's soft, brown hair. In normal circumstances, he would have made a laughing stock out of Sarah's irrational fear, but now, as he was comforting his sister, a gush of love coursed through him, and he locked the door back.

"C'mon, let's go upstairs," he whispered soothingly.

"But, Noah, the monsters are there," cowered Sarah.

"I'm here, right? If they ever come to you, I'll make sure I kick them good and proper in the ass," said Puck with unusual gusto. Even he could not believe he had said that.

"You would?" asked Sarah, amazed at her brother's bravery. "You're the best, Noah!" said Sarah as she hugged her brother. A tear slid down Puck's face at his sister's gesture, and he hugged her back before leading her to her room.

As Puck tucked his sister into bed, he gave her an extra blanket to keep her warm. When he was done and about to turn off the bedside lamp, she gripped at his wrist.

"Can you sing me a song, Noah? I'm still scared."

"Anything for you, sweetie," said Puck, addressing her with the nickname his mother used to called him. He was not sure what to sing to her. Just then, a familiar tune resounded in his mind. It was a very old song, one that he heard on the radio only once, but he grew amicably fond of it. He hummed the prelude as he tried to remember the lyrics. They came back to him.

Ooh, in the dead of night;

Adrift on the ocean wide;

High on the mountainside;

You can count on me.

If you're deep in the jungle, boy;

Caught in a winter storm;

Kidnapped by anyone;

I'll set you free.

Say the word; I'll be there;

To give you love and care;

There's nothing that I wouldn't do for you.

Say the word; I'll be there;

I'll reach you everywhere;

Nothing can keep me away from you.

If you're lost in the wilderness;

Can't tell the East from West;

Just feeling second-best;

I won't let you down.

When night comes around again;

And you're without a friend;

I'm yours to the very end;

I'll come around.

Say the word; I'll be there;

To give you love and care;

There's nothing that I wouldn't do for you.

Say the word; I'll be there;

I'll reach you everywhere;

Nothing can keep me away from you.

Sarah was fast asleep when he finished singing. He planted a light peck on her eyelids before he himself dozed off on her bedside, his head cradled in his right arm, resting next to her sleeping form.

When he awoke the next morning, he saw from Sarah's bedroom window that the biggest tree across the street had fallen and blocked the road. In an instant, he remembered last night's storm and heaved a sigh of relief. Had Sarah not come to him for comfort, he would have strutted out of the house to his doom. He bent down to kiss his sister on the forehead, whispering a heartfelt "Thank you" as he went downstairs to fix her breakfast.

TO BE CONTINUED…

I actually cried when I wrote this chapter, especially the section about Puck. I am glad that I have done Puck's unnamed sister some justice, since she had such limited screen time on the show; I mean, she appeared only once as the scared little girl who freaks out while watching a killing scene from Schindler's List. More importantly, I hope this chapter will touch you just as much as it did me. Keep reviewing, and I'll definitely keep on going. It is, I must say once again, your support, my darling readers that inspires me.