So it turns out I was more than a little motivated to keep writing today. To clarify this story exists somewhere in canonland between commercial breaks.

Episode Point of reference: "The Spanish Teacher"

Rachel's upset about a conversation had in Glee club and Kurt is trying to figure out why she's so upset.

I own nothing. Enjoy!


Kurt filed his nails absently as his best friend worked herself into a proper tantrum. Something had upset her earlier but she had yet to actually tell him what had happened. She kept muttering under her breath, flailing her arms angrily and stomping her foot at regular intervals. His pale eyes lifted from his immaculate cuticles and studied the diva as she paced a hole into his vintage rug. She'd been agitated since Glee club. Mr. Schuester had asked them where they saw themselves in 2030 but he was having a hard time figuring out just why that would bother her. Rachel had planned out every moment, minute and bowel movement until 2070. No, something else must have happened during the meeting. Perhaps Finn had said something dimwitted or hurtful as he was known to do. He hoped his brother hadn't mentioned the words 'baby' and 'fat' again in the same sentence. He'd barely survived the week that followed that one.

"Stupid, really quite dim." Rachel muttered, crossing her arms across her chest. "Don't know why he'd say that."

Well Finn certainly wasn't the smartest but Rachel had never actually admitted it before; she preferred outright denial over Finn's many faults. Rachel's cheeks were red with displeasure and her mouth was set in a grim line. Kurt strained his ears to hear if Finn was moving about in the next room. He'd really rather sit this one out if his brother was home to face the music.

"Can't believe no one spoke up." She mumbled thickly.

Kurt's eyes widened as he recognized the threat of tears in her tone. He hopped off the bed and grabbed her hands, pulling her to a stop. Her teary brown eyes found his and she blinked at him as though she'd forgotten he was there. He shook his head in bemusement before steering her to sit on the edge of his bed. Her hands were fisted together as she waited for him to speak.

"Rachel, I don't know what my brother did but I can assure you that it's not worth –"

"Your brother?" Confusion clouded her eyes as she stared up at him. "Finn didn't do anything."

Kurt rested back on his heels and quirked an eyebrow. He'd been so sure she was talking about Finn. "Quite dim" could have been referring to their teacher of course.

"Alright, well I'm sure that Mr. Schue meant no offence with his lesson –"

"Kurt, whatever are you talking about?" She asked with genuine bewilderment.

She wasn't the only one feeling confusion.

"I assumed you were angry with Schue or Finn for saying something stupid today." He explained, taking a seat next to her on the bed.

"Oh! No. Finn has been lovely and I feel that my relationship with Mr. Schuester, while never easy has greatly improved." She replied with a smile.

That's because she's managed to keep Finn happy for the past seven months. Mr. Schuester had a strange, perhaps inappropriate relationship with Finn, but that was a thought for another day. He still needed to get to the bottom of what had bothered Rachel so much.

"So who, pray tell has pissed you off so thoroughly that you almost ruined my grandmother's Egyptian rug?" He questioned with more snark than he'd planned.

She may be his best friend but there would have been hell to pay if she'd continued pacing.

"Your rug! I'm so sorry Kurt; I was so upset that I didn't think."

Kurt raised an eyebrow and waited for her to tell him.

"I was just so incensed over what Noah Puckerman said today during Glee. I was too surprised when it happened to say anything to him in response and my frustration has only increased since we left school." She finished in a huff.

A frown settled upon his face as he tried to remember what Puck had said.

"Did he make a pass at you or something?" He wondered aloud, hoping she'd disprove his assumption to avoid some serious drama. "Because Rach you need to tell Finn about that stuff. You know how he feels about your friendship with Puck."

Rachel's lips formed a perfect O as she considered his words. "A pass at me? No, Noah has done nothing untoward during the time that I've been with Finn. As you well know, he was a big part of Finn's efforts to reunite last year in New York."

Kurt rolled his eyes after a few moments of silence. He loved her to death but she would never just get to the damn point. He needed to be firmer with her about the way she recounted events; more like Puck. He'd seen Puck count down from five on several occasions while talking to Rachel. If she hadn't reached the point by the time he hit '1' he turned and simply walked away.

"Rachel you have five seconds to explain or I'm kicking you out of my house." He threatened seriously.

Rachel's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You sound like Noah."

"Yes well as uncouth as he can be, he always manages to get to the point quickly."

Rachel rolled her eyes but straightened when Kurt held up five fingers. "Fine! Surely you were aware of the conversation that was had as Mr. Schue asked where we'd be in 2030? You and I both answered the question. We said we'd be on Broadway. Artie said he'd be walking and Noah said-"

"He'd be in prison or dead." He finished, finally understanding what had upset his friend so much.

"Yes! Can you believe him?!" Rachel howled indignantly before jumping to her feet and pacing along the hardwood beyond the rug.

He watched her as she complained and flailed and fought with an imaginary Puck. His eyes followed her progress even as her words fell on deaf ears. He'd heard Puck's comment and hadn't thought anything of it. Perhaps he'd been joking; it was just like Puck to make a joke like that. He opened his mouth to point this possibility out to his upset friend but paused. What if he hadn't been kidding? What if Puck really did believe that in 2030 he'd been in jail or dead?

"He's just got so much talent and I can't believe-"

Rachel was right about his talent level. Kurt was constantly amazed at the level of skill Puck displayed in everything he tried. He was easily the best football player at McKinley, which Kurt knew wasn't much of a contest but still. He had a beautiful singing voice when he actually dropped his armour and he was a more than decent dancer. Kurt had seen him play guitar, drums and bass on several occasions but had recently heard him play the piano beautifully. He'd walked in on him performing his own original songs enough times to know that he was a skilled songwriter as well.

"He just deserves so much more, needs more support-"

Kurt had never thought he'd be friends with someone like Noah Puckerman but then he'd judged the then virtual stranger pretty harshly. He'd labeled Puck as a delinquent loser from the first moment he'd seen him. He'd wondered more than once if it had been the disdain on his face and harsh words that had landed him in the dumpster for the first time. He'd heard all of the rumours and painted a horrible, easy picture of a tormentor but never considered Puck's story. Everyone in town knew that Puck's dad was a no good, abusive drunk. In a town this small it was unavoidable that the more unpleasant details of his life were public. Had Kurt ever even once felt compassion for the boy who'd worn bruises and second-hand clothes to school until the day his father had left town?

Kurt had always felt such sympathy for Finn because he'd grown up without a father, but maybe Puck had it worse. He'd heard the stories of Puck 'cleaning pools' and felt nothing but disgust for the boy who was selling sex. His classmates thought of Puck as a hero but wasn't he really just a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of older, wiser women?

Kurt's eyes welled as waves of guilt poured over him. Kurt had stood firmly behind Finn and Quinn but had he ever said an encouraging word to Puck about Beth? Had he ever told him how brave he thought he was for giving his little girl the best possible future at such great personal cost?

"I know that his trip to juvie may have-"

Oh his stint in juvie had certainly changed him. Kurt remembers with no small amount of embarrassment how unsurprised and amused he'd been when Mr. Schue announced that Puck was in juvie. He may have even made a snarky, sarcastic comment. He'd found it fitting at the time, secretly pleased that his past tormentor would be punished.

"-not his fault that no one ever talked to him about Beth. Of course someone like Noah would do something impulsive to get rid of some of the hurt. Naturally I don't think that stealing an ATM was a good-"

Beth. Of course it had been about Beth. The tears spilled over as he watched this girl in front of him rant and defend Noah Puckerman passionately. Rachel Berry had more right than anyone to hate Puck. He'd made her miserable every single day for over a year. He'd picked on her and thrown a slushee a day in her face like clockwork. Kurt had seen the way he looked at her though, even before he'd joined Glee club. He knew before any of them just how special she was. Everyone knew she was talented but Puck had realised how good she was before any of them had given her a chance. Rachel had continued to treat Puck with kindness despite his best attempts to make her hate him.

"-He still apologizes for the bullying you know. I always wave him off because I understand better than he does just why he did it. Noah has never thought very highly of himself and I was always telling him at temple that he was very talented and-"

Kurt cracked a smile. Puck had apologized to Kurt more than once over the last two years. Not all of them were verbal, but Karofsky had showed up at school with a black-eye after egging his house last week and Azimio's gym clothes had been mysteriously dyed pink the day after he called Kurt a 'fag'. Kurt had of course assumed Finn had defended him but his brother had only shrugged in confusion. The small smile Rachel had sent in Puck's direction had cleared things up quickly.

"-Why don't people see him the way I do? Why doesn't he?" Rachel wondered sadly before building herself into frenzy once again.

Kurt shifted on the bed, wiped his eyes and really studied his friend as he promised himself that he'd do something nice for Puck tomorrow. Rachel's fists were clenched and her eyebrows were wrinkled. Her body was tense as if preparing for a fight and her words were heartfelt. Her long brown hair flew behind her as she raged around his room. He had rarely seen her look so passionate and this was Rachel Berry he was talking about. She spoke of her future with this ferocity and she performed with a bit of it as well. He'd never seen her speak of another person with so much fire though, not even Finn.

He bit his lip as he considered his last thought. He'd never been a big fan of "Finchel" even after he'd given up on the notion of a romantic ending with Finn. The two of them might be a high school cliché but not one that particularly worked. They tried too hard and despite the timer they'd put on this reunion he knew that Finn had no plans on giving Rachel up at the end of the year.

"-you know he was so kind to me when we dated and even kinder when Finn and I ran into some trouble last year and-"

He knew how kind Puck had been. Puck was always kind when he came to Rachel. Kurt had long thought that Puck had more than friendly feelings for the petite brunette. He'd never really considered until this moment that Rachel might, unconsciously, return those feelings. The two of them were another high school cliche entirely, one that worked infinitely better if he was being honest.

"-helped you with the Barbravention-"

Puck hadn't helped with the Barbravention, he'd planned every piece of it. It had been his idea, his choreography and he was the one who'd put in the legwork. He hadn't even consulted with Kurt before putting everything into motion. He'd simply called him and explained what was going on and asked him to take the credit for it. Kurt had been too horrified that Rachel was considering a nose job and awed at the effort that Puck had put into it to question him very much. It wasn't until after that he really marvelled at how much Puck was willing to do for her. He'd do more for her any day of the week than Finn had ever done and Finn claimed her as the love of his life. So maybe that meant-

Maybe that meant that Puck loves her. Kurt bit down on his lip to keep from squeaking in surprise and alarming Rachel of his train of thought. Noah Puckerman was in love with his best friend, Kurt's brother's girlfriend.

Rachel was starting to talk herself down and he half-heartedly suggested a sleepover with Mercedes to take her mind off it all.

"Alright, but I plan on doing something about Noah's attitude." She informed him stubbornly.

Kurt thought about warning Puck but decided that he'd rather sit back and watch it all unfold. He had a feeling that their story was just beginning.

And when Rachel told him and Mercedes later of the proposal and waxed poetic about true love he found himself smiling indulgently. Finn was her high school love but he was no Noah Puckerman and Kurt couldn't wait until she figured that out.

He loved his brother too much to outright interfere but he had always thought he'd make a great fairy Godmother. He could arrange things in the background, guiding them all subtly to where they belonged. He wasn't sure how Finn's happy ending would come about but by the end of the night he was pretty damn sure of Rachel's.


I hope you liked it. Let me know? Thanks!