Title: Can't Start A Fire (Without a Spark)
Author: Fatebegins (http:// fatebegins .livejournal .com/)
Rating: NC-17 / M
Pairing: Puck/Kurt (Purt/Puckurt). Characters: Ryan Atwood, Mike Chang, Finn Hudson, Mercedes Jones, Quinn Fabray..many more.
Summary: Puck is a firefighter and saves Kurt from a burning building, he's instantly drawn to the soprano and knows that somehow, someway, he's going to make him his "wife".
Disclaimer: No Glee don't belong to me or to fatebegins, this history is not mine! But I have permission to post it here! (The original post: http:// fatebegins .livejournal .com/16424 .html)
Warning: AU, MPREG.
Review? Please? *puppy eyes*
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"So apparently our little Puck is all grown up and falling in love!" Mike declared while he stuffed chips into his mouth, grinning wildly. "And you would never guess with who!" Puck grimaced. Mike, Finn and Puck were eating lunch at Rosalie's Diner, one of Puck's favorite spots and in his opinion, New York's best kept secret. They met every Thursday, it was like tradition. This Thursday found Puck holding in his humiliation as they discussed his bizarre love life. It figures that when he actually needs to talk about something, his friends blow him off and decide to make fun of him instead.
"Who?" Finn eyes him critically, "I swear Puck, If it's Katie I'm gonna fuck you up."
Puck rolled his eyes.
"Katie? Wasn't she that pimply chick who used to give us free pizza?" Mike paused, hand midway to his mouth, " Dude that chick was nasty. I don't even want to think of all the creepy things you did to her just so we could get free pizza."
Finn shrugged, " It was good pizza." His eyes narrowed, " And you Puckerman, Katie may be disgusting, but she is my disgusting chick. Got it?"
"Again who the fuck cares about this Katie?" Mike reiterated.
"It's because I've fucked every single one of his girlfriends, before him I might add." Puck explained, then smirked. " I like the new car smell. Finn, you must be comfortable with the ones that have a bit of mileage."
Mike roared with laughter, "You guys are sick. Sharing girls now?'
"It'd be hard to not find a girl Puck hasn't fucked." Finn remarked, sipping his cola, " This dude has been around the block so many times. He's always jockin' on some girl."
"Hello? Gay here." Puck waved his arms. " Maybe I should make it explicitly clear. I . like. dick."
"What happened to being in love and smelling roses and the sun being just a bit brighter-ouch!" Mike rubbed the back of his head, smarting from Puck's smack. " Love has definitely not made you nicer. I thought you saps were supposed too be all sappy and shit. Walking into doors-"
"I walked into my end table this morning." Puck said.
"Ah. You use words like, 'end table' how could I ever forget you're a homo."
"So Puck, whose this lucky guy? And why would Mike think I care?" Finn's face froze, "Please tell me you're not fucking my dad or grandpa."
Puck rolled his eyes, " Mike is just being his usual charming asshole of a self. You remember that guy, the one who shut you down-"
"Hard." Mike interjected gleefully
Puck stared at him exasperated and then continued, " Well, when I first saw him, it was like a lightening bolt, struck by lightening, you know." Mike looked like he was trying to hold in hysterical laughter and Finn looked confused, "I swear to god, don't laugh…but I think it was , you know, when you see someone for the first time and you immediately like them or whatever."
"Aw, now don't be shy." Mike nudged him, " Tell him the exact way you told me this morning."
Yea, because that had gone over so well. Puck gritted his teeth, "Love at first sight." There , he said it.
Finn's eyebrows shot up and his mouth gaped open in shock. The moment was broken when Mike flashed his camera, mumbling something about priceless expressions.
"So wait," Finn held up his hands, " Just to be clear. I am not in an alternate universe?"
Puck nodded.
"I'm not going to wake up in the morning, in a hospital bed with some mildly attractive nurse telling me I've overdosed?"
Mike grinned, "Nope. You are awake. You are sober and Yes, Noah Puckerman is in love. In other news, a fifty foot gorilla just got elected as world leader."
"It's not that unbelievable Mike." Puck was already uncomfortable with the ribbing. He really needed new friends. Pretty, soft ones like Kurt. Kurt would be a good friend. He could just imagine talking to him for hours about nothing in particular, calling him to say good night when they couldn't see each other-
"Puck!" Mike called his name and he snapped out of his revere. Mike and Finn were looking at him with equally disgusted faces.
"He's been doing that all morning, drifting off with that creepy smile on his face." Mike told Finn, " I actually beat him on the jog circuit this morning cause dude kept almost running into traffic. It was insane."
"What's insane is this!" Finn was incredulous, " Just to be very, very, very , clear-and I mean high definition crystal clear, I can see the sweat roll off his back from fifty feet away clear- We are talking about the bitch-"
"He is not a bitch." Puck was really getting agitated. He could take the knocks, but he didn't want Kurt to be referred to as "the bitch" anymore.
Finn raised a brow but continued, "Fine. We're talking about the unpleasant guy, who just about ripped my head off for trying to dance with him, kidnapped his friend while she was so clearly engaged, referred to Mike as random 'hook up guy" and didn't even acknowledge your existence? That's the guy you're in love with?"
Puck winced, when it was said that way, he came off looking like he was two fries short of a happy meal. "Okay, I never said love-"
"Yea, you diiiiid!" Mike happily supplied, picking up a slice of pizza. "This morning, when we were warming up on the corner of Lyle, you said, and I quote, 'I'm in love.'"
"Really Mike? Really? You really needed to repeat that at this moment?"
The other guy shrugged, " The truth needs to be heard."
Puck sighed, " Well, first off, his name is Kurt, not unpleasant guy and not bitch, just Kurt." He spoke to his friends like he was instructing small children. They both nodded solemnly. "You guys are going to have a fucking field day with this but, we had a fire last week and when I got there, it was Kurt's house. I had to carry him out, almost fell through a collapsed stairway."
"That's a story for the grandkids." Mike piped in.
Puck ignored him. "Anyway, it started me thinking. Us meeting, again, for the second time in two days, couldn't have been a mistake, right? And you guys know me," Puck stopped, " I'm not some fruit loop or anything, but this guy is always on my mind. Like I swear I'm dreaming about him."
"Fuck him." Finn said. " You just want to fuck him. I'll admit, he's the nicest piece of ass that's come across my path for awhile."
Puck tamped down on a surge of anger, he knew Finn meant nothing by it but remarks like that made his blood boil. He didn't even want to think about other guys looking at what was his. " It's not just about that. Most of the dreams …they're like random shit, like there's one when we're washing the dishes together. I don't know ...it's weird."
"It's gay." Mike's hand hovered above Puck's calzone. " You gonna eat that? Or is your stomach too full of butterflies, Casanova?"
Ugh. He really needed new friends. Puck slid his plate over obligingly to Mike.
"Man. Well, to each his own. Good luck," Finn gave him a mock toast with his soda. " I mean, just from the 43.6 seconds I spent in his company, I don't think my self esteem has ever been lower."
"Hardy Har!" Puck leaned back in his seat. " Maybe you're just not his type."
Finn looked offended. " I'm tall, dark and handsome! I'm everyone's type."
"Not if he wants class." Puck flipped back. " That's not something you can learn, you're just born with it."
"Fuck you coming from the guy with a mohawk!" Finn retorted but there was no heat in the statement. " Technically, I saw him first but if you want to play happy family with the pretty princess, go right on ahead. Dude's too high strung for me anyway." Finn patted Puck's leg good naturedly, " And Mike and I will be waiting to glue you back together again, after he crushes your heart to smithereens with his dainty little Pradas."
Puck grinned ready to respond but glanced up when the door above the diner chimed.
"Speak of the devil." Mike said dryly.
"Shut up." Puck breathed. Kurt was standing in the door way, framed against the sunlight for just one second, and then he was walking in, taking a seat at the bar.
"No fucking way." Mike smirked. " Your soul mate just walked right by you. Is it supposed to work that way?"
"Shut it." Puck replied already getting up and moving to the bar. Kurt looked fantastic as usual. His thick brown hair was neatly combed and he was dressed in some kind of butter soft khaki slacks and dark blue pinstriped shirt. When Puck sat down his eyes immediately went to the light blue scarf tied around the smaller man's neck. When he looked back up his gaze was met with distasteful accusing ones.
"Uh…hi?" Puck offered. Kurt stiffened. Not the best way to start a relationship.
Kurt continued to stare at him. " What…? Do you want money or something?"
Puck was taken aback, he looked down at himself. Okay so regrettably he'd pulled on one of his oldest pairs of sweats and his green faded NYU t-shirt…but he didn't look homeless.
He laughed awkwardly. " I don't need money."
"Then…?" Kurt's nose was firmly up in the air and even though everything inside of Puck was screaming at the audacity of this guy, he forced himself to remain friendly and relaxed.
"Not too sure if this happens to you a lot but, I saved your life." He pointed out, satisfied when the blood drained from Kurt's face only to flood his skin red as recognition dawned. " I'm the firefighter who risked his life to carry you out of a burning building." Puck was smug. "Remember that?"
"Oh god… yea., I'm so sorry." Kurt apologized. " I just thought you were some-"
"Guy who was putting the moves on you?"
The other man nodded. " So I didn't mean to-"
"Come off as a bitch?"
Kurt pressed his lips together in a thin line. "I was going to say unfriendly."
"Right." Puck let his gaze travel back down to the scarf. He could imagine tying the other man to the bed with it. Silken binds holding Kurt in place as he fucked him from behind and - "What?" Kurt was staring at him annoyed.
"I asked if I could buy you a coffee."
"Oh. Yeah sure."
Kurt's hands were at his neck, toying with the ends of his scarf. "It's Balenciaga."
"Wha?" Puck asked, confused. Was that a brand of coffee?
"My scarf…?" Kurt untied it, laying the silken material on the counter, Puck's hands reached of their own volition to rub the fine fabric between his calloused hands. He bet Kurt's skin was softer. "It's a Balenciaga. I noticed you looking at it…I thought you liked it."
"Oh." Puck thanked the waitress when she brought over a fresh pot of coffee, filling his empty cup. "I wasn't staring at the scarf per se, I was staring at your neck." It wouldn't do good to begin a relationship with lying. He'd once gone out with a guy for two months and told him he was a professional photographer. Needless to say the guy had gotten suspicious when his head shots never came in and Puck's penchant for nude pictures took a turn for the worst. That had ended badly. From now on, honesty was the way to go.
Kurt turned an adorable shade of pink, blue eyes wide. " My neck? Why?"
"Just thinking about how white it is-"
"I can a never tan no matter how hard I try I always start to burn instant-"
"And how much I want to bite it. How it would taste." Puck finished. He wasn't too particular. Kurt stared back at him, half friendly smile frozen on his surprised face. " I was also wondering if you were free tonight?"
"Excuse me?" Kurt set his coffee cup down in its saucer carefully.
"I want a chance to get to know you."
"Did you just say you wanted to bite my neck?" Kurt's voice was bewildered and rising. Puck could see Mike and Finn craning their necks to get a view. "You're gay?"
Puck nodded. He thought that'd be pretty obvious. Granted he wasn't ultra feminine and didn't smell like wild flowers, but he was practically showcasing his orientation with neon lights here.
"But you're a firefighter?" Kurt blurted out.
"Thanks for reminding me." Puck smiled easily.
"A gay firefighter! What a cliché!"
Hm. Hadn't expected that to be the response. Guys like Kurt usually swarmed all over him. The pretty type, the obvious bottoms, they loved it when a guy with Puck's muscle and height approached them. They wanted someone to manhandle them and make them take it. Kurt however, did not seem impressed.
Puck hesitated. Holy shit what if.. "You are gay, aren't you?"
Kurt gave a brittle laugh. "Darling, look at me. It takes a lot of money to look this gay."
Puck brightened, he leaned closer to the other man. "So what do you say?"
Kurt studied him for a moment, then dropped his eyes. "I don't think that would be a good idea. And anyway, Ryan-"
"Ryan?" His hackles rose, " That's the guy who was with you the night of the fire right?' At Kurt's nod he continued. "Are you two together?"
Kurt laughed, genuinely this time, " Me and Ryan? Hell No. He's my brother, well foster brother. My Dad took him in when I was in middle school, Ryan was a sophomore in high school then. I didn't see him much till I moved to New York." Kurt looked awkward for a moment, like he realized he was rambling, "We're just really close." He finished.
As much as he still didn't like the foster brother spiel. It was better than a boyfriend. "Then what's the problem?"
Kurt looked hounded and Puck could almost sense him pulling away. " Just not interested." He finally responded quietly.
And wow, blow to the ego. Puck was once again speechless. Kurt was looking back at him warily as if he expected Puck to punch him in the face or something.
This was fate. Puck reminded himself. How many times has he been at Rosalie's and he's never run into Kurt? This had to be destiny…or something. And he couldn't have possibly imagined the flicker of interest in those blue eyes before Kurt had gone cold, could he have? "Well that's how you can repay me." He finally said.
"Repay you?'
"You know, for the whole burning building, me saving your life thing."
"You want me to go out on a date with you as repayment for my life?" Kurt sounded a bit annoyed but a whole lot amused.
Puck nodded, draining the rest of his coffee, " It's not too much to ask. Dinner, some dancing. Maybe fireworks?"
"Fireworks?" Kurt's voice sounded excited and definitely interested. "I hope you mean the kind that explode in the air and not the ones you hope fly between us."
Puck grinned, Kurt had a sense of humor. "Of course. They give a show every Thursday night at the shore. "
"I know." Kurt said softly. " I go as often as I can."
"Then we already have something in common. I love fireworks too."
Kurt studied him for a bit longer than sighed. " Fine, I'll go out with you." Puck beamed. " but it is not a date! It's strictly to repay you and show my gratitude. That is it, okay?"
"Sure." Puck agreed compliantly but his mind was already racing, planning their next date, their first kiss.. So many firsts. Kurt handed him his card, Puck smirked. "You're a jewelry designer? And gay? How clichéd is that?" He threw the younger man's words playfully back at him.
Kurt blushed. " That is not a cliché. At least my life isn't the premise of a bad porn movie."
"You watch porn?" Puck ignored the rest, and sat back down. "Fireman porn to be exact. Let me guess, you wanna slide down my pole? Make me blow my hose?"
Kurt flushed brighter, choking a bit. " Just go away. You already blackmailed me into joining you later on. Now shoo. I'm meeting someone."
"Just saying, I'm like your walking fantasy." He teased. Mike and Finn were coming toward them and Mike had that look on his face. The look that said, I'm going to say something so fucking stupid it'll ruin your chances with this guy. Puck stood up hurriedly. " Then I'll see you tonight. Pick you up at seven?"
"Not a date." Kurt stressed. " So it'd be better if you just tell me a place, I'd meet you there-"
"Nope. That's okay." Puck cut him off. "I'll pick you up."
Mike reached them. " Hey guy!" He said brightly. Kurt stared back at him frostily. "It's me! Me!" Kurt gave him a blank look. "I'm random hook-up guy!" He elaborated. "You don't remember me? Glitter bomb? Last week…?"
Kurt looked uneasy. " Oh. Yea." Then he stared at Finn, Puck could tell the exact moment he recognized the taller man. His slight body tensed and his blue eyes narrowed, he looked at Puck, all traces of his prior friendliness were now gone." So these are your friends."
He said it with such disdain that Finn colored. Puck was immediately defensive and confused. " Yea, this is Mike and that's Finn. They're two of my closest friends." Why was Kurt turning so hostile?
"Hey Kurt!" Ryan slid into the seat next to Kurt and the smaller man relaxed, giving a nod that was obviously meant to dismiss Puck. That annoyed him so he decided to stick around, even when Mike and Finn slowly backed away toward the door.
"Hey man," Puck extended a hand which Ryan shook reflexively
"You're the fireman right?" Ryan grinned ." Wow, small world, what are you doing around here?"
"Having lunch with my friends." Puck gestured to Mike and Finn. Finn was eying Ryan, none to subtly, his eyes lingering on where Ryan's shirt tightened around his biceps. Finn was such a whore. "Just ran into your brother so I came over, checked to see how he was doing."
"Brother?" Ryan scoffed. "Not too sure you would call us that!" What the fuck. Puck could feel his smile freezing on his face.
Kurt grinned, his smile sunny and even. Puck was taken aback at how young he look. Shit how old was this guy, he panicked. "Ryan likes to think he's too young and hot to be my brother! But he is."
Mike looked at them curiously. "So how do you two feel about inces-" Puck clapped his hand over Mike's mouth.
"So we'll be going now." Puck announced to the room at large.
"Too bad you're on your way out though. I'd ask you to join us?" Ryan let the question hang in the air but Puck had no choice to decline.
"I'll see you tonight then Kurt." Puck waved good bye reluctantly wondering if Ryan was being sincere. The guy was so bright and friendly, the complete opposite of Kurt, that he decided to take him at face value. He had all night to make Kurt relax into that guy-the open and honest guy he was with his brother, -with him.
"Dude, you are so fucked, and not even in a positive life affirming way. But like fucked up the ass with no lube by an elephant way." Mike gushed as soon as they reached Puck's Dodge Ram.
"Yea that Ryan dude was like burning hot!" Finn concurred, at Puck's sharp look he recoiled. " You're hot too! If we were in prison you'd totally be on my radar."
"And now it's awkward ." Mike shook his head as Puck started the car. " You have to admit Puck, if there were ever two sibling's that were incestuously fucking their hot brains out, those two would totally be it."
"Great guys." Puck muttered, pulling into traffic. " Can I just take the time to say what great friends you are? So encouraging."
After exiting the parking lot, Puck stopped at a red light adjacent to the diner. From his car he could see Kurt and Ryan , they were sitting at a table now, Ryan ruffling Kurt's hair and Kurt giggling. Fuck.
"Hey!" Mike had now apparently figured out what Kurt had. " Look at those two in there! Ten bucks says they're totally fuc-"
"Don't finish that sentence." Puck growled.
"You can borrow my BMW tonight bro." Finn spoke up suddenly, plugging his ipod jack into the cigarette lighter. Aerosmith floated through the car speakers.
"Thanks man." Puck smiled. A BMW would be nice, judging from the name of that scarf, the fact the guy wore a scarf and cared who made it, well… he had a feeling Kurt was accustomed to finer things.
"You never let me use your car fucker!" Mike whined from the back seat.
"Yea well, Puck's going to need all the help he can get."
Ugh. Definitely needed new friends.
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Will you review, please? *puppy eyes*