Summary: As Iron Man flew towards the Chitauri portal he had only one person on his mind: his youngest son, Blaine Anderson. Blaine has always been Tony's best kept (read only) secret. He really should've known that one little phone call was going to change everything. But what he didn't know was that he wasn't the only Avenger whose life was going to change.
Pairings: Established Vague!Clintasha, Pepperony, Klaine, Finnchel. Pucktana, Puckleberry, Brittana, Pezberry friendships. And as always, Blamman bromance with The Science Bros and their plus one (Clint).
Warnings: Language, I guess, because I have a potty mouth damn it. Also a strong possibility for crackish behaviors, Sam being a fangirl and Kurt bashing. Spoilers for The Avengers and up to season four of Glee.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except typos! Those are definitely all mine. This is set at the end of the season three of Glee and the end of The Avengers.
Author's Note: I'm on a roll with this story! I'm proud of myself, lol. Also this story is pretty much writing itself here. So that's a bonus. Also I'm dedicating this chapter to Loki Firefox for making me giggle when I read her review. I definitely needed that laugh this week. I will never keep stories from you again! Thanks so much. And a big thanks to everyone else who reviews as well. Your reviews are boosts to my work damaged ego. So thank you so much. Love you guys. Hope you enjoy!
Change (In the House of Puckerman)
Its funny how drastically life can change in just one week. A week ago, Puck was on friendly yet not close terms with Sam and Blaine while working on slowly repairing his neglected friendship with Brittany and Santana. A week ago, he didn't think he had a chance in Hell of graduating. A week ago, superheroes were things that in only existed in comic books and movies and Darcy's excited beer fueled ramblings. But that was a week ago. Now he was like best friends for life with Sam Blaine, Brittany and Santana. He was definitely graduating high school. And he has spent almost every afternoon for the past week with a group of superheroes. Oh, what a difference a week can make. Too bad it couldn't change his family situation. Nothing short of a miracle or an act of god was likely to change that one. And despite having the above mentioned superheroes around, none of them appeared to be gods (though he would look into that once Thor came back).
"What's wrong?"
Puck snapped out of his thoughts, not at all surprised to find Santana standing in front of him. They were the only pair in the otherwise empty choir room. Everyone else had long cleared out but he knew that Sam, Brittany and Blaine were most likely waiting for them as they had every day for the past week. Puck straightened up, shocked that his thoughts had kept him behind so long that Santana Lopez had to come after him. Then again, he wasn't really. This was Santana. She knew him. And he knew her. Right now, her brow was furrowed with concern but the hands on her hips told him everything he needed to know about trying to lie to her. So he didn't. Besides, it hadn't worked since they were in the fifth grade. And even a mild estrangement in high school couldn't change that.
"I picked up my graduation tickets this morning."
Santana's expression melted in one of understanding immediately. He loved that she knew him that well. There was only one other person in this world that got him but he had long ago put a stop to thinking about her. He made a promise after all. And he wasn't going to go back on his word even if it broke his heart a little every day.
"Darcy is coming, right?"
"Yeah, of course. She put this down on her calendar before I even thought I was graduating. She's even bringing her boss, Jane. But that's it. My own mother isn't even coming because she just doesn't want to. Sarah could care less about what I do and won't go unless Mom makes her. And she won't. I don't know where my dad is but I hope to god he stays there. Aunt Liz can't get off of work. Sammy and Blaine are already supposed to be sitting in the Hummel-Hudson section. And you and Britt will be up there with me. So I have eight tickets and no one who remotely gives enough of a damn about me to give them to."
Santana let out a soft sigh before wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He reciprocated, resting his arms around her waist and hiding his face in her hair. Santana let out another quiet breath. "It's their loss, babe. Because you're freaking amazing." He felt warmed by her words because he knew that she meant them. Santana was painfully honest and definitely not in the habit of boosting anyone's ego. Even his.
"Why do you only hug me when I'm questioning my self worth and value to the world?"
"Why do you always question your self worth and value to the world?"
"Valid point. Continue hugging."
Santana snickered and then pulled away slightly. Her hands sliding up his shoulders to cup his face gently. "You listen to me, Noah Puckerman. It doesn't matter if you have two or ten people there on graduation day. The thing that you need to take away from this, that you need to hold on to, is that you made it. You did this. You sucked it up and asked for help and managed to get through this hell we call high school. No one can take that from you. Not even your drunken bitch mother or waste of flesh father."
Puck gave her a small smile. "I did make it through, didn't I?
"Yes, you did," she stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss against the corner of his lips causing him to smile somewhat. He really missed this closeness. "Now come on. Natasha sent me a text earlier. Apparently Clint totally baked the most amazing chocolate cake in the history of ever and he won't let anyone have any until we all get there despite their best efforts."
Puck raised an eyebrow. "That already sounds insane."
"Oh yeah," Santana drawled, threading her arm around his and steering him out the building. "Let's see, so far Tony has tried everything from straight up begging, whining, extortion and will likely soon be trying to create some awesome mecha thing to get the cake and ultimately destroy it in the process. There was an almost Hulk moment until Clint bought him off with chocolate chip waffles. And Steve tried to just straight up steal the damn thing."
"How'd that work out?'
"He took a paint tipped arrow to the knee."
Puck laughed feeling some of his earlier dark thoughts fade away. It got a little brighter when they made it outside and met the others. Bruce was their designated pick up for the afternoon and he was standing by as Brittany and Blaine were trying to do… something with a rock, fire and Sam. To say that Bruce was the so called voice of reason, Puck observed that he could be just as insane as the rest of the team. And he was definitely indulgent of anyone related to or otherwise associated with the name Stark. Even when (or maybe especially when) it ended with things blowing up or people being set on fire. Because Sam's jacket was definitely on fire.
"It's stop, drop and roll, Sammy!" Santana jeered. "Not stand around and flail."
Puck rolled his eyes and bypassed his flaming friend and the slightly panicked Brittany and Blaine in order to snag the front seat in the SUV. He glanced out the window to see Blaine trying to put the fire out while the others just stood around and watched. They were insane and random. But somehow in the course of a week, they had become damn near his whole world. He didn't really understand what it was that made them so important but he knew that they were. He needed the four of them in his life.
As they neared Blaine's house, or the Avenger's Mansion as Sam had been calling it, his bad mood abruptly returned in full force. He could feel the tickets weighing down his pocket. He knew he was being ridiculous. First of, they were barely filling up the small envelope they were handed to him in. There was no way they were heavy enough for him to feel. And second, Santana was right. It didn't matter if Darcy and her friend were the only ones that showed up…. Except that it kind of did.
Puck drifted through the front door of the house and straight out the back, missing the concerned looks he earned on his way out. He didn't want to bother anyone with his bad mood and he knew that he couldn't shake it off much longer. So he settled down on the bottom of the porch steps and finally gave into the intensely dark mood that had been clinging to him since he was first handed that stupid envelope earlier in the day.
As it stood, he was the only gleek that wouldn't have most of their family there. Hell between his and Kurt's tickets, Finn still needed more. The fact that he immediately (and without a hint of remorse or concern) turned to Puck to demand his extra tickets since, "you know you don't need them" just proved to Puck how far gone that particular friendship was. Thankfully Rachel had intervened telling Finn that Puck's tickets were his to do whatever he wanted with. Even if that was let them go to waste because no one but his cousin and her friend would be there. Finn looked like he was going to argue more but Coach Bieste intervened (bless her heart) and found an excuse to send Puck out of the room and away from Finn before he exploded… or cried. It really could go either way these days.
He didn't even know why he was so disappointed. He knew that his family situation left a lot to be desired. His mother worked ridiculous hours and when she was home, she was definitely not in the running for mother of the year. His father was the textbook definition of the term dead beat dad. His little sister alternated between hero worship for her big brother and total and complete disgust with his entire existence. Her moods shifted so rapidly he had no idea who he would be dealing with when the bus dropped her off after school. Lately she seemed annoyed with his continued need to breathe and live, so yeah, she was definitely out. His father's mother died two years ago and was probably the only grandparent he had that would've shown up in the first place. And don't even get him started on the rest of his aunts, uncles and cousins (thankfully his mother had no family to continue on the hating on Noah theme that his father's side of the tree was so fond of doing). Darcy was the only one he talked to, both by choice and because they wanted nothing to with either of them.
Yeah, his family life sucked and in less than three weeks, he was going to have a visual reminder of just how much it sucked. Maybe he could just ditch the ceremony. Maybe he could… eat cake?
He blinked at the sudden chunk of cake that appeared in his hands. He peered up, shielding his eyes with his free hand against the sun to see Clint standing above him. The archer looked pointedly at the cake and the fork waiting in his left hand. Puck did as he was silently told and almost forgot that he was supposed to be sad as the first bite of chocolate touched his tongue. Clint snorted as the content moan that escaped the teen and then plopped down on the back porch steps beside him. Puck turned to face him.
"Where did you find time to learn to cook like this between assassination jobs and fighting off aliens?"
Clint smirked. "Believe it or not the whole alien part is pretty new. So really it was just regular old killing bad people gig before. But to actually answer your question, I learned kind of all over the place. My mom loved to cook and I helped her out as much as I could when I was a kid. Then when Barney and I were at the carnival, Delilah and Debbie, the Siamese twins, helped me get some baking in. They made a mean apple pie. But I guess when I really got into cooking was…. Phil. He, uh, liked to cook too. So yeah, guess you could say that I learned here and there." Clint shrugged. "Plus it helps with stress."
Puck took another bite and nodded thoughtfully. "Not that I want you stressed or anything but I have to say that your hobby kind of rocks and I'm thoroughly enjoying reaping the benefits of it."
Clint let out an amused huff of air and leaned back so that his elbows were resting on the steps behind them. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"What helps you with stress?"
Puck picked at the slice of cake. "It used to be music. But that's been reminding me of… a friend that I kind of don't get to talk to so much these days. So I guess I have nothing. I liked drawing when I was a kid but my dad burned all my art stuff when I was seven. He said only 'fags like to draw'. Then he signed me up for football."
"Your dad sounds like a real piece of work."
"He's something."
Silence fell over the pair as Puck continued to eat his cake and watch the setting sun. Finally Clint growled in frustration that morphed into confusion as Puck started laughing.
"Finally going to get to the point, then?"
"You knew?" Clint asked with narrowed eyes and the beginnings of a smile.
"Don't take this the wrong way but you don't seem like the type to randomly strike up conversations without having a reason to. Not to mention Santana and Sam keep looking out the living room window. Reasonably sure that Dr. Banner, Mr. Stark and Blaine are doing the same from the kitchen. I think Natasha is watching too but I don't know if that's concern for me or for you." Puck thought about it. "Probably both."
Clint made a pleased little humming noise even as he nudged the teen with his elbow. "You're good. And you're also right about all of the above. So you want to tell me what's got everyone so worried about you? You're starting to brood more than me. That's a problem."
Puck laughed weakly and shrugged. He then placed his plate to the side to fish out the envelope that had been ruining his day since he got it that morning. Clint raised an eyebrow as he looked at the brightly colored pieces of paper.
"Graduation tickets," Puck murmured around a sigh. "We get ten to give to our friends and families. but I essentially only have two people that like me enough to want to go and one of them doesn't even know me!" he looked away to stare off at the horizon. "It's stupid, I know. Everyone has a lot more serious stuff going on and I'm whining and crying about some stupid graduation tickets."
Clint shifted in place. "But it's not really about the tickets, is it?" Puck looked away, focusing on the horizon once more. His jaw clenched even as he struggled to find the words to answer Clint's question. Finally he let out a slow exhale.
"No, it's not."
"It's about feeling like you're nothing and then finally getting validation that maybe you're not as big of a lost cause as you thought you were. It's about being disappointed that the ones who doubted you and made you feel this way won't be there to see your moment of triumph. You're not upset about the tickets. You're upset because the people that made you feel like you were nothing refuse to go to the one that would prove you were something."
Puck swallowed against the sudden lump forming in his throat. "Yeah… it's, uh, it's exactly like that." He turned to fully face the agent. "How did you know?"
"Don't let this total picture of mental health and emotional stability fool you. It wasn't that long ago that I was exactly like you. My parents died when I was young but before that my dad… he was a piece of work too. Not really sad he's gone. But after that we got placed in one foster home after another and every one of them broke us a little more until we finally escaped to the carnival. I learned how to shave from a bearded lady. A clown taught me how to drive. A lion tamer helped me with my homework."
"Dude, none of that last part even remotely resembles me."
Clint threw him a look, shaking his head. "Is this how Phil feels when he was talking to me? God, he's right. That is annoying as hell."
"You keep mentioning him but who is Phil?"
"Phil is… was… my handler. He's the one that got me out of a jail cell and told me that I could do or be anything I wanted. He offered me the tools I needed to get that done."
"He sounds nice. What happened to him?"
"The invasion," Clint replied shortly. Puck took the hint to leave that topic alone and nodded for Clint to continue. The archer tilted his head in acknowledgement and moved on from thoughts of his deceased handler. "Point is that I know how you feel because before I met Phil I felt the same exact way."
"But you were still different. You had the carnies to help you do all that stuff. I learned how to shave on my own. I learned how to drive by pretending to be Santana's blind friend that she had to take along with her when she did her driver's Ed lessons because I couldn't afford my own." Clint gave him a look. Puck shook his head. "People in Lima aren't really that bright." Clint nodded. "Anyway, there was no one to help me with my homework. I don't have anyone," Puck's voice cracked on the last sentence. He knew it was the truth. But he never said it out loud. It kind of hurt a little. More than he thought it would for some reason.
"I fought so hard to graduate and for what? I didn't apply to any colleges. I'm never going to get a good job because everyone in this stupid town knows I got arrested so even though my juvenile record will be sealed eventually, they all know and will hold it against me. So I'm going to be stuck in this town working some below minimum wage job until I snap just like my father. I'm going to be just like him like everyone said I would. I really am a Lima loser."
"I have no idea what a Lima loser is but I can kind of guess a little. Doesn't matter anyway. You're not a loser. No one can make you a loser. Only you get to decide if you're a loser or not. You want to get out of this town? Then get out. Leave. Doesn't exactly sound like there is anything keeping you here."
"Where am I supposed to go?! Darcy is still in school. She keeps offering to let me live with her but I can't do that to her. Nana Peggy's other kids hate me and Darcy, so they're out. I have nowhere else to go. And it royally sucks because in a few weeks, I'll have no one in this town but Sammy. Blaine is probably going off with his dad when you guys leave. Santana is going to Kentucky for school. Britt somehow got into MIT, which yeah, I don't even profess to know how that happened. So it's just Sammy. And I can't do that to him. I can't be a burden on him when he's trying to graduate."
He ran a hand through his hair, not surprised that they were faintly trembling. He was surprised when Clint placed a hand over his. He looked up to meet Clint's serious gaze.
"When I was only a little younger than you, I was asking myself those same questions. Who am I? What am I going to do with my life? Because I didn't really see a lot of options presenting themselves to me. Especially after my brother…. yeah, after him. So I took the easy way out and I pulled an armed robbery. Of course it went terribly wrong and ended up with me shooting the guard. And that in itself was a mindfuck. But I got arrested and was facing a minimum of twenty five years for armed robbery and attempted murder. That is until Phil showed up like a nerdy, Super Nanny watching angel and got me to join SHIELD. But Phil isn't here anymore so I'm going to be that guy for you. Minus the Super Nanny. That show is weird. You couldn't pay me to watch kids like that. I'd probably just shoot them."
Puck chose to ignore that last part, mostly because he totally agreed (those kids were definitely hell spawn) but also because really? Clint was actually suggesting that he should apply to SHIELD? Puck supposed that must've showed on his face as Clint rolled his eyes. Puck huffed in frustration. Why couldn't the older man see that Puck was definitely not SHIELD material? He was barely worth this pep talk.
"Why the hell would SHIELD want a dumb kid that barely managed to graduate and has a juvie record?"
"One, you're not dumb!" Clint said, whacking him on the back of his head. "Two, what would they want with a sixteen year old with an actual adult criminal record and an obsession with a medieval weapon that didn't even finish the sixth grade? I have no idea why they wanted me. I don't know why they took me and kept me. But hey, look at me now!" Puck couldn't help the laugh at Clint's dramatic spread arms and bright grin. "I could tell you how you're so much more than what you think you are but we both know that's not really going to sink in just yet. So I'm just going to say besides the whole almost didn't graduate thing, there is a very important reason why SHIELD would be damn lucky to have you. And that, kid, is that SHIELD is in your blood."
"You talking about Captain Rogers?"
Clint gave him an appreciative look. "Okay, you're definitely not dumb if you're picking up on stuff like that. But no, I'm not touching that whole situation with a ten foot pole. I was actually talking about your great grandmother… your Nana Peggy. She founded SHIELD with Tony's father, Howard. Kind of fitting that you and Blaine are directly related to the founders and you managed to find one another and become friends."
Puck picked at a loose string on his jeans. "You really think I could be an agent of SHIELD? You really think SHIELD would want me?"
"You would make a great agent and not just because you're Peggy's great grandson. But because you're smarter than you think. You're observant and you care. You make mistakes but you own up to them and take responsibility. You take care of the people that mean the most to you. All of the above is what is going to make you a good agent. The fact that you're more like your great grandmother than you think is what's going to make you a great agent. Stop selling yourself short, kid. You're going to be great. I would stake my very tarnished reputation on that fact."
Puck gave him a wan smile that grew a little brighter when Clint handed back the cursed envelope with a card bearing Nick Fury's contact information on it. Clint rolled to his feet smoothly and stretched. He glanced down at Puck with a raised eyebrow.
"Just promise me that you'll think about it, okay?"
"Yeah," Puck nodded absently, staring down at the card. "Yeah, I will."
"Awesome," Clint started through the back door when he noticed something by the doorway. "Seriously?! Can you please just talk to him? Have a conversation already! Because honestly you're starting to weird me out. And I have a very high tolerance for weirdness."
Puck didn't bother to turn around. He already knew who Clint was yelling at. So instead he picked up his long neglected cake and waited for Captain America to work up the balls to talk to an eighteen year old kid. Surprisingly, given the amount of times Steve started to say something just to walk away before he managed to speak, Puck only had to wait for a few more minutes. Then there was the quiet bang of the screen door closing, shuffling almost nervous footsteps and finally a warm, heavy weight was settling next to him. Puck glanced at him out the corner of his eye.
"I wasn't… you know, listening to you guys," Steve started.
"You would've been the only one. It's okay if you did though." Steve nodded, his fingers twitching reflexively trying to find something to distract him from the nervousness. Puck took a deep breath. "When we first met, you freaked out about my eyes. Why?"
"They reminded me of my mother's eyes. Actually your eyes are pretty much identical."
"Oh," Puck replied, touching the corner of one eye absently. "I'm the only person in my family on both sides with hazel eyes. My mom and dad both have brown eyes. Same with Sarah. My grandmother said that she and my little sister might have gotten their names from her grandmother but I got her eyes. Since none of us have ever met, I had to take her word for it."
"That is interesting."
Puck snorted. What is with the Avengers and being afraid to just say what they were actually thinking? These guys were the ones that defended the planet just two weeks ago? They were Earth's Mightiest Heroes? Earth might be a little screwed.
"So, is the part where you tell me that you think you're my great grandfather or are we going to keep dancing around the topic for the rest of our lives? Because I have to tell you, I don't have that kind of patience."
Steve tensed before letting a shaky breath. "Uh, I really don't know for sure. I think I am. I kind of feel like I could be." He glanced over at Puck. "Would it be a bad thing if I was?"
Puck thought about for a second before shaking his head. "No, I don't think it would be. It would be a little weird since you look like you're a minute older than me. But not bad."
Steve laughed. "Clint was right. You really are a lot like your great grandmother. You're practical but you have imagination."
"She sounds like she would've been fun. I didn't really get a chance to know her that well before was diagnosed with dementia. But from the stories that Nana Sarah would tell when we visited, she sounded like a really nice lady."
"Your Nana Sarah… she died?"
"Yeah," Puck replied, sobering somewhat. It wasn't just the thought of his beloved grandmother but also what it meant for Steve. The man just woke up after a seventy year nap to find out that almost everyone he cared about was either dead or barely capable of remembering what day it was much less an old lover from the forties. Then he found out that he probably had a daughter… that was dead. And all he was left with was a delinquent loser great grandson. Yeah, this definitely really sucked for Steve.
"How did she die?"
"Cancer," Puck said. His voice still quiet. "It happened really quickly too. One day she was diagnosed and a few months later… she was gone. But she and Nana Peggy made up before she died. So at least there was some peace there."
"Yeah," Steve murmured. "She was your father's mother?"
"That's right. Nana Sarah had my dad, Aaron and before that Darcy's mom, Elizabeth. There was some… tension between Nana Sarah and her mother. They fell apart and by the time Nana Peggy found her she was 16 with two kids. Nana Peggy had gotten married during that time as well and she had a couple of kids too. I think I have at least two aunts and uncle."
"Why don't you know for sure?"
Puck shrugged. "They really didn't look too favorably on my grandmother. And their kids just picked up on their stupidity. So we avoid that side of the family. Besides I got Darcy. I don't need anyone else."
"I'm glad that you have Darcy. It sounds like you two are really special to one another."
Puck cracked a smile at the thought of his cousin. They were very close. They both knew what it was like to have less than stellar parents, especially fathers. At least Darcy's mom was somewhat checked in to what was happening with her daughter. That was probably the only thing preventing Darcy from following the family tradition of being a teenage parent. Man, this really sucked for Steve. He had to be related to the loser side of Peggy's family. Her other kids and grandchildren and great grandchildren were all Ivy League educated. Darcy was the first to graduate from high school on their branch of the family tree. He almost didn't. He almost let her down. He almost let Steve down.
"Noah, uh, can I call you Noah?"
"Family usually does."
"Right," Steve grinned, sitting up straight. "Well, I heard you talking about your graduation and I was hoping that you would let me have a ticket. I would love to be there for you. If that's okay."
"Even if it turns out you're not related to me?"
"You're still Peggy's great grandson and you're still someone that I'm happy I'm getting to know. So yes, even if we're not actually related, I would really like to be there."
Puck fought the blush he knew was spreading in his cheeks and the face splitting smile but it was all for naught. Captain America wanted to go to his graduation. Captain America actually wanted to be there to support him. That totally beat his non involved parents. He picked up the envelope marveling that earlier it felt like a ton but now it was light. As he opened it, he found that it actually was lighter. He originally had ten tickets. He set aside the two for Darcy and Jane but that still left eight tickets. Now there were only four in the envelope. What the hell?
"What's wrong?"
"I had ten tickets. Two were for Darcy and her friend, Jane. So there should be eight in here. But now I only have four left. I don't understand."
Steve shook his head. "Clint really needs to work on expressing his emotions. I believe that your family section isn't going to be as empty as you thought it would be."
"But why did he take four…." Puck trailed off as he counted off the remaining Avengers. Tony, Bruce, Clint and Natasha… that made four. They were going to go to his graduation. They actually cared about him and wanted to go. Oh.
"I wouldn't stress it too much," Steve said, pocketing his ticket. "I mean I've only known him for about a week, but even I can see that Clint is really fond of sleight of hand tricks as well as really bad at expressing himself verbally."
"I was literally sitting next to him the whole time. I definitely didn't see him switch the tickets out. He's good. I wonder if he would teach me how to do that if I joined SHIELD."
"You're thinking about joining SHIELD?"
"Uh, yeah? I know that Nana Peggy helped build it with Blaine's grandfather… so yeah, I thought maybe it could be a thing. Unless…."
"No," Steve blurted out, shaking his head. "No, it's a good thing. A great thing actually. I'd really like it if you joined. Maybe both of us being in SHIELD will help us to really get to know each other. Maybe you could even help with this whole twenty first century thing because I'm definitely still lost. And Tony has offered to help but he can be a bit... overwhelming sometimes. I think I need someone a little less... Stark. You think you can help an old man out?"
Puck grinned wider than he thought possible. "I would love to help… Pops." Steve pulled a face bringing a brighter smile to Puck's face. "Gramps? PopPop? Grandpappy? Papster? Bubba? Bubster? Buzz? Chief? Adda? Baba? Ace? PapaDaddy? Papa Eagle?"
"Wait, Papa Eagle?"
"You know because America."
Steve laughed shook his head. "Exactly how many of these names do you have? And did you seriously just come up with all of them right now?"
"My brain is a strange yet wondrous place," Puck retorted. "The names and possibilities are endless. I could go for days."
"I'm strangely looking forward to it," Steve laughed. It was a warm sound. Bright, cheerful and so obviously fond of Puck. It wasn't something he was used to hearing but Puck found that he really wanted to get used to it. He really wanted to get used to having a relative that cared (and not just Darcy... god, he couldn't wait to tell Darcy all of this!)
Steve stood up, stretching as well before holding out a hand to Puck. He took it without hesitation and let his possibly, okay, definitely maybe great grandfather pull him to his feet and into a tight embrace. Puck sighed as he felt Steve's arms lock around him. It was weird how he automatically felt comfort and safety in that hug. He automatically felt like this man was family. Even if somehow they weren't related, which let's face it, they so were, Puck knew that he had family in Steve. It was a strange yet awesome thought. Not unlike the feeling he had whenever he was around Santana, Blaine, Sam and Brittany.
"I'm glad I found you, Noah."
"Me too," Puck whispered. "G Daddy."
"No," Steve said, pulling away with a frown. "I am definitely vetoing that one right now."
"I thought it had a nice ring to it."
Steve rolled his eyes and pushed Puck in front of him into the house. He was promptly tackled to the floor by his equally worried friends. Steve neatly sidetracked the puppy pile of teenagers now gathered on the living room floor and walked towards kitchen. Puck could already hear Tony picking up the game to name his newly minted great grandfather. He kind of liked the Geezer Guy one. Popzie had a nice ring to it too.
"Wait, why are you guys snuggling me?!" he asked, drawn back to the fact that none of his friends had yet to move away from him. They were actually getting more comfortable. What the hell?
Sam lifted his head to look him in the eye. "Because we wanted you to know that we care. All of us. I didn't know you were feeling that way about graduation. Dude, you know I would've been there in your section. I was only sitting with Carol and Burt because they asked. I'm definitely not a fan of either Kurt or Finn right now."
Puck belatedly winced. It hadn't gotten better for Sam at the Hummel-Hudson household either. He was pretty much officially just living at Puck's house now. Of course they were all pretty much living out of Blaine's house and occasionally going home to sleep. But out of the past week, they had spent the night three out of five days. As he glanced at the clock on the wall, he found that today was going to be one of those days probably. And he also found he didn't care. He wriggled around so that his back was leaning against Sam while his head rested on Santana's shoulder. Brittany's head was tucked under his chin and Blaine's legs rested on top of his. Sure they were going to regret this in about an hour or so when they finally had to move. But for right he was content to lie on the floor inches away from the comfortable sofa surrounded by the soft breathing of his totally insane friends.
A week ago, he was fearful of the future. He didn't know what it held but he didn't think it would be anything good. Because good things rarely ever happened to him. And then New York was invaded by aliens. And he went from potential Lima loser with no real friends or family or potential job prospects to a high school graduate with a family of choice and a great grandfather that not only liked him but also wanted him around. Yeah, maybe he didn't need a miracle. Maybe he was just fine as it was.
"What the hell are you guys doing down there?" Clint asked, strolling into the room while munching casually on an apple. He stared down at the tangled pile of teen limbs with a look akin to confused horror in his eye. "Is this some kind of weird sexless orgy?"
"Have you seriously never been snuggled with, Uncle Clint?" Blaine asked, his voice reeking of mock innocence. Puck smirked. He was becoming familiar with that tone of voice. It meant that something was about to happen. Usually something embarrassing for the person it was directed towards. Puck saw movement out the corner of his eye. Oh, this was going to be fun.
Clint frowned. "No, I have not been snuggled. I'm an assassin for SHIELD. What part of that screams that I need or even want to be snuggled?" Clint narrowed his eyes taking in the strangely smug faces in front of him. He started to back away warily but it wasn't the teens on the floor he should've been worried about.
"I actually think every part of that says 'I need a hug', Clinton," Tony chimed in, appearing on Clint's right side. The archer jumped and quickly tried to move to the left when he bumped into a grinning Bruce. "Wouldn't you agree, Brucey?"
"It does seem to suggest that hugs are in order," Bruce said, smiling wider at the more nervous Clint. "I think the Other Guy agrees too."
"Jade Jaws is turning on me too?" Clint muttered. Puck watched as Clint's eyes darted between the two men and he was clearly contemplating the logistics of taking them both out in order to escape. He had finally reached a conclusion when Natasha and Steve joined the strange scene. Clint's blue eyes widened as he met Natasha's green gaze. "Et tu, Natalya?"
"Just accept your snuggles," Natasha teased with a small smile. Clint rolled his eyes but the smile forming at the corners of his mouth totally gave him away. With a sigh he gave into the embrace the waiting Avengers were probably going to shove on him in a few minutes anyway. At first Clint stood stiffly in the arms of his team but gradually he gave in and relaxed. Puck could almost see the darkness that was persistently clinging to the man since the invasion lifting somewhat. Maybe there was something to this whole family thing after all.
"This is just pathetic, you know?" Clint murmured, breaking the content silence that settled over the room. "I mean now we're all just a bunch of snuggling morons."
"Feels good doesn't it?" Natasha asked.
Clint sighed again. "Yeah, it kinda does."
*the end for now. Hope you enjoyed!