Chapter Seven
oOo
Summary: Will the proud music teacher eventually find love with the beautiful kindergarten teacher or will he forever come second to the football coach? This isn't very M but, to be safe, I'll leave it at that.
Disclaimer: None of these characters belongs to me except for any OCs found wandering. I own nothing save for this computer.
"No, Rachel, seriously, there isn't anything to tell!" Kurt huffed as he wished fervently that his snooping sister-in-law would get off the phone so he could enjoy his home-made Southwest salad for lunch.
"Yes, we've had dinner a couple of times – yeah, he's changed, uh huh..." He knew he was beginning to sound distracted as he sat in the school's little courtyard with his lunch and his bottle of water. Rachel had been on the phone for a while now and he knew that when she lost steam she would eventually hang up.
"I don't know if he's seeing anyone, Rachel," he gritted his teeth as he glared at the phone, asking himself why he had to be so polite. He wished he could just cut her off and hang up but no, he was sat here listening to her craziness spill over.
Finally, from the disjointed sputters at the other end of the line he figured one of her students was trying to get her attention. He sighed in relief even though she ended the call by threatening to grill him more on Noah when next they met up.
"Yeah, yeah, crazy lady; go and mind your little songbirds," and he hung up with a little chuckle. He turned back to his tasty salad and smirked to himself. Rachel hadn't changed all that much over the years and he wondered now if people said the same about him. He rather thought he was somewhat more grounded than the romantic, head-in-the-clouds boy he'd been, especially after his time spent in New York.
As he ate, Marcy came out to join him, plopping herself down on the bench beside him and eyeing the last of his salad.
"Gosh," she exclaimed, "every day you bring something different for lunch and it looks and smells so much better than the cafeteria food!"
Kurt grinned at her in appreciation of the compliment and nodded. "Yeah, I have a love-hate relationship with food so I decided to become its master."
They chuckled at that and when she looked at him with an inquisitively raised brow he shrugged. "I was a bit heavy in middle school and even freshman year of high school."
Marcy's eyebrows rose in disbelief, her eyes widening as they slid over Kurt's lithe figure displayed today in one of his designer ensembles. Even she knew that Kurt's clothes had never been bought at K-Mart, Walmart or Target. "Really, that's hard to believe, you're so skinny now!"
Kurt pouted slightly at the 'skinny' bit but he shrugged. "Well, the long and short of it is that I started eating better, exercising more and when my dad had his heart attack, I got serious about the foods we were cooking."
They sat in silence as they ate for a few minutes and then he smiled at her. "You'd be surprised how great you can make healthy dishes taste without loading them down with a lot of calories. It took a while but having my dad healthy again was way more important to me than loads of chocolates or cream pies."
Marcy nodded and then pointed at his near-empty salad bowl with her fork. "Yeah, but the food that you prepare looks like stuff you see on those cooking channels. If you ever get tired of this, you could go into the business, eh?"
Kurt looked at her thoughtfully, his head tilted to the side as his blue-green eyes roved over her face. It wasn't the first time someone had said that to him but he hadn't really taken it seriously. He had been flattered, of course, and every now and then the idea floated to the front of his mind and nagged at him. Ah well, one day, he sighed, gathering up his things before rising, telling Marcy he was going to sort out some stuff before classes resumed.
The fresh air and his leisurely lunch had done a lot to restore his good mood after Rachel's annoying call and he hummed to himself as he made his way to the staff room. He nodded to a couple of the volunteer parents, calling them by name as he passed them. He grinned softly as he wondered if Noah would ever get up the courage to volunteer in a kindergarten; he knew that not everyone was mentally equipped (okay, had the guts) to deal with a bunch of little kids.
Turning into the staff room he saw the unwelcome, over-teased hair that graced the head of one Daria Strando, formerly Marietti and frowned slightly. He made his way over to his own locker and then sat at a nearby table, hoping she wouldn't notice him. Huh, no such luck, he whined, when she turned and caught his eye.
"Kurt, hi, Kurt!" She waved even though she was only a few feet away from Kurt and minced over to him on ridiculously high heels. He could have sworn she was a holdover from one of those reality shows about various types of wives; everything about her was overdone. He knew that her husband's family had some money and was considered a big fish in their tiny Lima pond but he hadn't been impressed with the guy when they were in school and certainly wasn't now.
"Hey, Daria, what's up?" He smiled at the woman politely and when she slid onto the chair beside him he repressed a sigh. He pretty much had an idea what was on her mind but he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. "Is little Mario doing okay? I don't have him in my class but I see him in the hallways sometimes."
Daria waved away mention of her son impatiently and stared at Kurt from beneath Liza Minelli-like false lashes. "Oh, Mario is fine, fine. Look, I was wondering if your friend, Puck, wanted to come to a garden party we're throwing this weekend?"
Kurt's eyebrows rose and he blinked, not sure how to respond but before he could say anything she rushed to add, "We're having a bunch of people over and since he's back in town, I thought I could introduce him to some of my single girlfriends, y'know?"
He nodded slowly, even more thrown by that last part but he gathered himself and smiled politely again. "Oh, okay, I – uhm, I'll see if I can get in touch with him and I'll be sure to tell him about the invitation."
She grinned widely and he winced at the tiny smear of lipstick on her teeth. God, the woman was a walking cliché, he thought as she tottered away. As he turned back to the books before him, however, she spoke once again, her voice slightly shrill with suppressed laughter.
"Oh, Kurt, I would have invited you, too, but I didn't think this shindig would be your style!" With that she waved and headed out of the staff room door, her round butt rolling beneath her tight white denim skirt. That the skirt was inappropriately short for a volunteer parent in the school had not seemed to occur to her but then, everything she owned made her look like an hourglass-shaped sausage.
Kurt shook his head and then a grin surfaced as he wondered how Noah would react to Daria's invitation and her stated intention of introducing him to her 'single girlfriends'. Yeah, right; Kurt knew about Daria's rather sleazy reputation and he doubted she had any girlfriends to speak of.
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oOo
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Finn stood by the choir room door, memories swamping him as he watched Puck sitting where Will Schuester used to, back in their time at McKinley. A slight smile hovered over his lips as he noticed that there were more than three times the number of students present, some of them with their own musical instruments.
Puck looked natural, comfortable, directing a class of budding singers and musicians and Finn felt a faint surge of pride that members of his graduating class of 2012 had done fairly well for themselves. Puck had told him about Quinn being an advocate for battered women and for an odd moment they recalled their baby-drama with her, nearly at the same time. Still, shaking off the memories, he had been interested to hear about her accomplishments and he had no doubt that one day he'd probably hear about her achievements in the news. Maybe when she was accepting an award, he thought, and he would be cheering her on.
As he watched Puck now, he remembered what had brought him to the choir room nearly at the end of the school day. His own jocks had wrapped up the day's training and were finishing up in the showers so he'd sauntered by Puck's classroom to have a word with him.
When the bell went off, the kids didn't all do that mad dash that was so common in high schools; some gathered around Puck and Finn stepped into the room, dodging the other kids who were leaving.
"Mr. Puckerman, Mr. Puckerman!" One insistent teen was forcing her way to the front of the group, her violin and bow clutched tightly in her hands. "Please, how can I be in show choir and still play my violin!"
The poor girl sounded on the verge of tears and, yes, there they came, rolling down her freckled cheeks. Finn watched Puck's face soften into a little smile before he looked around at the other kids, some of whom were rolling their eyes at their classmates' dramatics.
"I bet some of you can guess how we can get around that little problem," Noah prompted the kids and watched thoughtful looks come over some of their faces.
One kid's hand shot up and everyone looked at him in anticipation. "I know! We can do one of those – I don't know – like country songs or something with a fiddle, maybe?"
"Ooh, yes, or like how in Riverdance one of the girl dancers plays the violin while she does that weird dance thing!"
The suggestions came fast and the little freckle-faced violinist eventually left with her classmates, her tears forgotten and hope replacing the mild despair.
Noah shook his head as he watched them leave, some having asked other questions and got quick answers. He liked to encourage them to think on their feet and allow everyone to offer opinions and suggestions. He had so hated how Schue had run the glee club as if it had been 'The Rachel and Finn Show'; no way in hell was he going to allow history to repeat itself.
He looked up now and saw Finn hovering inside the door, a faintly bemused expression on his sun-kissed face. Noah raised an eyebrow at him in inquiry while he moved the music stands out of the way before putting away all the other paraphernalia the kids had left behind.
"What's up, no extra training this afternoon?" He knew that Finn sometimes had extra training for the kids that weren't so talented as others and he'd thought it was a great idea. Finn was very patient with the slower kids and maybe he shouldn't have been surprised at that, knowing Finn's own history.
"Hey, man, I was just thinking back to Sunday." Finn moved closer, planting his butt on the edge of one the chairs and stretching his long legs out before him.
Noah tensed slightly. "Oh, what especially about Sunday?"
Finn tilted his head and watched the other man fidget with a couple of drumsticks someone had left behind on one of the seats.
"I know people think I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed," and he grinned as Noah's eyes flew to his abruptly. "It's okay; I don't mind people underestimating me. It's just I couldn't help noticing how Kurt kept looking at you, y'know?"
"He did? I don't think I noticed," Noah tried lying and he must have succeeded because Finn nodded vigorously before continuing.
"Yeah, I think he's attracted to you – he has a thing for jocks even though he never actually came right out and said that." He paused and bit his lip and then said everything quickly, nearly in one breath: "I hope he didn't make you feel uncomfortable?"
Noah turned from putting away the drumsticks and stared at his friend, a 'WTF?' look on his face. "Wha- why would I be uncomfortable with Kurt?"
Finn flushed and straightened up on the chair, pulling his legs in so his feet were planted flat on the floor. "Hey, I just – okay, I'm kinda used to him crushing on me, okay, but someone else mightn't understand that he's harmless."
"What do you mean, crushing on you; Kurt doesn't seem like he's crushing on anybody!" Noah tried to keep his voice level but Finn was seriously pissing him off.
Finn stared at him before grinning smugly. "Oh, yes, I've always known about the crush he had on me back in school but Rachel says it's because no one forgets their first love. Kinda sounds lame to me but she's a lot smarter so I believe her."
Noah turned away, staring at the piano so he wouldn't have to look at Finn's stupid face because he seriously wanted to smash it in. There was no way Kurt was still crushing on this doofus, he thought angrily, taking a deep breath before turning back to Finn. He shrugged casually and leaned against the piano, saying: "But what about Blaine – and then Karofsky? He seemed to be into them quite a lot, from what I heard."
"Yeah, yeah, but don't you see – that's why they didn't work out, none of them," Finn said excitedly. "But it's good that he wasn't making you uncomfortable, sharing a blanket and everything."
Noah hung his head, unwilling for Finn to see his facial expressions, one of which would surely alarm the other man. He finally plastered on a smirk, raised his head and shrugged. "Well, if he's still crushing on you, I'm safe, then, right? No need to worry." He bared his teeth in a wolfish grin and watched as Finn blinked at him.
"Oh, yeah, that's true." He too shrugged as he rose from his seat. "Funny though, I think I got used to that whole crush thing. It's kinda cute, like a puppy or something," and he chuckled as he made his way out of the room, oblivious of the fuming man behind him. "See ya!"
Noah growled and slammed his fist down on top of the piano, his eyes hot and his breathing short. He didn't know what pissed him off more: that Finn assumed he'd be offended by Kurt or his last 'puppy' comment. As he thought about it he realised he was lying to himself; neither of those pissed him off more than the thought of Kurt still crushing on that big lug. The memory of Kurt in his arms, writhing and moaning as they made out, first on his couch and then on Noah's, sort of put the lie to Finn's words but a niggling doubt wormed its way into his mind.
His stomach clenched painfully as he closed his eyes, trying to shut out Finn's words. Was Finn right? Did Kurt still have feelings for his stepbrother?
For the first time Noah wished he had not returned, had not met up with Kurt again. He didn't know if he was strong enough to battle the people in Kurt's romantic past. Beyond that, he didn't even know if Kurt felt the same way he did. Certainly he knew that Kurt was physically attracted to him but he felt more for Kurt than just lust.
Still, it was far too early to be worrying about all this, he tried to reassure himself as he stepped out of the choir room, turning off the lights and locking the door. He strode directly towards the parking lot, bypassing the staffroom where he knew he'd run into Finn and headed to his car.
Trying to control his breathing, he let out another growl, slamming his hands on the steering wheel before forcibly calming down. He was not going to pressure Kurt, he would just continue seeing him casually and see what developed, if anything.
He pulled out of the parking lot, unaware of Finn standing at a staff room window, watching Puck's tense form stalk towards his car. Finn wasn't completely stupid; he knew something in their conversation had upset Puck and he was going to figure it out. He needed to run it by Rachel, too, 'cause she was way smarter than he was.
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oOo
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The day for the field trip was almost upon them and Kurt wondered why he hadn't heard from Noah the whole week. It was already Thursday and the field trip was the next day and Noah needed to know some of the rules and regulations that were designed to keep the kids safe. He'd done these field trips before and they took a lot of supervision because of the age of the kids. They were always super excited to be out and especially at the zoo to see all the wonderful animals and birds and even the snakes.
Kurt grinned, looking forward to the trip as well as to the fact that Noah was going to be one of the volunteer parents. He dialed the number and waited for Noah to pick up, humming to himself as usual.
"Hey, Kurt, what's up?" Noah's voice was slightly cool and for a second Kurt wondered if he'd got the right number. This in no way sounded like the man who'd twice had his tongue down his throat and his hands on his ass. He cleared his throat and spoke brightly.
"Hello, Noah, I, uhm, needed to run some stuff by you for tomorrow – for the field trip?" Kurt didn't know why he suddenly felt nervous but he was pretty good at picking up vibes. "Is everything okay with you?"
"Yeah, why do you ask?"
There was a pause during which Kurt wracked his brain to figure out Noah's coolness. "You sound a little different, that's why I asked. Anyway, I can bring the papers over to you, if you'd like?"
There was another little pause during which Kurt's feelings plummeted. A horrifying thought occurred to him: oh my god, he's lost interest!
Then Noah's voice was back. "Okay, you can do that, thanks. When should I expect you?"
Kurt's voice was softer now, his mind still occupied by that frightening thought. "Ahm, say about half an hour?"
"Alright, see you then." Noah hung up and Kurt stared in disbelief at the phone. He bit his lip as he felt his eyes prickle. That person who had just hung up was not the man who had turned up with his daughter and charmed Kurt in no time flat. This stranger was aloof, though polite and Kurt really didn't feel like seeing him now.
He shook himself out of his dismal thoughts, thinking vaguely that ten minutes ago he had been smiling and humming happily at the thought of seeing Noah again and now he was dreading that same meeting.
Noah closed the phone and his eyes, dropping his chin down onto his chest as the sound of Kurt's bewildered voice echoed in his memory. He didn't know what had come over him but when he'd seen Kurt's ID come up on his cell phone, he'd tensed up. Damn Finn for doing this to him, he railed internally. Now Kurt was hurt by his coldness and that had never been his intention.
He jerked his head up as he felt the cushion of the couch depress slightly. He looked up straight into his daughter's eyes and tried to smile. "Hey, sweetie, Mr. Kurt is coming over in a little while."
Judith didn't smile, still sensing that something wasn't quite the same with her dad but she nodded. "I like Mr. Kurt, daddy; do you like him, too?"
Noah couldn't hold in the sigh. "Yes, baby, you know I do. Why do you ask?"
Judith bit her lip, a slightly worried look knitting her feathery brows together. "You look a little sad even though he's coming over. You usually look happy, daddy."
Noah pulled the little girl into a gentle hug. "Oh, baby, sometimes people do feel sad but it's not about Mr. Kurt, okay?"
She pulled back slightly, looking hopefully at him. "Promise?"
He nodded and dredged up a slightly brighter smile for her. He knew she was pretty sensitive to his moods and he had to be careful that his own uncertainty about this situation with Kurt didn't affect her.
"Hey, how about you change into jeans and a t-shirt and we'll make cookies. That always cheers me up," he smiled cajolingly at her and was rewarded by her loud cheers. She jumped up and dashed toward her bedroom yelling 'cookies!' at the top of her lungs and he shook his head. Kids were easier to sort out than grown-ups and he definitely envied them. The turmoil he was going through with Kurt couldn't be sorted out with baked goods but he hoped it would eventually be dealt with satisfactorily.
He got up to go and have a quick shower, hoping the feel of the water would do its usual calming trick.
Kurt arrived a little later than the half hour he'd said and by the time he was at Noah's door, the other man was tense, wiping his sweating hands down the sides of ratty but clean sweatpants. For some reason he felt that dressing in his oldest clothes – he was wearing an old band tee-shirt, as well – would put some physical distance between him and Kurt. Stupid thought but he was going crazy waiting on Kurt to arrive.
When he opened the door the first thing he noticed was the closed but neutral expression on Kurt's face. They said hi and then Kurt stepped in, a soft smile appearing as he greeted Judith who had bounced out of her room at the sound of the doorbell.
"Mr. Kurt, we're going to the zoo tomorrow. Yay!" Judith's bright face lifted Kurt's spirits slightly and he turned with a more relaxed look to her father, holding out the folder with the few sheets of papers in it.
"Yes, and I'm looking forward to going with you guys, too. Have you ever been to a zoo, sweetie?" Kurt stood with Judith's hand in his, preferring to look at the little girl rather than at her father. He moved with her when she tugged on his hand, obviously wanting him to sit down but he stopped after a few steps.
"I've never been to a zoo but I went to the place that has the sea lions and dolphins!" Judith's reply was slightly more subdued as she started picking up on the tension between the two grown-ups. She noticed that Kurt had stopped moving and, child that she was, she simply blurted out: "Don't you want to sit down, Mr. Kurt?"
Kurt flushed and flicked a glance at her father who had stayed silent while he looked over the papers in the folder and Kurt shook his head as he turned back to her.
"Sorry, no, sweetie, I have a few errands to do before I go back home. In fact, I'm making a special treat for all of us tomorrow so I better get cracking!"
Prior to her asking him to stay, he hadn't been planning on a treat but in a flash he thought of baking cupcakes for them to enjoy the next day. Their lunch would be picnic style with hot dogs and sandwiches, juices and fruits; the cupcakes would be the perfect end to their outing.
Predictably, Judith's face lit up as she stared at her teacher, knowing that he wasn't going to tell her what the 'special treat' was. She grinned widely and looked at her dad, expecting that he would look just as happy as she did but her face fell slightly. Her dad wasn't even paying any attention to them and she looked back at Mr. Kurt sadly.
"Okay, 'bye, Mr. Kurt," she said quietly and Kurt gave her a little smile, trying to return her to her former ebullience.
"Remember; if you go to bed on time, tomorrow will come even quicker!" Kurt's voice was light and cheery and he was rewarded with a little gap-toothed grin as she nodded. "Goodnight, sweetheart."
He turned to the door, aware that Noah was now walking behind him and he put his hand on the knob. His hand was suddenly covered by a larger, darker one and he looked up startled into Noah's serious face.
"Look, Kurt_" he began but Kurt cut him off, a slightly bitter twist to his soft mouth.
"It's okay, Noah, I get it," he said softly as his eyes flickered past him to where Judith was watching them.
Noah stepped back, releasing him and grimaced. "I'll see you tomorrow, then," he said quietly, his eyes roving over Kurt's face as if he couldn't help himself.
Kurt nodded, threw a little smile to Judith and slipped out the door, his back ramrod straight as he walked towards the lift. All the way down to the ground floor he held himself stiffly but when he was finally inside his car he let out a breath. He slumped in his seat and stared through his windshield, his mind a blank as he tried to fathom Noah's about-face.
He sat there for several minutes and then started his car, determined now that he would get on with the task of making his special iced cupcakes. He needed supplies and as he ran through a grocery list in his mind, he wished fervently that the activities would take his mind off of the perplexing Noah Puckerman.
The look on Noah's face as Kurt was about to leave didn't indicate that he was angry or upset with Kurt, per se, but that confusing distance in his behaviour made Kurt's heart hurt. Still, if Noah was having second thoughts about starting something with him, he was damned if he would throw himself at the man. As he thought about him he realised he'd forgotten to pass on Daria's invitation and decided he would tell him the next day during the field trip.
Kurt determinedly put Noah out of his mind and got on with the job of shopping for the next day's treat. He was way too old to spend the night dwelling on men who didn't know their ass from their elbow, he told himself angrily. Lima wasn't a hotbed of social activities but throwing himself at a man who didn't want him wasn't the way to go.
If his heart continued to ache the rest of the night, he resolutely ignored it. Stupid heart, he muttered later that night as he took the last batch of cupcakes out of the oven. As he waited for them to cool he prepared supper for himself and if he felt a little lonely sitting before the TV as he ate, he ignored that too.
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TBC
A/N: Thank you, you wonderful reviewers, you! It's great to hear your thoughts and hopes for where this story is going and I hope I won't be disappointing anyone.
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