Pretend there's a disclaimer here.
Alright, things are starting to heat up in this chapter. (Let me warn you now that things are going to start warming up to the R-rating, and this is the starting point.) However, the BDSM stuff is going to get toned way down - I don't think there's a mention of it in the next few chapters, and I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to continue to include it in the story - the plot's just not allowing for it at the moment, and I don't foresee any more major changes happening to the plot any time soon.
Other than that, enjoy the story! (and feedback is always greatly appreciated!)
Chapter 8: Let It Snow
After a marathon of Oliver and Company, Finding Nemo, Beauty and the Beast, and about halfway through the original Fantasia, Puck looked down at his side to see Sara fast asleep. She'd stretched out along the couch and was cuddling her polar bear teddy bear. She'd nestled herself under a pile of blankets, and underneath her nest, she was wearing a pair of purple sweatpants and one of Puck's old Bengals jerseys - which had, in truth, belonged to their father.
Will had gotten through all of his grading and he'd moved on to mapping out lesson plans for the next week or so, and he'd seemed quite amused watching Puck help Sara with her homework. He'd eventually settled on the armchair to join Puck in watching the rest of Fantasia. "You're really good with her," he said as the last act of Fantasia started playing.
Puck shrugged. "'S not like she's got anyone else who gives a damn about her," he said, his tone surprisingly mild.
At that, Will frowned. It was obvious that he had questions, but both he and Puck knew that he wasn't going to ask anything until after he had an idea of how Puck would react. "Her teachers?" he asked hesitantly, knowing better than to bring up either of Puck's parents.
"They've got thirty other kids to worry about, and unless she comes in with bruises or refuses to participate in anything, they aren't going to worry about her," he said.
"How's she doing, then?"
"She doesn't miss any classes, she gets all her homework done, and she doesn't get hurt on the playground. She's current with the doctor and the dentist gave her a clean bill of health in October," Puck said with a shrug. "So she's doing okay, but I know it's rough on her."
Will frowned, his brows furrowing slightly.
Puck was silent for a moment. "She needs somewhere to be able to sleep at night where she doesn't have to worry about me showing up bloody or bruised. Someplace with a bed that's hers, where she can sleep through the night," he said with a sigh. "But we can't go back home, since Ma's there, and always drinking," he added in a quieter voice. "And she kicked me out when I went after her latest boyfriend for trying to fuck with Sara while she was asleep on the couch."
"Oh," Will said, falling silent.
An oddly comfortable silence settled between them before the credits started rolling.
"Did you want some hot cocoa?" Will asked suddenly. "I'm going to put the kettle on for some tea," he said.
Puck shook his head, though he did stand up and stretch a bit. He made sure that Sara was comfortable on the couch, and that she wasn't going to wake up any time soon, before following Will into the kitchen. "Why are you doing this?" he asked, leaning against a counter as he watched Will get his kettle ready.
"What? Making tea?"
"Not that," Puck said, though his lips had quirked upward a bit. "You've been going out of your way to help me out. Why?"
"Is it a bad thing for me to want to help you?" Will asked hesitantly, looking over at Puck before putting his kettle on the stove.
Puck was silent for a long moment, not entirely sure how to respond to that question. "I'm not used to it," he admitted, almost reluctantly. "The only people who really bother with trying to help me are Santana and her parents."
"Not the nurse who's stitched you up?" Will asked with a frown.
"Kelly?" Puck asked with a small, lopsided smirk. "He just likes to use my to satisfy his curiosity, and he doesn't really like to play when I'm bruised," he said quietly. "And Santana only told her parents when she found out that Sara and I spent spring break in the park, sleeping in my truck," he added. "Otherwise they still wouldn't know how bad it really is," he said.
"Puck, I'm not trying to push you into telling me something that you don't want to, but I don't know how bad it really is," he said, moving away from the stove and turning to face Puck fully.
Puck shrugged. "You know more than anyone else," he said, taking a few steps toward Will. "I can promise you now that I've never gone to Santana with a gag on," he said, absently tracing his fingers over Will's face. It only took a few seconds before Will realized that he was imitating the same patterns as the gag, where the leather had cut into Puck's face. Even now, along the younger man's jawline, the scars were still slightly visible, if one looked hard enough.
"Still-"
"Schuester, you know more than I've let anyone else know," he said. "And you're still willing to help me." He paused for a moment before looking into Will's eyes with an inscrutable expression. "Why?"
This time it was Will's turn to smile. He gently cupped Puck's face, not missing the way the younger man slightly leaned into the comforting touch. "Because, Noah," he said quietly, using the younger man's name for the first time that he could remember. "I care about you. I don't want to see you hurt."
Puck frowned, clearly confused. Then, on an impulse, he leaned forward and pressed his lips almost hesitantly against Will's, in a firm but chaste kiss.
It was rather endearing, given Puck's experience, and Will found himself moaning quietly into the kiss. A suspicious voice in the back of his head spoke up and Will pulled back, resting a hand on Puck's chest to keep him in place.
"What's wrong?" Puck asked, not bothering to hide his confusion. "I thought, no, I know you liked it," he said.
"No, I promise, that's not the problem at all, Puck," Will said, once again blushing slightly. "But I need to tell you something before anything else happens."
Puck frowned, looking confused, and just waited for Will to continue speaking.
It took a moment for Will to gather his thoughts before he started speaking. It took another few minutes before "Puck, I need you to know that I'm not expecting any sort of, um, payment, or whatever you think might be necessary," Will said, flushing red as he edged away a bit and looked toward the ground. He expected to hear his student leaving the room, but instead he was met with the sound of Puck's quiet laughter.
"Schuester, did you like the kiss?" Puck asked bluntly. He didn't try to move toward Will again, allowing the older man some personal space as he waited for his question to be answered
A moment of hesitation, another blush, and a nod. He couldn't quite meet the younger man's eyes, and Will didn't bother denying the irritation and shame he felt at his weakness.
"Do you want it to happen again?" Puck asked.
His voice had taken on an almost breathy quality now, and Will's blush only got brighter. How was his student this able to reduce him from a divorced, not-quite-middle-age man to an awkward teenager in just a few minutes? "Yes," Will whispered, his voice barely audible. He dared a glance up at Puck, relaxing slightly when he saw genuine amusement shining in the young man's eyes.
"Then stop fucking overanalyzing it and just fucking enjoy it," Puck said with a smirk as he moved in for another.
This time Will didn't resist. Rather, he grabbed the front belt loops of Puck's jeans and pulled him closer. It wasn't quite the embrace that he wanted to indulge in, but he knew he'd need to do something with his hands before he completely embarrassed himself. As if he hadn't already.
Judging by the happy noise Puck made in the back of his throat and the way he immediately deepened the kiss, backing Will against the counter as he did so, the gesture was one that Puck appreciated. A quiet moan from Will was all that Puck needed to start exploring his body. It didn't take long for him to slip his hands up under Will's sweater, his fingers ghosting over the older man's skin.
Will found himself arching toward the touch, unable to stop himself from making happy little noises as Puck's fingers easily found his sweet spots. It had been quite a while since anyone had touched him and it was a credit to the younger man's experience how easily he was able to make Will squirm.
When air became necessary, Puck pulled back. The two of them didn't say anything, and Puck rested his forehead on Will's, seeming to watch the older man for some kind of reaction as their breathing evened out again. None came, good or bad, and both men seemed to take some small degree of comfort in the silence.
It didn't last long. The kettle started to boiling and Puck heard Sara start to wake up in the living room.
"So, um, did you want some tea?" Will asked, suddenly starting to feel a bit awkward.
"I'm good, thanks," Puck said with an easy smile. "Sara likes cinnamon tea, if you've got it."
Will nodded. "I should, yes," he said quietly. "What movie are we going to watch next?"
"She likes to sing along with Anastasia, so it might be that. Or the Lion King," Puck said. "I need to go check on her," he said, jerking his thumb toward the living room.
Will nodded again, still not entirely sure what to say.
Once again, Puck seemed to be much smarter than Will at the moment. He gently backed the man against the counter again, pulling the man into another, albeit quicker, kiss. "You're going to think this to death if you don't get some answers," he said with a small smile. "So we'll crash here for now, if you'll let us, and when Sara falls back asleep, which she will, you can ask as many questions as you need to settle this thing," he said.
"Noah?" Sara asked loudly, and Will pulled away from the kiss, moving over to silence the kettle.
"I'm coming, girlie," Puck said, his face taking on the most gentle expression that Will had seen. "And this time I'm going to get Ambrose before you can hide him from me."
Her sleep-thick laughter was his only response.
Will watched his student disappear, not saying anything for a long moment as he poured the two cups of tea. He frowned at the cups as the tea steeped, his fingers going to his lips almost of their own accord.
This new development would no doubt end badly for the two of them, Will knew. His luck was just that bad, and he had an odd feeling that it was going to bring Puck down as well. Still, checked on his cup of ginger tea and Sara's cup of cinnamon tea, he found himself smiling rather sappily. This whole thing might end up sending the two of them down in flames, but at least for the moment, he allowed himself to enjoy what had just happened.
After all, no matter how much he tried not to notice it, Puck was a very good-looking young man, and despite how he'd learned, he was an exceptional kisser. His lips were still tingling slightly as proof of that.
He was pulled abruptly out of his thoughts when he heard a delighted shriek and then laughter as the power failed.
Puck was laughing as well, Will could hear.
A few seconds later, Puck came back into the kitchen, though this time he was giving his sister a piggyback ride, and clutched in her hands was the stuffed polar bear that she'd been cuddling with during her nap. "The little beast wants to know if we can make a fire to roast marshmallows now that the power's out," he said.
Will nodded and then paused abruptly from puling the bag of marshmallows off the top of his fridge. "Keep it in the fireplace," he said with a suspicious glare at Puck.
The younger man laughed. "Sure thing, Schue," he said, leaning down so that Will could hand Sara the bag of marshmallows. "Do you have the sticks?"
Will nodded. "I'll bring them out with the tea. Miss Sara, would you like any sugar in your tea?"
She looked down at Puck, who had snatched the marshmallows away from her at the question.
"One or the other right now, squirt," he said, sticking his tongue at her when she did the same to him.
Sara frowned. "Can I have sugar in hot cocoa later?"
Will nodded, unable to stop the smile off of his face. "Of course," he said. "Puck, go ahead and start a small fire. I'll be out in a minute with the tea and then we can figure out what to do next."
Puck chuckled quietly, winking at Will before heading back out into the living room.
