Title: The Boyfriend 9/12
Disclaimer: Glee is not mine.
A/N: I posted this on my LJ a few months ago and never got around to posting it on here hence why it is set around Thanksgiving.
Puck lay on his makeshift bed frowning up at the ceiling, something had changed and he didn't exactly know when. He tried to convince himself that it was finding out what had happened to Kurt the night before but it wasn't, not completely. Slowly, during the last few days, hate had lessened into dislike and it had now morphed into some sort of tentative friendship. He let out a huff of breath as he realised that despite having no clue how it had happened, he was now sort of friends with Kurt Hummel.
Puck rolled off his bed, intending to grab a shower before Kurt woke up and used most of the hot water. He paused, looking down at Kurt as he made a cute little noise and snuggled into his pillow. Resisting the urge to brush the hair away from Kurt's face, Puck slowly edged away from the bed.
Sighing as the hot water began to cascade down his back, Puck stood for a few minutes with his eyes closed then reached for his shower gel. As it suddenly dawned on him that today was Thanksgiving, he began to wonder if his mom was still pissed with him for ditching his family. Knowing his mom she would be so he began to plan what he was going to say when he phoned her later. It involved a lot of sucking up and moaning about how much he missed them all but hey whatever got him out of the dog house.
"Ohmygod!"
Glancing over his shoulder, Puck saw a very red Kurt in the open doorway staring at him, wide eyed and mouth open.
"Hey Boss, I'll be out in a minute."
For some reason Kurt seemed unable to form a coherent sentence so Puck just shrugged and rinsed off. Switching the shower off, he opened the screen door "Can you hand me that towel?"
Puck hadn't thought it was possible for Kurt to turn any redder but apparently he was wrong. Kurt flushed even darker as he handed Puck the towel, keeping his head turned away as far as physically possible.
"Was there something you wanted?" Puck asked, ignoring the sneaky peaks Kurt was taking at his towel clad ass.
Kurt shook his head then nodded "No..um yes.. Finn wants to play football before lunch. There's a place not far from here we can go to."
Steering Kurt out of the en suite by his shoulders, Puck said "Sounds awesome."
"I'll leave you to get dressed then."
Puck rolled his eyes as he hurried out of the room. Kurt really needed to chill out, it's not like he could see anything with the showers frosted plastic modesty panel between them. He had even looked the other way when Puck stepped out of the shower so really there was nothing to be embarrassed about.
Snorting at how cute Kurt had looked running from the room, Puck wandered back into the en suite fully dressed, intending to hang his towel on the radiator. He paused, clenching the towel to his chest as he glanced towards the shower. Apart from some remaining condensation, the shower panel was completely transparent. Puck swallowed heavily, he had never been very observant but that was one thing he wished he had noticed because it meant that Kurt had seen everything.
When he entered the kitchen five minutes later his face still felt like it was on fire. It wasn't like he was particularly modest or anything and plenty of people had seen him naked in the past but this was Kurt.
"Dude why are you all red?" Finn asked, reaching for a pile of waffles.
Puck took a quick glance at Kurt, who was still faintly pink, then looked away as soon as they made eye contact.
"Shower was hot" he mumbled, sitting down next to Rachel. How the hell had he not noticed the shower before?
"You must really like waffles" she said, smiling as he took half the pile.
"These are amazing" he groaned as he took a bite.
Finn nodded happily "Kurt's awesome in the kitchen."
Puck frowned at Kurt who was busy pouring himself a glass of apple juice "Is there anything you suck at?"
"Not really" he replied with a smirk.
"Golf" Finn muttered under his breath, earning himself a smack on the back of his head.
"Everyone out!" Carole shouted, bustling into the kitchen with Burt in tow.
Finn stared down at his half full plate "But..."
"No buts Finn. I need to get a start on lunch."
"I can help if you like Carole" Kurt offered as she grabbed their empty plates and Finn's half full plate, stacking them next to the sink.
"No love, you go have fun. Your dad's volunteered to help."
Kurt raised an eyebrow "You're really going to let him help?"
"Hey! I'm not that bad" Burt grumbled as Carole shooed them from the room.
They all headed upstairs to get ready, Finn disappearing into his room then reappearing holding out a red football jersey towards Puck "Here I have a spare if you want?"
From the depths of the closet Kurt's voice muttered "If by spare he means he accidently took home a box of jerseys in senior year and forgot to return them."
Finn rolled his eyes "I thought it was by new George Foreman."
Puck pulled the number twenty jersey over his long sleeved shirt and bumped fists with Finn, who shrugged into one with a number five across the chest. Shoving his feet into his converse, Puck grabbed a hoodie then turned just as Kurt emerged from the closet.
His jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw Kurt wearing a number three jersey with a black t-shirt underneath and sweat pants so tight they should be illegal. Grabbing a thick hoodie, Kurt shooed them downstairs where they waited for Rachel who joined them a minute later, wearing a huge number one jersey that ended at her knees.
The football field that Kurt had mentioned turned out to be the one at their old high school and it also turned out to be all locked up for the holidays.
"Well this sucks" Puck muttered, staring at the padlock holding the gates together.
Kurt smirked at him then took something out of his pocket "Defeated so easily Noah?"
He bent down and began to pick the lock with a stretched out bobby pin, twisting his face in concentration.
"You look so hot right now" Puck drawled sarcastically. Kurt rolled his eyes in response then grinned as the lock popped open.
"Where did you learn to do that?"
"Now that would be telling" Kurt replied with a wink.
Rolling his eyes Puck followed Kurt and Finn towards the field, Rachel falling into step next to him.
"He looks really sexy in football clothes, don't you think?"
Puck's eyes roamed the tight fabric stretched across Kurt's ass and thighs "Yeah he looks pretty good like that."
Following his eye line Rachel grinned "I was talking about Finn but sure Kurt looks good too."
"I wasn't..." Puck began only to be interrupted by Rachel who patted him on the arm condescendingly.
"Of course you weren't."
By the time they caught up Kurt was bending and stretching, explaining to Finn why warming up before exercise was so important. Finn stared into the distance with a glazed expression nodding whenever Kurt paused for breath.
Puck dragged his eyes away from Kurt who bent double as he reached for his toes and jogged onto the field with Finn following close behind.
"So how are we going to do this?" he asked as Rachel and Kurt joined them.
"We'll divide into couples" Finn smiled down at Rachel and handed her the ball.
"Rather than risk being tackled, I think I'll just lie down if that's okay."
Puck glanced at Kurt "You think you can handle being tackled?"
Kurt smirked "Bring it."
"You sure dude?" Finn asked. "It hurts you know. It's not like when you were kicker."
Kurt used to play football? Well wasn't that just mind blowing.
"I do realise that Finn" he drawled. "It's not like you'll be able to catch me anyway. I'm too fast for you."
Puck raised an eyebrow "That's pretty cocky."
Grinning Kurt replied "No, just very confident."
As it turned out Kurt had every right to be confident. The first time he caught the ball, he was across the field and scoring a touchdown before Puck could blink.
It soon became apparent that Puck and Kurt had an unfair advantage considering they were the fastest and Rachel mostly just lay down. After twenty minutes of kicking Finn's ass they decided to play free for all which seemed to involve Puck and Finn tackling each other a lot, Rachel running and the others trying not to tackle her and Kurt spinning and jumping away from anyone who tried to tackle him.
Running after Rachel and the ball, Kurt accidentally got too close and half tackled her to the ground, quickly spinning so that when they hit the grass she landed on top of him. They were silent for a second then burst into hysterical laughter as Finn ran up to make sure Rachel was okay.
"Christ Kurt be more careful. Are you okay sweetheart?"
"I'm fine" she got out between laughs. "Although I'd be better if Kurt would take his hands off my butt."
That sent them both into another bout of hysterics making her gasp for breath as she rolled off Kurt and onto her back.
"If you didn't like dudes you'd be in major trouble" Finn grumbled, reaching down to help Rachel up.
Puck gave Kurt a hand, pulling him to his feet "Feeling up your bro's girl? Classy."
"Says the man who keeps launching himself at my brother."
Stepping closer, Puck's grin became cockier "If I didn't know any better Boss, I'd say you were jealous."
"Pffft."
"Don't worry, he's really not my type" he added mockingly.
Kurt's eyes widened "Oh?"
"Come on guys let's try some kicking" Finn yelled, waving the ball in the direction of the goal posts.
Rachel went first, barely kicking the ball ten feet, Finn followed managing to kick it close but not over the posts and Puck bounced the ball off the post, missing the target. Kurt began to hum what sounded like a Beyonce song and did a bouncy little dance before he kicked the ball. Puck watched in amazement as it soared over the goal posts and bounced off the ground on the other side.
Finn flung an arm around Kurt, pulling him into a hug as he exclaimed "Best damn kicker McKinley ever had!"
"Holy Shit!"
"What?" Kurt asked, moving away from Finn who ran over to Rachel raving about Kurt's perfect aim.
"If I'd known you a week ago, I would never have thought that you could kick like that."
Kurt gave him an are you crazy look "You've known me for three years."
"Yeah I know but I meant as your friend."
"We're friends?"
Puck suddenly felt incredibly awkward "Well... yeah... I kinda figured we were."
"Yes, I think so too" Kurt replied with a shy smile.
They played on for another half hour before they decided to call it a day. Pulling on his hoodie, Kurt made a beeline for his thermos of coffee and poured himself a cup.
Puck laughed as he sighed, happily sipping on the warm liquid "What's with you and coffee?"
Kurt chuckled but didn't answer, instead he downed the rest of the cup then screwed the lid back on and began to walk towards the parking lot.
Puck hadn't realised just how cold it actually was until his body began to cool after their game. As Kurt turned up the car heaters he leant forward and put his hands against the blowers, smiling when Kurt handed him the thermos.
Once the car was back in the garage, they all jumped out and hurried into the house then made their way upstairs to get changed.
While Kurt jumped in the shower to warm up, Puck quickly changed into his other pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt. Rooting around in the pocket of the jeans he had dumped on the floor, he pulled out his phone and dialled number two on his speed dial.
"Hey Ma."
"Noah? Nice of you to finally ring."
He winced at her tone "Come on Ma, you know I'd rather be home with you and Georgie."
"Then why aren't you? It's not as if you'll be at home for Hanukkah."
"I told you I have to work this week and I promise I'll come over a few nights during Hanukkah."
"Who works on Thanksgiving?"
Puck was sure that plenty of people worked on Thanksgiving but could tell that he wouldn't get a good reaction if he tried telling his mother that.
"Georgie says you're staying with your boss' family. That doesn't sound like work."
"Trust me it is. I'd much rather be with my family but I have to do this."
His mom didn't take his assurance on faith so after much grovelling and a promise to visit as soon as he was back in New York, he finally hung up. Throwing the phone on Kurt's bed, he rubbed his hand over his head where his mohawk used to be then down his face.
The en suite door clicked and opened, revealing Kurt in slim fitting trousers and a shirt with a soft looking purple cardigan over it. It was almost as if he had been waiting for Puck to finish his conversation before coming out and if that was the case then Kurt probably had heard what he had said. Come to think of it, Puck couldn't remember hearing the shower turning off.
Pushing his towel dried hair out of his face Kurt murmured "Ready?"
"I didn't mean it" Puck blurted. "I know you probably heard but it was just to stop my mom nagging."
"Oh?"
"Yeah I didn't think I would but I'm actually having a good time" Puck admitted.
Smiling Kurt nodded and led the way out of the room.
Wandering into the living room where Rachel and Finn were waiting for them, Kurt grabbed a DVD off the shelf and slotted it into the player before anyone got a chance to see what it was. Finn cheered as the start up menu for Transformers 2 came onto the screen and fist bumped Kurt as he sat back down in between him and Puck. Rachel, curled up in the recliner, glanced up from her book and groaned as she realised which film it was.
"What?" Puck asked leaning, forward so he could see past the other guys.
"You have no idea how much they watched this movie in high school."
"Really?"
Rachel nodded "It's the only film they can agree on. Kurt likes cars and Finn likes giant robots so they're both happy."
She rolled her eyes as Finn let out a lout WOOT when Optimus Prime first transformed on screen and ducked back into her book.
As awesome as the film was Puck spent most of it watching Kurt who looked completely enraptured. After a few minutes of actually looking at the screen instead of Kurt, he began to hear a sniffing noise coming from his right as Optimus Prime got wacked. Nervously glancing towards Kurt, he was completely dumbfounded when he realised that it was Finn who had tear tracks down his face.
Kurt patted his step-brother on the arm murmuring "There there, it's okay. He'll be back later."
Ten or fifteen minutes later, Carole called them into lunch so they paused the movie, pushing each other out of the way as they hurried into the kitchen. Puck's eyes widened at the sheer quantity of food in front of him, every inch of the table was covered in various meats and a vast array of side dishes. Taking his place next to Kurt he glanced at Carole as she placed her hand on his forearm.
"Noah dear, every year we go around the table and say what we're thankful for before we eat. Would you like to go first or last?"
"Last if that's okay?" he replied, needing time to think.
Carole smiled "No problem. I'll go first." She thought for a moment "I'm thankful for how our family's growing. Ten years ago I could never have imagined that I would have such a wonderfully complete family and now we have Rachel and Noah to celebrate with."
Burt grunted as Carole nudge him "I'm thankful for the success the garage has had this year and for another season of Deadliest Catch being released.
Rachel waved her arm in the air indicating that she wanted to go next "I'm so thankful for being here with Finn and his lovely family. I'm also thankful for the love and support my dads have shown me and the success of my latest play."
She turned towards Finn looking up at him expectantly.
"I'm thankful for all the people at work getting ill so I got more vacation time." At his mom's glare Finn cleared his throat "Err I mean I'm thankful for all the food which looks awesome and for being able to meet Puck, who seems to make Kurt happy."
Kurt looked surprised for a moment then smiled "I'm thankful for a family that accepts me for who I am, for my PA who puts up with all my crap and for Noah's... friendship."
Not able to put it off any longer Puck cleared his throat "I'm thankful that I'm not the person I was in high school and for the people who make me want to be a better man."
Puck shot Kurt a lazy smile then laughed when his cheeks became faintly tinged with pink.
"Right let's eat" Burt grumbled.
As soon as he spoke, Finn dived on the yams playfully pushing Kurt out of the way as he tried to get some too. Leaning across Kurt, Puck yanked the bowl out of Finn's hand then passed it to Kurt who grinned up at him before sending his brother a mocking smile.
When most of the food had been eaten and everyone was leaning back in their chairs, Finn suddenly sat up banging his knee on the table.
"Can we do it now?" he asked, excitedly bouncing up and down in his chair.
Kurt grinned "Show me what you've got."
Confused, Puck lent towards Kurt "What's going on?"
"Every year Finn and I give each other a novelty gift at Thanksgiving. It's a silly tradition we started when we were kids."
"It's not silly. It's awesome" Finn said, handing a badly wrapped present to Kurt.
Kurt took his time unwrapping it, clearly going slowly just to wind Finn up. Eventually he held up a box which said Paint your own garden gnome.
"You bought me a gnome?"
"Yes now you can have the fanciest gnome in New York" Finn exclaimed with a huge grin.
Kurt laughed "But I don't have a garden."
"You can put it in that window box thing."
Puck took the box out of Kurt's hands and peered at it "You have a window box?" Looking up he noticed Kurt's family staring at him and Rachel, wide eyed, shaking her head so he quickly added "I've never noticed it."
"It's outside the window next to the fireplace" Kurt replied, as if Puck had been to his house a million times before.
It certainly felt like a million times but it had probably only been half a dozen and Kurt had never actually invited him inside.
"Oh yeah, sure."
"Anyway it's my turn" Kurt declared, turning everyone's focus back to him. He got up and opened a cupboard, pulled out two packages then sat back down and handed Finn the larger of the two.
Finn ripped the paper off the perfectly wrapped gift and burst out laughing, holding up a box that said toilet paper laughs.
"I thought you might enjoy something amusing to read in the bathroom."
Finn thanked him then tore open the box unravelling the paper so that he could read some of it.
Ignoring Finn's snorts and chuckles Kurt turned to Puck and handed him the other package. "Rachel doesn't participate in our juvenile tradition but I saw this when I was picking out Finn's gift at the mall and had to get it for you."
Completely stunned, Puck took the gift and pulled the paper off not sure what to expect. He stared down at the tiny blue police box that was dangling from a key chain "You bought me a TARDIS?"
Kurt bit his lip "Is it okay?"
"Okay? It's awesome!"
Kurt grinned and lent forward reaching for the bottom of the TARDIS "Check this out."
He pressed a tiny button on the bottom of the box, giggling when Puck made a noise close to a squeal as it began to emit the materialising noise.
Without thinking and still holding onto his gift, Puck grabbed Kurt and yanked him into a hug almost making them both fall off their chairs.
"Aww aren't they cute?" Carole gushed.
Puck quickly let go, only then realising that he had grabbed Kurt without warning. "Sorry" he whispered.
Kurt, far from looking scared seemed rather pleased with Puck's reaction and gave him a quick head shake and smile. He cleared his throat and glanced across at his parents "Why don't you go relax while we do the washing up?"
"That would be lovely, Thank you." Turning towards her husband Carole asked "Do you fancy a walk?"
"Sounds like a plan."
As Burt and Carole got up and left the room, Finn also stood and began to make his way towards the door.
"We means you too Finn" Kurt drawled, handing him a tea towel.
They all began to collect dishes off the table, putting leftover food into Tupperware boxes and the empty dishes into the dishwasher.
"Shit" Puck muttered, glancing down at the sauce now splashed up his sleeve.
Reaching into a drawer, Kurt pulled out the pink frilly apron and looped it over Puck's head, stepping behind him to tie the waist straps "There you go messy pup."
Dropping the dirty dishes on the counter above the dishwasher, Puck pushed his sleeves up and glanced across at Finn and Rachel. He was totally masculine enough to pull off a pink filly apron but he didn't particularly want them to think that he was a loser or worse whipped. Catching the weird look that passed between them before they smiled sloppily at each other, Puck frowned and looked across at Kurt who was staring at them, biting his lip.
Once the dishwasher was full, Puck filled the sink and began to wash the glasses by hand. Kurt lent up against the cupboard next to the sink, probably so that he could supervise Puck and tell him that he was doing it wrong. Like there was a wrong way to wash glasses.
Frowning, Kurt lent forward staring down at the water and Puck just couldn't help himself. Cupping his hand under the water he quickly brought them up, splashing water all over Kurt's face.
Gasping, Kurt drew back "You... you..."
Kurt's shocked expression sent Finn into hysterics which quickly stopped as Kurt reached a hand into the sink and sent a load of bubbly water towards him. If he was aiming for Finn's head then his aim was a little off, it hit Finn square in the chest soaking his t-shirt.
Puck started laughing until Kurt picked up a clean bowl, plunging it into the sink he lifted it high and poured its contents over Puck's head. Shivering as the cooling water trickled down his back, he exchanged a look with the other guys and they all dived towards the sink. Screeching as water hit her, Rachel ran from the room while the others laughed and continued their water fight.
Kurt hit an unbelievably high pitched note as Puck grabbed the washing up bowl and emptied the little water left over the top of him. He stood frozen for a moment absolutely drenched, making Puck wonder if he had gone too far but after a second or two Kurt looked up at him with twinkling eyes and laughed, hitting him gently on the shoulder.
"I'm going to go get changed."
"What about this mess?" Finn asked, waving his arm around the very damp room.
Kurt rolled his eyes "I think you two can manage on your own."
Watching Kurt leave the room, Finn reached for the roll of paper towels and pulled off a huge amount before handing the roll to Puck who did the same.
Trying to focus on drying the kitchen before Carole or worse Burt saw the mess they had made, Puck was repeatedly distracted by the derpy looks that Finn was giving him.
"Kurt must really love you."
"Why do you say that?" Puck asked startled.
Finn shrugged but continued to smile "He doesn't let just anyone wear his mom's apron."
Puck looked down, running a hand across the fabric. Huh.
"In fact, I don't think he lets anybody wear it."
"What was her name?" Puck asked as he removed the apron, carefully folding it before he put it back in the drawer.
"Elizabeth, same as his pen name."
Puck looked up quickly "Sorry?"
Finn shrugged "Kurt needed a penname. Something to do with the magazine not wanting people to know that a fashion writer was also writing about cars so he used his mom's first name and my surname." He grinned "Kinda cool huh?"
Kurt was Elizabeth Hudson. How the hell had he not realised that before? The similar writing styles, the wittiness, even that damn cartoon had the same colour hair as Kurt. If anyone should have made the connection, it should have been his PA. Puck stood in shock, staring into space until Kurt wandered back into the kitchen wearing a new, dry outfit.
Opening and closing his mouth a few times, Puck tried to think of something to say but was completely dumbstruck.
"Finn could you give us a minute?"
"Sure" Finn said hurrying out of the room, obviously glad that he didn't have to clean anymore.
"You know."
It was a statement rather than a question.
"I never saw anything you wrote for Crankshaft."
"Mitch wanted it to be kept secret. All of my drafts go straight to him."
Puck nodded slowly as he lent up against the fridge "So why didn't you tell me when you found out how much I admire...your work."
"I couldn't do that to you." Puck's confusion must have been blatant because Kurt continued "You were such a fan and you hated me. I didn't want to spoil it for you."
"I didn't hate you dude."
"Yes you did" Kurt replied, without any trace of self pity.
Not wanting to lie, Puck gave a slight nod.
Kurt gave him a small smile then inclined his head towards the living room. Following him to the couch where Rachel and Finn were cuddled up watching the rest of the movie Puck sat down, stretching his arm around the back of the couch behind Kurt's shoulders.
Within half an hour, Kurt was fast asleep and awkwardly leaning against Puck's side. Pulling him closer so that Kurt's head rested on his chest, Puck wrapped his arm around him then turned back towards the TV.
