Disclaimer: I do NOT own rights to any of the characters from Glee. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter, I'm glad you approve of Justin – he just appeared out of left-field, I had no plans to include him as more than a passing mention but then the whole locker room conversation happened and I suddenly find myself with some new options. Who knows what I'll decide to do.
Chapter 10 – Pool Cleaning
Kurt took the disabled ramp down to the parking lot, not trusting that he'd be able to use the steps safely.
Shuffling around the corner, the weight of his bag causing him to wince with every step, he was gratified to see both Noah and Mercedes leaning against the courtyard fountain waiting for him.
'He didn't freak out and leave me...'
As if reading his mind and knowing exactly what he needed, the pair approached Kurt as Mercedes took his bag from his shoulder and Noah spoke,
"Open...",
Kurt didn't understand and made to ask what the jock was talking about and that's when he felt something being placed onto his tongue and the bottle of water being handed to him.
"For your back...", offered Noah and the brunette gazed at him with eternal gratitude in his eyes.
Taking a deep slug of the water and washing the pain medication down his throat, Kurt looked at Noah hoping that his slip in the shower had been forgotten and that it meant that their friendship was still intact.
"Mercedes... you're driving right?...", asked Puck as the girl shook Kurt's keys in her hand, "... cool, Kurt can ride with me then if you don't mind following?..."
"Thank you, Noah...", Kurt murmured as the jock wrapped his arm around his waist and led him off in the direction of his truck. Looking over his shoulder at Mercedes, Kurt couldn't resist poking his tongue out childishly at the girl who glowered at him good naturedly.
'Hummel 1 Jones 0'
The journey across the parking lot took over two minutes as Kurt winced with every step he took despite Noah's assistance. Eventually however as they reached the blue Ford pick-up, Kurt leaned gratefully against the cold bodywork as the jock unlocked the passenger side door.
"OK. How do you want to do this?"
Kurt looked at Noah before realising there was a good two foot jump to get into the cab and he truly didn't know if he'd be able to do it.
Flushing in embarrassment Kurt made the only suggestion he could think of that might work,
"Could you maybe... carry me... like before?"
Noah was all business as he nodded before absently scooping the soprano into his arms and gently depositing him in the passenger seat. The passenger door closed gently beside him as he focused on fastening his safety belt.
The driver's side door opened with a creak as the suspension dipped and Noah's frame literally hopped from the asphalt into the cab. Kurt couldn't help the gasp of pain that escaped him as the truck bucked with the impact.
The immediate apologetic look on Noah's face gave Kurt hope that the shower incident would be forgotten as the jock started up the engine.
Kurt had to be sure however,
"I'm sorry...", he offered as the truck pulled out of the parking lot with Kurt's Navigator tailing behind.
"Sorry for what? Being injured?"
Kurt just shook his head before answering,
"For the shower... I... I couldn't control it..."
Nodding at the recollection before he shrugged Noah replied,
"Wait... did you think I was going to be mad at you?"
The brunette meekly nodded his head and looked miserable. Puck just sighed before he spoke,
"You've never shared a shower with anyone before have you Kurt?"
Kurt just ducked his head as his blush suffused his cheeks,
"I'll take that as a no then...", said Puck as Kurt reluctantly nodded.
The truck turned onto the Highway as Puck checked the mirror to make sure Mercedes was doing OK following them. The gleaming black Navigator filled his wing mirror entirely and for a moment Puck was worried that the girl was too close for comfort.
"Don't worry about it then Kurt... my first time sharing a shower with a chick, I was like, thirteen and the same happened to me... I guess... the idea's the same when you're gay and showering with a hot dude such as Puckzilla right?"
'You have no idea'
Puck grinned as he teased the brunette to let Kurt know for definite there were no lasting repercussions and he watched as the soprano sighed in relief.
Kurt's voice was hoarse as he whispered,
"Thank you Noah..."
Puck just smiled as he glanced at the brunette out of the corner of his eye,
"Hey no problem. Just don't make a habit of it OK? Today was a one off shower with Puckzilla deal... hmm... maybe I should sell coupons or somethin'... what do you think?"
The brunette just giggled at the jock, which was Puck's intention from the start and they lapsed into comfortable silence for the rest of the journey until they pulled off the Highway and rolled up to a large mansion style home with a tree lined drive.
"Wow... who lives here?", asked Kurt in awe and with a giggle.
Puck just shrugged before replying,
"Some media mogul guy... it's his second home, cos really who'd want their first home in Lima if they had any other choice?"
Kurt giggled again at the jock as he continued to speak,
"...He's never here but he gets real pissy if he does turn up and his pool isn't clean. I've been coming up here once a week for over two years and I've only seen the dude like twice. He keeps the place stocked with food and stuff too as he just turns up without warning, I met the housekeeper once as she was throwing out like, tons of fresh fruit and vegetables... scored myself some eggs for a little teepee party..."
Clearing his throat and looking a little embarrassed at the admission, Kurt just rolled his eyes and giggled at the jock.
The truck followed the gravel drive and instead of stopping outside the house, wound round the side and parked up by the kitchen entrance. The Navigator slipped into the space next to Puck just a moment later.
Puck leaned over Kurt, causing the smaller boy to gulp audibly and blush at the invasion of his personal space, as the half-back rummaged in the glove box before withdrawing a set of keys.
"Ready?", he asked the brunette who nodded enthusiastically.
"Ready..." Kurt replied with a grin.
Hopping from the truck and seeing Mercedes doing the same from the Navigator, Puck rounded the cab and was surprised to see the passenger door opening on it's own and a giggling Kurt hop down as if nothing was wrong.
"C'mon guys... look at this house, it's gorgeous."
Both Puck and Aretha shared a glance at the cheerful brunette as he waited impatiently for them to catch up to him as Puck unloaded his pool cleaning equipment from the flatbed of the truck.
"Do your keys open the whole house Noah?", asked Kurt with a hopeful look in his eye.
Nodding Puck answered as he lugged the heavy bag over his shoulder,
"Uh... yeah... the pool is in the basement and the only entrance is through the house..."
Unlocking the kitchen entrance, Puck stood aside as both Kurt and Aretha entered before him. Picking up the heavy bag again Puck grumbled about having to do the heavy lifting by himself, as he let the door swing shut behind him with a soft click.
Mercedes was the first to speak as Kurt's eyes darted wildly around taking in the décor.
"Wow... this house is lush...uh... Kurt, everything OK?"
"Oh Mercedes! 'cedes, 'cedes, 'cedes... Mercy Mercedes that's a lot of cars to talk about..."
"Uh... what?", mumbled Puck as Kurt ran his hands along the marble counter tops and hummed to himself.
"Kurt... Kurt...", the soprano's glazed eyes fixed for a moment on Mercedes again before darting off to stare into the reflective surfaces of the pots and pans hanging above the central island.
Looking at the shocked face of Puck, Mercedes sidled up to him while Kurt started to sing softly and wandered off deeper into the house, tracking his hand along the walls and following the flower pattern in the wallpaper.
Mercedes voice was full of accusation as she levelled her best glare at the half-back.
"Puck...would you care to explain exactly my boy Kurt is trippin'? What the Hell did you dose him with?"
Puck shook his head before realising Aretha was talking to him,
"Uh... I couldn't find the nurse to get pain meds, so I just swiped some of the same kind she'd given me before from the cabinet... her memory's awful and she'll just figure she forgot to write down who she gave them too..."
The warning growl from the angry diva was enough to make the jock realise he'd better just answer the girl,
"Uh... Dihydrocodeine maybe?..."
Puck watched as Aretha's eyes widened in horror as her mouth fell open,
"Dihydrocodeine?... You... you gave Kurt... my Dad was on that after his surgery... no wonder Kurt's trippin'... just how many did you give him?"
The jock looked sheepish before he answered,
"Uh... three maybe?"
"Oh holy crap...", cried Mercedes before smacking Puck on the arm, "... just one of those pills used to put my Dad out for hours and he's 300 pounds! What do you think three are going to do to a little skinny white-boy like Kurt?"
The pair jumped in shock as the sound of something being knocked over, followed by a high pitched voice which filtered into the kitchen.
"Sorry Mr Coatstand!"
"Well at least his back isn't hurting him anymore...", offered Puck who withered under the diva's glare and yelped as Mercedes took to beating him about the head with her bag.
"Noah! Noah, you have to come...", called Kurt before he burst back into the kitchen, someone else's scarf around his neck and an overly large beret perched on top of his head.
Gritting his teeth and smiling at the clearly whacked out brunette, Puck growled to Mercedes,
"I screwed up 'K? We just have to keep an eye on him til the pills either wear off or put him to sleep... how hard can it be?"
As Kurt doubled back on himself and disappeared into the house again, Puck shared a look with Mercedes before going after the brunette.
The girl just slumped against the refrigerator door as she heard Puck's girly yelp and a heavy thump as he clearly tripped over something; followed by Kurt's high pitched giggling.
"Come on silly... it's an obstacle course..."
"This... is going to be a long day...", she sighed.
Puck was exhausted.
Kurt was finally asleep on the couch in the study with Mercedes watching over him as Puck finally completed cleaning out the pool and replacing the filters.
The trio had been at the Mulvaney house for going on three hours now and the sun was just about to sink beneath the horizon. Puck's usual length of visit for a standard pool clean was no more than an hour tops.
He would be lucky if he didn't get either sued or arrested for the absolute demolition job that Hurricane Hummel had wreaked on the house.
After Puck had managed to pick himself up off his hands and knees, he'd taken his time to get up the staircase, avoiding all of Kurt's 'obstacles' which were little more than shoes and gloves which he'd littered on each step. Finally arriving at the landing still on all fours, he'd looked up into the flushed face of the boy as he'd just grinned at him.
"This is going to be so much fun Noah... c'mon..."
Before Puck could stop him, the brunette had gone tearing down the corridor and disappeared out of sight. The jock winced at the sound of Mercedes tripping over the same shoe he had at the bottom of the stairs as he glanced over his shoulder to see the girl dancing with the coatstand as she tried to stay upright.
"Aretha, stop making out with the furniture and help me!", he called earning himself a glare and a not so muttered curse.
A loud crash from somewhere deeper into the house drew Puck's attention back to the more immediate problem as he took off down the corridor in pursuit of the spaced out brunette.
"Who did I piss off to deserve this?", he murmured.
Finding only one door open, Noah jogged into the Master Bedroom and stopped in shock as his jaw dropped open.
The bed covers had been torn off the bed and Kurt was bouncing on the mattress.
"Whee... whee... whee..."
"Kurt?"
"Oh Noah! You're hear c'mon... come play on the bouncy castle with me..."
Pinching the bridge of his nose and cursing the gods of fate for taking the nurse away from her office, he tried to reason with the brunette,
"I can't Kurt... we have to go now..."
The brunette pouted at the boy just as Mercedes ghosted up behind Puck and entered the room. Her wide eyes and flushed face suggesting she'd had just as much trouble with the 'obstacle course' as he had.
"Kurt boo... you need to come down now."
The soprano was clearly not in the mood to stop having fun however as he bounced and wiggled on the mattress and replied,
"But I wanna play... please 'cedes... I love you..."
Puck couldn't help the involuntary chuckle that seeing such a childish Kurt dancing to a tune only he could hear and he earned a gleaming smile from Kurt and a glare of warning from Mercedes.
"You're not helping...", she accused the jock causing him to duck his head.
Mercedes decided to try the authoritarian approach,
"Kurt, I want you to stop right now."
"Uh uh... can't make me", sang Kurt as his bouncing redoubled in intensity and the bed creaked in warning.
Mercedes patience had run out and she made a grab for the brunette only to have him dance out of her grip. Giggling like crazy, Kurt hopped off the side of the bed and before either 'adult' could respond, he had wrenched open the connecting door between the Master and guest bedrooms and disappeared.
Sitting herself on the edge of the bed, Mercedes plucked her cell from her pocket before looking the again chuckling Puck.
"You have fifteen minutes to get him under control or I'm calling Mr H."
The widening of Puck's eyes was all the indication that the diva needed to know her threat had been understood loud and clear.
She couldn't help the cackle that escaped her as the jock took off through the connecting door like someone had set fire to his heels.
Puck had no idea how Kurt had managed it. Somehow, he'd jimmied the lock to the basement pool area and had run around to the far side next the sunken hot-tub.
The jock stood in the doorway to the pool entrance at the foot of the staircase which wound down the far wall, at least glad that the brunette had now effectively penned himself in considering his body now blocked the only entrance to the pool complex.
Closing his eyes for a moment he could hear Aretha's heavy boots thumping on each of the steps as she descended from the main level.
"Kurt... you need to stop..."
Puck had been repeating that mantra for nearly twenty minutes now, having persuaded Aretha to give him an extra fifteen on top of his allotted time to calm the hyperactive 'boy-child'.
"Stay in the doorway Aretha...", he'd hissed as the girl just nodded wearily and leant against the railing.
Edging around the sparking blue water, Puck watched with growing horror as Kurt picked up the high powered hose used to scrub the tiles clean.
Raising his hands up in surrender, Puck tried to reason with the soprano as he levelled the gun end at him and positioned his finger on the trigger.
"Kurt... you don't want to do that..."
The brunette just grinned at him before he replied,
"Do what Noah?"
Puck would curse himself blue for months afterwards thinking back on his next poor turn of phrase,
"Pull the trigger..."
Before he could process what he'd said the brunette's grin intensified as he chirped,
"OK..."
The torrent of water that hit Puck square in the face sent him stumbling before falling head first into the pool. Coughing and spluttering Puck broke to the surface as he tried to clear his lungs of the burning chlorine water he'd ingested.
The giggling brunette had collapsed beside the hot-tub as he pointed at Puck in mirth as the tears ran down his cheeks.
Puck had had just about enough.
Paddling over to the steps, Puck crawled from the pool in a piss poor impersonation of Ursula Andress before his booming voice reverberated in the cavernous space.
"Kurt Johannes Hummel you will come here right now."
Mercedes face was slack with shock as she watched Kurt's laughter die before he meekly climbed to his feet and made his way over to the furious and completely waterlogged jock.
"Give me your hand...", he instructed as Kurt looked up at him in fear, "... I'm not going to hurt you Kurt...", he reassured the boy in a gentler tone.
The suddenly timid brunette's eyes filled with tears as his shaking hand was taken up by Puck who led him around the huge puddle of water on the tiles by the poolside and over to Mercedes who was still standing immobile.
Squatting down beside the smaller boy, enough to get to eye level with him Noah used his hand to point Kurt's chin up and meet his eyes.
One of Puck's greatest fears upon learning about Quinn's pregnancy had been that because of his own shitty upbringing that he'd be a terrible father himself. The jock knew it was a completely inappropriate parallel to draw at the moment but with Kurt behaving so much like a little child, maybe treating him like one was the best way to go.
He kept his voice soft as he spotted the unshed tears glistening in Kurt's eyes,
"You've been a right terror this afternoon Kurt...", Puck watched as the boy's tears escaped to leak down his face and his heart clenched.
'Is this what it would be like to be a father?'
"Now... I need to finish cleaning the pool and Mercedes...", he glanced up at the girl who was examining him as if she'd never seen him before, "... is going to take you up to the kitchen and fix you a sandwich and a glass of milk... isn't that right?"
The stunned black girl shook herself from her shock and smiled encouragingly at the increasingly snot nosed Kurt.
'Wow... that medication really did a number on him...'
"I'm sorry Noah... and I'm lackatactose imtobberant...", sniffled Kurt as his tears continued to fall. Puck was unaware of Mercedes digging about in her bag until she offered him a tissue which he accepted with a wan smile.
"OK... well we'll get you juice instead then OK, Princess?"
Puck had no idea where the term of endearment had come from but it seemed appropriate and despite Mercedes pointed and questioning look he went with it.
Wiping the tears from the brunette's pink cheeks, Noah held the tissue up to Kurt's nose before instructing,
"Blow."
A loud trumpeting noise echoed around the pool as Kurt cleared his airways.
"Good boy...", he encouraged smiling slightly as Kurt offered him a hopeful smile.
"Go with Mercedes now Kurt... I'll see you again in a little bit."
"'K. Please don't be mad Noah..."
Holding his hand out to the shell-shocked girl, Mercedes took the soprano's hand before leading him back up the stairs and to the kitchen to make him the sandwich as promised.
Puck collapsed onto the tiles and lay flat on his back in exhaustion for a moment before groaning and picking himself up to go clean the pool.
Finally finished at the house and having gone round room by room to be doubly sure that the evidence of their presence had been erased, Puck padded down the stairs and entered the walnut panelled study.
Looking at Mercedes, she shushed him before crossing to speak with him at the door,
"I finally got him to go to sleep... and I'm going to say this once and once only... if you ever does my boy up with random painkillers again I will kill you... you got me?"
Nodding his head in fervent agreement Puck watched as the sleeping brunette mumbled in his sleep before rolling over and sighing.
"What are we going to do with him?", asked Mercedes smiling fondly at the boy.
"I'll... I'll take him home... tell Mr H he hurt his back and that the nurse gave him something that spaced him out..."
Nodding in agreement, Mercedes spoke softly,
"I'm... I'm sorry we never got the chance to talk... to y'know go over Glee...", she cleared her throat suddenly feeling uncomfortable and looked away.
Scratching his scalp where his mohawk used to be and grimacing as his still slightly damp clothes stuck to his skin Puck replied,
"Yeah... how about tomorrow instead?"
Mercedes eyes met the jock's and she smiled warmly while nodding enthusiastically,
"OK... how about the Auditorium after lunch?"
"Sounds good."
Rounding the couch, Puck hefted the slumbering teen into his arms and couldn't help the smile as Kurt nuzzled into his shoulder.
Mercedes watched with a slight melancholy as she realised, perhaps Kurt's fantasy wouldn't be as farfetched as she'd first thought. Puck for all his faults initially had been... well he'd been incredible in dealing with 'boy-child' Kurt. If he did eventually wind up raising a baby with Quinn, from the evidence she'd seen today she thought he'd be just fine.
Stepping out of the jock's way as he carried the brunette through the doorway, he paused long enough for the girl to place a kiss on Kurt's forehead, before whisking him out the side door and getting him comfortable in the truck.
Mercedes followed him out of the house, locking the door with the keys Puck had palmed off to her before picking up Kurt.
Handing them back he asked,
"You cool taking Kurt's car home and dropping it off at school in the morning?"
Mercedes nodded before she took one more contemplative look at the jock before turning and heading to the Navigator.
'Why does she keep staring at me like I'm a puzzle?'
The journey back to Kurt's took a little over a half-hour and the brunette slept the entire way. Puck hoped that the sleeping teen appreciated the sacrifice he was making for him as usually on any journey of length Puck would be listening to AC/DC at full volume.
On this occasion however the stereo stayed switched off.
Pulling up outside the Hummel house, Puck spotted Mr H's pick-up in the drive and gently gathering up Kurt, he walked across the lawn to the porch steps.
The door to the house opened from the inside before Puck could knock as a concerned Burt appraised the situation,
"What's going on? Is Kurt alright?"
Puck's eyes pleaded with the older man to lower the tone of his voice, which he did after Kurt shifted and grumbled in the jock's arms.
Keeping his voice low Puck explained,
"Kurt hurt his back during football practice today and the nurse gave him something that spaced him out a bit. He's just sleeping it off."
Nodding in understanding Burt replied,
"Take him down to his room then... will... will you be staying Noah?"
Considering whether he wanted to leave and go back to his Mom and Jeff or whether he'd rather stay with Kurt and Burt Hummel, the decision was an easy one.
"I'd... uh... I'd like to stay Sir... if that's alright."
Burt closed the door behind the entering pair as he just stated,
"You know where the couch is son..."
Puck's throat closed up slightly at the familiar term. Nobody had called him son since his Dad left almost eight years previously.
Afraid to turn to face the man should he see the raw emotion on his face, Puck answered softly over his shoulder as he headed for the basement steps,
"Thanks Mr H... Goodnight..."
Descending the basement steps, Puck laid Kurt out on his bed and removed his shoes and socks. Unfastening the almost comatose boy's pants, he pulled them off, leaving Kurt to sleep in just his shirt and underwear.
'Better than it was at least... and thank God he's not in that jock anymore...'
Pulling back the covers on the bed, Puck tucked the smaller boy in before extinguishing the light and crossing the room to the still made up couch from the night before.
Slipping out of his damp clothes, Puck hung them over the back of the couch before slipping naked between the bed sheets Kurt had set up previously. It was literally seconds later that exhaustion overtook the boy and he fell into a deep dreamless sleep.
A/N: For those of you that were curious to know how cleaning the pools would go – I think this chapter sums it up pretty nicely XD.
I started writing this earlier this evening with the intention of posting it tomorrow, but I figured, Hell why wait. So here it is now.
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