Beautiful Boy

Chapter 12

Summary: Boys will be boys and Puck does something that he will live to regret. This story is AU in that Kurt never left the Cheerios, Karofsky never kissed him and Kurt never attended Dalton Academy.

A/N: Thank you all for your response, re: the idea of this becoming a threesome story. I was really fascinated by the comments for and against, plus the PMs you sent me. Now 'Kurt' knows what to do. :)

Disclaimer: There is no way any sane person would think I have anything to do with the show. All rights are reserved by Messrs. Murphy et al and no infringement is intended.

"Hey, Kurt, can I talk to you?"

Kurt looked up at his stepbrother who was hovering at the foot of the stairs, looking towards Kurt with a hopeful expression on his open face. Kurt toyed with the idea of yanking his chain and asking if he didn't talk to him all the time. Taking in the serious cast to the brown eyes, though, he thought better of it.

"Yeah, Finn, what's up?"

He had been reclining on his bed while thumbing through his favorite magazines, just relaxing before heading out to the mall with Mercedes. They hadn't had a little retail therapy in a while and he was dying to check out the new line of facials that Clarins was touting.

Finn shuffled over to Kurt a little reluctantly, considering it was he who had asked to talk.

Kurt eyed him curiously and watched as the giant teen lowered himself to sit on the rug by Kurt's bed. He was so tall that even sitting like that, his head was almost on a level with Kurt in his semi-reclining position.

"Uhm, so, uh, I was wondering…" Finn trailed off as faint color washed his lightly freckled face. He was rubbing the fingers of one hand along the pattern of Kurt's counterpane, probably without even realizing it. Kurt waited him out patiently. You couldn't rush Finn or what you got would be incomprehensible. Finn cleared his throat and started again.

"So, uh, what's going on with you and Puck?"

Kurt blew out a little breath, inadvertently blowing up the couple of strands of hair that had fallen onto his forehead. He was a little disheveled as this was Saturday and he was at home so Finn was used to seeing him like this; the others, not so much.

Sitting up now and folding his long legs, he leaned forward slightly to Finn, staring into the wide brown eyes.

"Why do you care, Finn? Or did Puck set you up to ask?"

Finn's eyes widened even more and Kurt briefly thought he looked like an anime figure, they were so big.

"No, god, no! I just, uhm," and then his voice lowered so much that Kurt had to strain to hear: "I just hate to see him so down, y'know."

Kurt's stomach clenched at that but he pursed his lips and stared hardly at his brother. The silence stretched while Finn stared down at his moving finger, the color mostly receding from his face but lingering in his cheeks. Kurt realized it must be embarrassing for him to come and ask such a question but it was understandable. Puck had been his best friend since they were toddlers, it was to be expected.

Sighing a bit, Kurt pushed a hand through his hair, incidentally reminding himself that he needed to start getting ready if he were to meet 'Cedes on time.

"Okay, Finn, listen to me. You can tell Puck this if you want, I don't care." He looked seriously at the other boy who was staring back with a hopeful look on his puppy-like face.

Kurt paused and then continued. "I told him I needed time, okay? As to how much, I really don't know."

Finn nodded reluctantly and then: "So, you're not interested in Karofsky?"

Kurt's eyes widened and then he smiled at the other boy. "Finn, sweetie, to be honest, David is part of the reason that I want time to think about things, okay?"

Finn frowned and Kurt could just imagine what was going through his head. In Finn's simple world view, if his gay stepbrother had to date, then he should date his best friend who seemed to be… bi, at least. Kurt suppressed a grin and watched as Finn assimilated his words.

He swung his feet over the side of the bed and slid off of it, moving briskly past the other teen towards his en suite.

"I'm going to get ready to meet up with 'Cedes," he said then turned around with a mischievous look on his face. "Wanna come with? I could pick out some stuff for you that I know Rachel would love..."

Finn stumbled to his feet, a slightly panicked look on his face that he tried to cover up with his goofy grin. "Uh, um, no! Uh, thanks though, but it's okay, my mom got me some stuff from Target."

He shuffled his feet as Kurt grinned at him and then laughed openly. He turned back to head into his bathroom and waved Finn off. If he knew Carole, she probably bought him some cheap polo shirts rather than anything button-down.

"Okay, I'll let you off the hook this time. Go talk to Puck now," and his giggles followed the sound of Finns galumphing footsteps all the way up the stairs.

Finn would die before going clothes shopping but Kurt swore to himself that he would manage it one day. There was no way anyone in his family should look like they got their clothes from a bargain basement.

"What do you think of this, boo?"

Mercedes' voice interrupted Kurt's critical perusal of a display of fairly nice-looking scarves and he turned to her. She was holding up a knock-off Chanel purse with a long gold and black chain link strap. It was rather nice, but he thought it was a little too small for her so he sauntered over to pick up another one, holding it against her with a measuring look.

"It's nice but what about this one?"

They'd already finished their shopping for the must-have facial care items and had been on their way to eat in the food court when Mercedes had decided she needed another pocketbook. Now she looked admiringly at the purse Kurt was showing her and nodded eagerly.

"Wow, how come I didn't notice that one?!" Her hands grabbed for the purse and she moved off to look at it against her in a nearby mirror.

As Kurt smiled indulgently, he glanced up just in time to see a familiar figure walking past the store's large plate glass window. He stared through the window display as his breath caught in his throat and then he turned to Mercedes.

"Hey, sweetie, pay for that and let's go, huh? I do believe I've lost ten pounds since we started shopping and I'm starving."

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and headed to the cash register where a fuchsia-haired teen grinned brightly at her.

As they took care of business, Kurt went to the door of the boutique and peered out in the direction where he'd seen the other boy heading. Yes, the food court! He smirked to himself and turned back to see Mercedes just accepting her package from the cashier.

"So," she said as she joined him. "Do you know what you want yet? I could murder a Big Mac, fries and a strawberry shake to start!"

Kurt, who had been craning his neck to see where his quarry had gone, spun around to look at her.

"Are you insane, girl? That's like-like… digging your grave with your teeth!"

Mercedes stared at him, taken aback, before bursting out laughing. Her rich chuckles calmed him immediately, telling him that she hadn't been offended by his poorly-considered words.

She finally wound down, turning to continue towards the food court. "No, boo, I meant I felt like I could but it doesn't mean I was going to. I know how bad all that fat and stuff is!"

Kurt felt a little silly for over-reacting but he remembered a time when she really would have eaten all of that in one sitting. Still, he smiled gently at her, nudged her shoulder with his and continued towards his goal.

Mercedes watched him from the corner of her eyes, wondering why he was looking so twitchy, and then promptly forgot about it when the smells from the food court reached her.

"Oh, boo, let's do Sbarro!"

Kurt nodded, not minding at all. They headed over to the Italian eatery and made their selections, deciding to have pizza slices and share a large salad as well. They paid and collected their food, Kurt's eyes still wandering the place, and then found a not too messy table. As they set their food down and just before he seated himself, Kurt felt eyes on him and he looked up.

He leaned down to whisper something to Mercedes who looked at him quizzically, and then hurried off. She turned to watch him and then a sly smile tugged at her full lips.

Kurt kept his pace even and his chin up as he moved three tables away from where Mercedes was waiting and stopped.

"Hello, David, shopping today or just hanging out?"

Dave looked up at the always elegant boy before him and felt his face heat up. He looked down at his lunch and then back up at Kurt before answering.

"A little of both; my dad's here but he's browsing everything electronic, can you believe it?"

His soft smile invited Kurt to return it and Kurt did, his dimple appearing as he nodded.

"Yeah, well, 'Cedes and I were indulging in a little retail therapy…" he trailed off as Dave looked over to where Mercedes smiled and waved to him. "Wanna come sit with us?"

He almost laughed out loud at the panicked look on the big jock's face. Suddenly, he sobered, wondering if this was too much and if he could be accused of being a tease or something. He opened his mouth to give Dave an out when the other boy looked back at him and nodded.

"Okay, I'd like that, thanks."

Kurt waited for him to take up his lunch and then turned on his heel, taking a deep breath as he rejoined Mercedes.

The three McKinley students enjoyed their lunches, chatting and laughing, gossiping, even, and Kurt congratulated himself on his mission to get Dave to relax around him. So relaxed was the big jock that at one point he nudged Kurt's shoulder with his after a joke, and Kurt didn't even remark on it. The only time Kurt skewered him with his usual haughty look was when Dave slipped up and called him 'dude'.

Mercedes' laughter was raucous at the way Dave quailed before Kurt's brief glare but when Kurt's dimple re-appeared, Dave relaxed, realizing that he was being teased.

Kurt suppressed his grin as he looked at Dave closely, maybe for the first time, really taking in the boy's appearance. Kurt had to admit he was a handsome boy and those eyebrows were to die for. Hmm, why had he never noticed that before, he wondered as he enjoyed his salad.

Dave ducked his head, aware of Kurt's occasional perusal as they ate and he tried to put it out of mind as he asked Mercedes about her church, as he and his parents attended a different one. Kurt snorted delicately and they ignored him, both familiar with his famous declaration that he didn't believe in God.

The afternoon sped by and eventually Dave left them to go and round up his dad, saying the man was likely to forget to eat if Dave wasn't there to remind him. Waving goodbye to the gleeks, he left them with a smile and Kurt stood and watched him disappear into the depths of the mall.

As they walked towards Kurt's car, Mercedes squinted at him from behind her huge shades. Finally Kurt gave her a "what?" look and she shrugged as she stashed her treasures on the back seat.

Shrugging she said casually, "Oh, it's just really nice to see you so relaxed around Karofsky, is all."

Kurt froze and looked up from where he was stowing his own purchases, a tiny line between his elegant eyebrows. "His name is 'Dave', 'Cedes."

She smirked at him as she slid into the passenger seat, buckling herself in and smoothing her hair in a smug manner.

"I know that, white boy. C'mon, get in and let's go." She grinned as she ignored his glare but she continued. "He's really not that thug he was making himself out to be, is he?"

Kurt sighed and inwardly acknowledged that she'd got him there. "Yeah, I think all that's happened so far has kinda shaken him up. He's cool in his own way."

She slid a sly gaze over to him. "Kinda like Puck, huh?"

Kurt stared resolutely ahead, trying to ignore the smug tone in her voice but he shrugged one shoulder. "I guess you could say that." He sighed and then threw her a glance. "Yeah, okay, Puck's a bit of a douche sometimes but… I think he's making an effort now."

She smiled softly as she nodded and they drove the rest of the way listening to the music from his iPod. When he dropped her off at home and helped her with her bags, he hugged her tightly. As they stepped back she beamed a huge smile at him and suddenly a memory returned to him.

"Huh."

Mercedes looked at her friend who stood there staring absentmindedly over her shoulder and she knew he'd gone somewhere in his head.

"What is it, boo? You just remembered something?"

He looked slowly back at her and one of the biggest grins he was capable of took up his whole face. He grabbed her and hugged her tightly, making her squeak in surprise, and then he was dashing back to his car, feeling for his phone as he went.

"I'll call you later; I've got an idea!"

Mercedes stood there as she watched the big, shiny vehicle back sharply out of her driveway, straighten up and dash off, her mouth still slightly open. She shook her head as she went inside.

"Huh, white people!"

Kurt grinned maniacally to himself as he drove, glancing every now and again at his phone on the passenger seat. A fantastic idea had occurred to him and as soon as he got back home, he was going to make that call, even before he got into the house.

Humming happily, he congratulated himself on even coming up with the plan that was still forming and growing in his head. Oh yes, it has got to work, he crowed silently, please, Gaga!

When he finally pulled into his driveway he grabbed his phone, rummaged through his contacts until he found the number he had only used the one time. He drummed his fingers on his steering wheel as he waited for the other person to pick up. As the phone rang and rang he eventually crossed his fingers. Finally he heard the apparently always happy voice answer and…

"Hi, it's me, Kurt. D'you remember me?"

.

TBC

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