Chapter Twenty-One
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? Rated M.
Disclaimer: None of these characters belongs to me except for any OCs found wandering. I own nothing save for this computer.
"Kurt Elizabeth Hummel!"
Kurt yanked the phone away from his ear, stared at it and then punched the speaker button.
"Rachel? Are you off your meds again?"
"Don't sass me, Kurt Hummel! Why did I have to hear from Finn that you and Noah are engaged? Engaged!"
Kurt sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose, counted to 15 and then said, "Rachel, honey, tell you what. Why don't I come over later and you can yell at me to my face. Tell me how much I'm rushing things and just generally… oh, I don't know… rain on my parade!"
There was silence from the other end of the line and when she spoke again, she was considerably calmer. "Oh, Kurt, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to – and after I yelled at Finn not to say anything, too."
She sounded so contrite that Kurt simply heaved another sigh and said, "Okay, apology accepted. Anyway, I will come over around six?" When she hummed in agreement, he continued. "I do need to get some stuff off my chest… when I get there you'll hear everything, okay?"
"Okay, sweetie… and I am happy for you, okay? I just thought you would have told me… or us… directly."
"It just sort of happened, Rachel… there was no big, romantic plan with one of us getting down on one knee. I've gotta go so I'll see you later. Bye!"
He closed the connection quickly, not wanting to linger any longer in the staff room where, even now, some of the other teachers were looking at him curiously. He gave them his sweet, polite smile, gathered the things he needed for the rest of the day and headed out to his classroom.
Damn, already he was getting a headache and things had just begun, so to speak.
.
oOo
.
Noah stood before the counter, staring down at the tray of rings with a vaguely intimidated look on his face. He wandered over to another counter and then another, sighing when a store clerk finally came up to him with a bright gleam in her big eyes.
"Maybe if you tell me what you're looking for I can help?" The girl's voice – Tina the nametag said – was mildly flirtatious but managed to remain just this side of professional. She knew her manager was watching with his usual gimlet eye but this customer was seriously hot and she could do with the commission.
Noah looked up at her and tried to hide the look of relief that had come over him at her approach. Kurt was such a stylish person yet he hardly wore jewellery apart from the rather intriguing pins (brooches, he knew they were called) that he'd started collecting in high school. Oh, yes, Noah had noticed all that about his boy even back then. People might have thought he was a moron, barely scraping by in school but he was very observant. Even so, it was hard to miss Kurt in his outfits that sometimes nearly crossed the line from innovative over into outrageous – can we say 'skirt', people?
Now he had to find a ring for his gorgeous lover that would express all he felt for him; it had to be beautiful but not too flashy and it had to say 'forever'. Damn, he was beginning to sound like those sappy wedding ring commercials that had started flooding the airwaves in time for Black Friday and Christmas.
"Oh, yes, thank you," Noah said now with a smile, for once unaware of the effect it was having on the woman standing closer to him than necessary. He was gazing down at a ring he thought might work. It was gold with three tiny diamonds set at an angle in a white gold channel. He could see the ring on Kurt's elegant hand but he was plagued with doubts. Would Kurt prefer a ring without stones? Maybe he'd want a ring with colored stones, instead.
The girl, Tina, moved behind the counter and with a key she unlocked the cabinet and placed the tray with the ring on top of the counter. Then she removed several other trays so Noah could have a choice if, after closer inspection, he didn't like the first ring.
She had a pleasant time watching the cute, perplexed expression on his face as he looked between his first choice and the trays with the other rings. Finally, he looked up at her and she took pity on him to suggest, "Maybe you could bring your fiancée to look around?"
The look of relief and comprehension on his face almost made her giggle aloud but that would be unprofessional and her boss was still watching them. She took out a business card and handed it to him on which were printed the store's opening and closing times and he thanked her happily.
When he sauntered out with a more relaxed mien, she chuckled to herself, wondering briefly what his fiancée looked like. 'Lucky girl,' she sighed to herself and then moved over to another customer before her boss could open his mouth. Damned man needed to go mind his books, she thought snidely.
.
oOo
.
Kurt smiled into the phone as he listened to Noah rambling nervously, wondering when he would get to the point.
"So, actually Donna wasn't even that interested in getting married, y'know. It was just about the baby, so we … uh," Noah sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, wondering why this whole ring thing was making him nervous.
"Noah, babe, as much as I want to know all about your past after high school, what exactly are you getting at?" Kurt suppressed a chuckle because Noah was absurdly cute when he was nervous.
"Rings, babe, it's about the rings!" Noah sighed after the words came out more forcefully than he'd intended.
There was a brief silence and then he heard what sounded suspiciously like a tiny snort of laughter from his lover. Noah pouted and waited for Kurt to settle down.
"Oh, Noah, that's why you're stuttering? That's so cute!" Kurt laughed again and then tried to sober up. "Okay, why don't I go with you and we can decide what we like. Is that okay?"
Kurt really loved this man who could be so macho and kick-ass and then stutter like a newbie over wedding rings. His heart swelled at the thought of going ring-shopping with his hunky lover and he knew the diva in him was going to get a blast from it.
Noah nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, you've got to come with me. That place was confusing me, babe!"
They chuckled for a bit over that and then Kurt told him about going over to Rachel and Finn's for dinner. "Can you imagine that crazy woman yelled at me because she hadn't been told first? Ugh!"
Noah nodded and told him about Finn. "Yeah, almost the same reaction from Finn, which made me want to punch him out."
Kurt giggled. "Are you regressing to 'Puck', sweetie?"
Noah rubbed the bridge of his nose and then pinched it. "No, it's just something about Finn that makes me want to…"
He broke off as Judith came into the room already in her pajamas and robe. She climbed up beside him and snuggled into his side as he wrapped an arm around her. He knew she would be ecstatic at the thought of 'Mr. Kurt' becoming a member of their family but he wanted him and Kurt to sit down with her and tell her, officially.
"Noah, are you still there?" Kurt's voice was soft as he didn't know why Noah had broken off and then he relaxed when he heard Judith's voice in the background.
"Daddy, is that Mr. Kurt on the phone?"
Noah decided to tease her. "Why would you think that, babe?"
Judith tilted her head back to give him a surprisingly shrewd look as she studied his face. "You always smile like that when you talk to him… or think about him," she said smugly.
Noah stared at her, shook his head and then grinned. "Oh, okay, yes, it's him. Wanna say hi?" The phone was out of his hand before he'd even finished.
"Hi, Mr. Kurt!" Judith's voice lilting down the line made Kurt grin. "I had my bath already and I'm in my pjs but it's not bedtime yet."
"Oh, wow, sweetie, that's very good. I wish I could put my pjs on now but I have an errand to run." Kurt's smile was in his voice. "Are you going to help your daddy with supper?"
He grinned as Judith rambled on for a while and Kurt found himself relaxing as he listened, putting in a little comment here and there. Finally he heard Noah, struggling to sound patient, tell her she was hogging the phone.
"Fine! Bye, Mr. Kurt, sweet dreams!" Judith scowled as she handed the phone to her dad who matched her scowl for scowl until he suddenly tickled her and she burst out laughing, shrieking at him to stop!
Kurt shook his head as he listened to the commotion and not for the first time he thought how wonderful Noah was with kids. When they had gone on the field trip to the zoo, he had been the epitome of patience with all the questions the kids bombarded him with. Although there had been a slight tension between them at the time, none of it spilled over into his dealing with the kids and Kurt loved him all the more for it.
Finally Noah came back on the line, breathing a little heavily. "Hey, doll, I had to chase the little terrorizer to her room. She's writing a poem for you, actually."
"Oh, that's so sweet. I had them doing poems today about their favorite things. Can you guess what your daughter wrote as her favorite thing?" Kurt grinned as he waited for Noah to think.
"No, I can't – is it ice-cream?"
Kurt giggled and then his voice softened, lowering slightly. "No – it's you."
There was silence and then Noah cleared his throat. "Yeah?"
"Yeah… and I definitely agree with her on that one."
They chuckled together and then Kurt told him he had to get ready to go over to Rachel's for dinner. Noah sighed and then, sounding more tentative than he needed to, he asked, "Would you want to come over afterwards… for dessert, maybe?"
Kurt's chest warmed and color came to his cheeks as he immediately thought of the 'dessert' he really wanted. Maybe by the time he got there, Judith would be in bed and they could…
"Yes! Uhm," he giggled softly and then finished, "definitely dessert."
They listened to the other's breathing and then Kurt said, "See you later, sweetie…"
"Can't be soon enough, babe," Noah's quiet voice came back and Kurt closed his eyes tightly against the prickle of tears. God, what he wouldn't give to be able to come home every day and this man was there waiting for him. He took a deep breath, said, "bye" and ended the call.
He sat with his head against the back of is couch and took several deep breaths before he got up to head into his en suite. Loving someone was such a rollercoaster ride, he thought as he turned his shower on and tested the temperature. One second he's giggling and flirting and the next he's struggling with tears. He wanted Noah so much and he didn't know what he would do now if anything were to screw up their plans.
He shook off the sudden drop in his mood and smirked at himself in the bathroom mirror. Nothing was going to happen because he would damn well see to it, he promised himself. He turned away and proceeded with the business of getting ready. The first hurdle had been Daria and Dr. Thompson; next up – Finn and Rachel.
.
oOo
.
Dinner that evening at the Berry-Hudson household was pretty odd, even for them. It was weird and amusing watching Rachel try to hold back on the questions that were teeming behind her over-large teeth. It was also hysterical watching Finn struggle to not look constipated as he avoided the elephant in the room.
Kurt, letting a little of the bitch out, didn't give them an opening for questions anyway and he chatted about any and everything under the sun. He also managed to be effusive in his praise of Rachel's cooking that served to distract her for about 10 minutes or so.
They covered their parents, their jobs, the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays and, later, Christmas. Kurt told them about the cute finds he'd bought at the bazaar – foregoing mention of the Puckermans – and gushed over the thought of decorating the house to his heart's content.
Finally, when they were sitting with a glass of wine in the living room, Kurt looked at them with a challenge in his eyes. He took a last sip of his wine and set the glass firmly on the coffee table between them and said, "Okay, out with it."
They both started speaking whereupon Finn broke off and looked at Rachel sheepishly. She threw him a little glare but then she turned to Kurt with what she hoped was a sympathetic look on her face.
"Kurt, sweetie; I would like to think that after all this time we are as much friends as family, right?"
Kurt frowned slightly but nodded. "Of course, Rachel; as much as I would have wanted you to disappear back in high school we are way beyond that now," he said, snidely.
Finn frowned a little but still managed to end up looking confused. Thankfully, though, he said nothing and Rachel continued.
"We are just a little concerned, y'know; Noah turns up, out of the blue, with another child… and suddenly he's gay?"
Kurt stared at her coolly and then looked at Finn. He let the silence stretch until it was achingly uncomfortable and then, crossing his legs, he hauled a superior expression onto his face.
"Thank you, my dear, for that concise and insightful summing up of my fiancé's life." His words were biting and cold and he watched as she flushed.
Finn interrupted. "Hey, no need to get snippy, Kurt. We're just looking out for you, dude."
Kurt turned his blue gaze on him and waited for Finn to start looking uneasy and then replied, "You are aware that I'm an adult, right? In fact, Finn, I'm several months older than you."
He let that sink in and then looked back at Rachel, his full lips in a tight line and then he said, "I appreciate your concern, both of you, but that concern implies that I'm incapable of looking after myself. I'm a lot stronger than I appear, thank you very much!"
"We know that, Kurt, but this is your heart we're talking about." And the diva is in the room. Kurt glared at her and held up a hand.
"Tell me something, Finn; when you were with Quinn, Rachel and Santana, were you sure that all these years later you'd be happily settled with Rachel?" He stared hard at Finn, watching as his eyes glazed in confusion and then cleared, only to be replaced by discomfort.
"Ugh_"
"No, you weren't… as to you, Rachel, you managed to convince yourself from fairly early on that Finn was the man for you, didn't you?" At her smug nod he smiled, shark-like. "Yet you made out with Noah and Jesse and whoever else you managed to hook up with when you were in New York, didn't you?"
There was a stricken silence as they stared at him and he refused to feel bad. How dare they question his relationship with Noah and not expect him to retaliate. He was Kurt Hummel, dammit!
"Kurt, that's not fair; we were only trying to_"
"Get into my business, yeah, I get it!" Kurt's biting reply cut off anything they could have said. "Look, I understand okay? But this is my and Noah's life; any problems that come up, we will deal with. If, and that's a very big if, my heart should be left splattered on the sidewalk in the wake of this relationship, I should hope my family would be there to pick me up and help put me back together."
His expression softened as he watched that sink in. There was silence for a while and then Rachel sighed, got up and came over to hug Kurt. She curled up on the arm of his chair and nuzzled her face against his hair.
"I'm so sorry, Kurt, we didn't mean anything bad by it, y'know."
Kurt brought a hand up and stroked hers while he nodded. "I do, but you guys have to let me live my life, okay? I love Noah and he's said, almost from the first day, that he's loved me for a while."
Rachel sat up and leaned slightly away from him, turning his face towards her as she smirked at him. "And I can bet he's a heck of a lover, isn't he?"
"HEY!" Finn's yell made them both laugh even as Kurt's face flamed. He poked her in the side, making her giggle childishly but he nodded smugly.
"Like you wouldn't believe…" and they laughed like mad when Finn yelled "hey!" again.
Finn pouted at the two divas laughing at him and he shook his head. "Dude, I don't need to know details, okay?"
Kurt sobered a bit and narrowed his eyes at him. "What, still a bit homophobic, are we?"
Finn's eyes widened and he held up his hands to wave frantically at him. "No, no, dude. It's just – I don't want to picture my brother… ugh… y'know!"
Kurt and Rachel smirked as they watched him looking as if he were about to spontaneously combust. Kurt took pity on him and smiled.
"Okay, only Rachel will hear the details, then," and there was more laughter from the two of them as different expressions chased themselves across Finn's poor face.
After that the evening wound down and by 8:30 Kurt was on his way over to Noah's, an ache of anticipation lying sweet in his belly. He deliberately watched his speed as he drove because deep down he wanted to be there like yesterday!
.
oOo
.
Noah took a deep breath, rubbed his damp palms down the back of his jeans and moved towards the door. In deference to Judith who was probably already asleep, Kurt hadn't rung the doorbell; he'd simply rapped on the door after calling Noah on the cell phone to say he was downstairs and on his way up.
The door opened and Noah stepped back to allow Kurt entrance; he stifled a gasp as he was suddenly pushed against the closed door and Kurt's mouth attached itself to his.
They kissed ferociously, almost eating each other's face and Kurt ground his rapidly hardening cock against Noah's. Not even two layers of denim could mute the heat they were generating and Kurt moaned into Noah's mouth before pulling away.
His eyes had gone dark and he stared at Noah's mouth before looking into the darkened eyes. "You said dessert?" His voice was raspy and he pressed himself back against Noah's larger body to nip at his exposed neck.
"Jesus, Kurt_" and he groaned as Kurt brought a hand up to palm a tight nipple through the thin tee-shirt he'd changed into. "God, babe, you're so hot…"
Kurt nodded but muttered as he gasped for breath, "I feel as if I'm starving… and I just ate."
Noah's pupils widened at the husky sound of his lover's voice and his hands tightened on Kurt's hips. However, he eased them away from the door before grabbing Kurt's hand and tugging him towards his bedroom. "Come," he growled and Kurt stumbled after him.
They pulled at each other's clothing and five minutes after arriving at Noah's, Kurt was stark naked and writhing on Noah's lap. He threw his head back as Noah's lips and teeth tugged at a pink nipple relentlessly. They tried to be quiet and they pretty much succeeded but for a few tortured groans and muttered imprecations as they teased and tempted each other.
They grinned at each other even as the passion flared and they stared at each other in the gloom of Noah's bedroom. Noah was flat on his back with one hand reaching for his bedside drawer and his supplies as Kurt got up to lock the door. He'd heard enough parents' horror stories of kids barging in as things got hot and heavy in the bedroom and he wasn't going to risk scarring Judith.
He slowed as he walked towards the bed, watching avidly as Noah rolled a condom down his considerable length. Kurt's cock twitched and he moaned softly as he climbed aboard, straddling Noah's legs and reaching for the lube.
"Let me see," Noah rasped and Kurt shuddered at the sound of his voice. He bit his lips as he lubed up two fingers and reached behind to start prepping. When he was certain that he could take another finger, Noah suddenly grabbed him. "I'll do it," he said, panting and Kurt smirked at him smugly.
Noah loved this part of the prep, feeling Kurt's tight, hot channel around his fingers a delicious precursor to the main event. He'd called it that once and Kurt had giggled madly until Noah had sheathed himself in him whereupon all they could both do was gasp out their love as they rode each other.
Now, deciding that he was more than ready, Kurt stilled his hand and moved it out of the way. He grasped Noah's condom-and lube-covered cock and pressed the tip to his entrance, teasing Noah when he stopped.
"Kurt," Noah groaned, his eyes dark and sweat gleaming all over his gorgeous body. Kurt bit his lip, took a deep breath, and sank slowly onto him, gasping softly as his body welcomed the rigid flesh. His movements were slow but deliberate and in no time Noah was fully sheathed.
They stayed still, breathing deeply and Kurt's eyes shut tightly as he concentrated on the feeling of his lover lodged so deep within him and then he opened his eyes.
All he said was, "Noah" but that seemed to unleash something unexpected from within them and their bodies thrashed and writhed, desire, arousal, passion, lust and love combining to bring them close to the end within minutes of beginning.
When Noah felt himself beginning the slide to the end, he surged up and grabbed Kurt's hips, pounding up into his lover's body as if he couldn't possibly get enough. Kurt hung onto him, his hands locking behind Noah's neck and then he lowered his mouth to Noah's.
Kurt swallowed the cry that he knew would have reached Judith deep in slumber land as her dad erupted within him. Noah's orgasm pulled Kurt's from him and he sobbed as his body flew apart, wrenching his mouth from Noah's and burying his face in his neck. Their bodies slipped and slid against each other and Kurt felt as if his brain had whited out for a second.
They panted and groaned softly, careful of the sounds and they stared into each other's eyes, unspoken words flying back and forth between them. Finally, Kurt closed his eyes with a sated smile curving his lips and Noah pressed his mouth against them.
"I love you… so, so much," he whispered against Kurt's soft, swollen lips and he closed his eyes when Kurt replied.
"I love you, Noah, so very much," and he smiled into the kiss that followed.
Kurt would normally have grimaced by now at the cooling mess squished between them but this coupling had been so different from all others that he was still somewhat dazed. He hugged Noah to him, still in his lap and pressed a kiss against his damp hair.
"No one has made me feel like you, Noah, no one," he said now, pulling back to gaze into the beloved, smoky eyes. "I don't think I want to wake up without you or go to bed without you for much longer…"
Noah stared at the man in his arms and his eyes watered. He blinked rapidly to hold them back; Kurt may have taken a while to say the words but damn, now he was just blowing him away. He couldn't find the words to respond so he simply hugged him, holding him as if he couldn't let go.
Finally, he whispered against Kurt's smooth, warm shoulder, "Me too, babe, me too."
.
TBC
.
A/N: I confess this is a little shorter than usual but I honestly couldn't find anything else to add to this chapter because, though I'm the writer, these boys move me.
PLEASE REVIEW