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: Here's my A/N for this chapter - 'writing A/N's is a bitch!' - LOL
Half a million words of Puckurt means I'm sorta running out of amusing things to say in these little moments before the good stuff!
A big HEY to Rome who seems determined to take the prize for most reviews of this story! And to Marc my green haired boy! ;D
I also want to give a second shoutout to the fabulous Fairground Attraction - after all the autotuned Bieber crap that I get forced to listen to on the radio it was refreshing to put on the youtube video of their performance at the Brits in 89 and remember what it was like when actual singers used to be in bands - of course I was only six years old at the time! LOL ;D
Finally - there's some spoken Italian in this chapter that I wrote using Google Translator (I don't speak Italian myself) so if it makes no actual sense that's why! It's only a couple of lines in any event and I've included a translation of what I intended to say in my end A/N.
Chapter 36 – Confrontation
Ray had Melissa lead them a couple of blocks from the Court House to a busy Italian restaurant that none of the actual Lima residents had ever been to before. From the outside the restaurant looked unassuming with a small plate glass window with a couple of cafe tables in it, beneath a large green and white striped awning proclaiming the name 'Gennaro's'.
Puck thought it strange that nobody seemed to question the fact that Ray seemed to be quite at home in Lima or the fact that the portly owner - Gennaro himself - a man with a pencil thin moustache and a broad Italian accent, greeted him by name and furiously shook the man's hand like he was the second coming.
Lunch was a fairly boisterous affair as the group celebrated their partial success in Court that morning.
"Here's to a job well done...", toasted Ray as Burt called out,
"Here here!"
Puck thought it was a little premature to be celebrating. After all his custody position wasn't exactly concrete yet - all they had been successful in doing was getting him permission to stay with the Hummels until the real Hearing on Monday morning. Apparently his sour expression did not go unnoticed as Burt leaned over to talk to him,
"I know it's not the result you were hoping for Noah..."
'Too right...', thought the half-back.
"But if we don't celebrate having you with us even for just a little while, then what's the point of fighting at all?"
Puck wasn't convinced by the elder Hummel's logic but decided it would just be easier to let them have their moment. Besides, he was with Kurt and his family - exactly where he'd wanted to be. He'd be a fool to waste the time given to him by moping.
The jock's attention was distracted a moment later in any event when their server came to take their orders. A tall thin young man that Puck would have placed at about twenty - at least Puck thought it was a man - with his bleached blond spiky hair and an exaggerated feminine air Puck couldn't really be sure. All the jock knew was that the man's unnaturally white teeth and perfectly coiffed hair gave him pause.
"Saluti, mi chiamo Marco e io saro il vostro cameriere per oggi."
Puck looked at the waiter with confusion written over his face - thankfully the half-back noted that he wasn't alone in that as both Burt and Ray were also displaying similar expressions. Kurt however was smiling broadly at the waiter - something which rubbed the jock up the wrong way.
'What's he smiling at?'
"Si potrebbe desiderare di provare a parlare in inglese...", said Kurt fluently and with just a hint of an Italian accent.
'Holy crap that's sexy...'
Puck's jaw dropped open in surprise as he watched his boyfriend's mouth twist elegantly around the foreign dialogue.
"Forgive me - I shall translate...", said the waiter winking at the soprano and causing the brunette to duck his head to hide his blush, "... my name is Marco and I will be your ah-... server for today..."
Puck ignored the waiter's as he took orders from the three adults in favour of giving the gimlet eye to his still bashfully blushing boyfriend. At the same time, the half-back kept nervously checking out the corners of the room, half expecting to see some Court official there looming over him with a summons to go live with his Dad. The entire situation was starting to drive Puck crazy.
'Get a grip Puckerman – nobody's coming to take you away...'
No matter how much the jock tried to reassure himself though, the niggling feeling of worry remained in the pit of his stomach.
"Noah..."
"Huh?", the jock looked up suddenly to see everyone at the table looking at him either in concern or amusement, "... what?"
Kurt giggled as he patted the confused jock on the back of the hand,
"You do want to eat don't you?"
Puck nodded at the brunette slowly - of course he wanted to eat - and then his brain caught up with him. Glancing up to the hovering waiter, Puck thought he saw an expression of distaste on the man's face before he quickly smoothed it out and put on a pleasant mask.
'What's his problem?'
Picking up the menu, Puck skimmed down the list before picking something at random to save face - he hadn't bothered to read the menu at all since sitting down let alone considered what he wanted to eat.
"Uh - Tag... tagli...", Puck struggled with the Italian pronounciation as the waiter smirked at him superiorly. Seeing Kurt taking a breath and preparing to cut in - no doubt in flawless Italian, Puck growled in agitation at the thought of being shown up,
"Steak - medium."
The jock wanted to knock the smirk off the face of the waiter as he nodded in mock-thoughfulness and noted the order on his pad,
"An excellent choice sir..."
'I really don't like this douchebag...'
"And for you il mio piccolo principe?"
Puck's hackles raised as the waiter spoke to Kurt - his voice a lilting purr as he spoke in his native tongue. Kurt blushed and ducked his head as Puck realised that the waiter was flirting with his Hummel - the jock had no idea what was being said of course but he wasn't stupid. What annoyed him most however was that his Hummel seemed to like it!
'This ass-clown needs to die...'
It was a harsh but entirely fair punishment the jock thought.
"Uh... posso avere il branzino con burro di gamberetti marrone per favore?"
"Ah - a delightful choice... and nice accent..."
Puck growled and angrily grabbed a bread roll which he started tearing into chunks - pointedly ignoring the confused look on Kurt's face.
'If he doesn't know what he did, I'm not going to tell him...'
"Ha ha...", Puck's forced laughter at one of Ray's jokes blended in with the rest of the group – seamlessly or so the jock apparently thought.
Kurt however was not fooled in the slightest - though he was a little confused - and hurt.
Ever since they'd arrived at the restaurant, Noah had been acting strangely. At first Kurt had thought it was just residual nervousness following the Court hearing however the longer they sat in the comfortable surroundings of Gennaro's, Noah's disposition didn't improve any. In fact Kurt could have sworn that the jock had purposefully blanked him on a couple of occasions that he'd attempted to make eye contact with him.
'Did I... did I do something?'
Kurt glanced again at the jock whose entire body was now angled away from him, as he appeared to be listening intently to one of Ray's stories. From the expression on the jock's face however, Kurt could tell that Noah wasn't listening to a word that was being said.
Reaching out with his hand, Kurt brushed his fingertips against the back of Noah's hand and his heart ached when the half-back flinched and pulled his hand away without even looking at him. Kurt could feel his eyes getting wet and quickly took a shuddering breath,
"Excuse me - bathroom..."
Kurt quickly got to his feet and made for the bathrooms across the room. He had just threaded past a small child and her Mother returning from the sweet trolley when he felt a soft hand grab hold of his and thread their fingers with his own.
"Uh - Melissa...", said the brunette in confusion glancing over his shoulder in surprise, "... hi?"
"You and I need to talk sweetie...", said Melissa with a sweet smile.
Kurt's expression was one of confusion as the blonde girl dragged him in the direction of the ladies toilets and tugged him over the threshold without a word. Of course this wasn't the first time Kurt had been in a woman's bathroom but even so - it wasn't often that someone you barely knew dragged you in to talk.
Kurt blushed when a middle-aged woman washing her hands at the bank of sinks cleared her throat pointedly and looked at him in the reflection in the mirror. When the soprano didn't immediately back out of the room with a stuttering apology Kurt realised she was clearly about to say something snide, when Melissa cut her off,
"Oh, relax lady - he's as gay as a handbag full of rainbows..."
The woman huffed and still glared at the brunette before drying her hands and stalking from the bathroom muttering under her breath about 'indecency'.
Leaning herself against the sinks, Melissa took in the confused Kurt's expression and a sad expression crossed her face,
"You don't know what you did - do you?"
Kurt shook his head in the negative,
"I don't understand - what?"
The blonde rolled her eyes at the oblivious teen and shook her head in exasperation,
"You were flirting with the waiter."
"No I wasn't!", Kurt exclaimed loudly before hurriedly shushing himself, "... I didn't - really!"
The blonde raised a single, perfectly plucked eyebrow at the brunette,
"Well you could have fooled me - and your boyfriend..."
Kurt took a moment to replay his actions in his mind's eye and didn't like the conclusion he quickly drew.
'Crap... quick - bluff!'
"I don't see how my speaking in Italian can be considered flirting, I was only placing my order."
Melissa's tone was droll as she replied in perfect Italian,
"Cosa ti piace mangiare il mio piccolo principe?"
"Crap... you speak Italian?"
"Sí, señor"
Kurt giggled at the blonde before his shoulders slumped in misery Kurt's face was a picture of misery as he realised the pain he'd caused the half-back - albeit unintentionally.
"Alright so maybe I did flirt with the waiter a little...", Melissa took a breath and Kurt cut her off, "OK - a lot... but I didn't mean to!"
The blonde crossed to the dejected looking teen before she wrapped him up in a supportive hug.
"I know you didn't sweetie - but it doesn't mean Noah doesn't feel hurt by it."
"I made Noah feel insecure right when I should have been showing him support didn't I?", Kurt murmured into the blonde's hair.
"You betcha!"
Kurt looked up and gave Melissa the gimlet eye for being so damn pleased about it and extracated himself from the embrace.
"You don't need to break out the marching band y'know..."
Melissa rolled her eyes at the melodramatic teen as she waived him off,
"It's not the end of the world sweetie. Just go back out there and fix it."
"How?"
"I'm sure you'll figure it out...you two are good together, that's why I decided to give you a nudge back in the right direction."
Reaching out and embracing the woman for a second time, Kurt murmured,
"Thanks Melissa."
The blonde giggled and returned the embrace before quipping,
"You're welcome now, quit feeling me up and go feel up your dishy boyfriend - otherwise I might just have to steal him from you."
Kurt's eyes darted up to meet Melissa's and immediately relaxed seeing the clearly teasing look on the woman's face. A momentary dread had settled in the soprano's stomach at the thought of the blonde girl making a play for Noah. Though Kurt trusted Noah to remain faithful to him, the brunette was sure that refusing Melissa wouldn't be easy for him.
Kurt had been gone for several minutes before Puck started to become concerned. Glancing around the room the jock let out a sigh of relief as he spotted 'Marco' pouring drinks behind the bar - he didn't trust the slimy little Italian bastard one bit and would be keeping his eye on him.
'Nobody talks Italian and flirts with my Kurt and gets away with it...'
Though he was upset that Kurt had flirted with the waiter, the jock wasn't as insecure as to believe for a second that Kurt would consider being unfaithful. After all - he was Puckzilla - that kind of thing just didn't happen to him!
And to be fair he had done exactly the same thing when he'd first met Melissa - so the jock supposed he couldn't blame Kurt for having a wandering eye. Still it didn't mean that Puck had to make it easy on the brunette though - it was just one more reason to punish his Spider Monkey and punishing his Spider Monkey had fast become one of Puck's favourite pastimes.
'Hell yeah - that sounds like a good idea...'
Checking his watch for easily the eighth time since Kurt had disappeared, Puck was about to excuse himself and go find the brunette and drag him back to his seat, when Kurt came back into view with Melissa trailing just behind him. Seeing the pleased expression on the blonde's face - and taking that in conjunction with the saucy wink the woman sent the jock's way as she sat herself back down - Puck was on high alert.
'Shit - please tell me she doesn't want herself some Puck-loving...'
Kurt took up his seat beside Noah and tried to figure out how to apologise for his actions. It wasn't like he could just turn to the half-back and say 'sorry I flirted with the waiter'.
Glancing to his left at Kurt for the first time since they'd placed their orders, Puck realised that the smaller boy was just watching him and looking as if he wanted to say something. Truthfully the silent observation was kinda creepy.
Puck sighed and laid down his fork beside his barely touched Lasagne, at Kurt's questioning look the jock shook his head,
"Not hungry..."
Kurt's expression was one of patent disbelief – which Puck admitted was probably completely justified – it's not like the half-back had to watch what he ate or anything. Being a sex-shark meant he tended to burn off the calories pretty fast.
'You've not been a sex-shark for over a week now though...'
It wasn't that Puck missed being a sex-shark and considered that he had made the wrong choice or anything – it was just that everything had gone and happened to him all at once - and he'd not even had time to consider his sex life, or lack thereof. Puck had gone in the space of two weeks, from having found out that Kurt was a decent guy and a good friend, through the whole shit with Aretha and Trabner and then everything with his Mom and Jeff kicked off.
And then finally - when the jock thought things were going to sort themselves out and return to something resembling normal all this crap with his Dad had landed on him. More than anything the jock was just tired of the drama - and if he was honest with himself, the only thing that had kept him going during the past few days was Kurt.
Feeling the soprano's gaze still burning into the side of his head Puck finally gave into the inevitable. He was going to have some fun with Kurt before he forgave him though.
"What?", Puck whispered keeping his voice low enough that the adults at the table wouldn't hear.
"You know I want to be with you right?..."
Puck smirked as he replied,
"Of course you do - everyone wants a piece of me!"
Kurt rolled his eyes before becoming serious again.
"Be serious for a second will you? I'm trying to say that I'm sorry..."
Puck knew exactly what the soprano was trying to say but wasn't going to make it that easy on the boy.
"Sorry? Why? What did you do?", said the jock feigning ignorance.
Kurt sighed as he picked up his fork and spoke the truth - however damaging it might be.
"I flirted with the waiter."
"Wait? You did? Which one? Not the ginger one with the tongue stud!"
Kurt spotted the teasing twinkle in Noah's eye and lightning fast struck out with his fist connecting solidly with the half-back's arm.
"Stop it! I'm being serious Noah... and I have better taste in men than that!"
Puck grinned as he rubbed his tender arm - delighting in the way Kurt's face lit up in response to the tacit forgiveness.
"You promise not to leave me for some gibberish talking man-girl with bottle-blonde hair?"
Kurt giggled at the jock's description and his heart lightened as Noah leant towards him and gently drew him into a passionate kiss. Fireworks exploded behind Kurt's eyes as he instinctively opened his mouth seeking to deepen the kiss. Kurt could feel the heat coming from his boyfriend's body and had to fight against the sudden desire to crawl onto the taller boy's lap and never leave.
"Ahem! Boys?"
Both boys broke apart breathing heavily and looking sheepish as Burt looked at them with veiled amusement. Melissa however had no pretenses and was grinning broadly as she flashed Kurt a thumbs up.
'So that's what she winked at me for... thank God!', thought the jock, a look of relief spreading over his face.
Kurt speared a cherry tomato from his salad onto the end of his fork as he raised a single eyebrow at the expression on the jock's face,
'Busted...', thought Puck with chagrin, '… he can always read me like a book...'
"I can read you like a book Noah...", Kurt popped the tomato into his mouth and bit down, the juice spurting out of it and onto the brunette's toungue, while a little escaped and dribbled down his chin.
"Fuck me, that's hot...", murmured Puck, physically restraining himself from attacking the juicy little trail with his tongue. Puck panted with a sudden desire while the soprano dabbed at his chin daintily with a napkin.
'Who'd have thought that eating was sexy?'
Puck shrugged at his own internal monologue – eating probably wasn't sexy – Kurt eating was the sexy part. The jock thought back over the past couple of weeks and the changes that had taken place in both his and his boyfriends lives.
'Hell – he's my boyfriend for a start – you can't get a much bigger change than that!'
Kurt leaned into Puck's personal space, close enough that the jock could feel the heat of Kurt's skin just millimetres from his own.
"You think that's hot?...", Kurt's voice was husky with his own desire, "... just wait til I order the banana split... that will blow your mind..."
Puck started as he felt a small hand lay on his thigh and he looked to Kurt who was innocently popping another tomato into his mouth as he turned to start a conversation with his Dad sitting opposite him.
'He's eating with his left hand...', the jock noted as he could not see where Kurt's right hand - the hand closest to his thigh was at that moment.
The jock quickly picked up his fork and dug into his Lasagne hoping that his suddenly flushed face and heavy breathing would go unnoticed, both by those sitting at the same table and at other tables in the busy restaurant.
The hand on Puck's thigh, inched higher and higher until nimble fingers brushed against the half-back's until now dormant cock before squeezing and teasing it to engorge with blood.
"Oh God...", Puck stifled a groan as he gripped his knife and fork with an iron grip. The fingers which had been running nimbly up and down his length, made quick silent work of the half-back's zipper before the small hand disappeared inside and wrapped around his length.
This time it was Puck's turn to smirk as Kurt's eye twitched when he obviously discovered the jock's lack of underwear.
'Commando baby... yeah!'
Puck's moment of triumph was short lived however as Kurt regained the upper hand and squeezed the half-back's cock in a firm grip causing the jock to stifle a groan of pleasure.
If he'd had any sense at all, Puck realised, he'd have forcibly removed Kurt's hand from around his cock. But the feelings were too strong, especially the thrill of potentially being caught and so Puck did nothing but enjoy the ride. A quick twist of Kurt's off hand as the brunette crunched his way through a breadstick caused Puck's breath to hitch in his throat and drew a curious look from Melissa.
"Went down the w-...", Puck hissed as Kurt's hand slipped down to rake his perfectly manicured nails over the jock's balls in delicious torture, "... wrong way..."
The blonde looked sceptical but nodded and went back to picking at her salad. Puck meanwhile mock-glared at the soprano and picked up his water to take a sip and hopefully clear the lump in his throat.
A vibration caught Puck's attention a moment later before a tinny voice that the jock couldn't place started singing,
"You're so gay and you don't even like boys
No you don't even like
No you don't even like
No you don't even like boys
You're so gay and you don't even like boys
No you don't even like
No you don't even like
No you don't even like…"
The hand inside Puck's suit trousers disappeared in a flurry of movement as Kurt hurriedly dug in his waistcoat pocket for his cell. Grimacing as he took in the name of the caller, the brunette quickly pressed the cancel button.
"Just a text...", Kurt admitted sheepishly having drawn the attention of all of the table's occupants as he tapped out a quick reply and hit send, "... sorry."
"You're so gay, Kurt?", the brunette blushed and ducked his head at his Dad's question whilst everyone else chuckled at his discomfort, "... it's nice of you to remind me but I think I've got it by now..."
"It's just a song Dad...", Kurt mumbled as he ignored the chuckling going on around him.
"Sure it is...", drawled Burt as he raised a single eyebrow at his son before saying to Ray, "... whatever happened to real music like The Eagles?"
"Testify brother!", cackled Ray as he raised his glass high in the air.
Melissa rolled her eyes at the older man as she reached over and shushed him.
Kurt glanced at Noah to see the half-back still chuckling with the rest of the group.
'Where's the undying support Noah?'
Kurt reached out a questing hand under the table and pinched Puck hard.
"Owww!...", Puck reached down under the table himself and rubbed his thigh, "... what the Hell was that for?"
'Ha! That'll teach you...'
"No reason - just made me feel better...", Kurt smirked at the scandalised expression on Puck's face and revelled in the successful transfer of laughter which was now aimed at the bitching half-back.
"Boys, boys, boys, we like boys in cars
Boys, boys, boys, buy us drinks in bars
Boys, boys, boys with hairspray and denim
And boys, boys, boys, we love them, we love them..."
The brunette's blush redoubled as his phone once again decided it was going to out him in the busy restaurant. Marco, who was delivering a basket of foccaccia to the table, winked at Kurt as he purred,
"Nice ringtone cutie...",
Puck glared at the server and growled low in his chest earning himself a dismissive wave from Kurt who didn't even bother looking up - he'd learned his lesson in that respect,
"Down Noah..."
Burt, Ray and Melissa all chuckled at the expression on the jock's face, as Kurt hesitantly picked up the cell and and flipped it open to press it to his ear.
"Hi Finn..."
Kurt rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the growl from the half-back as he focused on listening to the Quarterback.
"No - something came up... no an emergency - sorry... hang on..."
Kurt pulled the cell down from against his ear and held it against his chest.
"I'm going to go take this somewhere more private...", the brunette said ignoring Puck's warning glare as he stood up, "... I won't be long..."
Puck's eyes tracked Kurt as the smaller boy weaved gracefully between the tables and made his way over to the corridor leading to the bathrooms again.
'What the fucking Hell is Hudson doing calling Kurt?'
A wave of irrational jealousy swept through the half-back as he made a decision. No way was he letting the brunette out of his sight again - there was no telling anymore who would try to get their greasy paws onto his property - Trabner, Hudson, that douchebag of a waiter! Puck hurriedly pulled up his zip and stood, his chair squeaking against the terracotta floor tiles as he spotted said waiter making his way through the room on a circuitous route that would leave him in the same corridor with Kurt.
'Oh Hell naw...', cried Puck's internal Aretha - no way was he going to let this shit go down.
Ignoring the curious looks from Ray, Melissa and especially Mr H, the half-back weaved his way through the milling serving staff. The jock's focus was fixed on the white shirt and black waistcoat of Marco as he slipped around the corner into the same corridor Kurt had ambled down just a moment earlier.
Puck growled as he was thwarted in his pursuit momentarily by an ancient old lady standing right in his way while she chose from the dessert trolley. The jock couldn't even go around the woman because of the walker which she was leaning on and which blocked out the remainder of the space between the nearest table and the trolley itself.
"Come on - come on...", Puck muttered under his breath, though clearly not as under his breath as he'd hoped.
"I won't be rushed by some ruffian in a suit... stand and wait patiently."
For the first time in his life, Puck was willing to admit that he was an inch away from laying the smackdown on grannie. Glancing around for an alternative route and finding none, the jock decided to Hell with it.
Placing a hand on the old woman's walker, Puck vaulted over the metal structure with a previously undiscovered grace, landing catlike on the other side, his dress shoes making a staccato rhythm on the tile floor.
"Well I never..."
Puck ignored the old woman in favour of hurrying - he'd been delayed several seconds and a lot could happen in several seconds.
Rounding the same bend that the waiter had disappeared behind, Puck glanced down the long corridor with it's pinstripe wallpaper and pictures of what the jock assumed were Italian cities. There, at the far end of the corridor, Puck could see Kurt as he stood with his back to him - his cell still pressed to his ear - and there, eyeing up his boyfriend like a side of beef was Marco.
Puck decided to hang back and let the waiter make his move before he smashed his smug, Italian face in.
'Gonna flatten his face like a pizza...'
Kurt Hummel was not happy bunny - of all the times for Finn to call, the Quarterback had to call right at that very moment? Briskly striding down the corridor leading to the bathrooms, Kurt's voice was stringent,
"Why did you call Finn? I told you I was busy...", reaching the end of the corridor and finding nowhere to go, the brunette began pacing and gesturing with his cast covered arm such was his agitation, "no... like I said an emergency... yes with Noah... he's my boyfriend Finn of course I'm going to drop everything and go running."
Finn was being unusually dense about things - a trait that Kurt had formerly found to be quite endearing but now just annoyed him no end.
"Look Finn...", Kurt paused and listened to the Quarterback before he sighed, "... alright... seven o'clock then..."
Shaking his head and wondering how he was going to explain this to his boyfriend, Kurt flipped the cell shut. Hearing a shuffling noise behind him, Kurt turned around quickly in surprise.
"Ciao..."
Kurt's stomach dropped through the floor as he took in Marco standing in front of him, a devilish smile on his face,
"Uh - hi?"
'Oh God, Oh God, Oh God...'
"You are - how you say - upset?", said the waiter gesturing to the cellphone still gripped tightly in Kurt's hand.
"Uh - no. Not upset - I'm fine thank you for asking."
Kurt made to move past the taller man only to have him reach a hand out and lean it against the wall, effectively penning the soprano in.
"I saw you look at me earlier? Tu sei eccezionalmente bella...", Marco reached out towards Kurt intent on running the pad of his thumb along the brunette's jawline - but paused when Kurt flinched back from him, "... you not like what you see?"
Kurt gulped and prayed for deliverance. He needed to get away from this man now, before things spiralled out of control. Kurt dreaded to think what Noah would think of him if he were to see the two of them such as they were. The soprano was convinced that it could lead to the end of their relationship.
"No... I mean yes... I mean no..."
Kurt cursed his stuttering and took a shuddering breath as he tried to get a grip on his growing panic. Marco's smirk was pure seduction as he stared at Kurt in a way that made the smaller boy feel uncomfortable.
'Please... no...'
"I think what he means is that he's with me..."
Kurt's heart soared hearing the familiar voice of his boyfriend coming from behind the waiter and out of sight.
"Egli non è degno di voi...", said Marco with a backwards glance at the half-back.
Marco smirked seeing that as he'd clearly intended, the jock had no idea what had just been said. Feeling a stirring anger at the waiter, Kurt defended his boyfriend in Italian - all traces of his flowery accent lost such was his agitation.
"Degno o no, io sono con lui...", Kurt watched the glint in the waiter's eye die a little at the declaration before Kurt leaned around him to see his boyfriend and added, "... I'm only with him..."
Puck took that as an open invitation to push past the waiter and wrap his arm around Kurt's waist. The sneer that Puck had thought he'd seen earlier on the face of the waiter reappeared as Kurt purposefully snuggled in against the jock's torso.
"Very well - un tale spreco..."
Kurt watched with an angry fire in his eyes as the waiter turned away following his final statement and disappeared back onto the restaurant floor. Turning to look at Noah, Kurt realised that the jock was still in a defensive poise and ready for a fight.
"It's alright Noah...", Kurt's voice was soft as he talked the boy down. Shaking his head, Puck replied.
"No - it's not alright..."
'Not even close...'
Kurt allowed himself to be led back towards their table and blushed as Noah pulled out his seat for him like a gentleman. Puck then leant over to Ray and entered into a hushed conversation at the table. The brunette ducked his head and focused on the salad in front of him that now didn't look half as appetising as it once had - Kurt didn't want to think about what Noah was telling his Uncle Ray.
"He WHAT?"
Kurt cringed at the loud exclamation from Ray and Kurt momentarily caught the older man's gaze before pointedly looking away again. A prodding on his shin caused Kurt to look up into the curious eyes of Melissa - Kurt swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat as he offered the girl a watery smile.
"I'll take care of this Noah...", said Ray as he got to his feet, leaning heavily on his cane for a moment before heading off to find Gennaro, "... you have my word."
Passing Kurt on his way, Ray laid a supportive hand on Kurt's shoulder causing the brunette to shrink further in on himself seeing that his Dad and Melissa both were in the dark but clearly wanted to know.
"Kurt?", Burt's voice was low and held a distinctive note of concern which caused a pain to form in Kurt's chest. The brunette fought against the sudden urge to cry - did everyone think that his being with Noah was as much of a waste as Marco did?
"Please Dad... I just want to go home..."
The older man picked up on his son's emotional state which Kurt was forever grateful for and just nodded before picking up his napkin and depositing it over the top of his half-finished linguine.
"Let's go home then..."
Kurt looked up into his Dad's concerned but trusting eyes and offered a wan smile. Feeling Noah hovering by his side, Kurt allowed the jock to wrap his arm around his waist as they all made their way towards the exit. Reaching the front of house, Kurt ducked his head and rushed past and out of the restaurant as they saw the sight of Gennaro clearly reprimanding Marco while Ray stood impassively and observed.
Following a couple of minutes after the remainder of the group had vacated the restaurant - Ray approached Kurt who had slumped down onto the small wall by the rockery and was breathing in the cool afternoon air.
"Gennaro asked me to give you these...", the older man handed Kurt an envelope, "... vouchers for a free meal - on the house."
Kurt was about to refuse the offer and state that he'd rather never go to Gennaro's again when Ray said,
"Gennaro will make sure Marco takes the night off for whenever you decide to go back - he's extremely sorry - I'm extremely sorry... I've known Gennaro for many years. Marco is his son and a good kid really - just completely full of himself is all..."
Kurt nodded and pocketed the vouchers - maybe he and Noah could come back for a romantic candlelight dinner for two sometime. Perhaps make some new memories of Gennaro's that didn't stick in the craw quite as much as that afternoon's experience had.
"Well - I have a few errands to run and then I must go and check up on Ryan and see how he's doing... Burt, Noah - I'll see you Monday?"
Both men nodded in the affirmative,
"Kurt - again I am sorry..."
Kurt shrugged - it really didn't matter.
"It's fine sir..."
Ray and Melissa said their final goodbyes before making their way across the parking lot to Ray's waiting Bentley.
Burt turned to look at the two teens - his two teens - for Noah was now part of the Hummel brood whether he knew it or not. No court would change that fact as far as the older man was concerned.
"Let's go home kids."
As Kurt hopped tiredly into the back seat of the Navigator and stared out of the window - still deep in thought - he wondered what the rest of the day would bring.
'Now... how do I tell Noah that Finn's coming over? - Crap!'
A/N: OK - another chapter in the bag - just a little fun in the restaurant, the next chapter should be interesting - Kurt vs Finn vs Puck vs Finn vs Kurt - LOL
English translations of various pieces of Italian dialogue:
Saluti, mi chiamo Marco e io saro il vostro cameriere per oggi = Greetings, my name is Marco and I will be your waiter for today
Si potrebbe desiderare di provare a parlare in inglese = You might want to try to speak English
Il mio piccolo principe = my little prince
Posso avere il branzino con burro di gamberetti marrone per favore? = can I have the sea bass with brown shrimp butter please?
Ciao = Hi
Tu sei eccezionalmente bella = You are exceptionally beautiful
Egli non è degno di voi = He is not worthy of you.
Degno o no, io sono con lui = Worthy or not, I am with him.
Un tale spreco = Such a waste.
Wow - I used WAY more Italian than I thought I would! Still it's all over now, so I've had bad Chinese, poor Eastern European, cliched Italian - what accent can I have someone mangle next? XD
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