(Author's note: Oh, my OT3, home again at last - with complications. For those of you who have a hard time suspending disbelief at the weirdness that is polyamory, let me assure you that yes, it really is this crazy. And we love it that way. Warnings for boysex and excessive use of ellipses and dashes. Enjoy. –amy)

The family feeling carried the six of them far into the evening, quite a long while after Kurt's dad normally would have called it a night. Carole didn't say one word about leaving, and Kurt guessed she probably wouldn't. Kurt felt oddly calm about this.

Puck had his guitar out before too long, playing them some of Adam's songs, and Kurt got to see that starstruck expression Finn often wore when Puck played for him. It made him a little dizzy and tingly all over to witness it now, and he found himself tearing up.

"Baby," Puck said, pausing between stanzas to touch his arm.

"No – no, I'm fine," Kurt assured him, wiping his face. "Believe me, I've cried more times in the past two weeks than I have since my mom... but this time it really is okay. I'm just – happy." He leaned against Finn, into the crook of his arm, and felt a little more calm just to be within the shelter of that embrace.

Puck sighed, leaning his cheek on his guitar, gazing at the two of them. "Me, too," he said. "I mean, the happy, yeah, but – the crying, too. I did a hell of a lot of that myself."

"So did I," said Finn quietly, and Puck stared at him in shock. Finn laughed uneasily. "Really. I was a total mess."

"He didn't even leave his room for four days," Kurt affirmed. "And I'm pretty sure I don't want to know how you did that without completely trashing your room."

Finn shrugged. "Trust me, my mom made me vacuum and do all the laundry before I went back to school. And, gross. I came out to use the bathroom. And once to get the CD you left for me, Kurt. I heard you, talking to me through my door."

Kurt nodded, looking at his feet. "It was just that once. Your mom was there to take care of you. I figured you mostly wanted to be left alone."

"Dude," Puck said, with a quizzical expression. "Burt told me you just about wore out one of my Indigo Girls CDs. And the Neil Diamond set, from the box? That was my dad's. His favorites, burned to CD." He grinned at Finn. "That's kind of warped: you, listening to my dad's music to feel better."

Finn shook his head, looking mildly disgusted by this idea. "Well, wherever they came from, I think I've got them all memorized by now."

"Really?" Puck laughed. "No shit." He strummed a few thoughtful chords, then, watching Finn's face closely, began to play. Finn's eyes widened a fraction as he vamped the opening progression.

"Come on," he said softly. "I'll sing with you."

"Jesus," Finn muttered, and almost unwilling, the two of them began:

It was more than a matter of knowing
All the words were finally said
It was more than the coming or going
Or the things that remain in your head
It was more than a matter of wanting
Or needing the foolish things I gave you

As if I ever cared to make you cry
Could have been right, you know that it was
And yet you knew that I was sorry
I dared to make you cry
As if I would, as if I could, as if I tried

Kurt had to admit, it was incredibly apropos, and even somewhat pretty - even if it was Neil Diamond. But what really got him was Puck and Finn singing, together, a song that spoke of their own deep fears and sorrows. He didn't think he'd ever seen Finn quite so vulnerable. Finn held tight to Kurt's hand as he poured his voice out into the basement room. When that song concluded, Puck chose another one, and without scarcely a pause, they continued:

You got to take your time now
If love is gonna take you by the hand
You need to take your time though
'Cause love is not a thing you can command

There's got to be a reason, got to be a closeness
It's got to have a feeling only you can know

And when you find love, hold on tight
Don't ever waste another night
You're gonna make it through in spite of your fears…

As they finished the second song, Kurt saw Sarah creep partway down the staircase and sit on the step, watching them through the hand rail. He beckoned for her to join them, but she shook her head. Kurt could see she was singing along with the third one:

If I lost my way, would you stand with me
Would you love me still and care for what I need
If I lost my way
If I lost the faith to face up to the test, would I let you down
Would you love me less if I lost my way

Puck didn't take his eyes off Finn through the whole song, and Finn just got redder and more fragmented until eventually he stopped singing entirely, staring at his hands.

"I, uh," said Puck, "I wouldn't, you know. I don't. Love you any less."

Finn nodded silently as Kurt stroked his shoulder. He leaned forward to rest his head against Finn's back, listening to his shaky breathing, feeling his warmth through his sweater. "Don't worry," Kurt said. "It's better. It's already so much better. You'll get what you need."

"I don't even know what I need anymore," Finn said, his voice low and hurting. "Everything's upside down. I feel like I'm turning into a different person. I mean, Puck... if I can't give you what you need, what kind of a… a Top am I? And this, with Carl… I didn't even know I wanted that."

"But you do, right?" Puck meditatively ran his fingers over the neck of his guitar. "You do want it? I mean, he's not talking you into anything…?"

Finn looked wounded. "No," he said. "If anything, I'm the one who's –" He stopped himself, closing his eyes. "No. Not talking me into anything."

"So it's cool, right?" said Puck. He was calm and rational, but Finn was getting more and more wound up. Puck's eyebrows crowded down around his nose. "It's not, is it?" he asked Kurt.

"It's going to take time," Kurt said. He thought about what Tess had said: just like a bruise needs time to heal on your body, you will need to be careful with it, protective, and loving… and it will grow strong again. "We need to take care of each other, even when things go wrong. Even when we make mistakes. Family doesn't give up on each other."

"No," said Finn. He looked up at Puck suddenly, across the couch, and shot out a hand to grab his wrist. Puck looked startled, but he took Finn's hand and hung on. "I don't… I don't want that. No matter what I said, Puck, you've got to believe that I don't want that."

"Okay, man, it's all right," Puck assured him. "I do. I believe that."

"I thought… the baby," Finn started, then closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, then tried again. "Your daughter. I thought it would be better for you if you didn't have her. But I was wrong. I was wrong about how I handled it, and I should have trusted you when you told me that. You tried, but I didn't… I wouldn't…"

"It's okay," Puck said again. "I got it. I didn't trust you enough to tell you what was really going on. That was my fault. And… well, Adam took care of that. You don't have to worry about that." Puck's smile spoke volumes about what was going on behind those words. Kurt remembered Puck's expression being very similar to that, when he used to look at Finn.

But it wasn't, anymore, he thought, with dawning understanding. He doesn't see Finn that way. Not like that. The love was there, and something like friendship, or at least the beginning of one, but something was absent. And Puck didn't seem to be missing it. Because of Adam?

Puck turned his smile on Kurt. "I'm going to be a papa," he said. "Soon, now. She's mine. I already love her like nothing else." He turned to Finn, still holding his hand, and his voice was vehement. "I swear to God, Finn, I'm going to take good care of her. You don't have to worry about that, either."

He turned back to Kurt again. "But I can't do it alone," he said. "I know I can't. I need help. I'm going to need your help."

"Mine?" Kurt blurted, startled. He imagined a tiny creature in Puck's arms, crying, demanding his time, keeping him from sleep. It was more than a little terrifying. "I don't know anything about taking care of babies, Noah."

"Well, me either," Puck said, shrugging. "But people figure it out, all the time. And I've got all kinds of people who can help. Your mom, for one, Finn. And Burt, and Sarah. And you, Finn."

Finn was still watching in silence. He looked a little wary, but he wasn't upset. "Me."

"Yeah, you," Puck said softly. "I still love you, man. Like nobody else. You're one of my oldest friends. You gave me – exactly what I needed."

Finn's expression was painfully sad. "I don't know if I can give you that anymore, Puck," he said, nearly in a whisper. "And I don't know what to do with that. I don't know what it means. For us. For me."

"I know," Puck said, nodding. "Like Kurt said, it's something we can figure out together, okay? I'm not giving up on you."

Finn winced like he'd been slapped, but he recovered himself, met Puck's eyes, and nodded. "That's really… big of you, man. I don't think I deserve it."

Puck's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I see that you don't think that. You're wrong, though. You do. You deserve it."

It was as though Puck hadn't even spoken to him; Finn nodded, but it didn't reach beyond his eyes. This wasn't something they could solve tonight, Kurt knew, and Finn had already turned down help from him. But maybe there's something I can do.

"Noah," Kurt said, gently, "Sarah's staying here tonight. The guest room – that's going to be her room now. For good."

He nodded. "That's what Burt said. I asked him, when I… before I went away, I made sure he would take care of her, and he agreed." He broke into an amused grin. "She's gonna be your sister, huh?"

Kurt smiled back. "She already is, sweetheart. You know she is. But now she'll have a home. And you – Carl said he gave you a place to stay."

"Yeah," Puck nodded again. "It's pretty nice, but it's just for now. It'll give me space to be myself – just myself, without you or Finn or Adam or anybody. I think I need that right now. That's part of me, figuring things out."

Kurt took a deep breath. "That's good. I'm glad you have a place, and I... I understand why you might not want to live with me, or Finn." He swallowed the lump in his throat. It's about what Noah needs, right now, he told himself firmly.

"It's not that I don't want to," Puck said. "I just – I'm not ready. I know that much, at least. My Ma, I guess I've got to… I've got to mourn her. I still don't really know what that means, but I'm figuring that out too. And I need a little space from everybody else to do that."

Kurt laid a hand on his shoulder. "That's fine, sweetheart, really. But I hope that, sometimes, you might still want to stay with me. I – I missed you so much." His voice cracked a little, and Puck set his guitar to the side and reached for him, offering his embrace. Kurt threw his arms around him and let himself cry, just a little. It wasn't time to fall apart, not yet, but he knew Noah didn't mind this.

Kurt pulled back and touched his cheek. "Would you stay here, tonight?"

"Of course, baby," Puck said, smiling. "I'm not going anywhere."

Kurt let himself float for a moment in the relief he felt at hearing Noah say those words. "All right. Thank you." Then he turned to Finn, who was watching them silently. "And you – I want you to stay, too."

Finn started, then glanced uneasily at Puck. "Uh," he said. "I don't think –" But Puck was nodding and looking at Kurt.

"It's fine," he said. "Whatever you want."

"I know things aren't all better," Kurt said. "I know they won't be for a while. And I know you're not sure who you are, or how you can even be together, the two of you. But I really need you both." He closed his eyes. "Please."

"All right," Finn said, faintly. "I can – I can do that."

Sarah found them on her way down to the guest room. She moved in to give Puck a quick hug, then Kurt, then Finn. "You're all staying," she said. "Right?"

"We're all here tonight," Kurt assured her. "Like that night at Finn's, after the dinner party. And in the morning –"

"We'll make breakfast," Puck interrupted. "You and me, squirt. It'll be awesome."

Sarah's smile looked far less like her usual smile and far more like a typical twelve-year-old's. "Awesome," she echoed. "And I'll make sure I sleep with earbuds in tonight, so you don't have to worry about making too much noise, okay?"

"Th-thanks," Kurt choked, feeling himself turn red, but Sarah was grinning at him with Puck's exact expression. She waved and shut the guest room door behind her.

He climbed the stairs and found his dad and Carole sitting together on the couch in the living room, watching the remake of The Time Machine on the little television. "How is it?" he said, indicating the screen.

"They added some weird stuff," said Burt. "There's this hologram guy, and they're in New York instead of London. But it's all right." He raised an eyebrow at Kurt. "How are things with you guys?"

"Noah's going to stay tonight," Kurt said. "And Finn."

Carole looked surprised, but she nodded. "He's glad to see Puck, too."

He nodded back. "You're staying, Carole?"

"I – I thought I might," she said, only a little flustered. Kurt didn't have to work too hard not to feel weird about it. He bent down and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm glad," he said. "I've got my whole family, all in one place. It's just what I wanted."

She caught his hand as he straightened up. "Kurt, don't be surprised if… well, if Finn isn't ready for anything. He's still so confused, and…"

"I know," he assured her. "Finn has the right to be confused, but we're not going to stop loving him just because of that."

"All right." Kurt watched Burt put an arm around Carole, and she leaned in a little against his shoulder. "Thank you. For being strong, while Finn isn't."

"I don't feel very strong," Kurt admitted. "Mostly I've been falling apart every few minutes and picking myself up again."

She shook her head. "No, honey. You are. You're exactly what Finn and Puck need right now."

Kurt wasn't exactly sure what he felt about that, but he appreciated her certainty in him. "Noah and Sarah said they're making breakfast tomorrow," he said, changing the subject.

Burt grinned. "That's perfect. I've heard miraculous things about this crème brulee French toast. You think they'd make that?"

"I'll be sure to ask." He kissed his dad on the cheek. "Good night."

"Good night," they chorused, turning back to their movie. He knew it wouldn't hold their attention for long, but that was all right, too. I guess if I'm allowed to have sex at my own house, he thought, it makes sense that my dad might be allowed to do the same thing.

Kurt went back downstairs to find Puck stepping into the shower, and he had to pause for a moment in the doorway to catch his breath. "God, Noah," he murmured, filling his eyes with the sight of him, naked in his bathroom. "I have missed you so much."

Puck posed for him, grinning. It didn't make him any hotter, but Kurt appreciated the effort. Then he shook his head. "I don't know, Kurt... Finn, not thinking he deserves a second chance. That completely sucks. Can't you tell him?"

Kurt gave him a sad smile. "I did tell him. He's just not listening."

"Yeah, well, I don't think he's listening to me, either." He ducked under the spray, wetting his face, his eyes tightly shut. "I'll be out in a minute."

Finn was sitting at Kurt's desk, gazing uncertainly at the bed. Kurt wondered what thoughts might be going through his mind. Finn was usually pretty easy to read, but right now, he was so confused, he barely knew himself.

"Thank you," Kurt said, kissing him. "Thank you for this, for staying tonight. I know it's not easy for you, and, just – thank you."

Finn nodded, putting his arms around him. He didn't look exactly happy, but he didn't look like he was going to bolt, either. "I missed him, too, you know? But I don't know what I can really handle. Together."

"I know," Kurt said, shaking his head. "Don't worry about that. I just want you here with me." He reached down and put his hand in Finn's pocket, extracting his phone, and put it in his hands. "And I think you need to call Carl now."

Finn stared at the phone like he'd never seen one before. "I – what?"

"You're missing him. I know he's not coming home for a few more days, but that doesn't mean you can't talk to him." Kurt frowned at him. "Don't tell me you don't recognize the signs. You know what you need."

"I – I know," Finn whispered. "But he's not – we're not – we're taking it slow." He said this as though it were just about the worst thing in the world. Kurt tried not to smile. He put a hand on Finn's hip.

"Well, I know you said you didn't want me to, but – I can, if you need it."

"Kurt." Finn took Kurt's hands in his. "I don't. I mean, that's not who we are, you and me. I'd rather not. No matter… no matter how much I might need it."

Kurt pressed his lips together, then, as offhandedly as he could, said, "Noah could do it."

He wasn't sure if Finn's expression was closer to appalled or terrified. Either way, it wasn't positive. "God. That would be – I can't even imagine it."

Kurt sat on his knee, one arm around his neck. "You don't think it could help? Give you a chance to… you know, say you're sorry? Get your punishment from the person you wronged?"

He watched as Finn fought past his initial reaction and actually considered this. "I don't think so," he said at last. "I mean, I can see what you mean, but – I'm pretty sure Puck doesn't want to be like that with me, and I'm –" Finn hesitated, watching Kurt's face carefully. "Kurt, I'm – I'm Carl's boy."

Oh. Kurt felt the rush of understanding fill his body with tingling awareness, of Finn, of who he was to him, and a whole new level of appreciation for the way that Finn was feeling about Carl. It was like the way Noah was with him... like the way he was with Finn. And he wouldn't want to do that with anyone else. Just the idea was somewhat disturbing.

"I see what you mean," he whispered. Finn waited anxiously. After a moment he stirred, and kissed Finn again. "It's okay. I didn't really - I guess I didn't quite get it before. But I do now."

"It doesn't bother you?" Finn asked.

Kurt tried to answer honestly. "Not - for the reason you might think," he said. "It doesn't bother me that you want that with Carl. It's that you might stop... wanting to do it for me."

Finn blinked, then nodded slowly. "Because of how things are with Noah."

"Yes," he sighed.

He watched Finn looking inside himself, and not for the first time, Kurt felt impressed with the way Finn took on any challenge: not fearlessly, but not reckessly, with great consideration, and respect for other beings. It was just who Finn was, and Kurt loved it about him.

Then Finn rose from his chair. He put out a hand and stroked Kurt's cheek, gently. "There are a lot of things I'm not sure about these days," he said. Kurt sighed and leaned into the touch, feeling the light stroking on his cheek.

Finn's hand curled around Kurt's throat, just under his chin, and suddenly Kurt was feeling the pressure of Finn's emotions, compressed under his skin, with no one to handle them for him. He felt frantic on Finn's behalf. "Oh," he said, "oh, Finn."

"This," said Finn, steady and sure, even in the face of that anxious, desperate energy. "This, between us. I'm sure about that. Understand?"

"Yes sir," Kurt squeaked, rising up under the compression on his neck. Finn pulled his face in for a heart-thumping kiss, and Kurt returned it, their tongues dancing.

"God," said a strangled voice, and Kurt turned to see Noah, standing in the bathroom door, covered only by a towel, watching them with intense heat and appreciation.

Finn considered Puck for a long moment before he took two steps back from Kurt. He made a gesture of acquiescence. "Go ahead," Finn said, his voice hoarse. "You guys... it's really about you, anyway."

Puck shook his head slowly. "Finn... no. It's not. It's always been about us. You and me, man." He reached out a hand.

"No," Finn said. "No, I - I can't." He watched Puck's hand with suspicion, like it was going to damage him.

"Yes, you can," Kurt whispered. "You love him."

Finn flinched. "Yeah," he said. "But it's not as simple as that."

Kurt moved back into his space, closing those two steps that Finn had inserted between them, and grasped his head. Finn took a surprised breath, but it was Puck who groaned as Kurt laid another deep kiss on Finn's mouth, grinding against his hip.

"Maybe tonight, it can be," Kurt said, breathy and insistent. "Maybe just for tonight, it really can be that simple. I want you." He reached toward Puck, who took a step forward. "And he does, too."

Finn flickered a glance up at Puck, then away, just as quickly, his mouth open, his shoulders hunching. "Do you," he said in a flat voice, and it was barely a question.

"Yeah," Puck said, with such certain lust that Finn was startled into a nervous laugh.

"Even knowing someone else is Topping me?" he said, frustration and intense heat coloring every word. Puck didn't even hesitate.

"I don't care about that," he said. "You're so fucking worried about that. As long as he's a good guy, and you're getting what you need, I don't fucking care. I just don't like seeing you so goddamned scared." He was close enough now that he could put his hand out and touch Finn - and he did, laying a hand on the side of his neck. Finn trembled under the touch, bending forward.

"You need your Top," he said softly. Finn's body began to shake.

"He's gone for four more days," said Kurt, and Noah looked up in surprise. "And they're not - anyway. Not yet."

Puck gazed at Finn in clear distress. "God," he said, gently. "I'm so sorry."

He pulled Finn toward him, wound his strong arms around his back, as Finn began to cry in earnest. He made noises of comfort in his ear. "I got it, man," he murmured, kissing his neck. "I know just how that feels."

"He's never even really had any of it, with him, yet," Kurt added, prompting a sound of sympathetic pain from Puck, and Finn curled into Puck's chest, shaking with sobs.

"You need it," Puck insisted, and Finn nodded against him, his face hidden and masked by tears.

Kurt had a sudden sense of deja vu - only it was himself he saw, kneeling on the bed, being comforted by Noah. And he knew, in a flash, what he could do to help Finn.

"Noah," he said urgently. "Tonight - just for tonight."

"What?" Puck looked up at Kurt, confused.

He got down on his knees, so his face was even with Finn's, bent over and huddled against Puck. "Tonight," he said again. "Tonight, he's your baby."

Finn still looked confused, but it only took Puck a moment to get it. "Oh, Kurt," Puck breathed. "I don't know -"

"I do," Kurt said clearly. "This is what he needs. He doesn't need it from me - not even really from you. But you can do it for him." He reached in and unfolded Finn from Puck's embrace. "Come on, onto the bed. Noah's going to take care of you."

Puck stood beside the bed, watching, as Kurt took Finn's shirt and jeans off. When he went to pull his shorts down, Finn pushed his hand away, rolling toward the wall. Kurt quickly rid himself of his clothes and lay down in front of Finn, stroking his face and chest as best as he could.

"Finn," he said. "Come on, look at me."

"No." Finn's voice was muffled and petulant. Kurt wanted to laugh. That's how he sounded? It made him blush. But he just tucked his hands into Finn's ball of self-preservation and tried to be as loving and patient as he could.

"You don't have to be strong right now, Finn. We're your family. We're here to handle it. That's what family does. Nobody expects you to be anything other than who you are, and right now - this is what you need."

Kurt looked up at Puck in quiet appeal. Puck dropped his towel on the floor and crawled onto the bed behind Finn, cupping his body in his. "All right," he said quietly. "Okay. It's okay, baby. I'm here."

"Puck," Finn gasped, finding his voice, "you've never - I'm not - "

"I got it, Finn," said Puck, kissing him on the shoulder, on his neck and the back of his head, every place he could reach. "Just let me, okay? Because I fucking love you, and I'm not letting you deal with this alone. Because I know."

Finn didn't say anything more. He just gave in, compressing his body, quivering, each sob prompting a fresh comforting word or kiss or caress from Puck behind him or Kurt in front of him.

"I don't deserve this," Finn protested through his tears. "I was so... so awful."

"Yeah, you were," agreed Puck, right into his ear. "But that doesn't make me love you less. Remember?"

"Family sticks together," said Kurt. "No matter what."

This time, when Noah went to pull Finn's shorts down, he let him. "Hold him," Puck said, and Kurt helped Finn lie on top of him, his arms around his rib cage and cradling him against his body. Finn's body was tense, jumpy, and even when Kurt kissed him as thoroughly as he knew how, he wouldn't relax.

Kurt watched as Puck ran loving hands over Finn's head, his back, his behind, and pressed lips to the back of his neck. Finn made a small moan.

"You miss him," Puck said.

"I don't know," Finn replied, his breath coming faster. "I don't know."

"Yeah, you do," he insisted, his hands coming down into the crease between Finn's thighs. "Everybody deserves to have their Top. If you can't, well, I can at least give you this."

Finn's voice dropped almost an entire octave, and he groaned and shifted his hips against Kurt's leg at the feel of Puck's fingers. Kurt knew they would be dry and a little harsh: in other words, exactly the way Finn wanted them.

"Tell me if it hurts," he whispered into Finn's ear, "okay?"

"Not - not hurting," Finn said through his teeth. Kurt could feel against his hip exactly how not hurting it was for Finn, and he smiled, kissing his cheek.

"You deserve to be happy," Kurt said. "Let us do our best. All right?"

Finn, nervous and shaking, nodded against Kurt, holding him tighter. Kurt met Puck's eyes over Finn's back and nodded at him in turn. "Go on, sweetheart."

Puck rose up on his knees and moved down on the bed, his hands stroking Finn's ass. "God damn, Hudson," he muttered, "way to fulfil a fantasy. You are far too fucking hot."

Finn laughed shakily, and then he cried out against the pressure of Puck's tongue. Kurt's sense memories told him exactly how good that felt, and he didn't resist responding along with Finn. "Puck," Finn moaned, "oh, fuck."

"He's got you," Kurt encouraged. "He's here. He's home."

Finn tossed his head back and forth on Kurt's chest in denial, even as he thrust his hips back against the blissful intrusion. "He said this wasn't. He said it wasn't his home."

Puck paused and rested his own cheek on the small of Finn's back. "It wasn't. But things are different now. I knew I was going to be a papa, and I realized I didn't have to do it alone. Couldn't do it - without you. Without all of you: Burt, and Carole and everybody. I need you."

"You've got us, sweetheart," Kurt said, reaching around to touch Puck's head, on top of Finn.

"I know," Puck said simply. "It's good, now. Home - it's not a place. It's a feeling, something I can carry inside me. I get it with Adam. And with you, Kurt." He stretched his body out, kneeling over Finn's prone form. "And you, dumbass."

"Noah," Kurt warned, and Puck snickered. He kissed the space between Finn's shoulder blades.

"Sorry. You, Finn. You're home, too. And I need you a hell of a lot. You're not the only one who was a wreck, this last week, and it was mostly me trying to fight my way out of needing you. Well, I'm not fighting it anymore." He ran his fingers through Finn's hair. "You want this with me?"

"God," Finn said, his voice cracking. "All my life, remember?"

"Yeah." Puck smiled, the love shining in his eyes so poignant that Kurt felt the tears well up, himself. "I remember. All right, baby. You're going to be all right."

Kurt could feel in the way the tension changed in Finn's body, the moment when Puck began pressing into him, could hear Finn's cries go from anxious and needy to overwhelmed. "It's good," Kurt said in his ear, as much a question as it was a reassurance.

"So good," Finn sighed, coming up onto his knees and thrusting back, prompting twin groans from the two of them. "Puck... Kurt... I can't even..."

"You don't have to," Kurt said, into the rhythm of their bodies. "I know, too. I know exactly how you're feeling."

Kurt vividly remembered doing this very thing, only it was Noah in his lap and Finn behind him, telling Noah all the things he needed to hear to heal, to be whole: you're so good, you're my good boy. It wasn't Noah's place, to tell Finn those things, or Kurt's. They'd have to leave that to his Top. But this - they could do this for him.

All my life, Kurt thought, in a haze of possibility. I could have this. All my life. He kissed Finn's lips, then turned his head to rest against Noah's strong arm.

"I love you so much," he whispered, and Finn cried out, bucking in sudden, wild thrusts into the sweat-slick hollow of Kurt's hip.

"That's it," said Puck, speeding up his own thrusts, his voice harsh and urgent. "Finn - baby, you feel so good - come on, come for me..."

Finn's shouts were wordless, but Kurt heard in them everything he was feeling, and it was the sweetest, most satisfying sound. He wrapped his arms all the way around Finn to touch Noah's back. "We're here."

Finn's movements slowed, a little at a time, unwinding, quaking with aftershocks. Puck tugged him off of Kurt to lie on his side, spooning him, still inside him, and Kurt tucked himself into Finn's arms on the other side. Finn held him, crying again, but Kurt could tell it was different now.

"Thank you, guys," he murmured, his cheek wet against Kurt's as he kissed him. "Thank you, baby, for knowing what I needed. And - Puck... god, that was... "

"Fucking incredible," Puck said, with a deep breath of contentment. "Are we awesome or what?"

Kurt made them all milk with cinnamon and brought it downstairs to the green couch while Finn and Puck got cleaned up. He took both boys' cell phones and laid them pointedly on the coffee table, but didn't say anything about it.

"I hate to say it," said Finn, sitting between them, "because this was so amazing and all, but I don't think we can assume it's going to fix everything."

"I'm not," said Kurt. "I'm not assuming that. It was just - something. What we could do, the three of us, together."

"Yeah." Puck propped his feet up on the table. "It was something, all right."

Finn put a hand on Puck's bare thigh. "It's not how we used to be, though."

Puck nodded. "You know... Adam took me to synagogue on Saturday, for Hanukkah. Their choir, they were singing this song. We got to sing with them. It was, like, a poem, about your children, how they're not really your children, but they're – they belong to Life. To everybody, I guess. And you can't make them like you, but you can try to be like them." He turned clear eyes on Finn. "Maybe that's how things were with us. I mean, you're not my parent, but… you were in charge, kind of like that. And it's different, now, isn't it? I'm – I'm not your boy anymore, am I?"

Finn's mouth trembled, and they watched as tears welled up in his eyes, but did not fall. "I don't know," he whispered.

"Okay," said Puck, and put his hand on top of Finn's. "It's okay, not to know. I'm not freaking out. We're okay. Because – I think I'm growing. I'm figuring out who I am, now, just like you are. I still need what you gave me, but I still have Kurt, and Adam, and they're taking care of me. And I think I'm learning how to give somebody that, too."

"You did," said Kurt, stroking his face. "You gave it to me, once. It was just what I needed."

"Yeah," Puck nodded. "Exactly. I can do that. Even if it's not what you need from me, all the time. Or you." He nudged Finn. "I think it's something I could be, with - with somebody."

Kurt guessed he knew who Puck was thinking about. The curly-haired boy at the club. He squeezed Puck's arm. "I guess we're different, each of us, with each person we love. Who you are with us, and who you are with Adam... and Daphne and Nicole and Alex, right?"

"Mmm." Puck nodded contemplatively. He stretched his own legs out and rested his head on Finn's chest. Finn looked a little startled, but his arm came down around Puck's back, and it was, in that moment, as though they'd never been apart. "Alex told me not to call him sir anymore. He said I'd given that to someone else."

"Adam," Finn murmured, but Puck shook his head.

"No, man. I call him Adam." He shivered. "It's enough, trust me. But - no, Alex said... even if you're figuring things out - in a place of healing, he said - that maybe someday you might want that from me again." Then he laughed. "Dude. We totally called it. You, needing your Top."

Finn was startled. "Really?"

"Yeah. Alex described Carl to a T: someone who can handle it if you fall apart, who isn't afraid to be firm. Someone you trust." He glanced up at Finn, resting his chin on Finn's chest. "Someone like you were with me."

"Were," Finn said.

Puck shrugged. "Maybe someday again. It's okay. We were different before the sex, too, right? I didn't love you any less then, though. We'll be different now, but -"

"All right," he said softly, and turned his head and kissed Puck, cutting him off. Puck grinned, surprised, but clearly delighted, and kissed him back. Kurt smiled at them, feeling like his face might break with the force of it.

"I can't even tell you how happy this is making me," he said, and Finn laughed. "Now - would you do one more thing for me?"

"I think somebody didn't get off yet tonight," Puck said, gazing at Kurt across Finn's chest with a wicked leer. Kurt huffed.

"Not that. I mean, okay, yes, I didn't, and we can figure that out. But that's not what I meant." He picked up each of their phones and put them into their hands. "This is me, doing what I can to help. Call them. It's late and they're going to be worried about you."

Finn turned red, turning the phone over in his hands, but Puck leaned over and planted a kiss on Kurt's face before opening his phone and dialing Adam's number. Kurt picked up his mug of milk and sipped it, trying not to feel anxious.

"Isn't this kind of weird?" Finn murmured to Kurt. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Get over it, Finn," he snapped. "Come on. Don't make me call him myself."

"Dude," he protested, clutching the phone to his chest, but then Puck caught his breath, squeezing tight to Finn's fingers, and they fell silent.

"Hey, Adam," murmured Puck. He smiled with such obvious pleasure and relief, Kurt had to smile, too. Noah, naked and happy, on my couch, holding Finn's hand. Weird or not, it doesn't get much better than that.

He reached out and brushed Kurt's face with his fingers, chuckling into the phone. "You'll never guess where I am right now."

Kurt stirred against Finn's chest and heard music. "Turn off the alarm, would you?" Finn mumbled, pulling him closer.

"Not the alarm, Hudson," rumbled Puck's voice, low and gravely. Kurt sat up, rubbing his eyes and squinting into the light filtering through the curtains. Puck was sitting with his guitar on his lap, perched on the edge of the bed, smiling at the two of them, strumming quietly.

"Kind of early for a serenade, isn't it, sweetheart?" Kurt said, but he smiled back.

"Yeah, I know." He chuckled as Finn rolled over and propped himself up on his elbows, hair askew. "But there's no better time for this song."

Good morning, I love you
Now that you're here where you belong
I want to be the man you need
Just tell me you love me
Because I need to hear it, too
Just let me be the one you carry deep inside of you.

Neil Diamond comes through for Puck yet again.

As If: http:/ www. youtube .com/watch?v=d8vNA-2poTg
Can Anybody Hear Me: http:/ www. youtube .com/watch?v=f87Qj_xcl6k
If I Lost My Way: http:/ www. youtube .com/watch?v=HdCw_oUtlPU
Deep Inside of You: http:/ www. youtube .com/watch?v=wA0Hp5Hs3T8