Playing with Fire

By the time school got out on Monday, Kurt and Puck's prom photos were developed and available for pick-up along with a CD of the files. Kurt grabbed the package, taking them out and flipping through them all with a smile as he walked to Glee club rehearsal.

"What are you smiling at?" Tina asked suspiciously as Kurt made his way to the back of the choir room.

Kurt looked up, almost startled to see other people, as he was lost in his own world. "Oh, nothing," he said after a moment, "Just the pictures Noah and I took at the photo booth at prom. They're really cute." Once he sat down, he passed the pile to Tina who looked at them with Rachel while Mercedes looked over at Kurt.

"How are you doing, Kurt?" She asked with concern. "You disappeared from the party before I even woke up and didn't text me. How did your dad take the whole…thing?"

Kurt was vaguely aware that Tina and Rachel had stopped talking over the photos and were looking his way. In fact, a few other people seemed to be paying attention now, and Kurt just raised an eyebrow at Mercedes. "You mean my dad who didn't even want me back at this school? The one who threatened to burn down the place if I didn't get a chance to audition for a solo? Yeah…he did not take the whole thing well." Kurt took back his photos and shrugged. "I managed to calm him down, though, with some help from Carole, and I think I'm going to put my scepter and crown on the trophy case he made me when my mom first got pregnant…it's a bit, well, empty."

He shrugged again, not wanting to relive the moment he had told his dad how prom went. Kurt was genuinely afraid that he'd work himself into another heart attack, but, even more so, he was worried his dad would make him leave McKinley. While, yes, he never would've been crowned Prom Queen at Dalton as a joke, he also wouldn't be around his friends. And after spending the whole school day with people looking at him with a mix of awe and pride, Kurt actually felt better than ever, as strange as it sounded.

"My dad did calm down after I said that Noah was the King, so that's something," Kurt added, looking back down at his photos as a few of the Glee club members around him made eye contact at that. Kurt smiled at the picture on top, one of him kissing Noah's cheek. "And at least this adds some stuff to the never-ending scrapbook of our lives. We needed formal pictures for that soon, anyways; it has too many random field trip and costume pictures. We really don't even need the proof that we've dressed as Harry and Ron for almost every Harry Potter movie premiere so far—which reminds me that I have some edits to make to Noah's costume before the last one comes out."

Kurt looked up from his pictures just in time to see Noah walk through the choir room door. "Speak of the devil," he said with a smile, sitting up a bit more in his seat as Mercedes moved over to whisper something in Tina's ear. Part of Kurt wanted to get up and greet Noah like he normally would, just prance over and give him a hug and show him the photos.

But another part of him was too aware of how everyone was waiting to see how they acted. While no one was staring, he could see even Santana looking up covertly from her conversation with Quinn to see them. After all, it was the first time the two of them had been in front of them since the kiss. Maybe he should've just acted normally, but their normal was, Kurt was all too aware, very…couple-y. He just didn't need for the entirety of New Directions to think he and Noah were anything more than friends just because they had shared one or two amazing kisses while Kurt was drunk off his ass.

Maybe he was over thinking it. Kurt knew he probably was because who ever thought that much about whether they would greet a friend with a hug or not? But Kurt just gestured for Noah to sit next to him and smiled until his friend was by him.

"I got our prom photos!" Kurt said excitedly once Noah had taken off his backpack and slung it under his seat. "They're really great. And JBI has a video of the dance, so we might be able to get some pictures from that, too!" Kurt continued to smile as he gave Noah the photos, though he was well aware himself that he was being careful not to touch Noah's hand and that his cheerful tone was slightly forced.

Noah took the photos with a nod as Mike turned to them. "I wanted to say that you guys did a really good job with such an iconic dance number," he said. Kurt beamed at the praise, even as Mike added, "I mean, obviously you guys aren't professionals, but you really have chemistry. That's what you really need for that, you know?"

"Definitely," Kurt said. "And that lift especially. That whole thing is more about trust than it is dancing ability. Well, at least for me. I'm sure Noah would argue that it took a lot of bench presses for his part."

Noah had been staring at a candid photo of the two of them laughing together when Kurt said that. When he remained silent for a few more moments, Kurt finally said, "Or maybe he won't."

Noah's head finally snapped up and, after looking at Mike's raised eyebrows and Kurt's slightly concerned expression, he just scoffed. "Kurt, you don't weigh, like, anything. Trust me, that lift was nothing for me." Kurt just laughed a bit and rolled his eyes before turning back to Mike to talk about the dance training they had and how they'd learned the dance.

As Kurt explained that it was really years' worth of effort, Puck continued to look through the photos. But with each passing picture, he was really wishing he wasn't. All of the pictures were perfect, like looking at a couple doing an engagement photo shoot kind of perfect, and it made his heart thump loudly in his chest. On top of that, each picture just made him feel dumber and dumber for not realizing how he truly felt about Kurt sooner. The way he looked at Kurt on film made it so obvious. Everyone had to know then, didn't they?

Noah looked up around the room. Mercedes, Tina, and Rachel were all whispering intently about something, and he never knew Rachel to be the whispering type. Finn, Artie, and Sam were also in some sort of deep discussion, which was even weirder. He saw Santana, Quinn, and Lauren of all people discussing something as well, and he swear he saw Quinn look right at him before going back to their discussion. And Mike seemed to have an amused smile on his face as Kurt talked about how the two of them had spent hours finding tutorials online and re-watching multiple scenes from Dirty Dancing to get it perfect. The only person who didn't seem to have something very interesting to talk about was Brittany, who was twirling her hair around her finger and looking at Puck with some vague interest.

I'm just being paranoid, Noah told himself. Nationals were coming up, after all, and people were definitely just discussing that. Mike was probably just amused that it took them that long to learn a dance since he seemed to learn even the most complex moves in that matter of seconds. And Brittany…well, Brittany just liked to stare. It probably didn't mean anything.

But when the lesson finally started, Puck still couldn't shake the feeling that everyone knew. It didn't help that he and Kurt both stayed glued to their seats, no hand holding or lap sitting or anything. And when Jesse St. James made a cruelly accurate joke about Finn's dancing skills and Puck finally relaxed into a laugh, Puck made himself stop before he collapsed onto Kurt's shoulder from barely contained giggles. The idea of touching Kurt like that…it just felt like too much. And he swore the smirk that St. Douche was wearing was directed at him for a second.

—

A few days after Jesse and Mr. Schue announced soloist auditions, Kurt was raring to go. He couldn't wait for them to see his amazing rendition of "Some People", a solo he thought deserved a showcase. He was happily thinking about that as he switched out books at his locker. With a smile, he looked up at the photo that had replaced Blaine's in his locker. The photo was one of the many prom photos, one with Kurt on Noah's back; both boys were cracking up and looked truly happy.

If anything, that picture served as a reminder that they were always going to be Kurt and Noah, which, honestly, he needed at the moment. While they weren't fighting by any means, there was something awkward about the two of them that they both were doing their best to avoid talking about. Their movements seemed robotic and thought out instead of the natural touches they used to use, their smiles a bit too big to be real and their words stilted.

Kurt had been worried that the kiss would do that. But they were Kurt and Noah! They once spent six months not talking and then made up in less than an hour! Surely the awkwardness—that was mostly perpetuated by Noah, if Kurt was honest, and the fact that he felt like everyone was staring at the two of them for some reason—would fade back to normal soon enough. He was sure of it.

After one last look at the picture of the two of them, Kurt closed his locker, only to jump at the sight of JBI standing there.

"I got the pictures for you from the dance video," he explained in his usual nasally voice, holding up a disc.

Kurt grabbed the disc from Jacob Ben Israel and offered the kid a rare smile. "Hey, thanks. I'm excited to see how they turned out."

"Yeah, the whole recording's on there, too," Jacob added as he gestured for his cameraman to focus in on Kurt.

Kurt smiled at the disc before looking up at the camera. He frowned when he saw the red light flashing and asked, "Why are you filming this?"

"You know the whole school seems to love that video. It's the highest viewed video we have," Jacob said.

Kurt took that to be his explanation. "Well, we are pretty good at the dance," he conceded. "I guess it makes sense that they like it." He adjusted his bag on his shoulder and asked, "Is there anything else you want, Jacob?" His last time on camera for JBI ended up with him being publicly slushied; he wasn't too keen on being filmed again.

"Can you tell us when you and Noah Puckerman finally got together?" Jacob suddenly asked, pushing his microphone into Kurt's face.

"What are you talking about?" Kurt asked, his eyebrows together.

"You know, when did Noah turn gay for you? We figured it would happen at some point but he was dating Lauren. Was he cheating on her with you?"

Kurt's mouth opened in shock. After a moment he finally collected himself and put on his haughty exterior. "Noah and I are friends. Best friends. And just because we were pranked by some low lives who have nothing better to do than make fun of me for being gay and Noah for being my friend doesn't mean we're together. Got it?" With that, Kurt stormed off, hoping that the video wouldn't even be posted. That was something he and Noah really didn't need at the moment.

—

"You ready?" Noah asked Kurt as his friend paced around the choir room. Jesse St. James and Schuester were holding auditions for a soloist opportunity at Nationals, and Kurt's audition was coming up right away.

Kurt nodded in his direction and Noah lifted his arms slightly before putting them back down. "You're going to do great, Kurt, don't worry about it." Normally he would've said that with a big hug and a tight squeeze, but as Kurt continued to hum a warm up in preparation, Noah just sat down on the piano bench and watched. He couldn't help but realize how adorable Kurt looked right then and how his outfit perfectly accented his body and how smooth his skin looked…Noah just kept watching, his stomach flipping as Kurt smiled at him before running through the words of his song under his breath.

It was funny, though, because of all the things Noah had to be thinking of lately, he didn't expect to be reminded about the second Harry Potter movie. But there he was, looking at Kurt preparing for his audition while his mind thought back to that November.

A few years before that movie, Kurt had more or less dragged Puck into the Harry Potter story. After months of Kurt talking about magic and dragons and, finally, some sport played on broomsticks, Puck gave in and joined Kurt for Kate Hummel's readings of the books. Kurt would listen with wide eyes, occasionally the tip of his thumb ending up in his mouth (something Kurt would vehemently deny ever happened), and Puck would keep shifting in his seat, unable to keep still as the plots unfolded. All three of them would discuss the books with much enthusiasm as they read, Kate never minding the fact that she was discussing children's books with eight year olds. In fact, she made costumes for all three of them for the first movie release, taking them to the movie theater as soon as school got out that day. Kurt was made into a little Harry, even messing his hair up and letting his mom use some lip liner to draw a scar on his forehead. Kate, at her own insistence, went in standard witch garb. Puck was, of course, meant to be Ron, since he was always going to be Kurt's best friend in any dress up situation they came up with, even if his curly hair remained brown and not red. After seeing the movie, Kate even made some costume adjustments as Kurt watched her sewing machine with rapt attention, Puck eagerly acting out his favorite parts.

Of course, months later, Kate received a diagnosis that made Kurt relate too much to Harry Potter. She fell sick with ovarian cancer and, despite all the treatments she received, Kate died just a few weeks before Kurt turned nine. His mother was now just a memory, and even then Kurt was sure that she would be a distant memory by the time he was in high school.

Noah's year wasn't much better. Kurt's mom was like a second mother to him, so seeing her go was already bad enough. But when both boys were finally starting to recover from Kate's death several months later, Noah had to watch his dad leave. Elijah had never been a good dad, but it still stung. It didn't help that both boys did their best to try to replace their lost parental figures. Kurt started to clean and started to learn to cook while Noah started to do small jobs around the neighborhood, doing all he could to bring some money to the family.

By the time Chamber of Secrets was out in theaters, neither of them felt nearly as excited to see it as they had about its predecessor. In fact, they almost didn't go. They didn't see it until Thanksgiving weekend. Puck's Nana, Ruth, came in town to help both families with the holiday, their first of many Thanksgivings spent together as a combined family unit. That was already enough to perk up both boys; visits from Ruth were always the best, since she brought toys and candy and amazing stories that made both of them laugh until their stomachs ached.

Both boys helped Mae and Ruth in the kitchen as Burt taught the youngest Puckerman about football by showing her the game in the living room of the Hummel house. In between peeling potatoes and taste testing everything, both Kurt and Noah felt better than they had in months. So when the dinner ended and Ruth asked if there was any movie they wanted to see, Kurt and Noah turned to each other then turned back to Ruth to say, "Harry Potter!"

The movie got Kurt and Noah back into the excitement of their favorite book. The two eagerly recited dialogue and talked about the special effects in the back of Ruth's car, Mae and Burt having opted to stay home with a napping Sara, until they ran out of scenes to talk about. Finally, Kurt looked up at Ruth and asked, "What did you think?"

She smiled and said, "I think I'll have to give those books a read. The movie was pretty good and books are almost always better than the movie." Kurt and Puck eagerly nodded in agreement. After a moment, Ruth added, "So, those friends of his, Ron and Hermione…do they get together?"

Kurt instantly brightened more as Puck's eyebrows pressed together. "They haven't yet, but mom and I always thought they would!" Kurt said in a rushed, breathless voice he seemed to always have whenever anything romantic was brought up.

"What do you mean?" Puck asked. He never got why his friend got so excited about romance to begin with and he definitely never saw anything romantic in those books so far past Harry liking Cho. How could he even be bothered to think about it when there were dragons and evil wizards and epic magical duels?

"You're such a Ron," Kurt said with a bit of a smirk though his voice was affectionate. He turned back to Ruth and said, "Only four of the books have come out so far, but it seems very obvious! In the fourth book there's a ball and everything! And Ron gets so jealous that Hermione goes with someone else! He tries to say it's because it's Harry's enemy but Harry's not mad at all! And in the third one, Ron's the only one who notices Hermione is taking overlapping classes! And they basically act like parents around Harry and fight like an old married couple—mom always said that!"

Puck did have to take a moment to smile at the fact that it was the first time since Mama Kate's death that Kurt didn't look ready to cry at the mention of his mom.

"What made you think that from this movie?" Kurt asked Ruth after a moment.

Ruth turned into their neighborhood and smiled wisely. "There's just some things you can tell when you get to my age. It was the handshake they had at the end of the movie." Before Noah could even ask what she meant, she explained, "Sometimes, when you care about someone like that, it's hard to touch them or even be around them. She could hug Harry because they're friends. But Ron…she couldn't just hug him. It's something you'll get when you're older, but when you fall in love, it can be awkward to be around them like that. And sometimes when you like someone so much, touching them can feel like a burn."

Back then, Kurt had sighed dreamily and Puck had wrinkled his nose at the idea. It didn't make sense to him, nothing about that whole conversation did. But now it all did. Now Puck, who had been Kurt's Ron for every single movie and book premiere, with a red wig eventually included, understood what his grandmother had said all too well.

Somehow, over the years, Kurt had become his Hermione; Kurt was the person who looked out for him, the person he couldn't stand to see anyone else with, the person who he always tried to make laugh. And when he forced himself to give Kurt a hug before his soloist audition (he definitely understood where Ron was coming from because he totally wanted to give him a handshake at that moment), Puck jumped away quickly.

Maybe Kurt didn't feel it, but to Puck, it felt like he had been burnt from his touch. And if he held him any longer, he didn't know if he'd survive the flames.

—

Kurt had felt amazing about his audition. He thought he rocked it pretty damn hard, in fact. But then Jesse had to point out that he had big shoes to fill. So? Rachel still had to beat Barbra in her songs and while she was talented, she was no Barbra Streisand. And Jesse was great at the previous year's Regionals from what he heard, but he was still no Freddie Mercury. Who did he think he was?

But then Jesse had to add, "Plus, I believe I remember someone breaking a vow about not drinking this past weekend. I'm not sure I can take your dedication seriously if you're willing to drink mere weeks before your show choir competition."

Kurt's jaw tensed as Will's opened. "Kurt? Is this true?"

Kurt looked over at his teacher, his eyebrow raised, and then back at Jesse. "Yes. It's true. But I wasn't the only one and I did not throw up and I never signed any waiver or vow since I was at Dalton at the time."

"So you should get a pass because you switched schools?"

"Are you of all people criticizing me for transferring schools, Jesse?" Kurt asked coldly. He smirked at Jesse's silence and let himself off stage.

Only one thing was clear: Jesse St. James was totally Jesse St. Sucks.

—

Finn was never the most observant person, at least not when it came to feelings. Both Rachel and Quinn had yelled at him about stuff like that, because he would take people at their word a lot of the time. If Quinn said she was okay, Finn assumed she was, and then she'd start yelling at him for not finding out what was wrong. What was up with that?

So, no, Finn was not great with emotions, both talking about them and noticing them in others. Still, even he knew something was bugging Kurt basically since the after prom party. Finn had a good idea what it was—he was never going to get the image of his stepbrother basically trying to hump his best friend in Rachel's basement—but he didn't ask. He wasn't good at this stuff, so he'd leave it to Kurt or their parents or Puck or someone who wasn't him.

But when Kurt eventually asked to excuse himself at dinner days after the event, barely picking at what he had in front of him anyways, Finn finally figured he should at least try to talk to him. You know, it's what big brothers do.

After carefully heating up some milk in the microwave, Finn knocked on Kurt's door. Kurt answered and Finn gave him his signature half-smile and offered him one of the glasses. When Kurt took it with a small smile of his own and invited Finn in, he knew he had done well.

"I've noticed you've been a little…depressed lately," Finn said after they had made some small pleasantries. Kurt looked away and Finn hesitated before asking, "…Is it about prom? Or the after party?"

Kurt's head snapped back. "Why do you think that?"

Finn rubbed the back of his neck. Kurt seemed upset about that. God, he was not good at this. "I don't know…I know I wasn't there when you were elected and all but…I don't know. You looked upset in the video. You know, until the dancing started." Kurt relaxed at that, which was good, because Finn didn't want to have to bring up how Kurt and Puck had both been acting so unlike themselves. He didn't really want to interfere with their relationship, especially since he didn't seem to know what his relationships were anymore.

"That was definitely…not fun, no. I'm not too upset anymore, though; I mean, if it had to be anyone, at least it was Noah and not you or Dave or…" Kurt shook his head and looked down at his drink. Of course, part of why he was upset was how his whole friendship seemed out of sorts, but he didn't want to talk about that. Well, he wanted to talk about that, but he wasn't ready to talk about it; he needed to think about it more and figure out his own emotions before he talked to someone about it.

Of course, his other reason was a bit more personal, but Kurt realized that Finn could understand it. Kurt took a sip of his milk and then looked back up. "We're getting close to Mother's Day…and her death day. And hearing about Coach Sylvester's sister just…it's kind of brought it all back." Kurt's eyes went back to his drink.

"Oh." Finn sat down at Kurt's vanity chair and looked down at his feet. "Yeah…I get that."

"I just wish I could help her," Kurt said quietly. "She helped me when my dad was in the hospital," Finn felt his stomach churn in guilt at the memory, "And I can't imagine going through what she did alone. At least I had my dad."

Finn nodded. "I don't remember my dad, but at least I always had my mom." She was the one who attempted to teach him to drive, who taught him how to ride a bike and read…his mom was great. The idea of having to have a family member die like Coach Sylvester was a rough one. She was rude, but she definitely didn't deserve that.

After a few moments of silence, Finn looked back up at Kurt. "Why don't we help her?" Kurt looked at him in confusion. "We can plan a funeral for her so she doesn't have to do it alone. We can get the whole Glee club to help, too."

Slowly, Kurt started to smile. Finn smiled back; maybe he wasn't as bad at this emotions thing as he thought.

—

Kurt knew it was dumb to plan a funeral when they only had a week to their competition. But he also knew that losing a family member was hard, the hardest thing someone could ever go through, and he didn't want his old coach to go through it alone.

It also turned into a really great project he bonded over with Finn. While everyone in the club helped, they were the two that helped make the arrangements and invited guests and chose the song and themes. In between all the planning, the two talked about what they would've done for their own parents' funerals if they had the opportunity. Kurt talked about how afraid he was earlier in the school year that he'd have to plan his dad's funeral. It was actually nice to just talk to Finn, and not just because he and Noah were still a bit weird; it was just nice to talk to Finn as a brother.

But what was even better was helping Sue. Somehow he managed not to completely sob as she struggled through her speech and let Mr. Schue take over. Somehow he made it through the song the Glee club prepared for it. But as soon as he left the church to go to the grave, his eyes started to well up.

Once the crowd cleared some, Kurt walked towards a still familiar path, a flower he had bought earlier in his hand. It took a little while but he finally found what he was looking for:

Here Lies Katherine Elizabeth Hummel

Loving Wife, Teacher, and Mother

Kurt looked at the headstone for a small while as his eyes teared up. He sniffed quietly and suddenly there was an arm around his shoulders. Kurt immediately turned into the familiar touch and buried his head into Noah's shoulder.

And just like that, all of the discomfort between the two of them disappeared. Kurt melted into Noah's touch and turned completely into his arms. Noah's hand ran up and down his back soothingly as he rested his head on Kurt's, the grave all too close. Eventually Kurt and Noah put the flower down together. Then Noah grabbed Kurt's hand like he did that first time all those years ago, and Kurt couldn't help but smile as he grabbed it in return.

—

"I can't believe that we're leaving for New York tomorrow and we only have one song ready. And after all those auditions, we don't even have soloists," Kurt complained as he stuffed yet another pair of shoes into his rolling bag.

"I can't believe that we have to be at school at six in the morning and you still haven't packed," Noah said dryly. It was already eleven at night and, night owl or not, Kurt was normally the one who was packed and prepped before him and nagging about needing to sleep.

Such a Hermione, Noah thought.

Kurt rolled his eyes at his friend. "I know, I know. But it's New York. I have to have all my outfits perfected for this trip."

"It's a city, Kurt. It can't really judge you, you know."

Kurt gave Noah an unamused look, which just made him chuckle. Honestly, Kurt looked really cute when he did that. And pretty hot, too, if he was being honest. "You're lucky I'm letting you stay the night so you can get a ride," Kurt muttered.

"You're lucky I'm not already trying to sleep," Noah said bluntly. He was actually already in his pajamas, his travel bag full of T-shirts and jeans and his performing outfit over by Kurt's computer.

Kurt sighed and said, "I just need to pack my moisturizers. Honestly, this whole eight ounce of liquid system or whatever is simply barbaric." He continued to rant as he carefully wrapped his moisturizers in plastic sandwich bags and placed them in his check bag. "This would be a lot easier if I could just stick them into my carry on luggage."

"Yeah, but somehow you can apparently make a bomb out of…" Noah grabbed one of Kurt's creams and read the label, "…Pond's Cold Cream?" He looked up at Kurt with a raised eyebrow. "Dude, my nana uses this stuff."

Kurt yanked it away with a frown. "Sometimes the vintage stuff works the best." He sniffed and Noah just laughed again before getting back to his side of the bed (while trying not to think about how it was his side of the bed because he shouldn't have a side of his best friend's bed, right?).

After about five more minutes of packing, Kurt finally declared himself done. He carefully laid out his traveling/first day in New York outfit on his vanity's chair and crawled into bed next to Noah.

"Okay, the alarm is set for five. That should be enough time to get dressed and get to school by six. Finn and I also made sure to agree to make sure the other was up by 5:15, so we should be all clear," Kurt said. Noah nodded and got under the covers. Then Kurt turned off the lights and whispered, "Goodnight, Noah. Love you."

Noah took his usual position behind Kurt and gently rested his hand on Kurt's side. After a moment he said, "Love you, too, Kurt."

He knew he was playing with fire with those words, those words that held a deeper level than Kurt even knew. But as Noah relaxed around Kurt's body, his body consumed by Kurt's flame, he knew it was all worth it to be around Kurt.

A/N: Sorry for the slow update! I was trying to combine this with the next chapter, but it just didn't work well with the flow of the story. The good news is that the next chapter should be up a lot sooner since I only have a few more scenes to write! It's a biggie! Let me know what you think. Also, I wanted to say thank you for the reviews and the hits and the favorites and everything. It means more than I can say.

Another note: I originally planned on the events of the next chapter, then another chapter, and an epilogue. Now I might stick in one or more chapters to touch on their lives together; we'll see how much I want to cover. I also might change one of my endgames (not Puckurt, obviously), but I promise that everyone in this story gets a happily ever after, since that's what I'm all about!

Love,
xLessxThanx3x