A/N: I'm so sorry it took me this long! This chapter is a lot shorter than the previous ones, but I will try to write more and sooner for the next update! As always, thank you for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 9 - Need You

I want you to want me.
I need you to need me.
I'd love you to love me.

Once Kurt was home, he tried to put every thought of Puck out of his mind. What he had told Sam was the truth and while he couldn't know for sure in the future whether he would get back together with Puck or not, he was sure that in that moment he wasn't going to.

Puck had been cruel with him, and a song and coming out to the glee club wasn't going to be enough to get back together, even though there was a part of his mind reminding him that Puck had told him that he loved him with that song.

However, it was enough to show that he cared, and Kurt could learn how to be selfless for his kid. If Puck was willing to be there, he wasn't going to deny his son the chance to grow up with both parents, even if one of said parents hadn't wanted to believe that the baby was his; and that was what had hurt the most, more than slushies and dumpster dives.

Instead of going down to his bedroom and sleeping for a while, Kurt decided to start working on dinner because Carole usually worked late and because it would keep his mind occupied. He was thankful that Finn was sleeping over at Mike's that night so he wouldn't have to answer to his questions at least for another day. Whatever he was going to tell Finn, was going to be a lie, a lie he was telling for Puck, and he couldn't stand the idea of lying to his future step-brother, not when he knew how hurt Finn was going to be once the truth came out.

"What the hell was that?"

The first person to ask was Mercedes while Puck was still staring at the door where Rachel had just walked out of.

Finn frowned and when he spoke, he sounded both angry and disappointed. "Dude, I asked you if you liked Kurt and you told me no."

"So you're gay for Hummel now?"

At Santana's question, Puck turned around, looking at everyone in the room before focusing on Finn. "I like him and I had to apologize, that's what the song was about." He walked over to his chair and picked up his bag.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Mercedes. "I want to know what is going on. First Kurt sings with you, and then Sam storms out and Kurt and Rachel go after him. What the hell is going on?"

Puck sighed, turning around, without raising his gaze from the floor. "This is really complicated."

Mercedes snorted. "Of course it is. You're his bully."

"I stopped." Puck clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes. "And this really isn't any of your business." He looked over at Finn who was standing awkwardly near the door, his brow furrowed and looking confused. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth." He slid his backpack on and then walked out of the choir room ignoring Mr. Schue calling after him.

He felt as if things could actually work out because Kurt had listened to the song, had sang with him, and the way he had smiled at the end, made Puck believe that he didn't screw everything up, not yet anyway. He just wanted to find Kurt and talk to him, ask him if what he had done was enough, if he could have another chance.

He frowned when he remembered that Kurt had left to go after Sam. Kurt had promised that there was nothing between them, but the doubt was still there because he still wasn't used at trusting people. He headed towards the school entrance and stopped when he saw Sam coming back inside.

"Where is Kurt?" he asked right away.

Sam looked up from the floor and when his eyes met Puck's they were cold and full of anger. He quickly walked up to Puck, grabbing his shirt and slamming him against the lockers.

"You don't deserve him," Sam hissed.

Puck pushed him back, hard, feeling the resentment he had towards the blond surging inside him. "You have to back off."

Sam closed his hands into tight fists ready to hit Puck despite knowing that in a fight, he would be the one who would end up losing. "Why should I?"

"Because that's my kid he's carrying and he is not going to be with you."

And that hit way too close to home. Sam pulled his arm back and hit Puck square on the mouth sending him staggering into the lockers behind him. "He's not going to come back to you."

Puck spat the blood down on the floor and had to stop himself from hitting back. He didn't want to be that guy anymore, he was afraid that fighting back would mean that Kurt would change his mind and not let him be a father.

He pulled himself away from the lockers feeling something trickling down his neck. He touched the back of his head with his hand and saw blood on his fingers. He frowned and looked up at Sam. "We'll see about that," he said, before turning around to leave.

"He said he's going to let you be there for him," Sam called out to him. Puck stilled and glanced back at him from over his shoulder. "He said he doesn't want to have you as a boyfriend."

"Whatever you think you're doing, back the fuck off, because if there's one thing my old man taught me, is that you have to be there if you want your kid to be someone. So I'm going to be there and Kurt will forgive me because he loves me, not you." What he was never going to say to anyone, was that despite what he did or what he said, he needed Kurt to need him, he needed someone to make him feel like he was worth. It was when he had started realizing how much he wanted Kurt to love him, that he had started to pull back. The fear of finding out that even to Kurt he was just an easy lay, was something that kept him from getting too close, even when Kurt had told him to love him. And now he had to believe that it wasn't going to be too late, that his fear hadn't cost him everything he could have.

He didn't wait for an answer or to get hit again before he left the school.

He was getting inside the pick-up when his phone rang. When he checked the caller ID, he saw that it was Finn. He debated whether he should answer or not for a few moments before deciding that he had to listen at least to Finn.

"Hey," he said, picking up.

"So you like him, right?" Finn asked right away.

"Yes. I should have told you, but we're dudes and we don't talk about..."

"Stop," Finn said, cutting him off. "Remember when you paid for those things? I knew you cared so cut the shit with me, alright? I told you I was going to be okay with it."

"Yeah, about that..." The words were stuck in his throat. If he told Finn the truth, he would find himself alone and even though he knew that the right thing to do was being honest, he wasn't ready for that yet. He couldn't even start to think about what would happen the next day at school when he saw everyone from glee again. "Thank you," he ended up saying.

"Don't mention it." Finn sighed heavily. "You're going to have to face some hard stuff now."

"I know." Puck laughed humorlessly. "It's going to be worse than with you and Sam because I kept bulling people. They will see it like some sort of ammunition and..."

"But remember when we had to choose between Glee and football and you chose glee?" Finn cut him off again.

"Yeah."

"You chose what you wanted, you were braver than me. You can do it, dude. Kurt is totally worth it."

Puck nodded leaning his forehead against the steering wheel. He was feeling a head ache coming. "Thanks, dude."

"So, it looked like Kurt was into you too. Are you going to ask him out or something?"

'We're past that, now,' he thought. "I'll have to talk to him."

"Of course. Everyone's freaking out by the way and Rachel called me and said that she took Kurt home. You can come around if you want. Speak in a safe place or something. But if you want me to be there, then you will have to come tomorrow because I'm sleeping over at Mike's tonight."

"Yeah, I'll think about it." Puck leaned back letting his head rest against the seat. He hissed when his wound came in contact with the headrest. "Look, Finn, I have to go now, okay?"

"Sure. Later, dude."

Puck ended the call and started the pick-up. He wondered if what Sam had said was the truth. He thought back about Kurt's words when he had thanked him for the money and for buying those things for him at Christmas. He was pretty sure that getting to be there for his kid wasn't going to mean getting back with Kurt too. A part of his mind told him that it was better that way, that being a parent at seventeen was hard enough without having a relationship that had started for all the wrong reasons.

He had to shake his head a few times when a wave of dizziness hit him.

"A concussion, just what I needed." He would have to talk to his mother now and she will just call him a delinquent and say that things would never change.

Kurt blinked his eyes a few times when he heard the sound of the window being opened. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was able to make out the figure walking towards his bed. He pulled himself up on his elbows and sighed.

"What are you doing here?" His voice sounded hoarse from the sleep.

"I know it's late," Puck said and even in the darkness, Kurt could see him running a hand over his mohawk and then heard him hiss. He frowned but didn't say anything.

Puck sighed heavily and walked closer to the bed. Of all the thoughts running wild through his head, he found himself saying, "You didn't lock the window." At the moment, he felt like it was the most important thing. It felt like Kurt hadn't given up on him completely.

Kurt took a deep breath and pulled himself up. He shifted closer to the edge of the bed and sat Indian-style. "I forgot to lock it," he said, even though it was a lie and he knew that Puck would understand. The truth was that locking that window felt like writing an ending to what they had and he wasn't ready for that, not yet. "Why are you here?"

Puck sat down on the floor, leaning back against the bed, his knees bent. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against his knees but he didn't say anything.

Kurt shifted closer, his hand reaching out for a moment, the desire to run his hand through Puck's mohawk to calm him down was almost unbearable, but at the last moment, he closed his hand into a fist and lowered it. "They didn't get it… did they?"

"Nope. I thought only Finn wouldn't pick up on what I meant, but it turns out, the others are just as dumb." He sighed and laughed. "They thought I was just declaring my love for you and apologizing for throwing you into dumpsters or shoving you into lockers."

Kurt bit down on his lower lip and couldn't stop himself from getting a little bit closer. "Why did you do it?"

"I thought it was pretty clear."

"Do you want to be there for the baby?"

Puck shrugged. "That too."

"Puck..."

"You know about my father, Kurt. I should have trusted you but..." Puck trailed off and Kurt wondered on what he was holding back, why he couldn't just be honest. They were standing in Kurt's bedroom, in the darkness, completely alone. "I want to help you and be there. For both of you," he added after a moment.

Kurt lay back on the bed, curled on his side so his eyes could remain focused on Puck's form. His knees were almost touching Puck's back but it felt like they were miles apart in that moment. Puck was back at being closed off like every time they had sex and right afterward, he would pull back on his clothes and leave.

"Okay," Kurt said quietly, and he was almost surprised at how detached he sounded.

"Thank you." Puck turned around a little so he could look at Kurt. He put his elbow on the mattress and tried to find Kurt's face in the dim light of the room. "I..."

"But I'm not included," Kurt cut him off. He interrupted Puck from saying anything else because part of him was afraid he was going to ask Kurt to go back together and because another part was afraid he wouldn't. "You can be there for the baby and be a father, but I'm not included."

Puck looked down, took a deep breath and clenched the sheets in his hand. It was something he was expecting after all. "Okay." His voice shaky.

"What happened to your head?" Kurt asked quietly after long moments of silence.

"Nothing."

"Puck..."

"I got in a fight with Sam, after you left."

Kurt raised both his eyebrows in surprise. "He hit you?"

Puck snorted. "I'm surprised that you didn't ask me if I started it." He said quietly.

"He was upset when I left." Kurt kept his eyes shut and he could feel Puck's gaze on him, could feel the boy standing so close that it wouldn't take them much to touch each other. "It's not hard to figure it out."

"I didn't hit him back."

"Okay," Kurt said quietly and he believed him, he truly did. It felt like the only right thing to say in that moment. He waited a few minutes before asking, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Puck nodded. "I hit my head against the lockers. I had to talk with my mom and of course she thought that it was my fault, but she checked me over and said I didn't need to go to the hospital."

"I'm glad." Kurt opened his eyes and looked at Puck, found him staring at him. "I didn't really think you would do it. Coming out I mean."

"I know."

"And you're here now. You sneaked in even though you knew dad and Carole are still up." Kurt smiled, closing his eyes again but without turning away from Puck. It felt nice talking with Puck, he couldn't remember ever spending so much time just talking.

Puck shrugged, diverting his gaze. "I wanted to talk to you before you had enough time to think that I wasn't honest or something."

"Are you going to tell Finn?" Kurt asked tentatively. "Because I'm not going to tell him, it wouldn't be right."

"Not yet," Puck answered honestly. That was going to be hard.

They didn't say anything after that. They listened to the sound of Burt and Carole moving around upstairs, the TV being turned off, the voices growing distant. Kurt felt relaxed in that moment, as if the mere thought of Puck being there helped him a little, even though it still hurt.

He felt fingers gently brush against his forehead, he felt the heat radiating off of Puck's body getting closer. Then Puck's lips were leaving a kiss on his forehead and Kurt almost reached out to grab Puck's shirt to keep him close, but just as suddenly as the touch had come, it was gone.

"Good night, Kurt." He heard Puck walking away and the window being opened and shut.

Kurt buried his face in the pillow and squeezed his eyes shut against the ache in his heart.

The wheels of the little red car were tickling his belly but Kurt couldn't bring himself to be annoyed or ask him to stop. Puck was making all the noises a car would and just kept going up and down his round stomach. Kurt moved the book he was reading aside a little so he could look down at Puck. A smile made its way on his face. "What are you doing?"

"Playing with my son."

Kurt laughed. "What if he doesn't like cars? Maybe he'd like it best if you read to him."

"I have my Harry Potter's books at home. Next time you come over, we will read to him." Puck looked up at Kurt and let the car fall down on the bed. He pulled himself up on his hands and looked down at Kurt, the way his eyes were shining, the way he was smiling. He brought up one hand and caressed Kurt's cheek. He smiled before leaning down to bring their lips together...

Puck's eyes shot open and he laid there on his bad alone, staring up at the ceiling while the last image of his dream was still in front of his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stay in that perfect moment a little while longer but then he heard knocking on his bedroom door right before his mom started calling for him to wake up for school.

He was sure in that moment that no matter how hard it was going to be, he was going to make it work.