Okay - Next installment is up!
This chapter has a lot more Puck/Kurt than previous couple of chapters.
Still a lot of fluff, just a tad amount of angst.
This has turned out longer than I originally thought, but don't despair, the good stuff I know you are all waiting for will start in the next chapter!
Still un-beta'd so please forgive me if I've missed some errors.
Disclaimer - I don't own Glee or it's characters, I'm just borrowing them for my own personal amusement!
Puck escorted Sarah to the living room, where simultaneously the pairs' jaws dropped to the carpet.
Puck marvelled at not only the effort Kurt had put in, but in such a short space of time too. Kurt had slightly pushed back the lounge and recliners and moved the coffee table to sit beside a recliner that looked more like a throne at the moment.
He'd draped what looked like a royal blue sheet over the chair and tucked the ends under it. At the feet, he'd placed a pillow covered in the same material. A red length of fabric had been laid out leading to the 'throne', and dotted along the edges were about a dozen LED candles, lit up so it looked like runway. On the coffee table, placed on another blue covered cushion was a tiara. Beside that he'd placed blue feather boa and three vanilla scented lit candles and a small jar of some unknown substance.
On the opposite end, Kurt had set up a flip cam on a tripod, recording the entire production. Kurt himself sat on the throne wearing the blue robe as well as what looked like a faux fur white stole, and perched atop his head was another tiara. Soft classical music was playing from his I-Pod dock conveniently placed within his arms reach on the coffee table but hidden behind the cushion for the tiara.
A barely perceptible raised eyebrow from Kurt was enough for Puck to pull himself together. Looking down at the complete awe on his little sister's face, he gently closed her gaping mouth and turned her head to look at him.
"Are you ready?"
After a small shaky nod from the girl, Puck stood up tall and sedately walked her down the length of fabric to the 'Princess' waiting at the other end. He couldn't help but hope that one day he'd be able to do this for her again as she walked down the aisle for her wedding. Once they reached the other end, Kurt requested that 'Miss Sarah' please kneel on the cushion. A quick eye flick told Puck that he should stand at Kurt's side, opposite to the coffee table. Turning to look down at Sarah's nervous but excited face, he settled in to watch. Kurt turned the music down even further and spoke in a clear strong voice.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have gathered here today for an auspicious occasion. Miss Sarah Puckerman, a girl of notable nobility, is prepared to enter the realm as an official knighthood. Her conscience being clear and her heart being pure, it is my honour and royal right as Princess Kurt Elizabeth Hummel to induct her as 'Lady'."
Here Kurt stood up before the girl with big brown eyes, and removed a fairy wand from his robe.
"Miss Sarah, do you promise to uphold the honour of Lady-ness?"
Sarah nodded meekly, Kurt grinned and lent down to whisper in her ear. He stood back up and repeated the question.
"Yes, I promise to do your Princessness."
At this Puck let out a small chuckle. Kurt sent a quick grin in his direction before returning to his 'duties'. He raised the wand and gently tapped it against each of Sarah's shoulders in official knighting gesture.
"Then I, Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, pronounce you, Sarah Puckerman, as first lady of Lima, Ohio."
Tucking the wand away again, Kurt picked up the feather boa and draped it around her shoulders, tucking the ends into the crook of her elbows so it wouldn't fall off. Then with great ceremony, he placed the tiara on top her head. Picking up the jar and whispering a quick 'close your eyes sweetie' Kurt sprinkled what appeared to shimmer powder across her head. Putting the jar back down, Kurt faced the young girl and said in serious tone –
"Now rise, Lady Sarah."
Turning the music back up as Sarah stood shakily; Kurt swooped down and planted a kiss on each cheek, and indicated Puck to do the same. Leading the applause the pair watched as Sarah sunk into a deep curtsy.
"Thank you so much Princess Kurt!"
"You are very welcome Lady Sarah," he smiled warmly to her. Turning to Puck he asked "Would you be so kind as to escort Lady Sarah to her celebration dinner?"
Puck offered his arm to Sarah and then mentally shrugged and offered his other arm to Kurt.
"Why thank you kind Sir." Kurt smiled.
Leading the two royals back to the dining room, Puck first pulled out a chair for Sarah and helped her up.
"My, my good Sir, you seem to have out done yourself with this fine spread."
Puck bowed his head, mainly to hide yet another blush, and then pulled out a chair for Kurt.
"It is I who should be saying that to you Princess." Kurt sat down, and for the first time during their encounter, he blushed.
Their late lunch or early dinner was a highly pleasant affair. Sarah couldn't stop gushing about the tiara and feather boa, both of which Kurt informed her were gifts celebrating her knighting. The young girl chatted so much that it was a wonder that she was able to take in any food at all. It was as Puck brought out the whipped cream for their plates of berries when Sarah when all the excitement seemed to catch up with her and she let out a huge yawn.
"I think," Kurt began with a smile for the tired girl, "that after dessert, we should set you up with a Disney movie?" to which Sarah nodded. "Which one would you like to see, I have just about all of them I think" Kurt added.
"Sleeping Beauty" came the immediate response. "Oh, No-No, do you have Kurt's drawing?"
Puck nodded and handed over the drawing to Kurt, who took it and looked at it with great interest.
"I'm guessing Sleeping Beauty is your favourite" Kurt said to the girl, handing over the drawing Puck's questioning look.
"No, Little Mermaid is, she always liked the idea of swimming under the sea like them" he filled in for Sarah, who at this time was starting nod off at the table.
Looking at the picture, Puck saw that Sarah had coloured in a picture of Princess Aurora, but had titled the drawing 'Princess Kurt'.
"Well, I love it Lady Sarah, thank you very much. I'm going to put it up beside my bed so it's the first thing I see every morning."
"Why Sleeping Beauty Squirt?" asked Puck, momentarily forgetting the Lady.
"Because that's who Kurt was when I got here," Sarah responded plainly, as though that explained everything.
Puck chuckled and with a glance at the clock telling him it was after 5, he looked to Kurt "Do you mind if she has a quick wash up here and gets into PJ's while she watches the movie and I clean up?"
"Of course not, I think on this special day, Lady Sarah would probably like a bubble bath, am I right?" Kurt asked Sarah.
Perking up at the mention of bubble bath, Sarah nodded enthusiastically.
"Okay, Noah, if you could just move the furniture back in the living room, I'll get Lady Sarah's bath run and then I'll come down to finish it."
Kurt led Sarah to the bathroom, stopping to grab her bag with her pyjamas. Running the bath, Kurt added some of his favourite lily scented bubble bath. Testing the water, he gently removed her tiara and feather boa (both of which she had refused to remove earlier) and promised he would keep them safe. Leaving her to enjoy her bath, Kurt returned to the living room and help Puck finish moving the furniture and pack up the remnants of the ceremony earlier.
Puck retrieved Sarah from the bath while Kurt set up the movie and laid a blanked and pillow out ready on the couch. Closing the drapes to block out the afternoon sun, Kurt turned to find Puck carrying Sarah over to the couch, practically asleep already. Covering her up, Kurt started the movie and the both of them retreated to the dining room.
"You know, you really didn't have to do all that today" Puck spoke breaking the silence.
"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to" Kurt responded simply.
"What was the camera for?"
"Your mother, I'm sure that Sarah would love to show her." Picking up the glasses Kurt looked up at Puck. "My mother and I used to do those sorts of things together all the time" he added.
"How did she die?" Puck asked softly.
"Cancer. It was pretty aggressive, even though I didn't understand at the time, it happened really quickly. I was 8" he added.
"Kurt, I'm – I'm really sorry."
Kurt merely smiled in response, "She used to do all sorts of crazy things for me, award shows for when I was going to be a big star – that's what the red sheet was for," he explained. "Once, we all even dressed up as characters from Wizard of Oz. It was hilarious to see her wrapping my Dad in tinfoil as Tin Man" Chuckled Kurt, "She was the scarecrow, she'd wear a big floppy hat and a pair of my Dad's work overalls, she even went out and brought hay just so she could stuff it into her clothes!"
"Who were you?"
Kurt looked down and mumbled "Dorothy – I just really like her shoes, I was only 4." Kurt added defensively at Puck's chuckle.
"No! I'm not laughing at you like that! I can just see it, you know, you in the dress with a stuffed dog and a pair of red glittery high heels that were far to big"
Kurt smiled and then let out a soft giggle "apparently I was quite a sight" admitted Kurt.
The pair continued to work in silence for a few minutes as they cleared the table. Carrying the dishes into the kitchen, Kurt stood at the sink and began to rinse them as Puck loaded them into the dishwasher.
"Thank you" Kurt spoke suddenly.
"For what?"
"For, well, for everything" Kurt smiled at the mohawked teen. "Thank you for helping me today, when, well you-know. Thank you for staying and looking after me and cooking all this food, and well, yeah. Just, thank you."
"You're welcome" Puck blushed. "See," he added with a hip bump to Kurt and a cheeky grin, "I told you that you didn't know anything about me."
Kurt laughed softly, "True, apparently I don't."
Feeling the need to come clean, Puck rubbed his hand over his mohawk as he coughed un-comfortably. "I, uh, I saw your library, it's really, wow."
Kurt looked to Puck quizzically, "I hope you don't mind. But the room was just so beautiful, I – I've never seen anything quite like it. So, I went in, I didn't touch anything" he added hastily.
"It's okay, it's was my mother's favourite room. She said she always wanted an old style library. It was her hobby. She'd even drawn up plans on how she wanted to look. She started before she got sick, and over the years, my Dad and I finished it."
Puck looked slightly horrified at the knowledge that he'd invaded his dead mothers' room. Opening his mouth to apologise again, but Kurt cut him off.
"It's really okay Puck, we keep it open to people, because that's what she would have wanted, it's not meant to be a museum" he added with a smile, "come on, I'll take you in there."
Puck followed Kurt silently as he went into the room, pausing on the threshold, he watched Kurt throw open the French Doors.
"It's my favourite place to be" he admitted. "I always feel closest to her here, well apart from her dresser."
At Puck's confused look he elaborated with a small smile "She spilt a bottle of her perfume in her dresser one day. To this day, if you open up the drawers, you can still smell it, smell her."
Not knowing what to say to that, Puck pointed over the trophy case. "I, uh, I saw your awards. I never knew you were a qualified mechanic."
Kurt merely nodded, "My Dad taught me, it is one of the few things we have in common." Gesturing to the photo Puck had drooled over earlier, "that car, that was the first car that I completely re-built myself" he added proudly.
"It really was a piece of shit at first. I convinced my Dad to buy it for me for my 13th birthday. Convinced him to look upon it as an investment, that and I think he saw the potential for us to bond over."
Opening up one of the file cabinets hidden under the desk, Kurt pulled out a photo of the car when he first got it and showed Puck. Kurt was right; it really did look like a piece of shit. More rust than paint, you wouldn't believe it was the same car, thought Puck.
"It took me two years to finish it. I've been working in my Dad's shop for as long as I can remember. He started paying me after I got the car so that I could save up to fix it up."
"Where is it now?"
"I sold it." Kurt laughed, "for quite a profit too I might add!"
"Why! Why would you get rid of a car as beautiful as that?"
"I put the money into my college fund" Kurt stated simply.
Puck could understand that, everyone knew that Kurt wanted to get the hell out of Lima, who wouldn't? Puck certainly did. But he had no doubt in his mind that Kurt would succeed, whereas he would probably be a Lima Loser for the rest of his life. Seeing that Kurt had moved away, he stepped up beside him, looking into a locked glass section of a bookcase.
"They're first editions" Explained Kurt. "It was a dream of hers to have a whole library full of first editions."
Puck let out a loan whistle, "You have a first edition of Huckleberry Finn!"
"Yeah, that one was really hard to track down and even harder to try and buy!" Kurt explained, "but, it was one of my mother's favourites."
"You have first editions of the Harry Potter books?" Puck looked bemusedly at Kurt.
Kurt nodded, "Almost all of them, we are still trying to get a Philosophers Stone (1). It was my favourite book as a kid, and every night, she would read to me. The last three books were easy to get, but the first; it seems that no-one wants to part with that."
Puck was about to ask why the last three were so easy to get when he remembered that they had released the first edition at the same time. Puck's own copies of the three were first editions. Trying to change the subject, Puck asked when his Dad would be getting home.
"Not till Monday night, he's away on a fishing trip with my Uncle."
"Shit, really? Now I'm really glad I didn't leave you!"
Kurt raised an eyebrow at Puck's exclamation and Puck felt the all too familiar heat flood his cheeks. "I just meant that it would be really bad to wake up alone after a panic attack, especially because you'd never had one before."
Kurt simply nodded in response. "So, what would you like to do now?" he asked.
With a glance at the clock Puck responded "Well, my Ma will finish her shift soon, if I don't call her, she will come back here to check on you. So I should probably get Sarah home, she want to spend ages talking to Ma about that video from earlier today. So she shouldn't get back too late otherwise she won't sleep tonight."
"You're Mum works a lot doesn't she?" Kurt asked innocently.
"Yeah, I try to take on what I can, but, she still works a lot since my Dad skipped out."
"I'm sorry" Kurt said sincerely, "I only asked because, well, I thought it might be nice for your Mum to have a break. You and Sarah can stay here the night and let your Mum have a rest after work, you know?"
"I think that she would like to be able to do that, but all Sarah's meds are over at home, because of her asthma she has to sleep on special pillows and stuff."
"Oh, okay, well, I just thought I'd offer, you've done so much for me today" Kurt replied with a smile. "But, I hope your mother still comes over, I'd like to meet her."
"Well, she should finish in about half an hour, so as long as nothing happens, she should be here in about an hour."
"That's settled then, would you like a drink?"
"Bit late to be playing host now isn't it Hummel?" Puck asked with a laugh.
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Mischievous Gleek