Chapter Two

oOo

Summary: Will the proud music teacher eventually find love with the beautiful kindergarten teacher or will he forever come second to the football coach? This isn't very M but, to be safe, I'll leave it at that.

A/N: Thank you, guys, for your kind reviews, favourites, etc. – and some of those PMs were quite interesting. I'll try to update regularly but you know RL doesn't take any prisoners. Keep reviewing and letting me know what you all think.

Disclaimer: None of these characters belongs to me except for any OCs found wandering. I own nothing save for this computer.


Noah stared across the field at Finn Hudson, the man who'd been the closest thing to a best friend in high school. He was football coach now at McKinley High and Noah watched his overly tall figure march in front of a line of wannabe football players. He chuckled to himself as he remembered the tryouts and training sessions that had taken up so much of his life back then. He'd been a fairly good player himself but Finn had been the quarterback.

Finn had been a popular student because he'd been the quarterback, even though he had not been the sharpest tool in the shed. Still, he had been a likeable enough guy, certainly more approachable than he, Puck, had been. His Puck persona had been a badass, skirt-chasing, class-skipping doofus and along with the mohawk he'd sported back then, his smoking hot body had been the cynosure of McKinley High students.

He cringed inwardly when he thought back on his high school days and thanked God fervently that he had left all that behind when he surprised everyone by getting into college. Now he watched Finn and wondered how much his erstwhile best friend had changed. Everyone changed after high school, he pondered, even Quinn who had turned out to have a heart after all. They could never have made their relationship work; after all, she'd been Finn's girlfriend when he, Puck, had impregnated her. Still, by the end of their senior year, after all the drama of giving up Beth, trying to hook up with his baby's new mom and finally almost missing out on graduation, he'd come to his senses and made his peace with Quinn.

Noah looked up as his name was called, shouted actually by Finn who was grinning widely at him as he jogged over. Noah got up, brushing the dust of the bleachers off of his trousers and came down the steps to be grabbed and hugged by Finn.

"Hey, man, it's good to see you and not just hear you!" Finn's open features were the same despite the very faint evidence of lines by his eyes Noah figured were from constantly squinting at his players out in the sunlight. He nodded as he slapped Finn on the back, genuinely happy to see the other despite certain feelings lurking uninvited in the back of his mind.

"Yeah, well it's surprisingly good to be back here and see that things haven't completely changed." Noah grinned at the puzzled look on Finn's face, an expression that was definitely familiar. "I mean, McKinley hasn't seemed to change in all these years."

Finn's face relaxed into a wide smile as he nodded. "Oh, yeah! You know Coach Sylvester is still scaring the crap out of kids, right?"

They laughed as they started walking back to the gymnasium, Finn calling out every now and then to straggling players to go ahead and hit the showers. Noah chuckled as he listened to how authoritative Finn sounded and then he thought of something.

"Uhm, you know I enrolled Judith in Kindergarten and …" he paused, wondering how to say the rest. He was interrupted by Finn, however, who paused and looked at him.

"Oh, so you saw Kurt then, right? Yeah, the kids over there love him, I hear." He grinned proudly as if he personally had something to do with Kurt's popularity. Noah gritted his teeth, leftover jealousy threatening to rear its ugly head just like in the old days.

He nodded. "Yeah, I saw him and Judith fell in love with him immediately." He chuckled a little stiffly. "He looks good; still like a model or something."

Finn nodded vigorously as they started walking again. "I hope your kid settles in okay; Kurt will be good for her. Y'know, I was kinda surprised he was so good with kids but maybe I shouldn't have been, I guess."

Noah looked at him enquiringly and Finn shrugged. "Well, he is kinda girly in some ways so maybe the kids sorta pick up on that. He's the most popular teacher over there; he's got all sorts of artwork and craftwork that the kids always make for him at Christmas and Valentine's Day." He chuckled and bumped Noah with his shoulder. "If little kids can have crushes, most of them have crushes on my brother!"

They walked in silence as they headed into the huge concrete, glass and steel building that was McKinley High. The very scent of the building had him seeing memories along every hallway, out the corner of his eye and disappearing through random doorways. His shoulders tightened a bit but he forced himself to relax. The past is the past, Puckerman, he berated himself, and the future has been so much better.

Finn glanced down at Puck, noticing how much quieter, more serious his longtime friend seemed. Of course, they had kept somewhat in touch over the years but they hadn't been bosom buddies in a long, long time. He knew the basics of Puck's life – the headache that was his ex-wife, the whole going to court to get custody of Judith drama – but they never spoke of emotions, feelings, hopes or dreams. In the old days, Puck would have declared that stuff too gay. Now, he just seemed to be keeping all that inside and Finn knew from his wife's many rants that that wasn't the way to live.

Rachel was a music teacher these days, a pretty well-known one here in Lima because she'd actually trained in New York, at NYADA. She'd decided that Broadway was too cutthroat for her and, like Kurt, had found herself returning to the roost, so to speak. She'd opened a studio where she trained kids of all ages in voice. She did play the piano but her first and last love would always be the voice. Every year she put on a concert that featured her most promising students and, of course, herself. Her pleas to Kurt to perform at the shows had always fallen on deaf ears but she never gave up, Finn chuckled to himself as he and Puck headed to the staff room.

McKinley still had some of their former teachers on staff but there was a whole slew of new ones as well, Puck being the latest addition. Principal Figgins was still around but now Sue Sylvester was his vice principal and the man seemed as browbeaten as ever. When the Board had approved the hiring of a full-time music teacher, she had been heard to comment that anyone would be better than Will Schuester, the Spanish teacher who had run their glee club for years. Finn had been glad that Puck was coming back; it somehow felt right that former students should be on staff at the school.

"So, are you nervous about your first day?" Finn grinned at Puck not unkindly, watching the darker man shrug nonchalantly. He thought it was funny that McKinley's former badass should be here now, probably a little antsy about meeting his old principal and teachers. He had been nervous, too, back when he'd come on staff as assistant to the football coach, Shannon Bieste but she had welcomed him and smoothed the way for him and he would always be grateful for her help. Of course, he'd been shit-scared of the infamous cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester and the equally ferocious swim coach, Roz Washington, so having Bieste – who was built like a tank – on his side had definitely kept his testicles from constantly hiding up in his body cavity. Now he slapped Puck on the shoulder, pushed the staff room door open and ushered him inside.

Noah had tensed unconsciously as they approached the door and when Finn pushed it open, he honestly hadn't known what to expect. He'd built the moment up so much in his mind that he had fully expected at least two dozen hostile pairs of eyes to be staring at him as he entered the room. The reality was that only three pairs of eyes looked up when they entered; everyone else was either busy or too bored to pay them any mind and he found himself relaxing.

"Well, Puckerman, you actually look like you belong in a school now!"

The voice was the same, the tone was the same and goddammit the face was exactly the same. Puck fleetingly thought of Dorian Gray as he stared at Sue Sylvester, wincing at the volume but he hauled on a polite smile as he nodded at the old 'terrorizer'.

"Hi, Coach Sylvester, I'm glad you think so." Noah knew that he couldn't show fear in this woman's presence or she would make his life here a living hell. Now he stared straight at her, all politeness and professionalism and he was rewarded as he saw her thin lips pull up into a smirk.

"You always had huge brass ones, Puckerman; I'll give you that. Welcome to William McKinley High, again."

Noah didn't know if it was his imagination but the whole room seemed to exhale and he did, too. Surprisingly Sue had stuck her hand out and he grasped it firmly, squeezing only slightly, just as she did. She nodded once, let go of his hand and turned her attention to Finn.

"Coach Hudson, I take it we have some promising ones for the team this year?"

Finn didn't even stutter as he proceeded to sound off quite enthusiastically on the new crop of players and Noah tuned them out briefly. He refocused when Sue's laser-like eyes returned to him and he followed as she crooked her finger at him. They headed out through another door and along a very short passage before stepping into the principal's office.

"Mr. Puckerman, it is good to see you again, to have you join us. Sit down, sit down!" Principal Figgins gushed happily as he shook hands with Noah before they all sat. One would never have realised that Puck had been the bane of this man's existence with his constant trouble-making, fighting, tossing kids into the school's huge dumpsters or giving them toilet swirlies. Noah grinned at the man's obvious pleasure in having him here and replied that it was good to be back.

Sue snorted as she curled her lip at him before opining: "You say that now, I give you one week before you're throwing chalk at the morons."

Noah cringed slightly at that last word, genuinely hating its use and he ignored her to tell Figgins: "Honestly, sir, I'm looking forward to seeing what the kids here can do musically. I thought we did pretty well back in my senior year, getting the show choir trophy and all. I'd like to duplicate that win by the end of my first year."

Figgins beamed at him, saying he loved his spirit and they chatted for a bit about the curriculum, Sue adding nothing of value as she tried to shoot down his ideas without much success. Noah figured it was pretty much ingrained in her to be an ass so he didn't take it personally.

Principal Figgins wrapped up the mini meeting by asking about his daughter and if she'd settled in well over at Lima Pre-School and Kindergarten. "I hear Mr. Hummel has been Teacher of the Year several years running over there. She'll be in good hands, believe me."

Noah nodded bemusedly, not having heard about Kurt's accolades before but he was glad for him. He knew Kurt had thought his life would be in New York and, specifically, on Broadway but if his dreams had to change, then he was glad he was excelling in his current choice.

"Yeah, she seemed pretty happy when I left her there. Kurt seems suited to dealing with kids, as far as I can see." He smiled softly as he recalled Judith's opening comment to Kurt.

Once again Sue snorted before lobbing her final shot: "Of course, all kids love fairies, don't they? I think 'Ladyface' was tailor-made for the job of wiping their snotty little noses."

"Sue!" Figgins glared at the unconcerned woman who rose, nodded at Noah and stalked out of the office, allowing the door to bang closed behind her. Figgins stared after her, frowning and shaking his head. "Between the both of us, I'll be happy when she retires."

Noah grinned although he was fuming inside. It had been years since he'd heard a direct slur against gays and he was furious now with this woman who ought to know better. He'd always heard her many nicknames for Kurt and actually 'Ladyface' was one of her kinder ones. Come to think of it, he'd always had the impression back when they were all here that she'd had a soft spot for Kurt. Well, maybe she was simply stewing in her own venom at her age, he thought unkindly.

Finally, he took his leave of the principal and headed back to the staff room where Finn was sitting by himself at a table near one of the floor-to-ceiling windows. He pulled out a chair and sank into it, relaxing as he gazed around the near-empty room. His first class wouldn't be until third period so he could gather his mental resources before heading out. He turned to Finn now and cleared his throat, jerking the other man out of what appeared to be a daydream.

"So, although we've talked off and on, you haven't told me what's up with Kurt?" He said this as casually as possible, hoping that one of Finn's random moments of acute perception wouldn't make an appearance.

The taller man frowned slightly, his head tilting as he thought back to the last time he and Puck had spoken. "Oh, yeah, that's true. Well, uhm, let's see…" he murmured and then he brightened and sat up, leaning forward confidentially. "Oh, did I tell you he dated Dave Karofsky for a while?"

Noah felt his mouth falling open stupidly. "Wh-what, Karofsky - who used to bully him? You're fucking kidding me, dude!"

Finn grinned hugely, happy that he'd shocked his laid-back friend. "Uh-huh, for about six months or so, some years back. It was after he broke up with Blaine; I think they met up in New York or something."

Noah stared at him, trying unsuccessfully to picture the slender, delicate singer with the hulking hockey player. He knew that stuff had gone down after Karofsky had tried to commit suicide but – dating? Damn, he just couldn't see them as a couple.

"Yeah, it shocked everyone, especially Burt. You can imagine how he lit into Kurt when he came home after that first semester in New York. To be honest, though, Kurt seemed fairly happy with Karofsky. Anyhow, I don't know what happened but I don't think Kurt was in love with him."

Something else occurred to Noah and he bit his lip, quickly clearing the frown on his face before asking: "So, what's up with him now. Is he dating? There can't be many out gay guys hot enough for him in Lima."

He could have kicked himself when he saw the speculative gleam rise in Finn's eyes and he groaned silently as the now-inevitable question came. Finn stared at him before asking softly, "Why all the questions about Kurt, dude?"

Noah had temporarily forgotten that Finn could be very protective of his stepbrother and he smiled reassuringly as he waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, nothing, he's Judith's teacher, that's all. I just wanted to catch up on the old group."

Finn stared at him before finally relaxing. "Kurt's a great teacher. He doesn't date much; as you said there aren't many out gay guys – hot or otherwise – in this town. He just seems to spend a lot of time doing stuff for the kids, hanging out with Rachel and me or with Burt and mom when they visit." He shrugged. "There's not a whole lot to do here as you'll remember. By the way, how's your sister?"

So they sat and caught up while Noah waited for the bell to indicate third period, chuckling softly every now and then at Finn's stories and venturing a few anecdotes about Judith's attempts to be a fashionista.

Finally, he escaped and made his way to the choir room, making his way along the familiar corridors again. His mind was still swirling at what Finn had said and as he approached the choir room door, he took a deep breath, forcing his private thoughts into the background so he could concentrate.

Kurt and Karofsky – damn! That was one subject that he would not be going near when they met up for coffee later in the week. His wayward mind reminded him of the other topic that was a no-go but Noah found he desperately needed to find out: did Kurt still have feelings for Finn?

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oOo

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The end of the day couldn't come fast enough for Kurt and he smiled tightly at the mess the kids were helping him to clear up. They were just being themselves, happy, bright and carefree but ever since Marcy's comment that morning, he'd been on edge.

Of course, Noah wasn't gay; that was a ridiculous thing to say!

He had stared at her, flabbergasted and dismayed although it was a comment he'd heard people say quite erroneously over the years. All the hot guys were definitely NOT gay; he knew that from experience, unfortunately. To think that Noah Puckerman, former sex shark of McKinley High was gay was preposterous. He had told her exactly that in a voice he'd belatedly realised was an octave higher than his usual tones but he'd been genuinely surprised by her.

To say he'd been distracted the whole day would be an understatement and the worst part was that he couldn't say why that was so. Certainly he'd always found Noah Puckerman, Puck, attractive in a forbidden kind of way but who in their right minds would ever think he batted for Kurt's team? Clearly Marcy had got her signals crossed, he'd told himself.

He'd even asked her what gave her such a wrong impression but she'd simply rolled her eyes at him and left to help one of the children. Kurt had huffed, pouting a bit before realising how childish he must look and attempted to put the whole thing out of his mind. Yeah, riiiight.

Now the day was coming to a close and the object of his thoughts was soon to appear to pick up his daughter. He found that he was a little nervous as the clock ticked loudly, the second hand moving a lot faster than it should, in his opinion. He moved to help with the mess the kids had made and pulled open several of the drawers in which they stored their toys.

"Uhm, hi, is Judith ready?" The husky voice came from almost directly behind him and Kurt, who had been kneeling before one of the drawers, gasped and looked up, straight into Noah's dark eyes. He felt his cheeks warming as he let out a nervous little giggle before getting to his feet. He took a moment to dust non-existent dirt from the knees of his trousers and compose himself before straightening up.

"Oh, hi, Noah, uhm, yes, Judith should be… oh, here she is!" His demeanour immediately morphed into one of pleasant politeness as the little girl hopped over to him. "I see we're still bunnies, huh?" He smiled sweetly down at her and chuckled as she nodded.

"Daddy, daddy, I got to be a bunny today!" Her high piping voice made both men chuckle and Noah brushed her unruly curls back into some semblance of order.

"That's great, sweetheart, but where's your ribbon?" He'd been surprised that she'd wanted to wear a ribbon in her hair but it was the first day of school. He guessed she wanted to look her best but now there was no ribbon in her tousled hair.

Kurt's gaze roved around the classroom and then he let out a soft "Ah!" before moving over to one of the little chairs. The ribbon was on the seat, almost hidden because the chair was pushed up close to its matching desk. "Here we are; come here, sweetie, let me do that up for you."

Kurt planted his butt on the edge of the little table and Judith hopped over to him, grinning as she turned around so he could re-tie the ribbon.

Noah watched them and just like that he blurted out: "Do you want to come for dinner tonight?"

Kurt's big blue-green eyes widened as he looked up from Judith's hair. His pink lips parted and Noah stifled a groan as he licked them but just as Kurt was about to answer, Judith did.

"Yes, yes, say you'll come. Pleeeeeease!" She turned her head to give Kurt big puppy eyes and Kurt, glancing from father to daughter slowly nodded.

Kurt was aware of Marcy on the other side of the room no doubt listening in as she helped the kids on with their hoodies and tiny backpacks. Dear lord, he was not going to hear the end of it the next day, he knew it.

Noah smiled at him, his dark eyes sparkling and Judith spun around clapping her hands before dashing off to Marcy to get her own hoodie and backpack. Noah stepped closer to Kurt and shrugged apologetically. "Look, I realise I sorta sprang this on you but I really would like to just… chat… and catch up. Coffee is okay but I'm starving right now."

Kurt pressed his lips together, trying to stifle his smile but he gave up and grinned at the other man. "To be honest, I'm starving too. Where do you want to go; I somehow don't think you meant you're cooking, right?"

Noah nodded, smiling and relieved before asking, "Is Breadstix still open here? They haven't bulldozed it for a McDonald's or Burger King, have they?"

Kurt chuckled as he straightened up from the desk. "No, no, they haven't. It's still where a lot of folks here hang out. You sure you want to be seen with me, though?"

Noah frowned. Although Kurt had said it in a breezy voice, Noah could swear he'd heard undertones of bitterness. Surely Kurt wasn't still carrying around a chip on his shoulder from the old days?

"What, can't two old schoolmates catch up over a meal? I didn't think Lima was that 'dark ages' still." He tried to make a joke of it and he relaxed when he saw a tiny smile edge onto those soft lips. Damn, he needed to stop thinking stuff like that.

"Yeah, okay, but I have some stuff to wrap up here – won't take me 15 minutes." Kurt stared around the room at some of the toys and equipment still lying about.

"Hey, why don't I give Mr. Puckerman – and Judith – the grand tour while you finish up?" Marcy's chirpy, overly-bright voice intruded on them and Kurt turned to her with a thin smile.

"That's kind of you, Marcy," he turned back to Noah with his eyebrows raised in enquiry. "You don't mind a bit of a walkabout, do you?"

Noah grinned, shaking his head no and looked at Marcy kindly. "Thanks, I'd appreciate the tour." He took one of Judith's hands and Marcy grabbed the other happily and they headed out the door. Noah, however, took one last quick look back at Kurt, admiring the way those trousers stretched across his ass as he bent to take up some toys.

"Mr. Puckerman?" He was jerked out of his thoughts as he turned to see Marcy watching him curiously. He smiled at her in apology, turning on his 'Puck' persona and watched as she flushed. Oh yeah, he still had it, he congratulated himself, strolling along with that sexy swagger that had had teenagers and grown women spreading for him.

Marcy, watching him breathlessly from beneath her lashes, smiled inwardly. Kurt was right; Noah Puckerman couldn't possibly be gay.

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TBC