Chapter Twenty-Four

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? Rated M.

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


Daria Strando pulled in to a vacant spot in the parking lot of the school and yelled at her son to get his backpack and get out of the car. She pulled down the visor with its lighted mirror to survey her makeup and tweaked some hair into place. She'd had her hair and nails done the day before and knew she looked hot this morning.

Her eyes caught movement up ahead and she saw Noah Puckerman and his kid walking into the school building with that fag, Kurt Hummel. She yelled at Mario to get his stuff together and she pushed her door open violently, such was the hurry she was in to catch up to the two men.

She glared at her son who struggled with keeping up with her much longer strides but by the time they got to the door, Puck was out of sight, presumably heading to the kid's classroom. She took the time to glance down at herself to make sure everything was in its place and looking good. She'd chosen to wear an obviously expensive cropped fur jacket over a skintight white top and painfully tight white jeans. The absurdly high heels of her shoes made clip-clopping sounds as she almost jogged along the corridor to Mario's classroom. She was banking on meeting Puck at the front doors of the school after he dropped off his kid.

Noah walked with Kurt and Judith towards the classroom but Kurt detoured to the staffroom, saying he had some supplies to pick up. Noah smiled at his fiancé, enjoying the color that the crisp morning air had brought to Kurt's face. What was better, though, was the happy sparkle in those beautiful blue-green eyes, a sparkle that he knew he was responsible for.

He had decided just that morning that he would treat himself and Judith to Kurt's presence. So, he turned up at the Hummel residence unannounced, surprising Kurt once again when he'd stepped out of his front door. The look of pleasure that had burst over Kurt's face when he saw them waiting outside made Judith laugh aloud, triggering Noah's own laughter.

Kurt had greeted the little girl with a big hug, complimenting her on her cute cherry-red hooded coat and then he'd turned to Noah. Despite Judith's fake moaning about 'they're kissing again', Kurt greeted Noah the way he hoped they would every day. Their good morning kiss was a little heated but just as his body started to respond, he remembered the neighbors. It didn't do to be kissing handsome men outside your house that early in the morning, oh, no!

They chuckled when they separated, Noah ruffling his daughter's hair as she buckled up and when Kurt was ready, they backed out of the driveway and headed to school. The conversation was, of course, about the plans for the wedding and the fact that Kurt had a scheduled phone call with Carole that evening. Noah was still holding out for a Christmas wedding but Kurt simply smiled, shook his head and changed the topic to the venue of the wedding.

There were a couple of hotels in Columbus that he had been checking out on the Internet. It went without saying that they would not be getting married in a church and as to the officiator, Kurt didn't care who did it as long as he married Noah. They bickered amicably all the way to the school and as they were a little bit early, Noah decided to walk Judith to her classroom.

Now, after handing her over to a smiling Marcy whose eyes twinkled far too knowingly when she waved at Noah, he headed to the staff room for one last kiss before he had to head to his school. He hummed to himself as he got there and then waved to the stragglers who were gathering up their things as well. Kurt was over by one of the large cupboards and he looked up when Noah entered, his face flushing a bit.

Noah swaggered past the long staff room tables, aware that at least a couple of the older women were eyeing him a bit predatorily. Hey, he didn't mind; they could look but not touch. He closed in on Kurt who had straightened up with a wary expression on his face as he took in Noah's approach.

"Hey, beautiful, have you seen my fiancé around," Noah purred as he invaded Kurt's personal space.

Kurt giggled, rolled his eyes but responded, "I can't say I have. What does he look like?" Sometimes the kid in Noah surfaced at the oddest moments and though Kurt liked to pretend he wasn't charmed by it, he wasn't fooling Noah one little bit.

Noah slid his hands onto Kurt's tantalizing hips, marveling again at how sexy Kurt's body was and pulled him even closer. "Oh, let's see; he's about five foot ten," he grinned at Kurt's little glare and amended, "okay, five eleven; satisfied?"

Kurt pretended to pout but he couldn't hold it; grinning, he nodded and Noah continued with the game, the staff room emptying out behind them. "Okay, where was I? Oh yes, he's kinda skinny – but really, really hot!"

Kurt's eyes widened at that and then color washed the top of his cheekbones, making Noah chuckle.

"He has the most delicious skin – all pale and creamy and lickable," and he smirked at the little whimper he was sure Kurt wasn't aware he'd released. "His lips are so delicious I can hardly resist wanting to kiss them when he's talking at me…"

"Hey!" Kurt's voice went a little higher in mock outrage but just as he pouted Noah planted a swift kiss on his lips.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about – irresistible. Mmmm," he licked his own lips as if savoring the taste of Kurt's, "and then finally, last but definitely not least, he has the most beautiful eyes I can ever remember seeing. They make me want to write songs to them, you know."

Kurt stared at him wide-eyed and flushed, a tiny pulse fluttering at the base of his long neck. Wow, Noah was practically seducing him in the staff room of the kindergarten!

He cleared his throat and tried to put a little space between him and Noah but realized his back was to the cupboards and he stopped.

Noah watched him for a little and then lowered his head slowly, letting Kurt know that he was going to kiss him and there was no getting away. He sighed into the kiss as Kurt opened to him, feeling his lover's hands go around his shoulders and reveling in the feeling of his long, slender body against his.

They were lost in the kiss, oblivious to where they were and they only knew that their world had narrowed down to just them – Noah and Kurt.

Eventually Noah raised his head, smiling at the slightly dazed look on Kurt's face and then cleared his throat. "So, have you seen anyone like that around?"

Kurt stared at him in confusion and Noah felt a little thrill of triumph for putting him in that state. Kurt shook his head and then chuckled. "Oh, wow, your fiancé is one lucky guy; I hope he appreciates you."

Noah's eyes grew a little serious and he stared into Kurt's. "I think I'm the lucky one because my guy is the best."

They stood staring at each other until there was the sound of a throat being cleared. Startled, both men looked towards the door without moving away from each other.

Daria Strando glared at the scene she'd interrupted. It was obvious from the slut's face that Noah had been kissing him. His face was flushed and his lips looked slightly puffy and the sight of him made her blood boil. However, she dredged up a smile from somewhere and said as lightly as she could manage, "Oh, hi, there, I didn't know you guys were in here."

Kurt slid around Noah, gathered up his stuff and smiled smugly at Dario. It was strange but they were dressed as opposites that day. Kurt had chosen to wear a fuzzy black vest Finn had given him years before over a thin, black, long-sleeved tee and black jeans that, although they weren't as tight as his skinnies, still fit him snugly enough to emphasize the shape of his ass and legs. He had on chunky black boots with low, stacked heels and the whole outfit was stylish and youthful.

He waited for Dario to finish examining him and then leaned up to give Noah a quick but intimate kiss on his cheek. He murmured softly so that Daria could just barely hear, "See you later, babe," and nodded to her as he left the room, Noah behind him.

Daria frowned as both men passed her and then she put out her hand to touch Noah's arm. He frowned at it but stopped, waiting politely for her to say her piece. She cleared her throat, slightly intimidated by the fact that she wasn't seeing a flirty Puck right now and said, "Hey, how are you?"

Noah stared at this woman and inwardly shook his head. He smiled faintly though, letting a gleam come into his eye as he glanced at the door through which Kurt had left. "As you can see, Daria, I'm really good."

Her breath caught at the sexual gleam that had been there in his smoky eyes and then she blurted, "Really, are you going to tell me that – that – can satisfy a stud like you?"

For a second, Noah's head swam as sudden anger swelled within him. This woman was such a piece of work! His body stiffened and she took a step back involuntarily, her hand dropping from his arm.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?"

A startled laugh left her and she caught hold of herself, shaking her head and trying to simper appeasingly. "Hey, I didn't mean anything by it; it's just that… you were Lima's biggest stud back in the day!"

He relaxed slightly, angled his body towards the door and told her, "You know… look, I've work to get to. I'll see you around," and he shook his head as he left the staff room, not caring if he were being rude.

He heard her boot heels clipping along behind him but he didn't slow his pace. He needed to get out into fresh air and calm the hell down!

"Puck… Puck! Wait, dammit!" Daria's voice was shrill and he hoped that the kids and teachers in the classrooms they passed weren't being disturbed. He got to the front doors, gave the ladies at the receptionists' desk a quick nod and headed out into the wintry sunlight. He pulled his coat closed and turned towards his car but he was once again halted by Daria's hand on his arm.

"Look!" His raised voice apparently startled her because she withdrew a bit. "I love Kurt Hummel and I'm engaged to him. What about that don't you get, Mrs. Strando?"

At the emphasis of her title, Daria flushed an unbecoming red and she glanced back to see the two biddies at the front desk staring at her through the glass doors, one with a smirk on her wrinkled face.

By the time she looked back, Puck was halfway across the parking lot, striding swiftly towards his car. She stood there and watched him and for the first time since he had come back to Lima, she was embarrassed. Nevertheless, she threw back her head, tossed her expensively-maintained weave and headed towards her own vehicle. She sat, however, behind the wheel, staring out at nothing and wished there was a way to get back at Kurt Hummel.

It never occurred to her that chasing after a man who was in love with someone else was futile. In her limited understanding of life in small-town Lima, what Daria wanted she got – or Nick got it for her. Her tiny brain tried to come up with another scheme to hurt the person she saw as standing in her way. As she started up the car and pulled out of the spot, she still hadn't come up with an idea but she knew she would. She just needed time.

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oOo

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That night, after Noah and Judith had left – Kurt had invited them over to enjoy the stew he'd had simmering in the slow cooker the whole day – he and Carole enjoyed a long and laughter-filled conversation.

Finally, Kurt mentioned to his stepmom who was quite giggly at the thought of planning a wedding, that Noah wanted them to get married on Christmas Eve. Kurt had to hold the phone away from his ear at the almighty squeal that Carole let out. He could hear his dad in the background asking her what the heck was going on and in between gasps of "oh, my goodness" and "oh, honey", she explained what Kurt had just said.

She eventually got back to Kurt and told him, "Sweetie, what did you tell him? I think that is just so romantic. Oh, goodness, I can see it now!"

Kurt gaped at the phone and then eventually found his voice to ask, "But isn't that too short a time for anything?"

Carole pooh-poohed him. "Sweetie, really, in this day and age? You can plan a wedding in a week if you had to!"

Kurt stuttered a bit and then, quite sheepishly, continued. "Well, I sorta told him it couldn't work."

"Kurt Hummel! What is wrong with you?! I thought nothing was beyond you. Honey, this is a piece of cake – no pun intended," and she giggled quite crazily again. Kurt began to wonder if she had been getting into some after-dinner sherry or something. He couldn't remember the last time she'd sounded this giddy. Oh, yeah, Finn and Rachel's wedding, Kurt reminded himself.

"Oh, well, if you think it's doable…" he trailed off because she was talking over him, already making plans and Kurt felt his head swim.

By the time they hung up, he was a bit exhausted. His stepmom was raring to go – and Kurt wasn't going to be the one to stop her. His life wasn't worth two cents if he tried to change that date now!

At least Noah will be happy, he suddenly realized and his heart warmed, glad he was able to give his lover his wish.


Noah stared at the phone, his heart beating a little faster than he'd liked. There was no way that he was going to let Donna weasel Judith away from him. He knew family court judges tended to side with women but he could prove, if it came to that, that Donna was unfit to keep Judith, at least long term. He didn't even trust Judith with her for a weekend!

He listened to hear if Judith was still up and he relaxed a bit. He knew he'd got a little loud when Donna had started hinting about coming for their daughter but he couldn't help himself. Judith meant everything to him and now he sat forward with his hands between his knees and his head bowed. He couldn't say if he prayed or not, he just wanted to find a way to keep his sweet little girl away from her headstrong, self-centered mother.

Donna only wanted Judith so she would look good in the press. Now that she was engaged to some hotshot businessman in New York, she wanted to upgrade her image. He'd threatened to tell the world that she'd all but dumped Judith on him because a child would have got in the way of her all-important touring. She'd tried to use tears to sway him and he had calmed down a bit but he had still been adamant that if she wanted to spend time with her daughter, she would have to do it here. Now that he knew the angle she was working, he didn't trust that she would return Judith to him after the holiday break.

His mind and yes, his body, yearned for Kurt's presence and he jerked as the phone rang, startling him.

"Yeah? Ugh, hello?" He knew he sounded awful but he felt awful.

"Noah, sweetie, what's wrong?"

His whole body sagged in relief at the sound of Kurt's concerned voice. He chuckled a little raggedly but answered, "Sorry, it's… uhm, not important right now. It's so good to hear you."

Kurt was really worried now; he'd only seen Noah and Judith two hours ago yet Noah sounded as if they'd been apart for weeks, months! "Honey, no, something's wrong. Tell me, Noah Puckerman, or I'm coming over there!"

Noah chuckled despite himself and to his relief, felt his heart grow lighter. "I love you…"

Kurt paused and then, "I love you, too, sweetie. Something's up, though, but if you don't want to tell me now, you will eventually. I have vays to make you tock," and he said the last in a cheesy German accent, knowing it would make his lover crack up.

After they stopped laughing, Kurt said teasingly, "Oh, I called to give you some news I think you'll like, sweetie."

Noah sat up, the memory of the phone conversation with Donna shifting to the back burner of his mind. "Yeah, hit me with it, babe!"

Kurt laughed and then told him, "Carole says Christmas Eve is doable. We can get married on Christmas Eve, sweetie!"

"Ah-hah! Yes! I knew it… I knew you'd be able to make it work for me, babe. Didn't Brittany used to say you're magic?"

At Noah's shout, Kurt was saying "shhh, shhh!" while he was talking, then, "Noah Puckerman, isn't your daughter asleep? Hold down the noise! Don't make me have to come over there!"

Noah couldn't help cracking up again; Kurt was so cute in his schoolteacher mode… and kindergarten teacher, at that. He longed for him to be there so bad that the next thing out of his mouth was, "Do it."

Kurt paused, confused, wondering what Noah was getting at now. "Do what?"

"Come over here. I miss you… I want you, Kurt… I really need you now." His voice had lowered, not in an effort to seduce Kurt but just with the intensity of the emotions flooding him.

Kurt swallowed the lump in his throat as tears prickled his eyes. "Oh, sweetie, you know I want nothing more than to be with you right now … but I think we should hold off a bit. The wedding's in less than three weeks… and I don't want the narrow-minded, bigoted asses of this one-horse town to find anything to use against us, okay?"

Noah listened to Kurt's quiet, loving voice and knew he was right. With people like Daria Strando around, everything they did would be scrutinized, at least for now. No use handing ammunition to the enemy, they probably had enough of their own.

He sighed, but agreed. "You're right, doll. I just miss you so bad… Can I pick you up again tomorrow?"

Kurt grinned, happy that he could offer something. "Better still, why don't you and Judith come over for breakfast? Does she have a favorite kind of breakfast?"

Noah laughed. "Oh yes, on Saturdays, she loves when I make her Mickey Mouse pancakes and slice up bananas for the eyes, mouth. Weird, I know, but that's it."

Kurt chuckled, having heard some of the things Miss Judith liked as she was not backward in coming forward, as Kurt's grandma used to say.

"Okay, I can manage that… and let it be a surprise for her, okay? So, what for you, sweetie, anything special?"

Noah paused as if he were thinking and then said, his voice lowering again, "You know what I want, Kurt…"

Although he couldn't see his lover, he knew that his face was probably flooding with color at what he had implied. He really would love nothing better than to sate himself on Kurt's beautiful body while bringing him to a screaming climax. However, that was not on the menu.

"Noah Puh-Puckerman," Kurt stuttered through his laughter, "you're incorrigible, you know that? Jeeze," and he chuckled like a drain until Noah interrupted.

"Okay, okay, a guy can try! Anything you fix is good enough for me, babe; I love the way you cook."

Kurt settled down and took a calming breath. "Yes, well, I'll have to see to it that my cooking doesn't make you fat, won't I? That is one bad-ass body you've got there, 'Puck'."

They chatted for a while and then rang off, each wishing the other goodnight in loving and sultry tones. Kurt knew he would sleep well, dreaming of Noah and he was absolutely looking forward to cooking breakfast for his lover and his daughter in the morning. Even if it meant waking up a little extra early, he cherished the idea that they would be having a family breakfast on a weekday morning.

As he drifted off to sleep, he wondered how Noah was going to keep it a surprise from Judith. He chuckled as he pictured that conversation and the last thing he registered before sleep claimed him was Judith's voice going, "but, Dad-deee, I'm hungry!"

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oOo

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The next morning was like a dream for Kurt, the kind of dream that he used to have but thought was impossible for him to attain.

Judith was like a hyper little house elf, dashing about, offering to get stuff for Kurt and there was a lot of laughter interspersed with Noah's occasional, "Slow down, Jude!"

The little girl was over the moon that her favorite teacher was fixing breakfast for her and her daddy because, as she'd told Noah, "he loves us – that's why he's marrying us."

Noah had rolled his eyes at Kurt's belly laugh the night when Kurt had brought over her favorite ice cream cake and she'd made that pronouncement. Kurt had had to hug her, dropping a kiss on her untidy hair and saying, "Of course, I do, sweetie!"

Now, as they sat at the breakfast nook in the kitchen, Kurt smiled at the Puckermans and felt as if he could hug himself for his good fortune. He watched Judith enjoying her pancakes shaped like Mickey's head with the slices of bananas for his eyes and mouth and then looked over at Noah working his way through his own stack of blueberry pancakes.

Kurt had also made fluffy omelets that looked like they belonged on a restaurant menu and Noah looked at him with a smile. "You know, doll, you should really do this for a living… not that you aren't a great teacher!"

His hasty avowal made a smile leap to Kurt's face and he nodded. "Quite a few people have told me that but… I don't know. I like teaching!" and he smiled at Judith's beaming face. "Maybe one day, I'll maybe start a catering business, eh?"

They finished breakfast and once more, headed together to school, Kurt driving this time so that Noah would have to come back to his house for his car. He certainly didn't mind dropping off and picking Noah up at McKinley; wasn't this what busy families did? The feeling of well-being that flushed through him brought a glow to his face and he knew he was smiling almost non-stop.

When he got to McKinley, it was just in time to see Finn pulling in and the brothers chatted for a bit, Kurt telling him he'd spoken to his mom the night before. Telling him he'd talk to him in detail later, he gave Noah a quick kiss and then he and Judith headed to the kindergarten. The little girl was so happy she sang all the way there, Kurt joining in when he didn't have to concentrate too much on the road.

When they got to school and he helped her out of her car seat that they had transferred from Noah's car, he reminded himself to buy one just for his car. It didn't make sense to be transferring the seat every time they switched cars. As he thought about that, he couldn't help grinning down at the little girl.

"Mr. Kurt, you look really pretty today!" Judith stared at Kurt, taking in the sparkle in her favorite teacher's eyes.

Kurt smiled down at her. "Why, thank you, sweetie, and I must say you look rather elegant this morning." Her multi-colored striped hoodie looked like nothing so much as Joseph's coat of many colors. The bright pink Disney princess backpack didn't help matters, either.

As Judith took his hand and they headed inside the warm building, she stopped suddenly and looked up at him. "Oh, no, Mr. Kurt!"

Kurt was almost jerked to a stop and he stared down at her, concerned, "Judith, honey, is something wrong?"

She stared up at him. "I don't know what to call you!"

Kurt, aware of the two women at the desk listening intently – though they were pretending to be busy –leaned down to the little girl. "How do you mean, sweetie?"

Judith looked at him, puzzled. "You're my teacher… but you are going to be my daddy… and I don't want to call you 'Mr. Kurt' forever!"

Kurt could have sworn he heard a couple of faint "awwws" behind him but he ignored them to kneel before his soon-to-be daughter. He smiled at her, his eyes watering a little and took both her hands.

"Sweetie, for now, it's okay to call me 'Mr. Kurt'… I like it. When your daddy and I get married and we're officially a family, you can call me anything you want to, okay?"

Judith nodded, beaming all over her little face. She leaned forward and whispered loudly, "When you marry us, I'll call you 'Daddy Kurt'!"

If a little stray tear clung to Kurt's lashes, it was understandable. Kurt didn't think there was a sweeter child in all of Ohio – nay, the whole nation – than Judith Puckerman and he was really going to enjoy being her Daddy Kurt.

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TBC

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