The Storm: Redemption
Chapter Seven
By Gayforkurt
Summary: Famous countertenor Kurt Hummel and billionaire entrepreneur Dave Karofsky must come to terms with the past but bitter feelings make a future for these two headstrong men highly unlikely. This fic is rated M.
A/N: Thanks so much to my constant reviewers and to the newer readers who've hopped onto this train. Your words of encouragement mean so much to me and spur me on to do better.
Disclaimer: Messrs. Ryan, Falchuk, et al are the owners of my favorite boys. Only the OCs belong to me, alas.
KHDK
Saturday couldn't come soon enough for Puck. After leaving Kurt outside the restaurant he'd been hanging out with friends and only once had he called to check in on Dave. His boss really was recuperating well (even though he hadn't told this to Kurt as yet) but he still liked to keep a finger on the pulse of whatever was happening around the other man. They'd known each other since high school and after Puck had left the army, Dave had gotten in touch with him with the offer to come and work for him. Puck had never regretted the decision and though, now, they seemed to be interested in the same person, he found he cared too much for Dave to stand in his way.
He collected his car keys and headed out of the hotel room, stopping in the kitchen to pick up one of their famous picnic baskets, before heading to the underground garage. As he stowed the basket in the trunk of his little roadster, he smiled as he thought about Kurt's possible reaction. He'd told the singer they would stop somewhere when it came time to eat; he hadn't said they'd be eating in a pub or restaurant. He planned to really surprise him by doing something that seemed totally out of character for Puck. Who would think an ex-Army Ranger in charge of security for one of the richest men in the world would be into picnics with hot opera singers?
As he jumped into the driver's seat, he called Kurt's mobile and gave him his eta as 20 minutes, traffic permitting. He sighed as Kurt's sexy voice assured him he'd be ready in 15; everything was a challenge with that dude, Puck muttered to himself. He put the powerful vehicle into gear and headed up out of the garage into the bright sunshine of an uncharacteristically warm autumn day. He wanted to make the most of one of the last days of his break and spending it with the beautiful singer was certainly no hardship. His spirits lifted as he headed to pick up Kurt, ignoring the honking of irate cabbies as he wove in and out of traffic. Yeah, he kinda liked pissing off people, he was just funny that way, he smirked.
KHDK
Kurt surveyed himself for the last time just as he heard the intercom buzz and he let Noah in. The man apparently took the steps two at a time as he came upstairs and Kurt could hear him pounding on his door.
"Alright already, I'm coming!" He grabbed a jacket, patted his pocket to be certain he had his keys and 'phone and went to let the other man in. His breath left him in a whoosh as Noah grabbed him in a bear hug.
"Woops, okay then, I'm glad to see you too!" He grinned as Noah bussed him on the cheek. The larger man finally set him back on his feet and beamed at him.
"You ready for an awesome adventure, princess?" He waggled his eyebrows ridiculously at Kurt who laughed again at his antics and shooed him out the door.
"Yes, my insurance is all paid up, my will is up-to-date so I'd say 'yes, I'm ready'; do your worst!" The two men headed downstairs, still laughing and teasing each other and Kurt was once again thankful that his funk had passed, he'd gotten a chance to apologize to his colleagues, he'd cleared the air with Noah and spoken to Will. It was clear sailing ahead, at least until his met up with David again, but he wasn't going to dwell on that right now. The mission today was fun and relaxation and, as a bonus, he got to do that with a hot guy who was totally into him. It was all good so far.
KHDK
Kurt had to admit he was enjoying himself as they wended their way through the English countryside. The car's stereo system was loaded with an eclectic mix of music that was so varied that both men were able to enjoy it. They chatted at times and at others they just relaxed and enjoyed each other's presence, no pressing need to talk if there was nothing to say at the moment.
Puck found himself relaxing more than he had on the earlier part of his break and felt another twinge of regret that it was soon coming to an end. His other, consistent regret was that the man beside him had definitely moved him into the friend zone. That was evident after they had both commented on the newspaper photos of them leaving the restaurant. Kurt had laughed as if the idea of them being an item was a joke and Puck had joined in just so that the singer wouldn't realize how much Puck wished it were true.
He glanced over at the other man who was gazing out at the passing vista, a sweet, serene smile curving the pink lips. A frisson of desire curled through him as he remembered how those lips had felt beneath his, how sexy it had been to slip his tongue into the hot mouth though at the time Kurt had been too surprised to really respond. Puck sighed once and then shook off the feeling. Ah, well, win some – lose some, eh? It wouldn't be the first time for him, to come in second.
His mind went back to his high school days when his best friend, Finn, always seemed to come out ahead of him everything. As the quarterback, Finn had the head cheerleader, he was the male lead in their school's glee club and he had the female lead panting after him, too.
Puck shook his head as he wondered how those folks from back then were getting on. He hadn't really kept in touch; his ma would sometimes fill him in on the goings on of some of the folks who were still around, but that was it. He had no desire to do the auld lang syne bit with people who hadn't really liked him much.
He looked over at Kurt and thought of something. "Hey, princess, you keep in touch with folks from your school days?" Kurt had turned to look at him, that relaxed look on his face making his eyes look dreamy but he perked up and smiled back at him.
"No, not really. I had a best friend, Mercedes, but we drifted apart when we left for different colleges. Why, feeling nostalgic?"
And they were off again, exchanging little bits of their history and laughing at both the similarities and differences of their experiences. Kurt was intrigued to know that Puck had known Dave in high school; they had both been jocks, natch, Kurt grinned to himself – but they'd gone separate ways as Dave went on to college football and Puck had joined the army.
Now Kurt cleared his throat, turning to look out the window as he asked, "So, what was David like in school?" and waited almost impatiently while Puck took his time answering.
"Well, he was pretty much like every other jock, I think," Kurt looked at him enquiringly. "I mean he played a hard game, he was pretty athletic, but he must have had pretty good grades, too. Our coach was tough and our grades had to be kept up or we'd be benched – or worse, kicked completely off of the team."
He smiled in reminiscence as he continued. "But I knew even then Dave wasn't just a jock because we'd always tease him about singing in the locker rooms and showers. He had_ has a good voice, you wouldn't think it to look at him, I guess. I don't mean anywhere like yours, princess; shit, very few people can come up to your level, right?"
He laughed softly as he watched the color flood Kurt's face. He could never figure out how he was still able to blush so easily after years in show business. Puck knew the other man was no virgin, no shrinking violet, but there was still something untouched about him. His appearance was that of a much younger man; maybe it's the pale skin, big eyes, and pouty pink lips, he mused. He liked Kurt's body too; the other man was almost his height, making him at least 5'11" tall but his body was extremely slender and very well-toned. Puck knew because he'd had the pleasure of having had all that goodness plastered up against his own body at least briefly.
Kurt scoffed but prodded him to continue: "When did you decide to work for David? Did you stay in touch all the time you were in the army and he was a junior billionaire-in-training?" Puck could see there was nothing malicious in Kurt's eyes at those last words so he smiled back before answering. He'd had a feeling that Kurt would use their time together to pump him about Dave but he was about 90 per cent okay with it now.
"No, we didn't really keep in touch; we hadn't been all that close in school." He paused as they pulled up behind a flock of dirty white sheep, their herders seemingly in no hurry to clear the narrow country road. "When I was discharged, honorably, of course, he apparently saw something in the papers about my medal ceremony. He got in touch with my unit commander – I was Army Rangers – and eventually he got in touch with me; offered me the job of overhauling and heading up his security division. Believe me, it was a huge job but I loved the challenge. I still love doing it, basically. Plus, I get to hang with some pretty interesting folks."
He smiled over at Kurt's rapt expression. He shrugged as he continued, the car finally cleared of the wandering sheep, and lowered his voice conspiratorially: "You wouldn't believe the secrets and skeletons I know about some of the most powerful people in the world."
He burst out laughing at the look on Kurt's face, his eyes and mouth rounded in childish intrigue. Kurt had turned sideways in his seat as much as his seat belt would allow and pleaded: "Tell me more, moooore!"
So, for the last half hour before they stopped for lunch, the car was filled with the sound of both men's laughter as Puck spilled the beans on the rich and famous and just plain infamous. They had a great time, cracking each other up with their salacious observations and by the time Puck registered it was lunch time, they were both more than ready for a stop.
When Puck turned down a narrow, unpaved lane with nothing but tree-dotted fields on either side, Kurt experienced a disorientating feel of déjà vu. At first he couldn't figure out why but then he remembered one of the last images from his dream: the empty field where he'd swum and breathed water as if it were natural.
Puck pulled off the lane and headed over to park beneath one of the trees, its large spreading boughs more than adequate for shade. Kurt looked at him, his mouth opening to ask why they were stopping there, when Puck jumped out and headed to the boot of the car. Kurt opened his door and eased himself out, stopping to stretch the kinks out before joining Puck at the rear of the vehicle.
He burst out into high giggles as he saw what Noah had in his hands. "Oh, goodness; wow, you are certainly one for surprises!" and continued giggling as Puck grabbed his hand and hauled him over towards the huge tree.
Puck set the picnic basket down and spread the large blanket out; he raised one finger for Kurt to wait and dashed back to the car where he retrieved two sizeable cushions from the boot. He slammed it shut and bore his prize triumphantly to Kurt.
"Here you are, princess, only the best for you," and grinned when Kurt blushed again.
Then Puck got down to the serious business of exploring and unloading the hotel-prepared basket, humming in approval when he uncovered containers loaded with roasted chicken fragrant with rosemary and thyme, still-fluffy rolls, a cooler with potato salad as well as fruit salad and another cooler with two bottles of white wine. There was another, very sturdy container at the bottom but that was to be left for last. He wanted to surprise Kurt even further with what was for dessert.
The two men tucked in, made ravenous by the long car drive and the fresh air, and they barely spoke apart from to murmur and mutter how good everything was. Kurt wasn't a big eater but he was a healthy eater. He'd thankfully never gotten hung up on body image issues though he'd been chunky in middle school and some of high school. Later, when he'd had a last growth spurt and he'd suddenly become interesting to members of both sexes, he'd enjoyed his newfound confidence but hadn't let it distract him from his dream: Broadway.
Finally, having put a serious dent in the contents of the picnic basket ("thank your hotel staff for me – that was great!"), they relaxed a little, leaning back against their cushions and staring at the leafy canopy overhead. They didn't speak for a while, contented just to bask in the cool gloom beneath the beautiful old tree and letting their lunch settle a bit. Eventually, though, Puck sat up and reached for the last container in the basket. Kurt, still reclining on his cushion, watched curiously as the other smiled mysteriously before reaching for cake plates and forks. The singer raised his head to get a clearer view of the container's contents and gasped when Puck lifted its lid.
"Oh, my god, Noah, is that_?"
"Yep, Black Forest Cake!"
Kurt's delighted laughter floated on the balmy air; he was a serious chocoholic and the decadently rich Black Forest Cake – a rich kirsch-soaked chocolate cake with several layers of cherries and whipped cream – was his absolute favorite. He could barely contain himself as Puck served him a generous slice along with the last of the white wine and he tucked eagerly into the treat.
Puck manfully ignored the obscene sounds of Kurt's enjoyment, admitting to himself that it was one of the reasons he'd chosen that particular dessert, having remembered Kurt's behavior with his chocolate dessert at the sky-high restaurant.
After scraping up the very last morsel of his cake, Kurt smiled beatifically at Puck, thanking him with his eyes and looking like a child for whom Christmas had come wonderfully early.
"I don't often eat this well, y'know; I have to be cautious as I don't really like working out. This was wonderful, though; thank you so much." His whole body seemed to be vibrating with energy as he glanced around at their picnic spot. "This whole day has been really great; I wish I could get out to the country more often."
He sighed as he continued to gaze around, unnoticing of the strange expression that had flashed briefly in Puck's eyes. When there was no response to his statement, Kurt glanced over at the other man, an enquiring look on his face.
Puck looked away, opened his mouth to speak, and then paused. He finally turned back to Kurt, his voice serious. "There is one other place I'd like to take you, if you are willing."
Kurt, his curiosity definitely piqued now, stared back at him and nodded slowly. "Okay; will you tell me where or are you going to keep that as a surprise, too?" Strangely, he trusted Noah; despite the rocky start to their friendship, he never had felt any fear around the ex-military man.
Noah smiled faintly, pleased that Kurt so obviously trusted him. "I'll tell you; in fact, I'll give you time to decide if you want to go and then you'll call me tomorrow and let me know your decision."
Kurt nodded. "Okay, fair enough, I can do that. So, where's this mysterious place we're going and when?"
Puck hesitated, looked away briefly, and then turned back, staring intently into Kurt's eyes as he spoke.
"I want to take you to see the boss."
TBC