Chapter Six: Ain't No Other Man
It was a couple of weeks since Quinn had been home. She was slowly getting used to it. It was a great apartment. She was getting a lot done on her book. She worked on it for a few hours every morning. It was a good routine. Quinn was slowly starting to like Puck more and more. He was a good man. She was glad she left Jesse. She couldn't believe she'd even tried to be with him. He had been an ex for a reason. This morning that's what she was doing already, working away on her laptop. She hadn't even made breakfast yet. She was too busy working. A cup of coffee sat in front of her, undrank. It was getting cold. It was early. She couldn't believe she was even up and functioning. She had slept great the night before though. Puck was still sleeping on the couch. She just wasn't ready for more. She wished that she would get her memories back. She hadn't had anything. It was a little frustrating. But she wasn't going to worry about it too much, they would come back when they came back. It was a little useless getting angry or upset about it.
That was when Puck came into the kitchen. Puck looked at Quinn. He wondered what she was doing. She was busy typing. Puck said, "Hey, baby. What are you doing?" He was glad she was doing something though. He was glad that she had found something she was passionate about. He went to get some coffee. Puck was going to be late to work but as long as he showed up Santana would be alright. He was tired. He ran his hand over his hair. He was going to have to get to bed earlier that night. It was sleeping on the couch. He just couldn't get to sleep. He didn't like it but he didn't want to pressure Quinn to let him sleep in the bed. Things were going okay with her. He was glad they were doing better. Puck was glad that they were going somewhere. They might be getting back to what they were. Puck was glad. This whole thing had been a complete drag. And that was putting it lightly. He just wanted it to end.
Quinn thought about this for a moment before she answered. She didn't know if she was going to say because she hadn't decided to tell him yet. About her book. She couldn't decide. If it wasn't going to be anything she didn't want to get his hopes up. Quinn had no idea if it was good. She was thinking she would ask that Kurt guy to read it for her. He seemed like the most well read out of all the people Puck had told her she knew. She thought he'd be the best and give her the best advice. She of course wasn't sure if he had worked out all of his relationship issues. She didn't want to ask him if he had other things going on. It would be incredibly selfish of her to ask him if that's the case. She didn't want to be selfish. She had a feeling her old self had been and she was trying not to go back to that. "Nothing much." She finally supplied. Best not to say anything at the moment.
The noncommittal answer gave him pause. This made no sense to him. She had been very forthcoming lately. He didn't want to think about what it meant now that she wasn't. Puck couldn't bring himself to think about the worst. He and she were doing so much better. They couldn't go back to what they had been. Puck loved her so much and they had been through so much already. He went back to getting his breakfast. "Okay." He said, trying to sound as carefree as she did. It was hard. He sighed, trying to make that sound normal too. Puck wished he could see inside her head. He could really use mind reading powers right now. "I'm going to work a little late today so I'll be late coming home if you need anything." He told her. Not that she would care.
Quinn looked up from her laptop and regarded him. "Okay. I'll make sure I put off dinner a little. Brittany and Santana are coming for dinner today." She gave him smile. "I want to get all of my memories back, and I know that means I have to do my part." Quinn was sure that would reassure him that she was there for him. She thought he looked a little worried with her answer about what she was doing. She didn't want him to worry about anything anymore. It was unfair, what she had done to him, and she wanted to make it up to him. It was the least she could do. She couldn't imagine what she would have had to look at inside himself that she wasn't sure she would have been able to had the roles been reversed. It was almost saintly that he had been able to. She was truly amazed. "I'm going to make roast chicken and mashed potatoes." She was also going to attempt making some homemade bread, but that wasn't a sure thing, so she didn't see the point of telling him. Just in case it didn't happen.
That gave him hope. "Okay." He agreed, went to give her a kiss. Then he gathered up his breakfast. "I'm heading out now." He told her. Then he grabbed his coat and headed out of the apartment. He went to get on his bike. He put his breakfast in his coat pocket to keep it warm. He had a breakfast sandwich. Quinn had surprised him. He hadn't expected her to do or say anything like that. It had been very pleasant. He started up his bike and started off for work. He was glad. Quinn was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He couldn't give her up now. Especially since they had gotten through the whole Jesse thing. He still didn't know where he had found the strength to leave that guy alive and without bruises. It was truly amazing. In the past he never would have. He would have killed the guy. Laid him flat.
The ride to work was never that long, so it wasn't very much later he was pulling into the building's parking lot. He locked up his bike. They were finishing up Blaine's album that day. Puck hoped he had worked out things with Kurt. He hadn't had a chance to ask him yet. He hoped that he had. He wouldn't be at top condition if he hadn't. Puck also didn't know how to help him if he hadn't. He had no knowledge of gay relationships. Not even with as long as he had known Kurt. Kurt was Finn's stepbrother. He hadn't ever dated that much, though. So it wasn't like he had anything to draw on. Kurt and Blaine had been together awhile. It would be sad if they split. Especially because he knew how they loved each other. It was a lot. They were one of the best couples he knew. He headed into the building, to go upstairs. He hoped they hadn't been waiting on him. Puck hoped they'd started work.
When he got upstairs, a huge shouting match was going on. Kurt was yelling at Blaine. "You just can't spring this on me, Blaine! I don't know that I can give you what you want and I don't want to break up this marriage! I don't know what you want from me! I know you want kids. I know that. But you can't expect me to just change my mind like it's socks! I don't know what you want me to say!" Tears were pouring down his cheeks, and he looked like he was going to fall on his knees. Kurt really could not believe Blaine wouldn't let this go. He was willing to compromise if Blaine would just breathe. He felt like he couldn't. He felt like he was going to have a panic attack. He turned away, to hide his face. Kurt was sniffling and wiping his eyes. This was awful.
Blaine watched Kurt turn away. He heard Puck get there. He didn't take his eyes off Kurt. This was the worst thing ever. He also had something to tell Kurt that he wouldn't like. It was going to crush him. Blaine sniffled himself as tears poured out of his eyes. "Kurt…. I have something to tell you." He said, his voice shaking. This was not the place and time to do it, but it was coming out of him no matter what. Blaine reached out to touch his husband's arm. Kurt turned to face him, his face all red and splotchy. Blaine tried to wipe the tears off his face before he told him what he had to tell him. He was going to hate him. Blaine closed his eyes. "Kurt, after we fought last night, I went out to a bar. I got really drunk… and I picked up this guy." That wasn't the worst part. He ignored the tears on his face and continued. "I cheated on you, Kurt." All he had done was kiss the guy, but that was bad enough. He opened his eyes to look at Kurt, who looked like he was going to die. Puck and Santana's eyes had widened. Kurt looked like he was going to die. "All I did was kiss him, but it's still bad enough. I'm so sorry, Kurt."
Kurt felt like the floor had dropped out from underneath his feet. He didn't know what to say. He felt like he was going to throw up. He put his hand over his mouth. He could not believe this. He felt like dying. He let out a deep breath. "Blaine, I can't….." He started, his heart pounding out of his chest. He didn't know what else to say. This was literally the worst thing that had happened to him. He took a deep breath as more tears fell down his cheeks. "Blaine, how could you? I loved you… more than I ever loved anyone in my whole life! I just can't believe this! You are my whole world! I can't…. I can't do this without you." By this point Kurt was crying too hard to continue. He took the tissue Santana handed him and wiped his face. He couldn't stop crying. This was like the world was ending.
Blaine's own eyes were pouring with tears. "Kurt… please. I didn't mean to hurt you." His voice was weak. He knew Kurt had every right to be mad. He did. It was awful, what he'd done. Blaine could not believe himself. He was the worst person ever. He took a deep breath. "You have every right to think I'm terrible. But I want to work this out." He pleaded. Blaine could not believe he had done this. He let out a deep breath again. When he started talking again, his voice was barely above a whisper. "I…. please, Kurt. I can't do this without you either! I love you so much. More than anything." He ran his hand through his curly hair. His breath was shallow. He couldn't work today. He just couldn't. Blaine let himself cry. He wanted to hold Kurt and just comfort him, but he knew he couldn't. Kurt was glaring at him. He knew that Kurt would just push him away.
"Yeah well you should have thought about that before you cheated on me!" Kurt said as he turned and picked up his coat. "I am leaving. Don't be at the house this evening so I can get my things." He didn't say goodbye as he left the room. Everyone just stood there for a second, stunned.
Puck looked to Blaine. "Do you want to talk about it?" He was sure the answer was no. He didn't really know how Blaine had to be feeling. Right now he was able to see Kurt's side of things. He had been there. He was feeling bad for Kurt. He would have to call him later and see how he was. He knew that right now was not the time. He sat down, keeping his eyes on Blaine. Blaine looked like he was going to throw up. "You can talk, Blaine. It's a safe space here. You can say anything." He wanted Blaine to feel like he could tell him anything.
Blaine shook his head. "No. I don't. I…. I really messed things up." Blaine's face completely crumpled, and he thought he would die. This was the worst thing to ever happen. He sobbed, "I messed things up so bad. I can't believe myself. I'm never going to drink again." He could barely breathe. He was the worst husband that ever lived. There was no way that he could concentrate on work. He was having a hard time not slitting his wrists for what he'd done for Kurt. His heart might just stop beating in his chest. He actually fell to his feet. Neither Puck or Santana knew what to do. Blaine let out a shaky breath. He looked at them both. It was the hardest thing he'd ever been through. Blaine shook he was so upset. It was the worst thing he'd ever done. He'd never forgive himself. Especially if he lost Kurt for good. His eyes were so full of tears that he couldn't see.
Dropping on the ground next to him, Puck touched his shoulder in reassurance. "I'm so sorry, Blaine. I've never cheated on Quinn… but if either of us was going to it would have been me. I still can't believe she did. But the point is, I forgave her and we're still together. So there is hope." Puck didn't want this breakup to be permanent. And he wasn't even thinking of Blaine's record almost being finished. He was thinking they'd been together for three years. When you've been with someone that long, it was something that you try to fix. Puck didn't know how they were going to, but they had to. There was too much time invested. Puck still didn't know how he had forgiven Quinn. It had been the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. He didn't what Kurt would have to do to forgive Blaine, but he hoped that he could. "Come on, you need to eat. You won't be thinking about it later, so you should eat." He felt like that was such a chick thing to say. He never gave chick advice. He was a dude. He said dude things.
Blaine nodded. He wasn't hungry, but he could see Puck's point. "Okay. I'll eat." He said, nodding again. This was the worst thing he had ever done. He still couldn't believe he had been so stupid. It was the worst. "Let's go to that Chinese place I like down the street." Blaine shook his head at Santana, who seemed to be ready to start saying something. "Santana, I love you, I do. But I don't want to hear what you have to say right now." Kurt and Santana were very close. They talked all the time. Blaine didn't want her opinion about what he had done. Blaine didn't want to be judged right now. He knew that Puck wouldn't do that. Blaine's eyes brushed with tears. "Let's go, Puck." He said, and they left the office. Puck was a good guy. Blaine felt bad for not working on his album today. "I'm so sorry, Puck. I know I was supposed to record today." He said. Blaine felt guilty. He was supposed to be launching an album. This wasn't going to help matters.
They headed down the street. Puck just nodded. "It's okay, Blaine. You don't have to record today. We can work on it later. You need to get all of this out." Puck would listen, let Blaine get it all off his chest. Puck loved Blaine, he was a good guy. He knew that some of their other friends wouldn't let him tell his side of the story. Puck wanted him to be able to feel like he had friends, too. Puck opened the door as they reached the Chinese place. Blaine went in first. Puck closed the door and they went up to order. Puck was hungry, and he wanted to make sure Blaine ate. He ordered up a mess of food. Sesame chicken, chicken fried rice, dumplings, egg rolls, General Tsau's, and Kung Pao. They took it all over to a table. Puck dug into the containers. "So, spill, Anderson. Tell me what happened."
Brandishing a plastic fork, Blaine forced himself not to start crying. "I had been fighting with Kurt. I went out to this bar, Maclaren's." It had been on tv, Blaine had heard of it but he'd never been inside. Blaine took a bite of sesame chicken and some rice. "I went inside. I… I was upset. I didn't want to go home. Kurt and I had fought pretty hard. I didn't know what to do." He took a sip of his soda. "I was so nervous. I hadn't been to a bar since Kurt and I got married. I love him so much, Noah. I don't know how I could have hurt him like that." Blaine let out a sigh, and Puck waited patiently. He didn't want to push him. Blaine let out a breath and then took a few more bites of food. He started talking again. "I'm so sorry, I so am. I got drunk, really drunk. I could barely walk or talk. I don't even know what I was drinking. This guy came up to me. He knew me when I was at Dalton, but I didn't remember him. He was all over me, he'd been drinking too. I didn't try too hard to stop him, really. I could have tried. I just… I guess I liked the attention because I kissed him. After that is when I realized what I had done and left." Blaine let out a sigh.
Puck listened to all of that. "It'll be okay, Blaine. I don't know how but it will. You and Kurt love each other. You've been together for three years. That's the kind of thing you fix. You can't just walk away." Puck said, as he took a few bites of his own. This had to be fixed. Puck didn't know what they'd do if it wasn't. He didn't even know what that would mean for Blaine's album. He didn't want to have to kiss it goodbye, it had been a lot of work. He believed in Blaine's music. Blaine really believed in people. He believed that people were really good. That was rare these days.
Meanwhile, Quinn was taking a break from writing. She was getting some coffee. That's when there was a knock on the door. She got up to get it. She hadn't gotten dressed yet, she was still in her pjs. She opened the door after she had pulled on a robe. It was Kurt. She looked at him in surprise. "Kurt?" She asked. She knew they had been friends, but she didn't remember much else. As she stepped back to let him in, her mind flashed to her wedding day. She and Kurt had been dancing at the reception. Quinn gasped and took in his face. Her memory could wait. Boy her dress had been beautiful, though. She offered him some coffee. Kurt shook his head no. His eyes were wet. She got herself a cup of coffee and looked at him. "Is there something you need? Why are you here?" She asked. He looked like death warmed over. She didn't know what he was going through, but it looked like a lot. She sat down at the coffee island, watching him. She waited for him to start talking before she said anything else.
Kurt wiped his eyes. "Blaine…. he…" Kurt didn't really know how to explain, especially since Quinn didn't know him anymore. He didn't have anyone else to really talk to. They all knew Blaine too. But Quinn was without her memories. She wouldn't have any preconceptions of Blaine. It would be so much easier to get her advice. Kurt took a deep breath. "Blaine cheated on me." He said, his voice shaking. He ran his hand through his hair, upset. He still could not believe that his husband had done this to him. She loved him so much. This was completely ludicrous. Kurt sniffled. "He went out after a fight and got drunk and cheated on me. I don't know what to do. I…. I love him so much but I can't forgive him right now. I don't want to lose him. I just…. it's such a mess."
That was a lot to take in. Quinn tried to adjust. She looked at him. "Kurt…. I'm so sorry, honey." She said, as she sipped her coffee. She could not believe this. It was the worst thing that could have happened. At least, since she had lost her memories. Quinn didn't know how to help. "Puck forgave me." She told him. "I know it's not the same, but if he forgave me you can find a way to forgive Blaine." Quinn felt bad for Kurt. She didn't know how to help. It was one of the things that some people viewed as a gray area. She wasn't sure she saw it that way but she was glad that Puck had forgiven her. She thought he was such an amazing person. He was a very good husband. She was very lucky to have him. She could not believe that she had met him on the first day of college. It was completely amazing. Quinn had had the best luck until her accident. She ran her hand through her blonde hair. "I'm sorry, honey."
He sighed. "Thanks, Quinn. I just don't know what to do. I had to tell someone. I just don't know how to make this decision." Kurt couldn't believe he had to do this. Decide how to take Blaine back after he had cheated on him. "It's okay, tell me how you are. I need something to take my mind off this. Did you remember anything?" Kurt hoped she had. He knew how Puck felt. It was time for Quinn to know who her husband was already. Kurt felt bad for Puck. It could be the worst thing they'd ever have to deal with. He thought Quinn was a beautiful woman. She was going to be so much better off when she finally got all her memories back. She and Puck made a very nice couple. They just had to overcome their obstacles. They just had to figure it all out.
Later that evening, Puck came home with some takeout. He had told Brittany and Santana they'd have supper another night. Quinn had been working on her book all day. Since Kurt had left. Puck had brought home Indian food. He went to get some plates and something to drink. "How are you doing, baby? How was your day?" Puck asked, as he got everything on the table. He had actually managed to get Blaine to work on his album some after eating lunch. It was finished. Puck was glad. He could not believe that they'd gotten it done. Puck was going to call about making copies to get it distributed the next day. Puck was glad. He really was. It had been a very good day, despite the horribleness with Kurt and Blaine. Puck sat down with Quinn at the table. She was filling her plate with food. Puck was happy they were doing so much better. He could see them falling in love all over again, even if Quinn didn't get her memories back. He hoped she did, but things were right on track even if she didn't.
Quinn smiled. "My day was great. I got a lot of work done… Kurt came over, and we talked about Blaine." She filled her mouth with food. She liked curry. Quinn was glad he had gotten food. Time had gotten away from her and she'd forgotten to cook. "I had such a great day." She gave him a smile. Quinn leaned and gave him a kiss on the lips. He was surprised but kissed back. She didn't know what she was doing, really, but she liked kissing him. She put down her fork and kissed him again. She thought he was amazing. She scooted her chair closer. He scooted his closer to her. Quinn put her arm around Puck's shoulders. He was a very good kisser. She wondered if they could sleep together. She wanted to. She whispered in his ear, "Can we please sleep together?" She gave him a look of pleasure. She was very turned on. Puck was a gorgeous man. She gave him a smile and touched his chest. "You are gorgeous." She purred.
Puck was shocked, but he wasn't going to turn it down. He kissed her back and put his arms around her, lifting her from the chair. He carried her into the bedroom, and laid her down. He took off her shirt, with no preamble. Puck was going to show her the best time she had ever had. He started working on her bra while kissing her. Puck was good with bras. He got it unhooked in no time flat. He pressed his lips to hers deeply and grabbed her breast with his big hand. He caressed it and pinched Quinn's nipple with his finger and his thumb. She cried out in pleasure. Puck's other hand went to work on getting her pants off. He knew how to do this, and do it well. He got her pants off, and then slid her underwear off. He pressed his thumb to her sex, making her hips jerk forward. Grinning, he lowered his mouth to her right breast, sucking it while he slipped a finger inside her wet folds. She writhed under him in pleasure. Her hands went to his waist, where they worked on undoing his pants.
His pants fell off his hips easily. He was commando as always. Quinn's hands gripped his ass and held on tight. Puck added another finger, and she almost came right there. Then he was slamming into her, and she thought she would die. He was amazing. So much better than Jesse. He knew what he was doing. Puck leaned and sucked on her neck as he let his hips set a rhythm. They both let out moans of pleasure. Puck called out her name. They were one, like Romeo and Juliet. They were both close to climax. Puck shivered as his hips began to rock faster. They were both going to come in tandem. Puck lowered his mouth to Quinn's breast and sucked. She arched her back hard and they both came with matching moans.
Looking down into her hazel eyes, Puck wondered what had made her so horny for him. He said, "I love you, Quinn." He told her. He did. More than anything. He couldn't imagine not being with her. She was the most amazing woman he had ever known.
Quinn looked back at him. That's when she knew she loved him too. She looked into his whiskey colored eyes. "I love you too." She confessed. It was easy to say, and she didn't know why she had been resisting so long. "There ain't no other man." She promised. Maybe things were going to work out.
Author's note: Anyone notice the shoutout?