(Author's note: Quoting therein from 2x01 Auditions, with several tweaks. There's a lot going on in season 2 that doesn't have anything to do with our boys… or does it? You'll have to wait and find out. -amy)

There's definitely something missing in today's music, in the scene. We don't have a lot of men onstage doing flamboyant or theatrical. We have a lot of female pop stars doing it, but where are the guys, you know — where's that classic rock — or pop — showman?

-Adam Lambert on NPR's All Things Considered, August 30, 2010

Episode 2x01: Auditions

"I can't believe Jacob Ben Israel's gall," Kurt snapped, wiping cherry slushy out of his eyes and flinging it to the concrete. "What made him decide Glee was the most important target — and I use the word advisedly — for his first day of junior year? Doesn't he have his own life to deal with?"

Burt passed him a towel and patted the edge of the passenger seat of his truck. Still fuming, Kurt hopped into the cab and took a seat with his legs hanging out into the parking lot.

"Maybe you're just mad you forgot to bring a change of clothes on the first day of school?" asked Puck.

"Puck," Burt said mildly.

Kurt wasn't pausing in his diatribe. "I mean, first of all, he starts following Rachel and Finn around, making them out to be the next big thing, and Finn hardly gets a word in edgewise — and, okay, maybe controllist isn't a word, but she doesn't have to be so obnoxious about it. We've been dating all summer, my foot. She's been at music camp all summer!"

"Doesn't having something with Rachel help him keep his low profile?" Burt asked.

"And then Jacob brings up the USA Today photo of Mr. Schuester and Toby kissing at the pride parade," Kurt went on. "Isn't that an invasion of privacy?"

Puck exchanged a look with Burt. "Because they were in the… paper? Which is public?"

"That's beside the point!" Kurt hollered. He gritted his teeth, digging behind his ear with the towel to get the last of the slushy.

"He was convinced I'd had a vasectomy," Puck told Burt with a grin. "I think he cut out the part where I told him I quit pool cleaning and took care of my kid all summer. I guess it wasn't glamorous enough for his blog or something."

"He hounded Quinn, too," added Kurt. "And Santana, for god knows what. Did she really have a boob job? You know what, on second thought, don't answer that. None of this matters." He glared at his father, then at Puck. "None of this matters."

"I know," said Puck. He took Kurt's hand. "We had the most awesome summer. And nobody cares. Isn't that how we wanted it?"

Kurt tossed the towel on the floor of the truck and sighed more loudly. "This morning, Dave threw a slushy in my face. You're asking me if this is how I want it?"

"Kurt, you're just having a hard time readjusting after the summer," Burt said. He was trying to be soothing, but Puck could tell Kurt wasn't about to be soothed. "You've done this pretending stuff before, and you can handle this. Now go in and finish up your day. How does your schedule look?"

"Fine," Kurt grumbled. "Lunch is next. The three of us have two classes together besides Glee. British literature and algebra. And I have French fifth period while Finn and Puck are in Spanish."

"Sounds like it's not so bad." Burt patted Kurt's shoulder. "There's another change of clothes in the bag, just in case. I'll see you boys at home."

Kurt hopped out of the truck and watched his dad drive away. He scowled ferociously. "I didn't even thank him for the clothes." He glanced at Puck, who was holding out his phone. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Look," Puck said.

Kurt focused on the screen of Puck's phone as he called up the picture of Blaine under the trees, the one he'd taken the day before at Dalton. He watched Kurt's face visibly soften.

"Better than funny cat pictures, right?" Puck gave him a hopeful smile. "See, life's not so bad. Can we go to lunch now?"

Finn made an attempt to escape from government right at the bell and head up to the attic room, but Rachel caught him in the hall before he could manage to reach the staircase. She smiled and closed with him in a way that definitely said I want something from you.

"I'm sorry about earlier," she said. "The way I was in front of Jacob and the camera. I wasn't going to turn down a moment in the spotlight."

"I'm okay with that," he said. "You can have it. I don't want the spotlight. I'd just as soon it… light something other than this spot, actually."

She smiled harder and placed a hand on his chest. "I missed you this summer."

"I missed you too, Rach." He tried to smile back, dodging to one side, but she held him back.

"I figured that little white lie I told about us dating all summer would throw them off the scent. You know." Her voice dropped to a loud whisper. "About all your boyfriends."

Finn winced. "Uh, yeah. Thanks for that. Rach, I really want to catch up, but I'm kind of —" He nodded at the hallway. She finally got the hint, taking a few steps back, her eyes getting wide.

"You could come over after school," she said at normal volume. It didn't sound like she was pretending. "I'd like to hear about your summer."

No, you wouldn't. Finn was fairly certain Rachel wasn't going to like hearing about his summer. He could tell her about Spanish class and parts of RENT, but he couldn't mention anything about the Adam Lambert concert, not to mention hooking back up with her biological father. Not that she would know who he was. She still thought her adoptive gay dads had provided the paternal DNA. Still, he didn't want her to think he didn't care. He sighed.

"Football starts today, but I could come over for a little while after that, before dinner?"

Her persistent smile made him more uncomfortable than happy. She kissed him quickly on the cheek, then drifted off backward down the hallway, giving him a little sappy wave before stumbling into a bunch of sophomores.

"Adding to your harem, Hudson?"

He turned to see Lauren watching him. Her tone was bored and she didn't look all that interested, but he shrugged anyway.

"She's my… exception."

She mirrored his shrug. "Whatever. You don't have to justify your tastes to me, no matter how bizarre they might be. I was just heading by the gym and I saw the new football coach setting up her office." Now Lauren's pencil-thin eyebrows went up.

"Yeah, I know about that. I heard Six was coming to work here." It wasn't even the most uncomfortable way in which his after-school activities were suddenly merging with his during-school ones. That honor would have to fall to Ms. Pillsbury being his ex's girlfriend. Sort-of ex. He shook off the confusion. "Her real name's Shannon something. Beastly?"

"Beiste. It's French. Apt name. If she's as hard on you guys as she is on her proteges, you're in for it. Well… toodles!" She gave Finn a little wave that was a perfect ironic replica of Rachel's and continued on down the hall.

Finn managed not to be stopped by any more people on his way up to the third floor. The key stuck a little in the lock, but he got the door open. The attic room was just as they'd left it in the spring; as Kurt had suspected, none of the janitors or anyone else seemed to be bothering with it. Brad had bequeathed it to them, and even though they had their own house now, it was still good to have a place at school where they didn't have to be anybody other than who they were.

With a long sigh, Finn dropped into the chair by the window and took out his phone. There were two texts from Blaine. One was a snapshot of him and his roommate Trey in their uniforms, waving. Blaine looked completely calm and happy, but Finn knew better than to trust that expression. His hair was perfectly gelled.

Back to pretending, Finn thought morosely.

"Remind me why this is a good thing, again?" he muttered to himself. There was no answer, of course, but he didn't expect one. Even a haunted attic didn't talk back.

The other text from Blaine was a lyric from a song, and it did make Finn smile.

1 text - Blaine Anderson
8:26 AM - Sat by the river and it made me complete

Blaine had sung that song for him the first time he'd visited their house, before construction had been completed — before they'd acknowledged the extent of their feelings for one another. Now, every time Finn went out to work on the landscaping or help his mom with the new plants in the garden, it felt a little like he was working on making a safe place for Blaine — for all his boys. Somewhere only we know. It wasn't unlike Toby's house, or this attic room at school, but the house and the yard and the garden were special. It was his — as much as Kurt and Puck and Blaine were his.

He sent Blaine a reply: I'm going to Spanish next. Four classes down, two to go. Love you, baby.

It wasn't exactly a good sign that it was only the first day of school and Finn was already counting down the hours in the day. Summer school hadn't been anything like this. At least next hour he would see Puck in Spanish. And then there was Glee, and then football, and then he could catch up with Rachel, and then he could come home to Puck and Kurt and Sarah and his mom and Burt. That was everybody in his family but two: Bethie, who was spending her week at Shelby's, and Blaine, who was too far away in Westerville.

And Carl, added the insidious voice. Carl, who was officially his ex, but who'd still said I love you on the phone on his way to Chicago, and who'd given Finn one really good night of memories and a lot to think about after the Adam Lambert concert in July. No, Carl wasn't family, but he was… something. Finn just couldn't figure out what that something was.

Nobody commented on how good Puck's back-to-school lasagna was, but Puck guessed this was more due to exhaustion than disapproval. He let the silence stand, passing the crusty garlic bread down the table and back several times while everybody ate. Eventually, Carole put on a determinedly cheerful smile.

"So how was school?" she asked, and took a scoop of broccoli. "Sarah, you go first. Was eighth grade any different than the last one?"

Sarah made a disgusted face. "Is this a thing? Do real parents actually ask this question?"

"I do," said Carole firmly.

Finn nodded regretful affirmation. "Just answer," he advised her. "It's easier."

"No more Skypeing with Lauren this year, which sucks." Sarah tucked her newly-dyed forelock of purple hair behind her ear. "Classes are the same. The kids are just older. Oh, except Marley Rose has apparently taken her eighth-grade mentor role a little too seriously. She's terminally cheerful. I keep wondering what I could tell her that would scare her enough to stop trying to befriend me." She sent a hopeful glance down the table toward Burt. "Tatenui, can I tell her we buried bodies under the foundation of the house?"

"No," Burt said, grinning. "I'm sure you can be a lot more creative than that. Without resorting to the truth."

"Oh, well." She shrugged. "Then can I have Frances over for dinner tomorrow?"

Carole looked at Burt, then nodded. "As long as her mom says yes."

Puck suspected that had been Sarah's actual goal all along, and she'd just asked for something outrageous to make it easier for Carole to say yes. He could have reminded her that Carole actually did say yes to things, and they didn't need to manipulate her or Burt into doing things like that, the way they had with their own mother, but he decided to remain silent.

"How about you, Finn?" she went on, turning toward him. "How was football?"

"I don't know yet. We have this new coach. She's — uh, a friend of Carl's. Maybe you know her?"

His mom went a little red and shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Anyway, we're not going to talk about that stuff at school, so…" He made a useless gesture. "I guess I'll just do my best to pretend it's normal."

"That's the spirit. How was Rachel's summer? You were at her house this afternoon, weren't you?"

Finn nodded. "I didn't tell her about Blaine yet," he said to Kurt.

"That's up to you," Kurt assured him. "You can bet none of us will be pushing you to play boyfriend-girlfriend with Rachel Berry. But you can if you want to," he added, at the look he got from Carole. "What? I didn't say anything bad."

"Kurt," sighed Finn, "you don't get to make judgments about my friends as long as you're rehabilitating Dave Karofsky."

"Fine! Fine. Just — don't expect me to be around when you do tell her about Blaine. She's more jealous than Quinn, and that's saying something." Kurt brushed his bangs back and chewed on a mushroom. "We sang that New York song in the courtyard at the end of Glee. I admit it was nice to sing with everyone again."

The silence settled over them again. Carole frowned.

"Come on, school can't be all that bad. It's only the first day."

Sarah looked at each of her brothers in turn, then back at Carole. "It's just because being here all summer was so much better."

They all nodded glumly. Burt shrugged, setting down his fork.

"Well, sometimes, you've gotta do the thing you have to do first, in order to get to the thing you want to do." He pointed at Kurt. "It's an economical exchange, right? Work for pay. You do your homework, go to school, then on the weekend…"

He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to. Puck knew Finn and Kurt were all thinking the same thing he was. Blaine.

"When I go get Beth on Friday night, I can pick up Blaine and bring him here," Puck said. He could feel his face heating up as he made the suggestion, but his voice was steady.

That made Kurt sit up a little straighter in his chair. "Would that be okay? Finn, what about band practice in Columbus?"

"I don't think we're going to do that," Finn said slowly. "I'm not sure yet."

"You'd be welcome to invite him to come," Carole said, and Burt nodded. "We certainly have the space. As long as you all get your homework done."

Everybody seemed a little more cheerful after that. While Kurt talked about French class, Puck got up to clear the dishes and bring out the raspberries and ice cream. He was still getting used to the way the new kitchen worked, where everything was kept and the quickest ways to get in and out of the dining room without interrupting people's dinner. It was a little like figuring out a phrase in music.

He was distracted enough by this process that he didn't notice Carole and Finn talking in the doorway until things had already gotten heated.

"I'm not telling you that," Carole was saying. "You know I like Blaine. I'm just saying I want you to be a little careful."

Finn made a noise somewhere between a sigh and a groan. "Mom, I really don't think you understand how hard it is, having him halfway across the state."

"I understand," she said, her voice tight. "And I also understand that you have plenty of commitments right here. It's not summer anymore. School comes first."

"You know I care about school," he said. He sounded more agitated than annoyed. Puck came over to stand very close beside him, and Finn laid a hand on the waistband of his jeans. "I did school all summer."

"Yes, and you did very well. That's what I'm talking about, Finn. You did well because you focused on one thing. During the school week, the things happening right here — in this town, this house — this needs to be your focus."

He paused, then let out a quiet laugh. "Are you sure you're talking about me, here?"

Carole's eyes flew open. Puck caught his breath at the uncharacteristic outrage on her face, but he didn't move back from where Finn was standing with his arm around his waist. Finn just held his ground.

"Excuse me, young man?"

"I know where you've been spending your weekends," Finn went on, still quietly. "It's a long drive to Columbus."

Puck thought Carole might actually yell at Finn. He was definitely crossing a line, bringing up Carole's not-so-secret visits to Irene's. She'd been going down almost every weekend for most of the summer. All of the boys knew, and Sarah, but Puck wasn't sure if Burt did.

Finn and Carole stared at one another for a long moment. But then Finn ran a hand over his face and sighed, looking down.

"I'm not saying anything bad about her, Mom. I'm saying — I'd think you would understand that sometimes it's hard to focus on what's in front of you."

"I do know, honey." Carole still looked angry, but she reached out and took his hand, squeezing it. "I'm not saying it's not going to be hard."

Finn leaned his head over and rested it against Puck's, just briefly. Puck felt it like a kiss, and he leaned back into him, letting his body take the weight of Finn's burden.

"It's not even so much about what I want," said Finn. "It's hard to think about Blaine being all alone at Dalton. He needs us."

Carole flickered a look into the dining room where Kurt and Burt were still sitting, apparently talking about French while Sarah interjected snarky comments. The space between the kitchen and the table was wide enough that they weren't listening in on their conversation, although Sarah was looking up every few moments and watching them carefully.

"Sometimes it's not a choice between having what makes you happy and being responsible," Carole said, still holding his hand. "Sometimes being responsible for others is the choice that is going to make the difference, even if you don't end up happy."

Finn looked ambivalent about that answer, but Carole added quietly, "Finn. Don't argue with me about this. You get a lot of say as an adult member of this household, but you're going to have to let me put my foot down sometimes about things I think are important."

Finn's expression was not all that pleased, but he didn't attempt to persuade her any further. Puck decided the dishes had waited long enough and returned to the table without Finn to clear away the ice cream. The arguing didn't bother him. That had always been a normal part of his home life. It made him feel jittery, though, when Finn was unhappy and he couldn't do anything about it.

Finn's phone was sitting beside his chair. When Puck picked it up, it showed two missed calls from Rachel and a text from Blaine. He brought the phone with him into the kitchen and showed Finn the screen.

"Do you want to talk to Rachel?" he asked Finn.

Finn took the phone and grimaced, thumbing through the messages.

"Not tonight. She just wants to schedule more dates with me. I'm really not ready to explain Blaine to her."

"Dating on a schedule," said Puck, shaking his head. "I really don't get that."

Kurt moved in from the doorway to the kitchen to stand beside Puck, facing Finn. The three of them automatically shifted into a closed circle, their arms locking them into connection.

"Sometimes a schedule is useful, though," Kurt said. "Like when one person doesn't feel like they're getting what they need. Blaine knows he'll see Finn on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and he'll be seeing you on Fridays and Sundays if you'll be bringing him back with you when you pick up Bethie."

Finn thought about this. "Do you want a day on the schedule for you and Blaine?"

"Maybe not a permanent day. I think my cheerleading schedule is going to be too busy and erratic for that. But I think Blaine would like it if we could each schedule a date night with him. And with one another, too."

Puck thought about the message waiting for him on his own phone, the one he hadn't been sure if he wanted to answer or not. He cleared his throat. "Maybe we shouldn't start this week. My dad wants to meet for dinner, just me and him."

Kurt's hand tightened on his arm. "Oh. Do you really think you should —?"

"I don't know," he said. He looked at the floor. "Maybe? He's been kind of… he's been all right, these past couple times we got together. I think I'm going to try to let him attempt this dad thing. Even if he wasn't crazy to hear about Blaine."

"Well, I think I'd like to plan a date for you and Blaine," Kurt told him. That made Puck smile.

"You do remember what happened the last time we tried to do date night? Things kind of blew up for us." He chewed at his pinky finger, watching both of them. "Maybe Carole's right. We should just cool it for a while."

Finn zeroed in on Puck's face. This had the effect of turning off Puck's words and making him breathe a little faster.

"My mom just said we should focus on what we have," Finn said evenly. "I think a little intentional time together would be… good."

Focus, thought Puck faintly. "Yeah," he said, "yeah, that sounds… yeah."

Kurt gathered him up and breathed into his neck, holding him tightly until he was calm again.

"You'll sleep with Finn tonight," Kurt whispered.

"Yes sir," Puck whispered back. Now that Beth was gone, he had no routine for his nights. Kurt had picked up on this and decided he would be in charge of where Puck would sleep. Sometimes Kurt chose for Puck to be by himself, which was fine, and other times he was with Finn or Kurt, which was even better. Sometimes Kurt told him to sleep in Sarah's room, and that was good too, considering they saw a lot less of each other these days.

Finn finished clearing the table while Kurt led Puck into the kitchen, stationing him at the sink. He put a comforting hand on the small of his back, and Puck relaxed into Kurt's strength. He felt a surge of gratitude.

"Thank you, sir."

Kurt's smile was pleased, which made the feeling ten times as good. "When you're done here, call Adam. Then Finn will put you to bed."

Put you to bed, when it came to Finn, inevitably involved collar and cuffs. All of their beds had hooks embedded in the hardware now, so no matter where Puck slept, he could count on that being available to him. He nodded, and bent his head to the dishes.

He lost some time after that, as often happened when he focused on a particular task, like changing oil at the garage or singing in Glee. When he'd recovered enough to notice what he was doing, the kitchen was clean and Finn was leading him upstairs.

"Adam," he managed, and Finn nodded, gripping his arm.

"After I get you undressed," Finn murmured.

Puck wasn't about to argue with Finn. He just stood quietly as Finn stripped off his clothes, one piece at a time. Once Puck was naked, he settled on his desk chair, resting his hand on Puck's head.

"Go ahead," Finn said, and smiled.

Puck fumbled for his phone and pressed the speed dial for Adam's cell phone. It wasn't easy to find him while he was on tour, especially considering he was currently in the midwest. At this point in the evening, Adam would already be in makeup and talking with fans, if he wasn't on stage. But he made a point of carrying his phone with him as long as he was backstage, and if Puck or Kurt called, he answered. Tonight was one of those nights.

"Honey," Adam breathed on the other end of the line. Puck closed his eyes on the word, feeling it penetrate.

"I'm here, Adam," he said. He could hear the background noise of the crew getting ready. He didn't take his eyes off Finn.

"I'm so glad you called. How was your first day back to school?"

The only people on tour who knew everything about Adam's current situation were Angela, who did a good job masquerading as a personal assistant, Tommy, who hated everything about Adam's relationship with Kurt and Puck, and Crystal, his security guard who couldn't care less about his personal choices. Puck wondered which of them were paying attention to what he was saying.

"It was okay?" he said, tasting the words. He hadn't talked to anybody about his day. "It's the same, really. We have a new football coach who's in the scene. She's not giving us an easy out, though. She's making all of us start over and prove ourselves."

"Sounds like a valid plan." gentle. Puck wished he could feel Adam's hands on his skin. He wondered if they would feel as gentle as his voice sounded. "Let me know how that goes. I'll call Kurt when we're done here. We're in the middle of a goodbye soiree for Longineu Parsons. He's taking off at the end of September. Isaac Carpenter is replacing him, though, and he's amazing. It'll be fine."

Puck didn't hear any anxiety in Adam's voice, but he knew Adam was good at masking it. He settled on the ground in front of Finn's chair, resting a hand on his Finn's thigh. His own cock was distractingly hard. Finn sighed quietly at his touch, letting his legs fall open a little.

"I'm gonna have dinner with my dad this week," he said. It was always easier to tell the honest truth when he was under the control of one of his Tops. He heard Adam's hummed response.

"You're going to tell him about Blaine."

"He already knows." Puck tipped his head up at Finn, waiting for some indication about what he should do, but Finn just sat there, his hand resting on Puck's head. Puck could see from his excellent vantage point that Finn's cock was as hard as his own. He swallowed. "Finn is — I'm watching him, and he's — ready for me. Waiting to touch. And I want to."

"I bet you do." Adam sounded proud, not mad. Puck couldn't have kept the truth from him any more than he could have pretended not to be turned on by it, but it was a relief to hear his relaxed tone. It made it easier to ask for the next thing.

"Can I — can I suck his cock? Please?"

"Yes," Finn murmured, almost at the same time that Adam said, "Of course, honey."

It didn't matter who he was asking, or who was giving him permission. Puck shifted forward on his knees, settling closer between Finn's thighs, running a hand up and down the length of Finn's jeans-clad thigh, watching his cock twitch. They made simultaneous noises.

"I'm going to say good night, honey," said Adam, still sounded completely loving. "You be Finn's good boy. I'll talk with you tomorrow."

"All right," he said, then added, "I love you," just because he knew Kurt would have made him say it. Finn smiled. Puck hung up the phone and let it slip to the ground, then turned all his attention to serving Finn the best way he knew how.

Finn's good boy, he thought, letting his awareness slip away. In moments like this, he could almost believe it.