A/N: Can you believe it? It's finally done! I'm so sorry it took me this long to update but I really hope you will like this! It's super long! O_O

Part Three

I was alone I never knew
What good love could do

Back at school on Monday, Puck was expecting that Kurt would ignore him because it was just the way it seemed to work between them. However, when fifth period was over and he still hadn't seen Kurt, Puck was quite sure that they had just gone from ignoring to avoidance and, for reasons he was still trying to understand, it bothered him.

So, when he ran into Mercedes just before lunch, he asked her about Kurt's whereabouts.

"Why would you want to know where he is?"

"Can't you just tell me?"

Mercedes stared right into his eyes as if looking for some confirmation that he wasn't looking for Kurt just to slushee him or something equally mean. Finally, she sighed and said, "He's not at school today."

Puck couldn't help but feel concerned. "Is he sick?"

"No." Mercedes shook her head sadly. "It's because of what happened ..."

"With Finn," he finished for her.

"How do you know that?" Mercedes asked, suspicious.

Puck shrugged. For various reasons (and Puck could very well guess what those reasons were), Kurt hadn't told Mercedes about them and Puck was sure that Kurt wouldn't appreciate it if he told her anything, so he opted to keep his mouth shut.

Mercedes put a hand on her hip and glared at him. "OK, there is something you're not telling me and I don't like it."

"It's not my place to tell," Puck simply answered before turning around.

"Wait up. Where are you going now?" she called after him.

"I have something to do."

Before Mercedes could add anything else, Puck walked away. "Why do I feel like no one is telling me anything lately?"

*GLEE*

Finn was getting his books from his locker when he heard Puck's voice shouting, "Hey, Finessa!" He furrowed his brow in confusion, ready to ask what the hell Puck wanted since they weren't talking anymore, but the words died on his lips when his former best friend walked up to him and punched him in the stomach.

To the students walking by, it would have looked like they were just having a bro-hug when Puck put one hand on Finn's shoulder and Finn had to hold onto Puck to stop himself from falling flat on his face. Finn sucked in a breath, and for a moment, he couldn't understand what had just happened because of the blindingpain that was suddenly shooting across his abdomen.

"Wha-what th-the hell ..." he forced out.

Puck pulled back a little so he could look Finn in the eyes. "You better make it up to Kurt, OK?" He patted the boy on his shoulder before walking away, completely ignoring Finn shouting after him.

He turned around the corner, pulled out his phone, and quickly typed a message. He hit send and walked into the cafeteria with a self-satisfied grin on his face.

'Come to school for Glee'

*GLEE*

When the last bell rang, Puck left the nurse's office and headed to Glee, trying to distract himself from the eagerness he was feeling at the mere idea of seeing Kurt again after the whole weekend. He was almost at the choir room when Quinn stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

"Did you find a job?" she asked right away.

"I'm looking around."

"I can't keep living with Brittany, Puck. I could move in with you even if you still have to find a job."

Puck sighed heavily. "We've already been through this, Quinn. Trust me, you don't want to live under my mother's roof 24/7 with me and my sister. We'd drive you nuts after a day."

"Then, you better go find a job." With one disdainful look, the blonde turned around and walked away.

His good mood disappeared quickly after that. He headed towards the choir room and tried to hide his disappointment when Kurt didn't show up.

He was still surprised whenever he caught himself missing Kurt or looking around the cafeteria or a class hoping to catch sight of him or for a chance to look into those greenish eyes. Over the weekend, he had tried to figure out his feelings, but all he could figure out was that he liked that Kurt had turned to him when he was breaking down and he had liked waking up with Kurt in his arms or falling asleep next to him an awful lot. He had never enjoyed just talking or sleeping with someone before and what he was feeling now was completely new – he didn't have any other experiences to compare it to.

All he knew was that he wanted to be around Kurt for as long as the boy would let him and that he really wanted to kiss him.

He remembered when he'd told Finn that he could wear a dress to school and people would still think he was cool. Now, he wasn't so naïve anymore. He'd taken a slushee back when he was dating Rachel and he'd almost thrown in the towel then, but he'd changed his mind 'cause he wasn't going to chicken out just because of what people would say.

If he liked someone, he had the balls to see it through all the way to the end and, slushees or not, insults or not, being around Kurt made him feel good about himself and he wasn't about to turn his back on a chance at happiness and it wasn't because he was a badass and had no fear (because he was scared shitless), but simply because he'd found someone who was worth it.

Now, all he had to do was convince Kurt that it could actually work between them.

*GLEE*

It was the next day during lunch break, and Puck had not seen Kurt all morning. He was putting his things away in his locker before he went looking for him when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and found Kurt smiling at him.

"I know what you did."

"Hello to you too," Puck replied, trying to change the subject.

"Puck."

"You know what I did last summer?"

"With Finn," Kurt replied exasperated, sighing heavily and looking a little uncomfortable as if he didn't want to talk about it or have to explain himself. "Mercedes told me that you asked her where I was, then you sent me a text to come to glee one minute before Finn called me to ask if we could talk."

Puck scratched the back of his neck nervously and looked anywhere but at Kurt.

"So, thanks. He apologized, talked with my father and endured being threatened. It was funny, actually," Kurt added with a devilish grin.

"It was nothing," Puck said, feeling self-conscious.

Kurt nodded, changing the subject quickly to get them both out of the awkward situation. "So, I found you a job."

Puck closed his locker and started walking. He tried to hide his smile when Kurt quickly fell into step next to him. "What kind of job?" he asked, as if he wouldn't take anything he could get at that moment.

"One of my father's customers owns a restaurant. I was helping in the shop during the week-end and ..."

"Wait," Puck interrupted him. "Doesn't your father own a garage or something?"

"Yeah." He stopped walking and glared at the other boy. "What's your point?" Kurt's trademark bitchy tone was back in a second and Puck laughed.

"And you help him?"

"For your information, Puckerman, I've been helping my father since I was six."

Puck held his hands up in surrender but couldn't fight off the smirk that curved his lips. "Sorry. So, you were saying about that job?"

Kurt glared at him for a few moments more before starting to walk again, followed by Puck. "As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, I asked Mr. Rogers if he was looking for help. He said yes and I told him about you, that you're trying to find a job to support your daughter. So, now you have an interview tomorrow after school."

Puck stopped walking and caught Kurt's wrist into a loose hold. "You really found me a job?"

"Kind of. I got you an interview," Kurt said blushing a little and shrugging like it wasn't a big deal. "You better not screw this up, Puckerman," he added after a few moments with a grin.

Smirking broadly, Puck threw an arm over Kurt's shoulders and brought him in closer in a sort of awkward half hug to stop himself from starting a victory dance and singing, 'You so care about me!'. "Thanks, dude."

"Whatever."

Puck wasn't really surprised that they weren't going to talk about sleeping together, or the fact that Kurt had been so down that he actually took Puck up on the offer of being his shoulder to cry on. He had started to figure out that the best way to handle Kurt's mood swings was to never acknowledge them. However, he was surprised by the fact that Kurt hadn't already yelled at him to take his hands off of him, or squirmed away from his hold. In fact, they were still walking down the halls half-hugging like it was a normal occurrence.

"I wanted to ask my dad to hire you," Kurt said, quietly, pulling Puck out of his thoughts. "But I didn't." He looked up and smiled. "I thought you'd never accept because of what ... you know ..." He lowered his gaze blushing. "Happened."

Puck smirked. "You still blush thinking about it?"

"It's one thing to do something and another to think about what it is you've done …"

"Well, it's a nice change. I'm used to Santana and there's pretty much nothing left that would make her blush. Your innocence is cute."

Kurt rolled his eyes and finally pushed him away. "Please, restrain yourself from calling me cute."

Puck took hold of the lapels of Kurt's blue Marc Jacobs coat and pushed him up against the wall. They were on their way to Spanish and that hallway was pretty empty since there were only the Labs and the Choir room.

"Would you prefer to be called hot?" He teased and Kurt blushed again. "You're that too."

"Puck ..." Kurt's voice came out like a whisper and he wondered why lately, every time Puck was around, he kind of lost his voice.

"Thank you."

Kurt frowned and looked up into Puck's eyes at the sincerity of those two words. "What for?"

"For the job. I really mean it."

"I told you, it's not a job, it's just ..."

"Yeah but it's more than anyone else would have done." His hands left the lapels of Kurt's coat and slid up so they could rest around the boy's neck; his thumb brushed against Kurt's lips. They were there a breath away, parted and moist and he really really wanted to kiss them.

Every thought of being in the middle of the hall, so close to the bell that would signal the end of the lunch hour that anyone could see them, went out of the window. And if someone did catch them, then how was he going to explain that? He imagined that from a distance it would look like he was threatening Kurt, but he would know that that wasn't the truth and, frankly, he'd very much prefer to shout that he had changed, than quietly pretend to be the same.

"You can thank me after you get the job." Kurt forced himself not to look away from Puck's gaze that wandered from time to time to his lips. He was suddenly feeling like swallowing was impossible and his hands were starting to get sweaty. He had had a major mental freak-out the second time he had woken up in Puck's arms and felt like he could actually get used to it. He was trying to hide his confusion, because he was sure that Puck would never really want him in that way, except for money or out of pity, or, at the very least, it was simpler to believe that than actually question the fact that Puck might truly have genuine feelings for him.

"I can take you out with my first pay check."

Kurt shook his head. "With your first pay check you're going to buy your daughter a dress or a crib or Quinn's vitamins." He couldn't really sit through a dinner with Puck without calling it a date and he didn't want to have a date with Puck, did he? No, because he was trying to stop himself from falling for yet another jock; he wouldn't let himself fall for another jock.

Puck leaned in a little even though they were already practically nose-to-nose. "You could still come with me." His thumb pressed down against Kurt's lips and Puck felt the now familiar sensation that surged inside him every time he was able to get Kurt to show an emotion, and it started to spread when he felt the boy trembling under his touch.

"You know what, Kurt?" His eyes looked up from those rosy lips for a moment, looking straight into Kurt's green ones. "I really want to kiss you right now." He gulped loudly feeling his mouth going suddenly dry. He couldn't remember ever having been so nervous about kissing someone and he doubted it had anything to do with the someone being a boy. He was trying to stop lying to himself and that nervousness had to mean something. "I'm going to kiss you right now."

His hand cupped the boy's cheek and he leaned forward stopping a breath away from the now closed lips, waiting for Kurt to push him away, to start yelling at him; he waited to see anger or fear reflected in that piercing gaze, but none of that happened.

Kurt's eyes stayed that clear shade of green, his arms at his sides and his breath steady despite the trembling Puck could feel under his fingertips. And that made the decision for him. He was going to kiss Kurt and he was going to make him feel something. He would even settle for anger because he was feeling so much in that moment, that he simply couldn't allow Kurt to stay detached yet again.

He took a deep breath, hesitated a second more because he wasn't about to force himself on Kurt, and when the boy didn't make a move to stop the kiss from happening, he brought their lips together.

Kurt kept his lips closed and, as soon as Puck's were on his, he stiffened as if finally remembering that he was supposed to have pushed Puck away as soon as the boy had pushed him up against the wall. He started squirming and felt Puck smile against his lips and in that moment, he was just so frigging confused because Puck wasn't supposed to be his first real kiss, Puck wasn't supposed to be anything at all. Except that he was. Puck had been Kurt's safe place when Finn had blown up and Burt and Carole had looked at him with sorrow.

He brought his hands up onto Puck's shoulders and pushed him away. When he opened his eyes, Puck was grinning at him.

"Are you angry?"

He remembered that yeah, he was supposed to be angry. He straightened his back and said, "Of course I am, you lip-raper!" He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and made a show of acting completely disgusted but, no matter if Puck bought it or not (and he seriously doubted he did), he couldn't lie to himself. In fact, he mentally called himself a coward and a liar.

"Awesome." Puck turned around and walked away leaving Kurt behind looking at him completely bewildered.

As soon as Puck was out of earshot, Kurt turned around and kicked the wall. He didn't want to let himself fall, he didn't want to give Noah Puckerman yet another chance to trample on his heart, but he had to admit that ever since their night together, Puck had been caring towards him and Kurt couldn't really convince himself that he objected to it.

His fingers found their way to his lips without him really commanding them to, and when he realized that he could still feel the gentle pressure of Noah's lips against his own and really wanted to feel it again, he started to realize that perhaps he had given up more than just his first time to Noah Puckerman.

*GLEE*

Kurt knew that he shouldn't continue to ignore Puck, but even if it felt wrong, he had to do it because he had to figure out what he really wanted and being around Puck tended to make him stop thinking clearly. He hadn't told anyone about his kiss, above all because he was afraid that if the word got to Quinn, she wouldn't allow Puck to be with his daughter anymore. But he also knew that every time he'd feel eyes on him and he'd look up to find Puck looking at him, he'd feel happiness starting to spread inside him and he came to the conclusion that perhaps the whole love thing was really sneaky. There was even a moment when he wished that everything that had happened with Puck had happened with Finn instead, just because he was pretty sure that being with Finn would never have made him feel so much. Finn would have been a safe bet, especially because it would never have happened.

While they were tidying up the choir room after Vocal Adrenaline had trashed it, Kurt told himself that if for the first time in his life happiness was coming his way, he shouldn't really stop himself from grabbing it just because it came in the form of one Noah Puckerman. He was the first one to hate labels and people's expectations for him, so he knew that he'd be a hypocrite if he used Puck's past as an excuse to deny them both whatever it was that was happening between them.

He really wanted to talk to Mercedes about it and get another person's opinion, but he was pretty sure that an outside observer wouldn't really grasp the meaning of those stolen glances, of the feeling of waking up next to a boy for the first time in your life, of feeling like you could lie there watching him sleep and never get bored.

He looked up from the trashcan he was filling with toilet paper and found Puck looking at him. When their eyes locked, they both smiled and Kurt really thought he could get used to seeing Puck smiling in that quiet shy way because it was something that would be truly theirs; he had never seen Puck look at anyone else like that.

When Santana went up to Puck and seductively whispered something in his ear, which Kurt couldn't hear from where he was standing with Tina and Mercedes, and all Puck did was shake his head no before Santana stormed away, angry, Kurt felt that maybe things really were different.

*GLEE*

After the whole fiasco with slashing Vocal Adrenaline's car tyres, Kurt waited outside Figgins' office for Puck to come out. He saw Shelby Corcoran leave first and he quietly waited until Finn and Puck walked out with their shoulders drooping.

Finn looked at him in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting to hear how much trouble you two dumb jocks were in."

"We have to pay them back," Finn mumbled before walking away, leaving Puck behind with Kurt.

Puck looked at Kurt with a half smile. "You're going to talk to me now?"

"How could you think that that was going to end well?" Kurt asked, ignoring the other boy's question.

"Hey, they humiliated Rachel and the whole glee club. I had to do something."

Kurt smiled, feeling strangely proud of Puck's reasoning. He looked around to check that the hall was empty and then grabbed Puck's hand. "It's nice that you thought about Rachel's feelings and that you wanted to restore the glee club's pride."

Puck barely nodded at Kurt's words, too focused on the feeling of those slender fingers curled around his wrist. It only lasted a few moments though, because then Kurt pulled back. "Kurt ..." Their eyes locked and Puck was getting tired of all this dancing around. "I got the job," he ended up saying.

"I know." Kurt's smile was small but happy and Puck almost forgot all about his frustration. "I guess now we know what you're going to do with your first paycheck."

Puck wanted to call him out about changing the subject but he saw fear in Kurt's eyes and that stopped him. He smiled again and nodded before starting to walk away leaving Kurt behind. He was feeling scared about his feelings himself, because they had come kind of unexpectedly, but he really wanted to know how it would feel to be close to Kurt for real. He wanted a chance; that was all he was asking for.

The next day when they were back in the choir room, Puck noticed that Kurt was sitting in the last row far away from both Mercedes and Tina and he took that as a signal. He walked up to the last row of chairs and sat down next to Kurt being careful to leave an empty chair between them so no one would notice that they were sitting together.

He put on his most badass face and leaned back against the chair and casually turned to face Kurt, catching the boy smiling. Puck's lips curved into a satisfied grin and he kind of forgot that they were in the choir room until Mr. Schue came in all excited, going on and on about funk and beating Vocal Adrenaline.

When the bell finally rang signaling the end of rehearsal, Kurt didn't move from his seat and Puck pretended to be looking for something in his backpack, waiting for the others to leave the choir room. When Mr. Schue called Rachel into his office, Kurt got up from his seat huffing his annoyance. He turned to Puck and said, "I guess we'll have to wait for another time." He got his bag and walked off before Puck could ask why they couldn't talk in the parking lot.

He glared at Rachel on his way out and she could only look at him confused.

*GLEE*

When Kurt got to the choir room the next day he hoped he could get Puck alone so they could talk, even though he still had to figure out exactly what he was going to say, but when he stepped inside, he found Santana sitting next to Puck and he couldn't really help it when his eyes contracted in anger. Unfortunately, the girl seemed to notice because she looked sharply at Puck who in turn ignored her completely choosing to stare at his shoes.

Kurt walked to the last row and sat down a chair away from Santana. There was no way that he was going to back down now, even though she probably didn't get what was happening.

They all sat through Quinn's rendition of "It's a Man's Man's World" and Kurt had never wanted more for a glee rehearsal to finish as soon as possible. When she finally finished her song and they all got up to go hug her, he hung back for a moment before following the others. He felt Noah behind him and glanced back for a moment catching his hazel eyes, which in that moment were unbelievably sad. He wanted to hug him, be that safe place for him that he had been for Kurt. However, when the bell rang, Puck left with Quinn and Kurt had never wanted so much to run after someone as he wanted to right then.

"Hey, Kurt."

He turned around finding Mercedes looking at him. "Hey, 'Cedes."

"What is going on with you and Puck? First he asked me where you were and now you suddenly sit next to him in Glee?"

Kurt chuckled nervously. "It's not the first time I've sat next to him."

"I know but this time is different." Mercedes sighed heavily and shook his head. "You're my best friend, Kurt and I'd like it if you'd trust me enough to talk to me."

Kurt couldn't get the words past his lips, he wanted to tell Mercedes about the deal he had made with Puck, he wanted to tell her about the feelings he had started to develop for the other boy, but he couldn't bring himself to actually utter a world because he feared what she'd say if she found out the truth and he couldn't help but feel awful for doubting her.

"I don't know what's going on, Kurt, but I hope you'll talk to me sooner or later." She pulled him into a quick hug before stepping back. "I'll be there when you need me." She squeezed his hand for a moment before leaving the choir room.

Kurt quickly grabbed his things and left, heading as quickly as he could to his SUV. When he was in the parking lot, he saw Puck's truck still parked. He told himself not to look, but he couldn't help it. He glanced over at the pick-up and saw Puck pulling Quinn into an embrace that felt so intimate that he had to look away because he felt like he was intruding. He closed his eyes for a moment to gain back his control. Then, he turned around and headed towards his SUV, and if his eyes stung from the tears, he ignored it.

*GLEE*

It was hard to pretend that everything could be as normal as it had been before Puck had started showing him kindness, but when Kurt walked around school the next few days, he tried his best. When Santana told him that the Cheerios were going to lose Nationals because Coach Sylvester still didn't want to get out of bed, he couldn't even bring himself to care. Puck seemed to be always around Quinn and as much as Kurt tried to revert to his cold bitch exterior, inside, he was hurting because he was back to square one, only this time it wasn't just a stupid crush based on nothing. He had had Puck for a moment and he knew what he was missing out on. He wanted him back but didn't know how to do it and, truth be told, he wasn't sure Puck still wanted him.

He felt stupid because besides that kiss and Puck's offer to be his fuck-buddy, he didn't really have any clues as to why Puck would want more from him, but it had looked like he did want more whenever they locked gazes.

So Kurt went through another day, ignored Puck whenever they shared a class or during lunch and got to Glee feeling like he wanted nothing more than to go back home and crawl under his covers and never leave, especially when Finn announced his and Puck's performance. That really had to be his personal nightmare – the guy he'd had a crush on and the one he could really learn to love dancing together sexily, singing flirtacious lyrics.

Glee club finished early because everyone was too depressed to actually focus on choosing songs for a competition they were sure they were going to lose, so Kurt got his things and headed out of the choir room. He was almost at the school exit door when he felt a hand grabbing his elbow and he knew who that touch belonged to. He turned around with his bitch-face in place and asked, "What do you want, Puckerman?"

Puck seemed taken aback by his behavior but after a moment of hesitation he asked, "What did you think of the song?"

Kurt opened and closed his mouth a few times before he could actually reply, "You ignore me for almost a week and now you ask me about your song?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that ..." Puck shoved a hand over his shaved head and sighed. "She was depressed and I needed to be there for her."

"I know that, Noah, it's just ..." Kurt looked away and lowered his head. "I wanted to talk to you and then you were suddenly spending every minute with her and I guess I ..."

"You were jealous?"

Kurt looked up sharply at the other boy. "You can wipe that stupid grin off your face, you know?"

Puck became serious again. "I'm sorry I ignored you. I didn't do it on purpose like you did with me, but she needed me and she's carrying my daughter, you know?"

"Why aren't you with her?" Kurt suddenly asked.

Puck frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"She's the mother of your child, why aren't you trying to be with her?"

"I tried but it didn't work out." He shrugged. "I guess we were never supposed to be together, you know? If that was the case, she would have been my girlfriend long before she was Finn's." Noah stepped closer to Kurt and tried his best to look open and honest. "I don't want to be with her, Kurt. You have to believe me."

Kurt was surprised by the sincerity he could hear in Puck's words. He nodded and reached out, grabbing Puck's hand into his own. "Why did you kiss me, Noah?"

"Because I really wanted to. I needed to kiss you because that night you wouldn't let me, and I figured out that kissing you was the best shot I had at figuring out if what I was feeling was more than lust. This is all new for me and I'm not even talking about you being a dude."

"Then what is it about?"

"I've never felt something like this. I love Quinn because she's carrying my daughter, but I like you for no reason at all."

Kurt frowned and almost took his hand away, but Puck held onto it. "No, hear me out. I know that I love Quinn for one reason, and I know that if it wasn't for Beth, I wouldn't love her. But Kurt, I like you without even knowing why. I just know that I do and that waking up with you – it felt ten thousand times better that anything else in my life."

"But you love Quinn, Noah."

"Because of Beth. Look, I'm not the romantic type ..."

"I have to disagree with you on that. You serenade every girl you like," Kurt said with a small smile.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like a song."

"That's because you've kind of turned it into something cheap. There's nothing special about it anymore."

Puck smirked. "See? You're different, I'm learning my way around you and I like that you're not like everyone else. I used to make fun of you for that but now that I've gotten to know you a little, I like what I see and I want more, Kurt." He said the last part in a whisper, before stepping closer to Kurt, letting go of their hands so he could put his around the back of Kurt's neck like the first time he kissed him.

"Are you going to kiss me now?" Kurt felt nervous again but this time it felt different because there were no lies. It was the kind of romance he had dreamed about, of a guy that would make him feel so much that he could actually be scared of his own feelings. But this felt more natural than every other fantasy scenario he had ever imagined with Finn.

"That depends." Puck answered with a cocky grin. "Are you going to kiss me back this time?"

"Are you sure, Noah?"

"About what?" he asked, pulling back a little. "Because I'm pretty sure that I want to kiss you right now."

"Are you sure you want to go through with this. We started it all off in the wrongest way we could find and now ... I don't know. You're straight and you're in love with a girl, and how am I supposed to fit in with all of that?"

Puck could feel Kurt starting to slip away from him and he wasn't about to let that happen again. "I want you. You want me, and everything else can go fuck itself, you got that?"

Kurt blinked in surprise a few times, unable to get his mind around the fact that Noah Puckerman was more sure about this relationship, or whatever it was between them, than he was. He was pretty sure that it was a matter of now or never because the more they waited to face what was going on between them, the harder it would be to take a step towards it.

He bit his lower lip nervously and his hands clenched and unclenched a few times before he finally cupped Puck's face and got on his tiptoes to kiss him. And it felt nothing like their first attempt at kissing.

With neither of them wanting to pull away, the moment their lips touched Kurt felt himself starting to tremble. His hands tightened their hold around Puck's face just as Puck's hands closed around his hips to pull him forward. Kurt's arms slid around Puck's neck and he sighed into the kiss, fueled by a passion he had never known he could feel. But it was there and it felt so real that he felt himself drowning in it, and the realization that Puck felt the same (if the hands squeezing his hips almost painfully were any indication), was the best thing he had ever felt in his life.

When they finally pulled apart, Puck looked at him kind of surprised. "Well, that was ..."

"I kissed back," Kurt said with a smile.

"Yeah, I kind of noticed that." Puck laughed and brushed their lips together for a brief kiss.

"Someone could have seen us."

"Yeah well, we're too hot to care about that."

Kurt's expression quickly turned from elated to worried. "It's not going to be easy and ..."

"I know. I know better than anyone else besides you how hard it can be. I made it hard for you and others for a long time so believe me, I know exactly what I will face."

"And you're still willing to do this?"

"Yeah," Puck said with his trademark grin. "You're kind of worth it."

Kurt laughed before stealing another kiss when he couldn't help himself. Then he stepped back and experimentally slid his fingers through Puck's. "I'll start calling you Pucky-Puck."

Puck laughed and started heading out of the school pulling Kurt along behind him. "I take it you didn't like the song?"

"It was horrible and what the hell were you doing punching the floor? Next time you want to rock a song, come to me, ok?"

"Promise."

*GLEE*

"Why are we all sitting in circle?" Santana asked once Rachel had taken her place on the chair at the center of the circle. "Why is Hummel sitting next to Puck?"

"We're sitting like this because I have to tell you what Jesse and Vocal Adrenaline did to me," Rachel answered, ignoring the question that wasn't about her.

Kurt rolled his eyes and moved his attention from Rachel to Puck who was glaring at the floor. "What are you doing?" he asked in a whisper hoping that no one would hear him.

Puck didn't answer him because Rachel started telling them what Vocal Adrenaline had done to her in the parking lot and as soon as she had finished, Puck said, "Finn, Mike, Matt, come with me." And then he got to his feet.

Kurt tried to ask him what the hell he was doing, but Artie nudged him in the ribs and he had to get up too.

Luckily, before they could do something more stupid than slashing tires, Mr. Schue finally came into the choir room and announced his "brilliant" idea of exacting revenge on Vocal Adrenaline with a song.

"I love Mr. Schue, but you can't solve everything with a song," Artie said an hour later as they walked out of the choir room.

"I can't rehearse," Kurt said while they all walked towards the school's exit.

"We're leaving tomorrow afternoon," Santana said.

"Leaving?" Puck asked looking at Kurt surprised.

"Yeah, the National Championships, Puckerman," Santana answered for Kurt. "Coach Sylvester found her mojo again and we're back on top. We're going to win."

"Thanks to Kurt," Brittany added, smiling brightly. "He's singing in French."

Kurt turned to look at Puck sheepishly. "I thought you knew. Everyone is talking about Nationals and Coach Sylvester won't shut up about it. I'm sorry," he said, glad that except for Brittany and Santana, the others were too far away to hear him.

Santana crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at the two boys. "What the hell is going on with you two?"

"What is going on with you and Brittany?" Puck answered, missing Kurt's bewildered gaze.

"There is nothing going on with me and Brittany," Santana retorted.

"It's none of your business, Lopez, ok?" Kurt cut in before Puck could utter another word. He glared at Puck before starting to walk away.

"Kurt!" Puck called after him. "See what you did?" He asked Santana, before shaking his head and running to catch up with Kurt. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I know that whatever the hell we're doing, it's new and we don't know how to define it, but did you have to compare it to Santana and Brittany's fooling around?" He stopped walking and looked at Puck. "That's not all this is, right?"

"Kurt ... I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't sure it was worth it."

Kurt nodded even though he wasn't completely convinced. "I guess I ..."

"You don't really think I'm being serious," Puck finished for him and, instead of getting angry, he took it as a challenge. "Well, fuck that, I'm going to prove you wrong, alright?" He turned away and left Kurt standing there staring after him.

"That boy really confuses me."

*GLEE*

The next day, while the Cheerios were all gathered in the parking lot getting on the bus, Kurt heard Puck shouting his name. Mr. Schue had called a special rehearsal for the club so they could be ready to show their funk to Vocal Adrenaline, but Kurt hadn't seen anyone from Glee all day because it was Saturday and he had arrived at school just in time to leave for Nationals.

When he turned around, Puck was running up to him and, as soon as he was standing just a few inches from Kurt, he took Kurt's face between his hands and gave the boy a little smile before leaning forward. Puck's lips brushed against Kurt's for only a second before he pulled back. He'd tried to think of something that would show Kurt how serious he was about them, and had figured out that showing him that he wouldn't be afraid to act like his boyfriend in front of the school was a damn good example of showing how much he cared.

"For good luck," he said with a grin when he noticed Kurt's surprised expression. "Go kick some ass, babe." Then he turned around and, as quickly as he had come, he ran back towards the school leaving a shocked Kurt behind.

After a few moments, his fingers went up to his lips and he couldn't help but smile before turning around to get on the bus. In that moment, he felt like nothing bad could ever happen; he even ignored Santana's glare and focused on Brittany who was smiling happily and who told him how cute he was with Puck.

"You think he's going to be your boyfriend or something?" Santana asked coldly with her arms in front of her chest once all the Cheerios were on the bus. She was sitting with Brittany while Kurt was sitting alone in the seat across from them.

He shrugged and glanced out the window, searching for Puck even though he knew he was back at Glee rehearsal. "I don't think anything. He ..." Kurt trailed off for a moment looking for the right words to say. "I don't know," he looked at Santana unable to stop smiling. "He just kind of started annoying me hoping that I'd tell him to go to hell and now ... I don't know," he repeated. "I'm not expecting anything from him, I'm letting him be who he wants; just standing beside him because even if I wanted to keep hating him, he'd never let me and I really don't want to anymore."

"Hummel, not even you are so naive that you really believe that that's all there is to it." Santana sighed and for a moment, Kurt saw something flickering in her eyes, some kind of light he had never seen before and it was a kind of soft light, not the evil sparkle she usually had. "Anyway, I don't really care. He's a loser, you can have him."

"I don't ..."

"Everybody wants Puck but no one wants to keep him," Brittany cut in. She looked at Kurt and smiled. "I bet he loves your baby hands and soft lips." Then, she turned her attention to Santana. "He's always staring at Kurt, you know, San?" Then she took her iPod from her bag and put on her headphones, starting to move her head up and down in time with the music.

Santana looked at Kurt for a few moments, studying him, and the expression she usually had when looking at him, her face a mixture of disgust and indifference, disappeared. "I don't know what the hell is going on or when the hell Puckerman turned gay or whatever, but you should enjoy him while you can. At least he can't get you pregnant."

Kurt frowned. "Don't talk about him like he's a disposable object." He turned around and picked up his iPod so he could go through the songs he had to sing that night for Nationals and missed Santana's satisfied grin.

She wanted to be with Brittany but was scared and if Puckerman had the balls to go get what he really wanted, then she could actually admit to being happy for him. She linked her pinkie with Brittany's and leaned her head on the blonde's shoulder enjoying that small affection she could get from the girl she loved.

The Cheerios ended up winning mostly thanks to Kurt's performance of Celine Dion songs. By the time they got back to their hotel and he checked his phone, he had a message from Mercedes saying, "I can't believe my boy was just on TV" and one from Puck that made Kurt grin until he fell asleep.

"My boy is a National Champion. How hot is that?"

Sue made the Cheerios spend Sunday on their own looking around the city and it was already late evening when they made it back to Lima.

When he was back at school on Monday, Kurt was feeling like nothing could stop him. There was no dumpster tossing and no slushee facial. He walked down the halls feeling like the king of the world and not even Santana's crude jokes about him and Puck ruined his good mood.

Because they had only a few classes together and because Mr. Schue made them rehearse every day until it was dark outside, Kurt and Puck hadn't had a chance to spend any time alone. They needed to talk because despite the kisses and Puck's words, Kurt still feared that since Puck wasn't gay, what they had could be just a misguided feeling born from Puck's stubbornness, of having to prove that he could melt the "Ice Queen."

The first time they managed to be alone, or at least close to alone, it was the next Friday right after their performance of "You've Got the Funk". They had rocked the song and Vocal Adrenaline's members looked like they had just seen a ghost. Riding on the adrenaline of proving to such an amazing club that they were truly special and could very well beat them, Puck took Kurt's hand as soon as they were backstage and told him how hot he had been while singing and dancing on stage.

Kurt was still blushing when Puck kissed him softly on the lips. When they were just the two of them and Puck acted so sweetly with him, Kurt could almost forget every doubt he might have but that little perfect moment was ruined by none other than Rachel Berry.

"Oh my God!"

They jumped away from each other when they heard Rachel's loud squeal.

"Rachel ..." Kurt managed to say, trying not to sound as scared as he was feeling.

"What's going on here?"

"Don't say a word to anyone," Kurt quickly said. He felt Puck's eyes fix on him but he ignored it.

"We're a team, I can't keep this hidden from the others."

"Rachel, please ..."

"Why can't she tell the others? Why can't we tell the others?"

Kurt looked at Puck and found the boy practically glaring at him. He lowered his gaze unable to keep looking into the other boy's eyes. "Because then you can't go back."

"What?"

"If they find out, they will tell. The Cheerios kept their mouths shut because Santana and Brittany were the only ones that actually noticed when you kissed me, but the Glee club is the worst place to try to keep a secret. Hell, Mercedes told me you were Quinn's baby-daddy one minute after you told her. And ..."

Puck closed his hands into tight fists feeling frustrated once again. "You mean that you still don't believe I'm serious? Fuck, Kurt!"

Kurt didn't answer because he didn't know what to say. He chose to turn his attention back to Rachel ready to beg her not to tell a soul, but when he turned around, she had already disappeared. "Damn."

"And I thought I was the confused one." Puck's voice sounded almost resigned and Kurt panicked. He looked at his almost-boyfriend but Puck shook his head and walked away.

The last thing he had wanted was to lose Puck. He was happy when Puck was around and annoyed him and showed him that he cared despite his reputation or their past; he was just scared that if the school found out, there would be hell to pay for both of them and he seriously doubted that Puck really understood that, even though Puck had assured him of the opposite. He sat down on the dusty floor uncaring of ruining his outfit and leaned his forehead on his knees.

He felt like he could explode from all the emotions he was feeling and he was scared that being near Puck or knowing that he could lose Puck and maybe he had already lost him, could make him feel so much. They weren't supposed to get to this. It was supposed to be a transaction with no feelings involved and instead, here he was. Happy one moment, alone the next. The worst thing was that he didn't know how to stop himself from pushing people away. He had let Mercedes in, but that was an exception and he started to doubt that he'd ever let Puck all the way in.

*GLEE*

They were a week away from Regionals and Mr. Schue had decided to have a little party over at his place. But the evening had quickly turned depressing, so Kurt had sneaked outside despite the rain.

"Hey."

Kurt looked away from the dark sky and his eyes found Puck's in the dim light coming from the light bulb flickering at the entrance of Mr. Schue's condo.

"Hey, Noah."

"I was wondering where you had disappeared to." He put his hands in the pockets of his worn-out jeans and went to stand next to Kurt. He pretended to be looking at the cars passing by in the street, but his attention was on Kurt. He had let Kurt slip away, once again letting a week pass before he finally had the courage to face him and lay things out in the open. It was time they stopped dancing round each other and he had practiced what he wanted to say to Kurt over and over in his head for days and days. He was ready, or at least, he was as ready as he would ever be, to open up to a guy about his feelings. Or to anyone for that matter.

"I needed a break from the tears," Kurt said after a few minutes. He glanced at Puck and smiled softly. "It was starting to depress me, all that talk about forgetting each other as soon as Regionals are over."

"I would never have thought that you'd care about that. I mean, you always talk with Mercedes and Tina and they're going to still be your friends even though Glee club is over."

"I like being a Cheerio so I will still have some way to be around people, but being in Glee is different. We don't join the club because it's cool but just because we want to, and so it feels like really belonging somewhere. I don't even know if I'm making any sense. But if it ends ..." He shrugged and trailed off.

"I'm not gonna pretend that you don't exist," Puck blurted out. At Kurt's confused expression, he added, "What Mercedes said about me and Santana not talking to her if the club ends. It's probably true, but with you, it would be different."

Kurt looked at him and his eyes were piercing for a moment and Puck was taken aback by that change. Then, Kurt's lips curved into a small smile and his eyes softened. "I'd like it if you didn't ignore me." He took a deep breath and turned completely so he was standing in front of Puck. "I'm sorry about Rachel. I shouldn't have freaked out like that and she did keep the secret in the end."

"I may have convinced her."

Kurt chuckled. "Do I want to know how you managed to do that?"

"I talked about coalition between hot Jews and that being out in this town – it's kind of hard and that we would have done it when we felt it was the right moment. That was such bullshit," he quickly added. He looked at Kurt impatiently. "I mean, as far as I'm concerned, I'd go up to Karofsky and tell him that I fucked you and I'm dying to do it again with no problem, but that's not what you want and I guess I can wait."

"Noah, I'm just scared that this is not what you really want and you're not even gay and ..." Puck stepped closer and he felt fingers easily sliding through his and marveled at how intimate and natural the gesture felt.

"Ok, hear me out. First of all, even I know that there aren't just two boxes you can check and then ..." He had to stop for a moment so he could remember exactly what he wanted to get Kurt to understand. He had reasons why he wanted to be with Kurt besides caring for him when no one else seemed to and because he found him hot and he wanted Kurt to understand that so his doubts could be canceled once and for all.

"No one expects me to be anything other than a loser so I don't try to be anything more than the uncaring asshole that slept with his best friend's girlfriend. So maybe what I am about to tell you will sound completely crazy, but I mean every word." He unconsciously tightened the hold around Kurt's hand. He waited for the boy to look at him and when he did, he continued. "When you were obsessed with Finn, you didn't care whether he was gay or not, you just wanted him to like you, not all guys. And I want you not to care about what label people might put on me, ok? Don't care if I'm gay or straight, because I like you, Kurt, and that should matter more than the rest."

Puck waited for a few moments for Kurt to say anything but when he didn't, Puck started feeling anxious and his hand, still clasped with Kurt's, started getting sweaty. He cleared his throat, "So yeah, now you know what I feel."

Kurt kept staring him without a nod or a smile, not even giving the tiniest clue about what he was feeling.

Puck released his hold on Kurt's hand and stepped back. "I was hoping for a hot make out session or you begging me to take you back, but I think I'm going to go now." His eyes found the other boy's again and he felt the need to say one last thing to make it clear to Kurt that the moment for him to make his decision had arrived. "I've kissed you three times already and it's up to you now. I won't kiss you anymore." He turned around then ready to walk away, but he felt Kurt grabbing his hand and he could feel the boy's hand shaking. He glanced back at him and found Kurt biting his lower lip and staring at the concrete.

"Stay." It was barely a whisper almost drowned out by the sound of the falling rain but then Kurt was looking up, locking their gazes together and his blue-green eyes were so full of emotion, that Puck let himself be pulled back until they were standing facing each other. "I'm scared," Kurt said before cupping Puck's cheek. "I feel like you sneaked your way in, when you were supposed to be nothing."

And Puck could totally get that because it was how he was feeling most of the time when he thought about Kurt.

Puck rested his forehead against Kurt's and brought his hands up to frame his boy's pale face. His thumb stroked the full bottom lip and he had a stupid little self-satisfied grin on his face but waited for Kurt to close the distance between them because it really was up to him in that moment. And when Kurt finally did, Puck felt ready to never let go.

They left the party on their own not caring if the others would wonder where they had disappeared to. An hour later, while Kurt was still in Puck's car kissing the boy after giving him the hot make out session he had wanted, he got a text from Mercedes saying, "Rachel spilled everything and Satan and Brit knew already. What the hell, white boy?"

He groaned and slid off of Puck's lap. "What's wrong?"

"Apparently, Rachel thought that since we presumably left together it was alright to tell the others about us." He took a deep breath and turned his head to look at Puck. "I guess she solved the problem of coming out to them."

Puck visibly relaxed when Kurt said that because he didn't want to get into another discussion about coming out or not. He grabbed Kurt's shirt and tagged him forward so he could straddle Puck's lap again. His fingers caressed a cheekbone and slid up until he was flicking the wet bangs between his fingers. "Your hair is still wet from the rain. Maybe you should shave your head too."

Kurt huffed indignantly. "Don't even joke about that."

Puck kissed him, still laughing.

*GLEE*

The next day, they met in the parking lot and walked into school together. Since they weren't slusheed as soon as they were inside, they took it that the glee club had actually been thoughtful enough to keep the news about them inside the club. It was during third period that Kurt was cornered by Mercedes.

"You better start talking, Kurt."

Kurt had spent part of the night coming up with a short version of how they had come to be a couple, so he was ready and he really hoped that Mercedes wouldn't ask too many questions. "When Quinn told Puck that she was keeping Beth, he asked me to find him a job in my dad's garage and we started hanging together and then he noticed how depressed the whole thing with my dad and Finn was making me and he turned out to be a good friend and before we knew it, we wanted more."

'Ok, so perhaps it's a bit more of a lie than a short version, but who cares?' he told himself.

Mercedes looked at him completely confused. "You want me to believe that you two went from working together in your father's garage to being boyfriends?"

"Well, more or less. He's not working for Dad, I found him a job in a restaurant, actually."

"Kurt, how is any of this possible?"

"Mercedes, sometimes we find love where we aren't looking for it. You should know that." In retrospect, he had to wonder if using his bitchy side had been a good move, but he was hoping to have some luck, he had always been good with distracting people from the real matter.

"I had a crush on you, I wasn't in love with you," Mercedes replied curtly. "And wait a minute, are you saying that you're in love with him? … He made your life a living hell."

"I'm not in love with him," he said quickly because it was too soon and it had all happened too quickly already; he couldn't add love to the rest. He looked down and couldn't hide the small smile that spread on his face. "But I could get there, 'Cedes." He raised his gaze with conviction. "I may get there terrifyingly fast."

"Damn, white boy." She sighed heavily and shook her head. "You must have lost your mind." She slid an arm through Kurt's and changed the subject and Kurt was grateful.

At Glee later that day, Kurt came in with Mercedes and he sat in his usual seat at the end of the row and she sat down next to him because she didn't want to give up her usual seat just because her boy was now with Puck. However, she had left the chair next to her empty so if Puck wanted, he could sit with them. Her plan was foiled because Mike arrived before Puck and sat down next to her, leaving Puck only one option – sitting two chairs away from Kurt. All Kurt and Puck could do, was pay attention to Mr. Schue, who was announcing a Journey Medley for Regionals.

When they were finally told to head home, everyone hung back and Kurt and Puck knew what was coming. Mr. Schue left them all together guessing that they needed some time by themselves.

"Why did we have to hear it from Rachel?" Tina asked.

Finn was stuck between confusion and incredulity. "Since when are you gay? You always joked about me being in love with Kurt and now you're the one with him?"

Kurt looked confusedly at Puck but the boy just shrugged without looking away from his former best friend. "Hey, I'm too badass for labels," he half-joked, "and what's the big deal anyway? You were with Quinn then with Rachel and we didn't interrogate you." He looked at everyone in the club before blindly reaching over to Kurt to twine their fingers together. "So we're two dudes, what's the big deal?"

"We won't tell," said Santana surprising everyone. "It's not a secret what me and Brittany do, but if someone outed me, I'd kill them." She looked straight at Kurt then. "I'm sorry for the jokes about being a homo, Hummel."

"You're creeping me out," Kurt said honestly.

"Yeah, well, you won us Nationals. I can't insult you anymore."

"So now you know we're together and we're not going to like, host a coming-out party for the whole school or anything, but we're not going to hide either," Puck said, glancing at Kurt for confirmation. When the boy nodded and smiled, moving closer to him, he grinned broadly. "We're hot together, so who cares what the other douches in this school will say?"

"It won't be easy, Noah," Rachel said. "You should know that."

"Yeah, and I'm doing it anyway." He threw one last glance at everyone in the room, before turning around and dragging Kurt out of the class behind him.

Kurt could see how nervous Puck was feeling from the rigid set of his shoulders but he didn't say anything, choosing instead to only squeeze the hand he was still holding and, after a few moments, Puck relaxed and slid his arm around his boyfriend's shoulders.

*GLEE*

They were scared of losing, scared of not being good enough to beat someone as strong as Vocal Adrenaline; but they still believed that they could do it and went on stage with their hearts and souls on their sleeves. They sang Faithfully, Anyway You Want it/Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' and Don't Stop Believing and they rocked the songs.

While they were on stage and just after they had finished their performance, they felt invincible.

"I loved your solo in Anyway You Want It," Kurt told Puck as soon as they were backstage. Everyone was running towards the dressing room riding high on adrenaline, but they wanted a moment to themselves.

Puck's hands went to their now usual place on Kurt's neck and his thumbs brushed Kurt's soft cheeks. He leaned forward, stopping a breath away from his lips and he didn't care if he sounded cheesy when he sang softly against Kurt's mouth, "I was alone, I never knew, what good love could do." And before Kurt could question his words or his feelings, he closed the tiny gap between their lips and felt Kurt's curve into a smile against his.

"PUCK! PUCK!"

Finn's voice pulled them apart and Puck turned around practically glaring. "What?"

Finn had to take a deep breath before he could actually speak. "Quinn is having the baby."

Without thinking about it, Puck grabbed Kurt's hand tightly and started running behind Finn. Kurt almost fell trying to keep up with Puck and Finn's fast run and he was almost dragged on the ambulance but he stopped and tugged on Puck's hand.

"You go. I'll come with the others."

Puck grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into a hard kiss before jumping on the ambulance and Kurt tried his best not to feel like he had the last time Puck had left him behind for Quinn.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to find Tina. "It's going to be ok, Kurt," she told him sounding sure of herself and Kurt chose to believe her.

*GLEE*

It felt like hours later when Mr. Schue told him that they would be waiting for him outside the hospital so they could all go back to the auditorium in time to hear the verdict and Puck left Quinn with his mother in a room and went to the Maternity Unit for a last look at his daughter. He found Shelby Corcoran still looking at Beth.

"Do you want a daughter?" he asked and Shelby turned to look at him startled.

"I do."

Puck nodded and walked closer to the window where the parents could look at their babies. He could easily see who Shelby was staring at. "Could you call her Beth?" He tried to speak around the lump in his throat. He wanted his daughter but, at the same time, he felt like he couldn't give her all she deserved. He had never felt so much like a kid as he was feeling in that moment. He'd told Quinn he loved her and he'd meant it, she was the mother of his child, how could he not love her? But he knew, deep down inside himself, that they could never work out just as he could honestly say that he wasn't just settling for Kurt. Kurt dared him to be better, and he wanted to learn how to be that better person Kurt would need and that better person that could someday be someone's father.

Shelby looked at him with a smile. "I could never change her name."

Puck nodded. "Thank you." He turned around before he'd start crying but Shelby's soft voice stopped him.

"You know where to find her, Noah."

He didn't know if he was more surprised that she knew his name or the fact that someone would actually offer him a chance. He looked at her with gratitude. "Thank you."

She nodded and turned back to watch Beth, and Puck walked out of the hospital. He got on the bus and sat on his own at the back, only looking at Kurt for a moment as he walked by him on his way to the last row.

They went back to the auditorium without great expectations because Rachel had called to let them know about Vocal Adrenaline doing Bohemian Rhapsody. When Sue announced that the winner was Carmel High's glee club, they were sadder to know that it would mean the end of New Directions than because they had lost.

They left the auditorium in silence, and this time, on their way to Lima, Puck sat next to Kurt holding his hand the whole time and Kurt was happy to finally be Puck's safe place even though they were in a crowded school bus with people crying all around them and neither he nor Puck was actually talking about anything.

When they finally got to Lima and everyone left with their parents, Kurt grabbed Puck's hand to lead him to his SUV. "Is someone waiting for you at home?" he asked without stopping.

"No."

Kurt practically dragged Puck inside the SUV and didn't say anything else until they were at home. It was late and Kurt had already prepared a speech for Burt if he was still awake because he had to get Puck to stay, but Burt was snoring on the couch in the living room and Kurt lead Puck downstairs, locking the door.

"Your dad will get mad if he finds me here."

"Don't worry."

"I don't want to sneak in like I did with Santana or … any other girls, Kurt."

Kurt nodded and hugged Puck. "I know. We're not here to have sex, so relax." He waited for Puck to let himself go and when he finally felt strong arms circling his waist to pull him closer, he tightened his hold and tried to do his best to help Puck.

"I'm sorry," and he could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. "I am so sorry, Noah." He was angry with Quinn for letting Puck believe that he was going to see his daughter grow up only to take everything away from him in the end.

Puck pulled back and Kurt hated to see the tears sliding down his cheeks but then Puck leaned forward and brushed his lips softly against Kurt's. "Thanks, babe." He whispered.

"After what you did for her and ..."

"Quinn was right," Puck cut him off. "We weren't ready and we wouldn't have been good parents for Beth."

"But ..."

"Shelby is going to adopt her." He managed a small smile and cupped Kurt's face between his hands before leaning forward for another kiss this time lingering into it. "I'm going to see her growing up, Kurt," he said once he had pulled back. "I'm going to be there as best as I can."

Kurt pulled him into another hug holding him as tightly as he could. "I'm happy for you then."

"She'll let me see her," Puck said burying his face in the crook of Kurt's neck. "She'll let me be there."

Kurt closed his eyes and slid his arms around Puck's neck before leaning his forehead on Puck's shoulder. Being so close with someone, knowing that Puck would feel better with Kurt at his side, felt amazing and Kurt was pretty sure that he'd never be able to let go.

EPILOGUE

It was quite incredible how easily they fell into their relationship considering their past and how they had started this relationship. Kurt had officially introduced Puck to Burt as his boyfriend the same day Mr. Schue had announced that the glee club had another year. He was ready for his dad threatening Puck and Puck was almost positive that Burt would have forbidden Kurt from seeing him, but he had been surprisingly supportive.

He had told Kurt that he trusted his judgment even though Puck looked like a bit of a loser, but he was pretty sure that it had more to do with the fact that Burt Hummel at sixteen had been a Noah Puckerman (minus the mohawk) and he was sure that Kurt had his mother's powers of redemption.

Mrs. Puckerman had been different from what Kurt had expected. She was Jewish and wanted Puck to date a nice Jewish girl, but she cared for Puck and Kurt had been surprised. Perhaps he should have thought that since the woman still washed her son's hair and had made him shave his mohawk because she thought he had a melanoma, she was caring in her own way, but he had thought that if Puck was such a homophobe, it had to come from his home environment too.

Instead, when Kurt had met her after Puck had introduced him with a, "Ma, he's my boyfriend. He's not Jewish and he's not a girl," she had nodded, looking incredibly tired before saying, "At least you won't get this one pregnant." Granted, from time to time she still asked Puck to bring home a nice Jewish girl, but those were the times when she was drunk and forgot all about Kurt.

They were currently in Puck's bedroom with the house all to themselves. Puck was sitting cross-legged on his bed and Kurt's head was resting on his thigh.

"How are you going to spend the summer?" Kurt asked. He tilted his head back a little so he could look Puck in the eyes.

"I don't know. I won't have to clean pools this year since you got me a job," he answered with a shrug while experimentally playing with the strings of his guitar.

"I seriously hope you'll never do that again."

Puck chuckled at the jealousy he could hear in Kurt's voice. He still had to get used to having someone that really wanted him, wanted to keep him. Raising his left hand from the guitar's neck, he entwined his fingers with Kurt's. Smiling, he leaned down and left a soft kiss on his boyfriend's lips.

'Boyfriend,' he repeated in his head marveling at what they had become and how it just felt so right.

"Don't need to be jealous, babe."

"It's not just that. It's ..." Kurt sighed and pulled himself into a sitting position. "You're worth more than being someone's ..."

"Whore?" Puck finished for him.

Kurt lowered his gaze and nodded, feeling ashamed that he had used Puck pretty much for the same thing only a few months ago.

Puck cupped his cheek with his hand and, putting his thumb under Kurt's chin, he forced him to look up at him. "Hey, I'm not going back to being that guy, ok? I stopped being that person the first time I fucked you."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "You have to work on your romantic speeches."

Puck laughed and stole another kiss and Kurt's lips curved into a smile when he pulled back. Puck put the guitar down and pulled Kurt up onto his lap. "It's going to work out."

"Yes, it is," Kurt replied confidently.

"So: summer plans," Puck got back to the question. "We're going to spend it convincing your father that I'm not a complete loser."

Kurt laughed, sliding his arms around his boyfriend's neck.

The End