One

Will sighed as he traced a finger across the vibrant splotch of red marring his neck, he'd hoped the mark would have faded but it was still a dark scarlet and was going to attract a lot of unwanted attention. He knew the importance of keeping the relationship a secret and so by association the hickey would have to be hidden too.

Stepping away from the mirror and returning with a number of shirts, the teacher held each one up to compare but quickly reached the conclusion that the collar of each was far too low to effectively mask the blemish.

Returning the shirts to their proper place, with a slight nervous buzz in his stomach because of his predicament, Will cast his gaze round the room and noticed his scarf sitting a amid a heap of wrinkled laundry. Wrapping the garment over the problem area and returning to the bathroom he observed the effect in the mirror. He looked rather ridiculous stood in only a pair of jeans with a full length scarf tossed casually around his neck, but the bruise was hidden.

Pulling the scarf off so he could resume dressing Will traced a hand over the mark again, still sighing but markedly more relaxed about it now that he had a plan for concealment in place.

*

Will gathered a few odd looks over the course of the day, but nobody actually asked him why he was wearing a woolen scarf indoors when the heating system was – for once – working efficiently; for which he was grateful as he had yet to think of a plausible excuse. Nobody, that is, until after school rehearsal and the always dependable spanner-in-the-works: Rachel Berry.

"Mr. Schuester, while I appreciate that having a cold may slow you down somewhat you are still in charge of the group choreography and it is your responsibility to lead the boys in learning these new steps."

Somehow Will had known the feeble 'ill' excuse would not hold up, "I understand Rachel, but..." I can't dance with the scarf on, and I can't take the scarf off!

"But nothing," Rachel overrode determinedly, "When I was 7 I had chicken pox and I still attended my audition for the role of Molly in the local theater production of 'Annie'."

"Did you actually get the part?" Kurt's snide remark redirected Rachel's attention and the ensuing bickering was interrupted by Mercedes who pointed out an argument wasn't helping anyone's moves.

After watching the boys stumble into one another on four separate attempts at getting the new choreography down Will called an end to the day.

"Can I recommend a healthy dose of vitamin c before our next practice?" Though worded as a question Rachel's parting remark sounded more like a demand.

"I'm sorry for disappointing you Rachel, but not everyone's going to be as hard working as you." Will tried to smile at the club's star to keep her in good spirits, but the whole day had him tired and frustrated.

Once Rachel had left Will noticed that Finn had lingered behind, "I'm, um, sorry. About the..." Finn scratched at his own neck looking chastened.

"It's fine Finn." Will exhaled and felt his tense form loosen a little for the first time since that morning.

"So you're not mad?" Finn asked.

"No. I can't be mad for something that's as much my fault as yours," Will answered, and seeing the relief that spread across Finn's face at his confirmation, he couldn't help but smile properly.

Two

Finn didn't give his boyfriend hickeys on purpose. It wasn't a dominance or a claiming thing like it was for Puck. Heck, Quinn had a similar rule about not leaving marks because her parents wouldn't be happy if they saw them, so Finn knew he was capable of being light.

The problem was the mailman. More specifically the fact that the mailman didn't work anymore. Before he'd had the nerve to confess his attraction to his teacher he'd been using the mailman chant to stop any embarrassing incidents, but somehow 'mailman' had converted to 'male man', which was actually kind of a redundant phrase, but also useless at stopping 'eruption'. It also accounted for that recurring dream of Will in a UPS uniform.

So with the mailman tactic no longer working Finn had developed a new technique to hold off during make-out sessions or those times where Will would let them get down to some dirty grinding; giving a hickey took focus and pressure, the act of a love bite redirected Finn's attention and saved him having to admit to his problem to his more mature boyfriend, who clearly didn't have the same trouble.

*

Finn was always apologetic, but Will knew it was his fault too. Finn left marks without thinking, so it was important to him to remind Finn when they were getting too close; but sometimes he would forget and then he'd have a fat bruise on his collarbone that he just couldn't bring himself to regret.

A few weeks after the scarf incident Will found himself with a collection of pink blotches leading down his neck. Knowing from his recent experience that they wouldn't be gone by Monday he prepared a fresh disguise.

*

"Hi, Mr. Schue," Kurt greeted the teacher with his usual flair and leaned casually on the piano.

"Hello Kurt." When the young man stayed where he was Will stopped sorting the sheet music, "IS there something you wanted to ask?"

"Oh, it's just... That sweater, is it new?" The fashionista inquired casually.

"Uh, yes. I just bought it yesterday in fact."

"So you still have the receipt, right?"

"Kurt," Tina hissed, elbowing him without any subtlety, "Don't be r-r-rude."

"Don't get me wrong. It's great, I love it, I'd marry it." He held up his hands defensively, "But honestly Mr. Schue, you just can't carry off a turtleneck."

"I'll keep that in mind," Will replied with an amused smile.

Three

As Finn's hickeys persisted Will sought a more long term solution. The bruises he was receiving lasted for about five days and were noticeably visible for the first three of those; in theory smaller bruises should heal faster and so Will had spent a very enjoyable Saturday instructing Finn in the art of leaving smaller marks. By the end of the day most of his chest were peppered with colored patches and there was one solo hickey on Will's neck in Finn's favorite spot.

On Monday the results of Will's hypothesis were as such; the bruises were smaller but still took time to heal.

Will would have worn the turtleneck again, if not for Kurt's protest about the falling standards in fashion at William McKinley High School (and his resulting trip to the dumpster courtesy of the hockey team) the previous Friday. It would not be good to cause the situation to flair up again. So, as a result, Will discovered an unplanned advantage to his experiment.

*

"Oh, Will. Are you all right, what happened?" Emma's keen observation skills, though normally attuned to possible germ hotspots, picked up on the band-aid instantly.

"Cut myself shaving," Will replied calmly, barely pausing in eating his sandwich.

Four

The failed attempt to hide the hickeys by reducing their size nonetheless provided Will with the inspiration for his latest plan for concealment. He'd had dozens of identical bruises across his chest that he hadn't needed to hide as they were already under his shirt.

"So as long as it's under the shirt, it's okay?" Finn questioned once Will had explained the latest development.

Will nodded from underneath Finn and leaned up to recapture his lips. Under the shirt. Under the shirt. With a new chant to replace 'mailman' Finn happily returned the kiss, settling comfortably into their usual rhythm. When the heat in his groin was getting a little too close to melting point Finn pushed away and retreated down to his boyfriend's waist, pushing the hem of his t-shirt up and sucking at the first patch of skin his lips touched desperate to hold off. When Will moaned at the contact, bucked his hips upwards and unintentionally pressed his clothed erection against Finn's neck the younger man gasped his release, warm breath ghosting over the new bruise.

Will struggled to sit up as the younger man shifted about awkwardly, "Finn?"

"I, uh..." Finn flushed bright red and pulled at the fabric about his crotch uncomfortably.

"Oh." As he realized what had happened Will pulled himself further upright. Finn was hunched over on the edge of the couch looking embarrassed so Will wrapped an arm round him, "It's okay, it happens."

"Sorry," Finn mumbled, he was still looking at his feet and he was trembling slightly; though whether from his orgasm or his discomfort Will couldn't tell.

Will shifted down onto his knees on the floor so he could look directly up at Finn, "You haven't done anything wrong. It just means I'm doing everything right."

Finn's rabbit-in-the-headlights expression gave way to one of amusement at his boyfriend's reassurance, "So you aren't mad?"

"Not mad," Will confirmed, taking Finn's hands in his own and squeezing tight before getting to his feet and pulling the younger man up with him, "Do you want some clean underwear. I remember how uncomfortable that can be."

Still blushing slightly Finn nodded in reply and Will leaned close to give him a peck on the lips before turning to find a pair of boxer shorts to lend to him.

*

What with the premature ejaculation, the reassurance and the clean-up, Will entirely forgot the hickey sitting above his waistband and he remained oblivious to its presence as he got dressed for work the next day. However, at Glee Club as Will ran through a routine a member of the audience caught a glimpse of the incriminating bruise when the teacher's t-shirt rode up.

"Mr. Schue." At the end of the rehearsal Kurt sidled over to Will as he was packing away.

"I'm not wearing the turtleneck today, Kurt," Will attempted to cut off any fashion criticism his student might be about to give.

"A fact for which I am enormously thankful," Kurt responded, before holding out a small tub, "Soothing balm, with in-built moisturizing action," He prompted when Will simply observed the container with confusion, "I know denim can cause skin irritation, this should help."

Will stood holding the tub of soothing balm for a few moments after Kurt had left before he understood what had just occurred.

Five

The soothing balm itself remained unused, but it did serve as the catalyst for Will's final idea.

"Really?" Finn questioned cautiously, "I can give you hickeys anywhere?"

"Anywhere you want to," Will agreed, smiling brightly as he sat astride Finn waist.

"But how...?" Will cut off Finn's question by pressing a finger to his lips, pleased when the younger man pressed a kiss to it.

"Don't worry yourself with the how, you should be thinking about where." Shifting down that he was knelt above the younger man Will brought their lips together, pleased when he felt a hand settle behind his neck and another boldly claim position on his ass.

*

In the end Finn had chosen to leave his hickey on Will's neck; partly in challenge to his boyfriend's claim that he was free to mark any part of his body but mostly because it was his favorite place to set his lips to.

Will walked into school on Monday with the hickey on his neck. No scarf or sweater or bandage to hide it, and as Will anticipated nobody noticed it was there. He even watched Finn nonchalantly searching for it while he was supposed to be reading from the textbook, yet the bruise stayed hidden.

When Glee was finished for the day Finn lingered behind, following Will to his office. Double checking to ensure they were alone Finn stepped closer, "Where did it go?"

Will smiled to himself, "If you can ask me in Spanish, maybe I'll tell you."

Finn frowned and mumbled 'donde' to himself a couple of times but couldn't seem to get much further. Will was on the verge of providing the translation when he found the younger man's lips covering his own, he pulled away from the kiss after a few seconds but in that time Finn had managed to swipe a thumb across Will's neck and learn how the hickey was hidden.

"Foundation." Finn smeared it between his thumb and finger, "That's genius."

"And you're going to flunk my class if you don't actually learn some Spanish," Will reminded pointedly.

"So I'd get to spend another year watching you?" Finn prompted, with a seductive grin.

Will rolled his eyes and rewarded Finn's single-mindedness with a quick kiss, "Do your homework, Finn. I'll see you tomorrow."

And One

On Friday Finn presented an oral report to the class for extra credit, he hadn't told Will he'd been planning to do it. His semi-fluent, hesitant words were occasionally lacking accent, but for the effort he'd put in Will knew Finn deserved a reward.

They usually met up on weekends as it was the most appropriate time, but that Friday afternoon Will found Finn waiting expectantly outside his apartment. They had an hour, perhaps less, Will knew so they made the most of the time. A hot, hard, dirty grinding session that left Finn needing a shower and another borrowed pair of underwear before he could leave.

Will settled down on the couch once Finn had gone, fingering the new bruise on his neck and recalling the taste of the skin and sweat of Finn's neck where he had left a matching mark.

*

On Monday Will was late to class so by the time he arrived everyone was sat down and busy having their own private conversations. As he tried to call the class to order Will's gaze landed on Finn, who deliberately lowered his hand from where it had been propping under his chin to reveal the splotch of pink still present on his neck. Seeing for one brief moment the naked hunger in Finn's eyes and the way the younger man unconsciously licked his lips, Will decided he would have to get Finn some foundation too, because without it it would be much harder staying focused for the rest of the year.