Title : The brother of my dreams

Author: Crazysnape/psykogleek

Beta readers : GayforKurt, Indinfiteness and Julie

Disclaimers: I own nothing but words

Summaty : He was living in New York with his best friends, he was finally going to the school of his dream and had a wonderful fiancé.

Life was perfect for Kurt, until a dreadful phone call.

Losing people you love hurt and Finn's death froze them more than a slushie. Family, friends...everything changed.

Some people grew apart while others got closer than they would have never imagined

NA: that Story had been written for the Puckurt Big bang 2014

thank for the revew

.

Part 2

.

Three months later

"Puck! You will never guess what happened today," Kurt called out as he burst into the loft. At the same time, Puck came out of the bathroom with just a small towel around his hips, buff body still damp from the shower. Kurt watched him and then yelled, "Puck! You're getting water everywhere!"

The barely dressed boy kept strutting into the living room like it was completely normal. "Chill, dude; you say that like every time..."

"And every time I have to clean up after you!" Kurt huffed in frustration. "Why can't you behave like a normal human being and dry and cover yourself in the bathroom?"

Without hesitation, Puck replied with a shrug, "Santana does the same, so maybe you are the abnormal human being? Just saying..."

Kurt grumbled and wondered how he'd ended up living with two exhibitionists when he was so... shy?

"I give up," Puck continued, watching his friend flit about the loft.

Kurt, who was staring pointedly at the water on the floor, turned his irritated attention toward his friend, now puzzled. "What?"

"I don't know what happened," Puck casually replied before heading for the kitchen.

Kurt followed him and the water he was absolutely refusing to clean up. "You didn't even try, but it doesn't matter… Blaine asked to be in my lessons." His friend offered him a beer, which Kurt refused, and turned round to get the bottle opener.

"Okay...? Well, you know how the guy is; I mean... he pushed to spend as much time as possible with you. It's sweet." Then Puck turned back once more and, seeing Kurt's face, he corrected, "or not?"

Kurt pulled a kitchen chair out and sat on it, hid his head in his arms and screamed. He listened to Puck moving behind him, but stayed still. Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Kurt? What's the problem?"

Kurt waited a moment, appreciating the warm comfort of the hand before raising his head. "I know that it's sweet, but I guess I've got used to living my life how I wanted it, and I feel like... he is suffocating me! I mean, you know I love him, but he works at the same diner as me, he wants us to have breakfast together every morning, he's there during all the WDATTD's rehearsal; if we don't have a date in the evening, we spend it together in one of our apartments. He sleeps here more often than not and now he is in nearly all my classes. Tell me, how is that sweet? Wherever I go, he's there! It's just… too much!"

Kurt blushed under Puck's sudden glare who demanded, "So he's kind of stalking you?"

Eyes wide open, Kurt thought back to what he said and blushed even more as he shook his head. "NO! I just, I just need a bit more 'Kurt' time."

"Well, tell him."

Kurt bit his nails, in deep thought. "I can't do that."

"Why not? Isn't it that communication shit you are always talking about?"

"Yes, but I don't want to hurt him. I know he means well, but..."

"Okay, stop the bullshit. You are gonna marry the guy! Come on, if it's like this now, imagine in like five years, the guy is gonna keep you in a leash!"

Some people might like that, but the picture Puck gave him of his future wasn't nice, far from it.

"Think about it; I'm gonna put some pants on."

As Puck left the kitchen, someone knocked at the door. Kurt started to get up, but he heard his friend was already on it, in the towel, so he stayed where he was.

Then, Puck sang, "KU-RT, Blaine is here", and Kurt grimed ruefully, knowing the man was amused by the whole situation.

"Hi sweetie," he felt Blaine brush a kiss on his neck and lifted his head, smiling as much as possible, given the circumstances.

"Hi, Blaine, long time no see!"

Blaine giggled, completely missing what Kurt was trying to say. "You're such a dummy. Anyway, since when does Puck answer the door in a towel? Does he think he is in a porno? I mean, you should tell him that the chance of a girl ready to undress on the other side is close to none."

Kurt sighed but didn't take the bait: Puck's presence was still a sore topic and it wasn't rare for Blaine to make a negative comment about him, or to make fun of him before getting angry when Kurt defended him. Rather than starting an argument, he diverted the conversation without even trying to be subtle.

"You seemed happy when you arrived..."

"Yes! I popped by home before coming here and I saw Sam and Artie..." Blaine dawdled, waiting for Kurt to show some interest, and – being the good guy he was – Kurt did.

"And…" he asked, taking in the way Blaine's eyes sparkled.

"We thought it would be cool to go clubbing tonight! What do you think?"

Once upon a time, Kurt would have found Blaine's smile contagious and heart-warming, but tonight was not one of them.

It was just tiring. Kurt couldn't help but notice that ever since Blaine arrived in New York, it was rare for him to go to bed early enough to see Finn and Kurt missed his brother. A lot. So, for the first time, he declined the invitation and, moreover, he didn't let Blaine change his mind and had no regrets. And better, he still hadn't when Blaine left an hour later.

That evening he had dinner with Santana, Dani and Puck. It wasn't scheduled, nothing fancy, just a little dinner among friends and he enjoyed it more than any nightclub. And the best part was that he didn't feel guilty about going to bed early: Santana and Dani had other things to do (and he really didn't want to know what) and Puck was practically pushing him toward his bedroom: Puck, too, was eager to get Finn's news.

.

The room had changed a lot since his last visit. Of course it was still white with the exception of the door which was now in some blue tone. No, the difference was somewhere else: while it used to be tidy, it wasn't anymore. It seemed like a hurricane had passed through it. Even Finn's room at home had never been so messy and, deep inside, Kurt knew he was at fault. It was so much chaos that it took him a moment to find his brother.

To be honest, it was the other way around: Finn saw him, spoke, and it was only then that Kurt saw him.

"Bro! It's good to see you. I've missed you! Why didn't you come sooner?" Finn's voice came from under a pile of clothes in a corner.

"Finn?" Kurt asked before roaring with laugher. "Why are you dressed like that?"

His brother lowered his eyes and – surprisingly – blushed. Kurt didn't remember ever seeing Finn blushing when he was alive.

"What; I was bored!"

"And trying on clothes helped you to stop? I would have never thought you'd like a good makeover. And, I must tell you: crinolines aren't your thing."

"I know. But let's stop talking about my clothes. How are you?"

Attempting to find a place to sit, Kurt moved the outfits apart. However, for every dress or pants he moved, others took their place so he gave up and sat on them. "Good."

"Don't lie to me; you know that I know."

Kurt glared at him. "Then why'd you ask?"

"Because I'm polite."

"Oh, that's new."

"You know, Puck's advice wasn't bad."

Looking at his brother, Kurt grinned. "You know, it's hard to take you seriously right now. Can't you put on something else?"

"Just shut up. If you can wear a skirt for prom I can wear one in my..." He looked around him before finishing, "my white room. It's not as if I could just snap my finger and change. I need time."

"Did you try?"

Despite of his obvious enjoyment, Finn stared at him but did it. To his great surprise, his clothes did change and Kurt wondered where his brother's mind was at the moment. Indeed, instead of the crinoline he was in a djellaba, still not his usual outfit, but less ridiculous.

"So you were saying?"

Kurt observed Finn as he glanced at his new costume. Kurt saw on his face when he weighed up the pros and cons of staying as he was inside his head before nodding, apparently satisfied.

"I was saying Puck was right. You were always talking my head off about how I need to communicate with Rachel, so follow your own advice."

"But I don't want to hurt him..."

"So you'd rather be hurt yourself? Nice way to live."

"I am not hurt..."

"Not physically, but he is crushing you emotionally and socially. That's not better."

Kurt hated when Finn scored a point. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Right. "

Then Finn looked around and asked, "You want to try on something? I think I have a Christian McQueen suit you will just love!"

Kurt giggled. "I doubt it."

"Yes, I do!"

"Christian DIOR or ALEXANDER McQueen, Finn!"

"That's what I said!"

Kurt woke up in a good mood, ready to take on the world. He'd decided to follow Finn and Puck's advice and he sent a text to Blaine saying they would see each other in class. Then, he headed to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Kurt!"

He kissed Dani's cheek, tugged a lock of Santana's hair just to hear her complain, and asked, "Who wants French toast?"

His question hung in the air for a second and when he glanced at them, he laughed. It must have been the first time ever since he'd met Santana that he saw her gobsmacked. Unfortunately, she recovered quickly and made fun of him. "Oh, do we have a Martha Stewart at home this morning?"

"Very funny, Dopey... If you aren't nice, I'll prepare just enough for Snow White," he pointed at Dani, "Sleepy and the Prince." He hesitated and then added, "Maybe for Happy, too."

Santana stared at him, curious. "Okay, so Puck is clearly 'Sleepy'; you are the Prince – who is 'Happy'?"

Kurt started taking the eggs and milk out of the fridge and went to the bread box as he answered. "Elliott, I am seeing him this afternoon."

"Interesting..."

Kurt focused on his preparations for a moment before asking for clarification. "What's interesting?"

"Where is Pretty Pony in your version?"

Kurt took a break before answering, "He… he isn't part of the scene."

"Hmmm, as I said: interesting. Anyway, I don't hear the shower, is he still sleeping? Will I be lucky enough to have a hot shower this morning?"

"He didn't stay over," Kurt said quietly as Santana quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Santana, leave him alone," Dani said quietly and Kurt sent her virtual kisses. He didn't want to talk about Blaine this morning. He'd talked about him last night with Puck, during the night with Finn and he knew he was about to spend almost all day in his company. He needed some no-Blaine time.

Starting from then, he led the conversation and, with Dani's help, they managed to avoid any touchy subjects.

Puck was woken up by the scent of the French toast and joined them, turning the breakfast into a family thing they rarely had the chance to do. Well, except for the Friday night dinner when Sam, Rachel, Artie, Elliott and Blaine came.

He tried keeping his cool. However, it turned out that Puck and Finn were right. It wasn't healthy to bottle up all these emotions, all that bitterness. In the end he exploded, and it wasn't nice.

After that, he and Blaine avoided each other for three days, something that shouldn't have been possible since they shared most of their classes, but was effortless seeing as Blaine was absent.

As Friday night got closer, and to prevent a very tense meal, Kurt decided to act like a grownup. Therefore, he didn't go straight home from NYADA, as he was longing to; instead, he took the subway for Sunnyside, where Blaine was living.

Sunnyside was a nice district, and the apartment was big and bright, but Kurt was happier in Bushwick.

Once he arrived in front of the building, he took a deep breath before climbing the stairs. He stared at the door a moment before finding the courage to knock. He wasn't in a hurry to start the upcoming discussion.

It was Sam who opened the door. His friend stared at him, nibbling his lips, and glanced back over his shoulder – in what must be Blaine's direction – before permitting Kurt to enter.

"Hey, Kurt."

"Hi, Sam."

It was obvious that something was bothering the blond, yet when Kurt asked, "Are you okay?" the other man nodded. "Yep, I think I'll go for stroll, you know?"

Puzzled, Kurt watched as Sam struggled at grabbing a vest, slid his wallet and phone into his back pocket, all at the same time.

"You don't have to go because I am here, you know," Kurt told him.

"Oh, believe me, I know," Sam told him. "But I feel like I'd rather be somewhere else. So see you tomorrow!"

And just like that, he was gone. Kurt watched Sam leaving with a pang. There was a time they'd been good friends. They used to share a home, a bathroom, and now they were like strangers. No, it wasn't true anymore; Sam was his fiancé's best friend. It was like in the song, 'Somebody that I used to know'.

Once the door closed behind him, Kurt started searching for Blaine. He wasn't in the living room, or the kitchen, or his bedroom, whose open door revealed an empty space. Kurt stood still, listening to the house sounds.

At first, there was none, but then he heard it: a TV or radio. He followed it and stopped in front of Sam's room and knocked.

"Hey, white chocolate! No need to knock to come in your own room!"

"That's not my room." Kurt pushed the handle as he spoke and stayed on the threshold waiting for an invitation. Blaine got up from the bed where he was lying and sat.

"Kurt! I didn't know you were coming…"

Kurt scrutinized the scene around him and had a weird feeling. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about the situation that rubbed him the wrong way. However, he brushed it off; he would have time to think about it later.

"I know; I thought we should talk about what happened."

Blaine didn't look thrilled by his idea.

"Care to tell me what's the matter with you?" Wrong starting point. At least Kurt thought until Blaine's cheeks turned red and he started throwing words.

"Really? What's the matter with me? There is nothing the matter with me, it's you! Ever since I arrived in New York, I feel like I don't know you. Why can't I be enough for you?"

Giving up on the invitation, Kurt entered and sat on the only chair which was by the window.

"Blaine, you are enough! I don't understand; what are you talking about?"

"No, Kurt, it's obvious that I am not. I feel like you speak with Puck or Elliott more often than you talk to me! And I'm YOUR fiancé, not them! You're always trying to leave me to spend time with them or that Dani. Did you think I didn't notice? Well, you were wrong!"

"Blaine, this is completely insane! Do you realize it? I spend so much time with you that I have to put my foot down just to have time with my friends, because this is what they are… my friends!"

Frowning, Blaine slowly asked, "What are you talking about?"

As he seemed more open to discussion than before, Kurt attempted to explain the situation, how their respective needs were not filled by the way they were currently living.

Kurt told him how he felt smothered by all Blaine's demands, while Blaine felt like they needed to make up for lost time.

And there was also another problem. Apparently Blaine not only had some weird, hard feelings about Puck living in Bushwick with him, but he felt the same about Elliott.

Kurt didn't understand where all that jealousy came from. Apart from the Chandler thing – that Kurt still didn't consider cheating – he never gave Blaine any reason to doubt his love.

They managed to lay all their problems out, talked about it and found a way for them to have everything: some Blaine and Kurt's time but also some time for them. The next Friday dinner was a lot calmer than Kurt had feared.

"Hey, Kurt."

Kurt opened his eyes slowly and looked around. Was his bed in the white room? He twisted around to get a better look. Yes, the white room, with a red door. Finn was sprawling beside him, wearing appropriate pajama shorts.

"Hi, Finn. No crinoline today?" It had become his usual greeting and more often than not his brother smiled and tried to tickle him or put him over his shoulder, but nothing like that happened this time. He barely noticed the faint smile.

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny." Finn's face was oddly gloomy, though. Kurt quickly went through all the people Finn was normally worrying about.

Kurt had talked to his dad and Carole on the phone so he knew they were okay; he'd had lunch with an over-excited Rachel, who couldn't wait for her show to start now that it was only hers and not Santana and hers; Puck seemed free of worry at the diner. No, Kurt had no explanation for Finn's long face.

"Finn, you are scaring me. Did... did something bad happen? It's Dad, isn't it? His heart? Don't tell me he had another heart attack! No, it's the cancer, it's back? Oh my gosh!"

"No, Burt is alright, don't worry about him. I don't know if I should be the one who tell you..." Finn said all that, without looking at him and Kurt's worry grew up a bit more.

"Now you have to tell me... So?"

As his brother was keeping his silence, Kurt shook him and pressed him to talk. "FINN!"

"Okay, it's... it's Blaine. I am so sorry, Kurt."

"Blaine? What... oh."

Kurt woke up in sobs, his brother's name on his lips. He needed Finn's shoulder to cry on but he wasn't there. He wanted someone, anyone. Where was Bruce when he needed him? He closed his eyes, wishing in vain to make his tears disappear and turned the question in his head.

Where did he put his boyfriend arm? He hadn't seen it for so long. It was probably in the back of his closet, but even if he wanted it, he wasn't in any condition to get up and search it.

He couldn't believe Blaine would do it again. How could he have_ and with... Kurt pressed his face in his pillow to hide his sadness, and then he felt it – the mattress dipping lower. Turning his head, he saw the shape of someone sitting on the edge of the bed.

Puck.

"Kurt? Are you... are you okay?"

The whisper made Kurt catch his breath. He didn't think he was that loud! He wasn't ready to talk about it yet.

"Y-yes." His beyond the grave voice mustn't have been convincing.

"I dreamt about Finn and he said you might need a hug; do you?"

Kurt didn't say a word; he couldn't so, instead, he nodded. Luckily, Puck saw it despite the darkness and slipped between the sheets. He slowly moved closer to him. As soon as their bodies touched, he hugged him. It was just exactly what Kurt had needed. And, the best thing was that his friend didn't ask him any questions.

Kurt cried while Puck rubbed his back while offering words of comfort. Sleep slowly came to them. The night, devoted to friendship and support ended, however, with screams.

"KURT! What's going on down there? I KNEW there was more than friendship between the two of you! How..."

Kurt jumped, woken up by Blaine's loud accusations and a feeling of cold. He looked around and noticed that Puck had rolled away from him. Blinking, he tried to focus on the scene taking place in front of him.

In front of the bed, Blaine was accusing him of cheating, again, and in the bed beside him Puck was trying to explain to him that nothing of that sort had happened. And suddenly something snapped in Kurt. Staring furiously at Blaine he yelled, "Shut up!"

His voice was cold, frozen, and it had the desired effect: they both fell silent. Kurt waited for Blaine to turn his eyes away from Puck and look at him before continuing.

"It's finished," he announced and took off his ring, holding it out to Blaine. "I don't want to see your face, ever again."

Eyes wide open, Blaine exclaimed: "KURT! How could you? For how long have you been...?"

"Blaine, shut it," Kurt interrupted. "I didn't do anything. YOU did it! I know what happened and I also know with whom..."

If he had any doubts about what Finn had told him, the way Blaine turned pale and tried to lean on the wall to hold himself up would have erased them. "Kurt... I'm sorr..."

"I just don't want to hear about it. Just one question: was it worth it?"

Blaine didn't reply, just blinked. Kurt sneered at him. "I see; there, take your ring. You know the way out, don't you? I think you should go."

His words were clear, but apparently they didn't find their way up to Blaine's brain since he remained motionless.

"Dude, you'd better leave… or I'll make you," Puck snarled.

Puck had started to get up before Blaine turned tail and fled.

"You okay?" Puck asked as he lay back.

"I'll get there... or at least Finn said so."

"Who was it?"

"Sam."

"Damn! I did not see that coming!"

"Me, neither..." Then, a flash of Blaine in Sam's room a few weeks before came to him. "At the same time, I noticed how close they were at times. Perhaps, that's why Blaine has always been so jealous of you and Elliott. I mean, if he was aware of the danger his relationship with Sam was to us... I don't know," he sighed sadly. "I just wanted to be enough for him, y'know?"

Puck hugged him tight. "You are enough, princess; he's just an idiot who is soon going to be kicking himself."

Finn had been right; ever since Puck arrived in New York, Kurt never seemed to stop needing him. Finn? That made him realize something. "Last night, you said that Finn told you I needed a hug? Does it mean what I think it means?"

Kurt raised his head to observe his friend's expression as Puck explained. He wasn't smiling; no he was literally glowing. "Yes, he came to me, Kurt! He was dressed pretty weird, but it was him. Completely panicked, 'cause you'd woken up and he couldn't do anything to help you feel better."

"I hope he'll come back," Kurt whispered.

"Yeah, me, too. Hey, do you feel up for school today?"

"No, but I'm still going. I can't miss it, I don't want to. I've a dance exam today."

"Isn't Blaine your partner?"

Kurt hid under his duvet. "Oh, dear, yes he is. I don't want to! Why did he have to ask to be in most of my classes? Give me a gun now!"

"What a diva!" Puck laughed and Kurt felt a hand trying to mess up his hair.

"PUCK, stop it!"

The laughter increased. "What? It's not as if I could mess it up more!"

Kurt got up, grinning. "You're a jerk!" Who would have ever thought that he would find himself joyfully in a bed with Noah Puckerman?

"Well, that 'jerk' was about to prepare your breakfast, but now I think I will just go back to sleep until I have to go to work." And that was exactly what he did; he settled back down in the bed and pulled the duvet up to his shoulders.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "And you say I am the diva." As the other man didn't react, he climbed up onto him and pouted. "Pretty, pretty please?"

Before Puck could answer, Santana came in, looked around and smirked. "Hmmm, kinky. Now I know why Hobbit Number Two lit out of here like his gel-head was on fire."

Santana's words were like a cold shower to Kurt and, becoming aware of his actions might look, stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom."

Behind him, as the bathroom door closed, Puck glared at Santana who simply smirked at him before sauntering out of the bedroom. Puck sighed and flopped back onto the bed, his mind going to the sad look on Kurt's face as he'd left.

Maybe Finn could be the one to help him cheer Kurt up… and help him forget about his cheating douchebag of an ex-fiancé.
The following days, Kurt managed to avoid being alone with his closest friends. He talked to Elliot and his mate was more than happy to be used as a screen – especially with Rachel. Indeed, their short cohabitation had left some resentment on Elliot's part. To Kurt, it was a huge relief.

He knew Rachel had her opinion about the way he put an end to his engagement with Blaine, but he didn't feel up to talking about it with her at the moment. He was a bit uncomfortable with Puck and Santana since the girl caught them playing in his bed, even if the moment she interrupted was very platonic.

And there was the Sam factor. Sam kept on trying to talk to him. Artie told him he should listen to him, but he didn't feel up for that conversation at the moment, or the one Blaine tried to have either.

The situation was stiff from all sides, and Kurt was starting to believe it would remain that way for a while when something happened.

As the Funny Girl opening was getting closer, Rachel started to get nervous. Apparently, she'd read various Broadway critics' blogs and that increased her nervousness to an abnormal level.

Surprisingly, it was Santana who realized it and instead of making fun of her, she opted to talk to Dani and followed her advice.

According to Dani, surrounding Rachel with the love of her friends would help her to calm down. Therefore, Santana invited everyone to the loft the day before the big opening.

Was she genuinely trying to help a friend or was she only hoping to watch him on the edge all night long, Kurt couldn't say.

Kurt heard Puck arguing with Santana about the big bash she'd organized without asking any of them but, sadly, that didn't change anything. He resigned himself for the incoming meeting and got himself ready to be in the same room as Blaine, Sam, Rachel, Puck, Santana, Mercedes, Tina, Artie, Dani and Elliot. Of course, all his problems were mostly with the first two.

The night before the gathering, Kurt had a long talk with Finn and his brother gave him some advice he decided to follow: being forthright with Blaine and Sam so the evening would be less stressful.

As soon as Rachel arrived with her bag, Kurt knew Santana had been right: she was a bundle of nerves.

He did his best to take care of her, and when Blaine and Sam tried to talk to him, he did exactly what he had foreseen: he stopped them with his hand and said, "Okay, let's be honest. I didn't ask you to come, Santana did. The three of us being in the same room doesn't mean I agree to hear your explanation, nor to accept your fake excuses. We are all here for one reason: because we all are Rachel's friends and she needs us now, that's it. The best you can do is acting as if I'm not here. Got it?"

Before either of them could answer, Puck called out, "Kurt, Rachel just locked herself in your room and she won't come out!"

"I'm coming."

Puck stayed by his side all night long, preventing any approach attempt by Blaine or Sam. Pretty quickly, Kurt understood he had been stupid to think that the night Puck spent in his bed would change anything in their growing friendship.

Once his mind was at rest about that, he joked around with Elliot, Puck, Dani and Santana. Rachel and Mercedes joined in sometimes, while Blaine, Sam, Artie and Tina stayed together.

Once in a while, Kurt felt someone staring at him, but he never turned around to see who: it didn't matter. Without meaning to, he noticed that Blaine and Sam's relationship didn't seem to be as free as before, and he couldn't help a feeling of satisfaction from rising in him. The rest of the evening would have passed without too much drama if they didn't have some unexpected visitors.

"Hello, losers," yelled a sadly well-known voice.

"Sue, you said you would be nice," reprimanded another just as familiar voice.

Sue Sylvester and William Shuester.

Kurt watched as everyone rushed to the door to welcome Mister Shue. Kurt stayed behind and he frowned as watched them embrace him. Kurt only had one thought in mind: this was the man who'd stolen Finn's jacket and let Puck take the blame.

"Kurt?" Hearing Dani, he turned his head toward her. "Hmm?"

"Is there a problem?" He'd never told anyone about Puck and the whole jacket situation and, as far as he knew, Dani wasn't even aware of it, so he shook his head. "No, I 'm just... surprised to see them here."

She didn't look convinced. "Are you sure?" He feigned a smile and nodded before joining the others by the door. He heard Santana trying, without succeeding, to put Sue back in her place, but he stopped listening once Mr. Shue was in front of him.

There were times when the man's smile was reassuring, but it wasn't the case anymore, at least not to Kurt. He saw the man's face and the only thing he thought was: liar, liar... The professor started to open his arms, probably to hug him, like he'd done with the others, but Kurt didn't let him end the movement, holding his hand out.

Mr. Shue's smile fell and he stared at Kurt, puzzled, as he shook his hand.

"Kurt, it's good to see you. How are you doing?"

"Fine, thank you. It's nice of you to come for the opening. I know that it's very important to Rachel." Kurt glanced in Sue's direction and added, "but you could have refrained from bringing her with you. It wasn't necessary and Rachel really didn't need to listen to her comments."

Mister Shue looked contrite. "Well, you know how she is, I couldn't prevent it."

Kurt shook his head, more and more irritated by the man, and turned around to have a few words with their second 'guest'. It was their home, but despite all their efforts, they couldn't get Sue out of it.

After that, Kurt went to the kitchen to try to calm himself. He closed his eyes, and started focusing on his breathing.

Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out, breath in... Kurt overheard someone enter behind him and froze. There were so many people that he didn't want to see, that he probably didn't have enough fingers to count them.

"Kurt?"

Puck... Kurt breathed out and turned around to look at his friend. "Hey, I heard the door, who left?"

Puck stared at him before answering. "Almost everyone, except for Sue and Dani."

Kurt sighed, that wasn't how things should have gone. "Rachel?"

"She wanted to go back home. To be honest, I would have done the same if I could." Kurt watched as Puck's hand ran where his Mohawk used to be, obviously troubled. "I think, well, Sue took your room, dude." Before Kurt's brain realized what he'd just said, Puck added, "You looked angry back there, what happened?"

And just like that, all the anger Kurt managed to hold back thanks to his breathing exploded. "Mr. Shue! I don't understand how he can just fly in here, all smiles, as if everything is normal! And he came with Coach Sylvester!"

"Remember, she's Principal Sylvester now."

Kurt finished his ranting as if Puck didn't say anything "... How could he do that to Rachel? He knows how Sue is. I.. I just don't understand him!"

"It's okay, Rachel left, so she won't be subject to Sue's bad-mouthing any longer and we are working tomorrow, so we won't see her much, either."

Kurt rubbed his eyes, and sighed. "I know, and it's not the only problem."

"Okay, well tell. It's not good for you to bottle up so much emotion. See what's happen with the cheating dwarf!" Puck pushed him to talk, to express his anger; Kurt hesitated a minute, turned his head on one side and he said.

"He never told us the truth, and that's not fair."

"What are you talking about?"

"Finn's jacket! You didn't do anything and yet he let you take the blame. He didn't apologize..." The following silence was stressful, but as the minutes passed and Puck didn't offer any reply, Kurt looked over at him.

"Puck?"

The man cleared his throat. "Thanks, but don't worry about that. I'm used to it," and the smile that appeared on his lips was sad, so sad that it crushed Kurt's heart.

"What do you mean?"

"Easy, I always get blamed for stuff, so I'm used to it."

There was such resignation in that sentence that Kurt remained speechless a moment. "Puck, you shouldn't..."

"But I do. Let it go, Kurt, don't hurt yourself because of that. Now, it's bedtime, we both have a long day tomorrow and it's very late," and he started leaving the room, most probably heading for the bathroom.

When Puck said the word bed, the penny finally dropped for Kurt. "Shit!"

"You finally got it, eh?" Puck snickered, "Come on, I'll let you share my bed."

Kurt snickered. "Such a prince," he smirked before rushing to overtake him and get to the bathroom first.

He heard Puck running and complaining behind him: "Hey, I was here first!" They play-battled near the bathroom door before agreeing to share.

The day of the opening was kind of busy. Puck and Kurt were supposed to go to the theater by themselves and meet up with the others.

They arrived just in time to see Mr. Shue leaving. Actually, he left just when they arrived at the door. Despite Puck's wish for him to let the man get away, the anger Kurt had felt the night before came back with full force. At first, he tried to hold it back: he said hello, the nicest way possible before letting Puck hold the chit-chat.

"Hey, Mr. Shue, the stage is the other way!"

The man stopped in mid-step and blinked in their direction, clearly trying to focus on them. "Hey guys, I have to miss the show; sorry, Emma is in labor so I have to go back as quickly as possible."

The man seemed excited and Kurt watched while Puck hugged him. Kurt tried to stay quiet, to keep his opinions to himself, but in the end, the anger and resentment won. The professor was about to disappear in the crowd when Kurt's hand acted by itself to stop him.

"Kurt?" His ex-professor looked at him, puzzled.

Kurt released his hold on the man's vest and held up one finger. "One piece of advice."

"Yes?" And Kurt hated how it sounded, as if the man was just humoring him.

"Don't let your kid be accused of things you have done. It's shitty behavior."

"Kurt..." Puck attempted in vain to interfere but Kurt was completely focused on his ex-teacher's reaction who seemed confused. His reply confirmed it. "What are you talking about?"

Eyes still fixed on the other man, Kurt said, "The jacket, I know it was you, and letting Puck take the blame was a cheap shot."

"Kurt, I don't know who told you that, but..."

"Seriously, just stop it already. I know it's the truth and Puck knows it, too. The person who told us is trustworthy, contrary to... other people here. So lay off with the cowardice and take your responsibilities. I don't want it back, and I am sure Puck isn't looking for any apology either, even if he deserves it."

Strange how lighter he felt now, even with Will seeming annoyed, but at that moment Kurt didn't care. A hand slid into his and Kurt glanced to his right and observed Puck, because it was him. His friend's face was blank. For a moment, Kurt wondered if he should have just let things go, just as Puck had asked the night before, but then he noticed the corner of his mouth was turned up and his eyes were very bright. He tightened his grip and look back toward Mr. Shuester.

As the man remained silent, Kurt shook his head and said "Come on, Puck, we should go and look for our seats," and still holding Puck's hand, he walked inside the theater without even saying goodbye, contrary to Puck.

Finding their place didn't take them too long. They were lucky to have front-row seats like Santana and Mercedes while the others were installed three rows behind. Santana noticed them first. She smirked and lifted her eyebrow mischievously.

At first, Kurt didn't understand why, and then he realized he and Puck were still holding hands. Not wanting to make a big deal of it, he didn't let go immediately. Instead, he slowly went to his seat, putting his bag on the floor, and only then he freed his hand from Puck's to remove his jacket before sitting.

Then he took the time to inspect the place: while smaller than The Gershwin Theatre it was bigger than he'd imagined and, to his huge relief, it looked full, except for the one seat on his left. Kurt was watching out for his future neighbor when he sensed a breath on his ear, "Thank you."

Surprised, Kurt spun his head to the right and found himself face-to-face with a grinning Puck.

"Sorry?" Without moving away, Puck repeated, "I'm saying 'thank you' for what you did with Shue; you didn't have to."

Kurt interrupted him. "I had to say something. It wasn't fair, and you would have let him get away without saying anything. You shouldn't let people use you that way, you worth more than that."

At these words, Kurt saw Puck's eyes getting brighter, then something exceptional happened. "As I said: thank you. You are the first person who's stood up for me and that was very hot." Then, Kurt watched as Puck leant towards him and kissed his cheek.

Shocked, Kurt blushed and blinked once, twice and then opened his mouth, but before could find something to say, the lights went out. So he closed it, and focused his attention on the stage.

His heart was beating wildly in his chest and as soon as Fanny appeared on stage, his eyes started tingling with emotion.

Here it was: Rachel Berry's Broadway début and he had never been so proud of her.

When the first note of "Don't rain on my parade" began playing, the tears finally fell and slid down his cheeks. Without thinking he searched for Puck's hand and held it until the end of the show.

When the curtain came down, they were all on their feet clapping as loud as they could. Grinning, Kurt turned his head to observe the public. He saw smiles, tears, and a myriad of emotions. He noted in passing that the seat beside him had stayed empty during all the show. He smiled at Puck and noted that he wasn't the only one who'd shed a tear.

When the applause calmed down, they all joined Rachel in her dressing room where they congratulated her. Then she decided to have fun until the New York Times review came out. They headed for 'Pouch', a gay club Blaine recommended. Kurt didn't say a word, just wondered how many times Blaine had been there without him knowing before they split up.

Once again, Sam tried to stop him to talk, but Santana put herself between them and ran interference, allowing Kurt to enjoy the night. He sang 'Pumpin' Blood' with Rachel, Santana, Tina and Puck, danced with Mercedes, Elliot and Puck, Puck and Puck again.

To be truthful, he danced more with Puck that night than he could remember. If he felt a bit awkward because of what had happened before the show, it passed fairly quickly. He could sense, too, the heavy look Blaine sent their way, his judgment on their friendship.

Kurt and Puck had never been that close before; with all the dancing, Puck was touching him in a new way. It was weirdly nice. All of his friend's attention was on him, and once he decided to ignore Blaine, Kurt in turn concentrated on Puck.

And strangely, it was as if he was seeing Puck for the first time. The body between his hands was like no other he'd touched. His own body had changed since high school; he was taller, and since his baby fat disappeared, he'd started growing long, slender muscles, not thick like Puck's.

Although Puck was a bit of an exhibitionist, Kurt had never taken the time to really look at him. At that moment, dancing in that club, though, he did.

Kurt had always had this image of Puck as a huge guy, not like Finn but yet taller and bulkier than Kurt himself. Now Kurt realized they were exactly the same height. Puck's body had muscles, well-defined and bigger than his, but not excessive like a body-builder's, either. The arms wrapped around him were the perfect size, and Puck's chest, which he regularly pressed against during the slower dances, was out of the world.

Wrapped in Puck's arms, Kurt felt warm and secure, the perfect mix. It was so perfect that he didn't notice the hours passing, and when Rachel came to tell him it was time to check the newspaper reviews, he was surprised. It was almost daybreak.

The group – minus Elliot, who'd left earlier with a dark-haired man he met on the dance floor – headed for the door, Kurt still held close to Puck and enjoying the way their bodies brushed from time to time. Rachel, whose stress level was higher than Empire State Building, was monopolizing the conversation with tons of "what ifs" and they took turns to answer and appease her worries.

Once they got their hands on the New York Times, Rachel was unable to read it. The newspaper went from hand to hand until Santana volunteered to put an end to their suspense so they all could go to bed and read the review.

Then they all went to their home, and Kurt had the horrible surprise to catch Coach Sylvester having sex in his bed. Santana got the pleasure of kicking her out of the loft but even if his bed was empty, Kurt joined Puck in his, really not up to sleeping in his bed at the moment.

"Wasn't she beautiful?"

Kurt jumped, puzzled: he had never gone to bed so late and still managed to land in the white room.

"Finn?" He turned around, barely registering the light blue color of the door in his search for his brother. The room, as always, wasn't big, so it didn't take him long. His confusion turned to amazement when he saw Finn's clothes: no djellaba, no crinoline nor Boubou. He was in a beautiful black suit with a bow tie. Getting a closer look, Kurt noticed a false mustache stuck above his lips.

"Yes, I'm classy, don't you think?" Finn turned around, showing off his new costume. Grinning, Kurt nodded. Why couldn't Finn have been as interested in fashion when he was alive?

"Is it...?"

"Nicky Arnstein's costume, of course!" and Finn sat at a table that wasn't there before. It was exactly the same as in Rachel's show.

Kurt joined him and sat on the other side. "You know that mustache is ridiculous, don't you?"

"Just shut up. I told you, I'm classy. You never answered my question, though. Wasn't she great?"

Laughing, Kurt shook his head. "That wasn't your question, but yes, she was stupendous, breathtaking..."

"She totally brought down the house! Jesse loved it, too. Did she tell you she saved a place for me? Isn't that sweet?"

Kurt thought back to the empty seat beside him, and felt a pang. The seat had been for Finn. Then, he realized what Finn had just said.

"Jesse? You mean... Jesse St. James was here?" Kurt stared at his brother, waiting for him to correct him, but nothing of that sort happened. Instead, he had his 'I don't want to talk about it' face on. So Kurt grimaced. "Finn, tell me it's not him? Not that jerk!"

Finn remained mute, but Kurt hadn't spent as much time with him without learning to read him.

"Oh, my gosh... Please, tell me we won't have to see him ever again!"

However, if Finn refused to refute this affirmation with words, it was written everywhere on his whole being. "Can't it be somebody else? Somebody new?"

This time he received an answer, not the one he would have wanted, but an answer anyway. Finn simply smiled and shrugged.

"... But Finn, two divas together, I will end up crazy! It can't happen!"

"They understand each other and he'll take good care of her. She needs to have someone."

Kurt cut him off. "She doesn't need him, or anyone else. Rachel is strong. "

"Kurt, think: We all need a little help sometimes – someone to help us hear the music in their world and some other shit I don't remember. Whatever, someone is out there for all of us. And that someone will find you."

Bemused, Kurt inquired: "Are you quoting..."

"One Tree Hill? Yes, we watched it enough times. And, well, I thought that Lucas guy was right. I am dead, Kurt, so yes, I want Rachel to be happy. Even with him. I mean, I know he was a jerk, but if you put the egg event aside, they got along really well, don't you think?" And he didn't give Kurt time to say anything before adding: "I saw you with Puck tonight. You were buddy-buddy and Blaine hated it!"

Finn seemed very happy about the last part, and Kurt grinned, "Yes, Puck's a good friend."

"Just a friend?"

"Yes, why?"

This time his question remained unanswered.

Kurt woke up late, very late and yet Puck was still asleep. The cover was missing, someone having stolen it. Despite the disappearance, it was a real furnace as half of Puck's body was lying on him. Kurt had to admit it was a very nice feeling, but he didn't go into it in-depth. Instead, he tried to get up as furtively as possible.

It was the third time he'd shared a bed with Puck, and it was a pleasure he shouldn't get used to, but once again he didn't want to think too much of it.

Puck was his friend, just a very good friend. He sneaked out of the room, at least attempted to, but Santana must have a radar to catch him when he had a sleepover in a room that wasn't his, since she was on the couch, sipping a coffee.

He stared at her as she smiled, and when she opened her mouth, he cut her off with "Not a word!" and headed for the bathroom, followed by her mocking laugh. He was closing the door when he heard "Kinky" and he had to control himself so as to not bang his head against the wall.

On Wednesday, Rachel cornered him alone as he happily escaped his swordplay class without having to listen to Blaine.

"Finally! Come on, my friend; it's time for us to have a discussion and don't even try to avoid it." Rachel gripped his arm to pull him outside. She was nice enough to buy him a coffee before starting her interrogation.

"Kurt, what have you done? Leaving Blaine for Puck? Puck! You know that I love him; he is my friend, a very good friend and, well, I must say he grew up a lot since we went out together and even more since he arrived in New York, but he is still PUCK!" Rachel exploded and without giving him the time to answer she continued. "I know we are friends and we have the same dreams and I am a bit more advanced than you on my way to achieve it but you don't have to follow my love life path to reach it!"

Kurt listened to her rambling, fighting to not lose his temper. He took a deep breath and asked, "Rachel, what are you talking about?"

She interrupted herself to watch him, clearly offended that he hadn't understood what she had said. "First Finn, then Blaine and now Puck…"

Kurt couldn't believe she dared to say that. He lost any restraint he might have had and let loose. "Don't you dare! Rachel, do you hear yourself? I used to have an unfortunate crush on Finn, but in the end he was my step-brother so refrain from talking about it, please! As for Blaine, I'd had a huge crush on him, and YOU, my supposed friend at the time, decided to try to go out with him without caring for MY feelings! As for Puck, I don't want to talk about him with you. You aren't behaving like a friend to him at the moment, so I refuse to discuss him with you."

"Kurt!"

"Yes?!"

Rachel sipped some tea and sighed. "I am sorry, you're right. I'm just... I just don't understand it. We were supposed to be happy, right? Finn and I will never have our happy ending, but you could! Blaine and you still have that chance. I don't want you to waste it… It's so precious."

Kurt observed his friend closely. She was actually being sincere, truly hoping for him to make thing better for Blaine and himself. Not for the first time since their breakup he cursed Blaine. Deep in thought, he grabbed Rachel's arm and started walking toward the park on the corner.

"Kurt?"

"Hush, I'm thinking."

He looked for the nearest empty bench and pulled her down to sit beside him. There he turned serious eyes on her and said: "First, there is nothing but friendship between Puck and me. We are roommates and band-mates as well as friends. He is a very good friend; I only understand now why Finn liked him so much. Secondly, my putting an end to my engagement had absolutely nothing to do with Puck. It's all on Blaine. Ask him."

Scowling, she looked away, nibbling her lower lip, and then still without looking at him she said: "Blaine said he came upon you and Puck in bed. I saw the both of you at the loft and Puck and you seemed closer than friends. I never saw you act like this with anybody and it's the same for him. To tell you the truth, you never looked so at ease with Blaine, despite being a couple for nearly two years. It looks believable, but you are saying he is the one at fault. So, I don't know what to think..."

"Rachel? Look at me." When she didn't, he pressed. "Rachel, please look at me." She raised her eyes and blinked, pushing the tears down her cheeks. Gently, he wiped them off. "Sweetie, don't get in such a state. I will tell you my version, and then you will make your mind up for yourself. Blaine cheated on me again, with Sam. He really saw Puck in my bed, because he was consoling me." Kurt paused to catch his breath.

Rachel stammered, "But, but... you are soul-mates, Kurt, don't forget that! Hey, what about me? You are my best friend, but Sam... and Blaine, they..."

"Stop it, Rachel! I'm sorry, but if Blaine and I were soul-mates, we won't get our happy ending in this life, not together. I forgave him once, but I would be an idiot to forgive him twice. Now, don't let our separation get between the two of you. I know you love Blaine; I know he is your friend. Maybe, at some point, I'll be able to talk to him without the urge to punch him, but the time isn't here yet. Same goes for Sam. I haven't talked to him yet, and I really don't want to hear his excuses."

They stayed silent for a few minutes, sipping their coffee, watching people walking through the park while Rachel was assimilating what he'd just told her.

A fond smile on his face, Kurt watched a group of children playing off-ground touch before he casually asked "So, how is Jesse?"

"Who?"

"Jesse St. James."

"How in the world should I know? I haven't heard from him since Nationals!"

"Didn't he come to watch your show?"

"Not that I know of..."

Shit, Kurt could have sworn... "Oh well, I must have been mistaken..."

"You must; do you know when you'll be up for our weekly dinner? I've missed it."

"Rachel, even if the two cheaters can't come, you are still welcome, you know."

"Oh… Thank you. Well, I will take care of dessert. I've discovered a wonderful bakery. They have delicious cheesecake. I bet you'll like it."

After that the discussion was lighter and Kurt was happy to get his friend back.

Two days later, when she turned up for dinner, Rachel exclaimed, "Kurt! How did you know Jesse would come to see me?"

Kurt winced and he cursed Finn for being right before saying, "I... umm…"

"Prophetic dream, maybe?" Puck teased while taking the cake Rachel was holding.

While Rachel hung her coat on the rack, Kurt looked at Puck and flipped him the bird with a smile. Puck burst out laughing and blew him a kiss. Turning his attention back to Rachel, he saw her watching their exchange and inexplicably blushed.

He appreciated her lack of comment but decided to turn all attention on her. "What are you waiting for: tell us what happened with Jesse?"

"Yes, why don't you tell us what that St. Sucks had to say?"

"Santana..."

"What, that guy was an asshole to you, to all of us! I don't know why I should care about him now!" Santana spat.

"She's got a point, Kurt. Don't you remember what he said about your audition?" Puck came back from the kitchen in time to add his two cents to the conversation.

"Of course, I do, but we all need time to become better people and I'd think you two would appreciate that." As they both stayed quiet, Kurt asked Rachel: "So?"

She sat on the couch next to Santana and Kurt found himself sharing what they called the loveseat with Puck. The seat was so small that they were pressed against each other. It was hard to find a good position until Puck put his arm on the back.

Rachel was rambling during all the exchange, but Kurt was almost sure he saw her eyebrow rise when he and Puck settled into a comfortable position. He could bet she would have something to say about it the next time they would be alone.

Rachel was so animated when she talked about Jesse now that Kurt understood what Finn had tried to tell him: she needed someone, and as strange as it might be, he got the feeling that Jesse was that person.

He wasn't as good as Finn, far from it, but he would support her better than anyone else. At that moment he promised himself to support them when they needed it, because he had no doubt that they would have ordeals to face. The first one, he mused, would be Rachel's dads; then he caught Santana imitating the vomiting motion, and added her friends to the list.

He listened to Rachel regaling them in great detail with the ten minutes she and Jesse had spent together the night before, and then she jumped to their lunch with still as much detail.

Kurt lifted his feet up onto the small couch and, with Rachel's voice droning on in the background, he slowly slid down until he ended up with his head on Puck's chest. The sound of his friends' voices, interspersed with occasional laughter, slowly rocked him to sleep.

"What are you doing here so early? Are you ill?"

Kurt raised his head, surprised to see the chest he was leaning into wasn't Puck's anymore. "Finn?"

"Of course, now wake up! Wake up! I wanna know more about the first date, even if Rachel said it's not a date..." Finn exclaimed.

"Well, look at your real-live TV," Kurt snarked. "What is stopping you?"

"You! I can't watch if you are here! And I wouldn't say, but it's not very polite to sleep when you have a guest."

Kurt opened his mouth to reply, but stopped himself: Finn was right. So, instead he sat straighter and crossed his arms, pouting. It was the worse welcome ever!

"Hey, stop it!" Kurt screamed as Finn was poking him on the side "Finn! Stop it! What are you doing!"

"I help you to wake up"

Kurt stood up trying, in vain to avoid the poke.

"Finn!"

Kurt felt three pairs of eyes on him.

"Kurt?" Rachel asked, curious. "Are you okay? What did you say about Finn?"

Hearing her last question, Kurt realized that she hadn't noticed his quick nap. He glanced at Santana, hoping she also had been oblivious, but the gleam in her eyes proved him wrong. Annoyed, he sat up straighter and shivered when he lost the heat of Puck's big body.

"Finn? Uhm, nothing…"

When Rachel squinted, he knew she was about to ask more questions and he didn't want to hear them, so he stood up and said, "I don't know about you but I am starving, let's eat!" Without waiting for a reply, he headed for the kitchen.

The night was calm, a bit like the year before when the four of them were the only ones from Lima. They'd got back into their old dynamic quite easily, but with a level of comfort they didn't have before.

By the end of the night, Santana gave herself a new role: Rachel's publicist and offered to work for The Wracking Dream and The Tetrad Diner – for a certain percentage, of course. Puck and Kurt refused, since they didn't need a publicist at the moment, but assured her they would take her proposition into consideration as soon as needed.

Who could have guessed it would come so soon.

"Hey Guys, I've registered us for the best things ever!" Puck exclaimed when he burst into the loft.

The man was late by more than half an hour for the rehearsal. Dani, Eliott and Kurt, who were spread around the room, working on improving their new song "Irrational Sorrow ", turned toward him curiously.

The smile on his friend's face was a mixed of smug and doubt, which worried Kurt. He didn't know what Puck had done and was a bit afraid to be told. Puck headed for the couch and waited for the others to join him.

Kurt glanced at his band mate to see if they shared his worry, but their faces only showed interest and curiosity. He sat on what became his seat, or rather their, since he usually sat next to Puck on the loveseat and stared as Puck took a piece of paper out of his back pocket. It was crumbled so his friend took the time to smooth it out before laying it on the box they used as a table.

At once Dani, Eliott and Kurt leant in to read what was written in electric blue. Since the paper was turned the wrong way around, it was hard for him to decipher and he barely managed to read CONTEST and Wendy before his eyes went wild.

"Puck, what did you exactly do?" Dani asked precautionary.

"Simple, I saw that ad about the Wendy's Singing Competition the other day, and I thought: why not? So I asked Santana to film our show at Enid's three weeks ago; Artie helped me edit it a bit and I sent it along."

Puck said it as if there was nothing wrong with the fact that he had acted without saying anything beforehand.

"But, Puck you can't make such a decision without asking us first!" Kurt exclaimed, taken aback by Puck's action.

"I know, and I meant to tell you, but I thought I would have more time!"

Only silence followed Puck's words while the three people grasped the concept of what he had said. Then, Eliott inquired: "Man, what do you mean by more time?"

Puck stood up and started walking back and forth in the room, and when Kurt saw him scratching his head in a sorry movement he felt his stomach twist.

"I got a phone call today; they want us.. We have a meeting with the production in two days."

"TWO DAYS! PUCK!"

Their friend turned around to face them "I know, I am sorry, I never thought it would be so fucking quick! I mean, how many videos could they get per day? Tonnes! So I thought I would have time to talk about it with you all and convince you to try! And now I don't!"

Kurt blinked, fighting to figure out what Puck just said, but he must have misunderstood. There was no way he meant they were about to be on live television! That would be too much, too fast!

"AHHHH! Oh my God, yes. Puck!"

"Dude! That's the fucking bomb!"

The simultaneous scream of Dani and Eliott made him realize that he hadn't misunderstood and the knot in his stomach tightened a bit more.

"Kurt?" he felt three pairs of eyes on him and smiled. After all it was good news, out of the blue, but awesome nevertheless

"Come here silly boy and show us what you sent!"

They spent the rest of the evening watching the video, discussing the songs they wished to sing at the incoming meeting.

Kurt pointed out to them that they were still missing a drummer. Indeed, even if Finn showed some moves to Puck and he, they were still far not good enough at it. After some hesitation Eliott said: "Jokebe can do it."

Dani turned and stared at him, an eyebrow rose: "The question is: Do we need someone who asked people to call him Jokebe, with us? I mean it's a serious matter here"

Puck gave a high-five to Dani, and Kurt laughed: she wasn't wrong.

"Shut up! It's not her fault if her parents had bad taste! " Eliott replied; Kurt stared at him a moment to judge if he was joking or not, but his friend seemed deadly serious.

"I think it's drugs, there is no other explanation. I mean, who in his right mind would call their child that? The poor girl. I think we should give a chance, or at least ask her if she wants to help."

Eliott grinned "I'll deal with her. She ows me a favor. How about you talk about what songs you all wanna do while I call her?"

And, that was exactly what they did. It didn't take them long to agree on two songs: an original and one of The Beatles.

One showing off the voice of Eliott and Kurt and the other for Dani and Puck. When Eliott came back, he gave his go and they commenced to rehearsal the two songs until the perfected it, get Puck to read the few changes they made on " Irrational Sorrow" before Santana arrived and captured Dani forcing them to stop for the night.

Lost in his thoughts, Kurt had taken care of his night routine, still struggeling to assess the impact of what might be happening soon, could potentially have on his life.

Now, he was in his bed, waiting for sleep to arrive, when he heard someone fidget behind the curtain of his room.

He concentrated on the sound, hoping to get what the person on the other side was doing, when suddenly the curtain opened and someone slid in.

He didn't need to open his eyes to know who it was: Santana and Dani were otherwise occupied.

"Kurt? You asleep?" whispered Puck's voice. Kurt blinked twice before answering.

"No." And, he waited for a reply that never came. Instead, he heard the muffled sound of paces, friction of cloth, then his mattress lowered as Puck sat... No, he lay on it. Kurt didn't move or talk, he continued to wait motionless.

When Puck's hand found his forearm, Kurt turned his head. "Puck?"

Puck breathed "I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"You were right, I shouldn't have done it without talking to all of you first. Artie warned me against it, but well, you know me, right? I always act before thinking. And..."

Kurt cut him off "Puck, stop flagellating yourself about it, you.."

"Stop to what?" Asked a confused Puck

"Hum, I mean stop beating yourself up about it. Your intentions were good, but you forgot you weren't the only one in the band. From now on, try to keep it in mind, because we let it go once, but you won't come out so easily next time. Got it?"

"Got it."

Kurt closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep once more.

"Kurt?"

"Hum?"

"Can I stay with you tonight?"

Kurt reopened his eyes, his heart beating as fast as his thoughts. He stared at his friend, or tried to, but the darkness of the room prevented him from clearly seeing the expression on his face.

Thinking that it wouldn't be the first time they had ever shared a bed, even if would be the first time it happened without reason, Kurt nodded "Okay, but don't steal the blanket this time or I'll kick you out!"

Puck giggled and when sleep finally came Kurt couldn't help but think it was a pretty good lullaby.

Stuck.

Kurt was stuck, he couldn't move and he couldn't bear it. His numb brain attempted to dig up some information and it took him a moment to remember what, or rather who, was blocking him.

Puck.

Kurt realized two things: first his friend didn't take the blanket this time, and then, they were so completely tangled that saying where Puck ended and where Kurt began, would be impossible. They were so close that Kurt felt something.

He wriggled a bit, and got the confirmation he needed: indeed, Puck's erection was pulsing against his thigh. It had been such a long time since he found himself in such a situation... Without thinking, he bucked his hips, hoping to feel the pulsing erection against his buttocks this time.

The breathing on the back of his neck became erratic and Kurt realized what he was doing and with whom. It should never have happened. Awkwardly, he slowly started to crawl toward the edge of the bed.

"Hum Kurt..."

Disturbed, Kurt froze. He glanced at his penis, feeling it rise. He couldn't get excited, not now! Puck was his friend, and he focused on that fact.

Kurt had to get away from here, at least to go on the other side of the bed, to give them each some space. So he started to move again, but once more he didn't get far.

Puck 's arms tightened around him. It was up to the point that he was now pressed from head to toe against his friend, surrounded by his heat, his smell, those muscles and oh gosh! Those hands.

All of the sudden, his brain fried, he found himself unable to think clearly. He was filled with sensations: feeling hands travelling on his arms, on his belly and mapping his whole body; touching him in places that hadn't been touched since Blaine.

It was overwhelming.

His heart was going wild, and his penis jumped in his pajamas when he sensed Puck's member. It was big, even hidden behind his boxer, and the way he slid it against him, arousing Kurt even more.

At first, it was slow, but then something shifted, and Puck put more strength in his moves. Each stroke pushed Kurt against the mattress, adding friction to his front. It was good, so fucking good.

Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it ended.

Climax caught with them both at the same time, almost by surprise. Shivering of pleasure, Puck bit Kurt's shoulder to muffle his groan, as Kurt buried his head in his pillow to keep himself from screaming.

After that, they remained motionless, during a long moment, catching their breath. And, then Kurt was overtaken by reality.

Short breath, Puck cleared his throat. "Kurt?"

Panic returned in full force, and Kurt didn't know what to do. Should he answer and listen to what Puck had to say? Or rather pretend to be asleep? What if Puck said it was just a quickie between friends? What if he said the opposite? Which one would Kurt prefer?

"I know that you can hear me... Don't ignore me, please... Not..." Puck stopped in the middle of his sentence, but Kurt heard what his friend let unsaid as if he had screamed it into his ear "Not you too."

Kurt recalled what he said to Puck a few months ago; that he shouldn't let people use him because he was worth more than that. And, here he was, about to use Puck like many people had done in the past. His heart clenched in his chest and when Puck began to move away from him, he turned around and mumbled "Sorry, I was... I just don't know... I...".

A finger resting on his lips interrupted his rambles. Kurt rose his eyes and stared in front of him in order to perceive Puck's face. It wasn't easy, but he managed. His friend had a faint smile on his face, and it helped Kurt relax. No matter what happened now, their relationship wouldn't suffer from it.

"You're good?"

Kurt nodded, but didn't attempt to talk.

"I am sorry, I shouldn't have done it, not to you..."

Blindly, Kurt pressed his hand on Puck's figure, hoping to shut him up. He didn't want to listen to him excuse himself.

Whatever happened here wasn't Puck's fault more than it was his. Luckily for Kurt, it worked. They remained motionless, and if Kurt's heart had begun relaxing before Puck spoke to him, it was definitely going faster now.

Puck's breath on his fingers...

Puck's fingers on his mouth... One hand on his hip...

Puck's warmth around him...

Puck's lips under his palm...

Puck's shining gaze fixed him... And the kiss...

It was a soft kiss on his hand that took his breath away. Kurt wetted his lips, flicking the fingertip touching it and whispered

"Don't apologize, please."

When Puck nodded, Kurt removed his hand, and let it lay on the other man's cheek. It was a bit scratchy, but nice.

Kurt knew he should say something, anything, but he couldn't force himself to talk. He should also stand up, even if only to avoid being just pasted in the morning. However, he couldn't find it in himself to do it. They would have time to talk the next day, when they would be well rested. So he stayed where he was, brushing Puck's mouth with his thumb and slowly falling back asleep.

The next day, they sadly ended up too busy to find some one-to-one time to discuss the happening of the previous evening. They could have woken up like in some romantic movie, happy in each others arms, still in the same bubble-like state in which they fell asleep... But they didn't.

Instead of a lovely piano quartet, they had been woken up with a start by Santana and Dani's first lovers quarrel. At least the first he was aware of.

At first, Puck and he had stared at each other, on alert. Some crashing noise was heard and they got up as one, rushing toward the curtain. Puck was about to run through it when Kurt stopped him.

"Kurt?" When Kurt didn't answer, Puck glanced above his shoulder.

"Maybe should we change before? And then, I'll go." Kurt sputtered with a rocky voice. "Alone, I mean".

Seeing Puck scowl, he quickly added, "You know how Santana is when she isn't in a good mood, I don't want her to see you leave my room dressed as we are, in her current state of mind."

As Puck seemed to disapprove his offer, or maybe he didn't appreciate being put aside, Kurt clarified,"I'll try to lead her toward the kitchen so you take care of Dani.".

Kurt knew that Dani would be less harsh in her comments, more subtle. Even if she had questions related to the event of their night, she would be a lot kinder. Puck, sighed, but nodded.

With a smile, Kurt kissed him on the cheek, searched for two changes of clothes and quickly put his one on before he headed out.

To leave the room with Santana proved easier than he feared. Whatever the reason of their dispute was, Kurt obviously arrived at the right time. Santana's eyes were full of disappointment, and Dani's full of tears.

For Kurt, it was the first time he saw the two girls argue about anything. Of course they had had their share of disagreements since they had become a couple - which was about a bit more than a year ago, if he wasn't mistaken - but he had never seen them behaving this way. To be honest, it kind of scared him.

Once they were in the kitchen, the feeling of the room was tense. So Kurt started a pancake batter and offered her some hot milk. He discovered it the hard way: no coffee for an angry Santana. She didn't say a word, and he didn't ask her any question. He knew his friend well enough to know she would eventually talk when she was ready, if she ever was .

They could hear muffled sounds coming from the other side of the loft, and Kurt crossed his fingers that Puck had more chance than he had. He gave the three first pancakes to Santana, and she ate them in silence. She looked calmer when she finished her last pancake and still quietly, she stood up to join her girlfriend in the living room, Kurt remained where he was to flip more pancakes for Puck, Dani and himself.

Soon, Puck joined him the kitchen and the atmosphere changed.

The tension was still there, but it was a different one. No resentment, but a lot of unspoken words. They both knew that last night's episode should be addressed, but it wasn't the right place nor time, not with their friends in the other room.
So, Kurt stayed focused on his cooking, fully aware of Puck's movements behind him. He was sliding a pancake onto the plate next to the burner when hands wrapped around his waist. He gasped and froze for a second, before leaning on his.. Friend?

Puck's lips danced on his neck, nibbling his ears, leaving a hot path of kisses everywhere they went. A fire was ignited inside of Kurt and he was about to cut the cooker when they heard the girls coming.
Immediately, Puck released him and jumped aside, Kurt attempted to concentrate on his cooking and regulate his heartbeat.

"Okay guys my girl needs some sweets!" Santana shouted, clearly in a better mood, as a blushing Dani laughed.

Once the impromptu breakfast ended, Kurt rushed to NYADA, before heading for the spotlight dinner. He had the night shift, Eliott came by with Jokebe in tow.

Unfortunately, they arrived during the rush and he barely had the time to present himself. The young woman was far from what he had imagined. And, he cursed himself to have preconceived idea about what a drummer looked like. She looked like a pixie. Very thin with short red hair. She was pretty, but Kurt could bet that between her name and the myriad of freckles displayed on her face her childhood must have been hard. And, despite the short time, they shared together and the fact that he didn't hear her play, he'd got the feeling she would be perfect for them.

When his hardest work time ended, it was close to 10 p.m. Far from being late, but he was so tired that he only had one dream: going to bed. Then, he noticed he had two text messages waiting.

Meeting at Jokebe 4 audition.

On his first reading, Kurt blinked, wondering if it was a joke. He didn't know where the girl was living! All of the sudden, he remembered the second message and Eliott realized his mistake, since it was the address followed by a blushing smiley.

He searched for the direction on his phone and he headed for the metro, dragging feet. He was almost falling asleep standing when he knocked on the door, but forced a smile when it opened. Jokebe was here, all smiles, and friendly, she offered him to come in.

Her place was small, and simply decorated, so he immediately noticed his friends spread around the place. He grinned as he caught Santana snuggled up next to Dani on the couch, before joining Puck on the floor. He imitated his position and also sat cross-legged.

It wasn't as comfortable as his bed, but being near Puck felt nice and exciting at the same time.

"Kurt? Do you want something to eat or drink? I've some juices or water... unless you'd rather a beer?" Jokebe babbled.

"No, I'm good, thank you. I don't want to be a pArtie popper since I've just arrived and all, but how about we start with that audition? You're ready?" Kurt asked while discreetly trying to sneak up a hand under their knees, brushing it up against Puck's hand.

He sensed him shiver and held back a satisfied smile, until he noticed an odd expression on his friends' face. Had they seen it? He could have sworn he had been careful...

"Actually Kurt, we sort of actually did it already." Dani answered after some hesitation. Anger started growing in him and he closed his lids a few seconds to keep it down before asking.

"Sorry? What did you just say?"

"Well, you finished pretty late, so we asked her to perform, so it wouldn't disturb her neighbors. Oh, but don't worry, we recorded it so you can give your opinion too!"

The attention was kind, but Kurt wasn't in a state to remark it. He only saw one thing: He came all the way here for nothing! They could have sent him the video by text or show it to him later when they would have come back home. He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Santana's smirk which lit up his anger.

"Great. And, no one thought to tell me beforehand? I mean, I don't want to be rude, but you all knew my schedules and at what time I was done! The less you could have done, was to tell me before I came all the way here for nothing! I'm exhausted, so excuse me, but I'm going home. Please, someone send me the audition. Good night." Kurt stood up, and headed for the door under shocked glares.

As he reached for the handle, he turned around and faced Jokebe. The girl looked completely messed up and Kurt felt bad. Clearly, it was his fault.

Kurt smiled and called her: "Jokebe? I am sorry for my rash behavior. Believe me when I say it has nothing to do with you. I am sure you are a wonderful person and I look forward to get to know you. But not tonight. So I'll see you around." and he left before one of his friends had the time to recover and come with him.

That night his bed felt horribly cold and empty, and his dreams were dull.

"Kurt? Ku-urt, it's time to wake up." sang a voice.

Too early, whoever was calling him had to come back later. Now, Kurt wanted to sleep. Taking a second pillow, he buried his head under to mute the intruder. It didn't work however. The person stole his pillow and patted his hair, making fun of his sleepy hair.

Groaning, Kurt opened one eye ready to attack that killjoy, and stopped himself. Lying beside him, stubbly and only in his underwear, was Puck. The man was such a nice wake-up call, that Kurt forgot his urge for more sleep.

"Hi." His voice was raw, kind of sexy if he had to be honest. However, when he saw Puck's grin, Kurt blushed like a lovesick schoolgirl, and all the sexiness went to the bin and switched to embarrassment. He buried himself under his blanket, attempting, probably in vain, to hide his flush.

"You feel better?" Puck inquired with an everlasting smile.

Kurt took a moment to really think about the question before frowning "What are you talking about?"

Puck lifted an eyebrow "Well, you were kind of angry yesterday? You left that poor Jokebe in distress. It took us nearly forty-five minutes to calm her down and when I came back you were in a deep sleep. So, do you feel better?"

At Puck's words, he remembered, and blushed even more. "Yes. I was... Tired? And, a bit irritated?"

"Hum. You want a coffee? I made some before coming."

"Oh my goodness, yes I do! Please!" Laughing, Puck jumped out of the bed and left the room.

During the time he was away, Kurt stretched to wake up a bit more; took some time to tidy up his hair and clean up a bit with the towelette he kept in his night stand. He was barely finished when he heard Puck coming back.

"Here it is dear Prince. Would you mind sharing your modest breakfast with your devoted admirer?"

Eyes wide opened, Kurt turned his head just in time to see Puck coming with a tray. Giggling, he answered "Of course, my dear, why don't you take a seat?"

Kurt gawked as Puck carefully set the platter on the bed, before sitting next to him. Lowering his gaze, Kurt had his first view on their breakfast and beamed. It wasn't neither elegant nor sumptuous, but Puck had been very meticulous. There were two mugs of coffee, two glasses of multi-fruit juice, sugars, a jar of cream, of jam, some butter, a few pieces of bread and a flower.

Not a real common one.

A lovely, but clumsy rose in origami. It was so delightfully made, that when a tearfilled Kurt opened his mouth to speak, he remained unable to say a word.

"Kurt? You still there?"

He eventually rose his head, "Yeah, thank you." And following his urge he bent and kiss Puck's cheek.

"Oh, uh, you're welcome. Coffee?"

They shared their meal in a companionable silence. Then, Kurt reached for his mug, and leant on the headboard to savor it, lids closed. By the fourth sips, he felt relaxed, it was a good way to start his day, even if it was too early. Suddenly, Puck asked "How about we talk for a bit?"

Kurt was so at ease that he didn't think about what Puck could want to talk before replying "Of course, is it about Jokebe? I didn't listen to her audition yet, but if you've got it, I will."

"Good, but that's not what I had in mind."

Puzzled, Kurt opened one eye and glanced at Puck. His friend seemed a bit nervous, so he gave him encouraging smile.

He observed as Puck's eyes went everywhere but on Kurt himself. Puck licked his lips before taking a deep breath and asked "Do you regret it?"

Kurt frowned "Regret what? Oh... You mean? No! Do you?" it was his turn to be nervous. Short breath and heart going wild, he waited for Puck's answer.

"No" Puck answered.

Kurt sighed, relieved. "Good."

The silence that fell between them was suddenly very heavy.

"Do you…"

"Maybe we could…"

They both started at the same time, in a very cliché fashion before stopping with a smile.

" Lame..." Puck commented.

" Kinda. Maybe we could jump the even lamest 'you go first, no you, no you' part and go straight to the part where you say what you want to say?"

Kurt offered, glancing at his friend from the corner of the eye. Puck was fixing his eyes to his empty mug, clearly avoiding looking at him and Kurt's stomach twisted as he literally stopped breathing.

"Okay. To sum up: I like it, you like it. Maybe we could do something about it?"

"Something? What do you have in mind?"

Puck shrugged "I don't know. Maybe, a date?"

Kurt blinked and he thought 'breath, Kurt breath' it wasn't the best time to faint like a woman with vapors. While Kurt was trying to get a grip on himself, Puck was cutely babbling "If you don't want to, well that would be shitting and awkward for a while, but..."

"Puck, I do!"

"You do?" and now, Puck was staring at him, holding a smile so Kurt nodded.

"Cool."

"Cool."

They were ridiculous, Kurt knew it, he could bet Puck knew it too, but at that moment, Kurt couldn't find it in him to care about it. Without looking away, Puck reached for the tray and placed it on the floor next to the bed. Kurt briefly thought they should at least put the butter in the fridge, not waste it. However, when Puck laid down arms opened for him, he stopped thinking and joined him.

He should listen to Jokebe's audition, check Rachel's usual missing phone calls, call NYADA to excuse his absence today, get dressed before Eliott and Dani arrived for the last rehearsals and lots of other things, and yet he didn't move. He just enjoyed Puck's warmth and smiled.

Six months later.

Kurt glanced at the time and exclaimed"Shit! Puck, we are late!" then, he rushed to gather his clothes. It always followed the same pattern: It started with a simple hello kiss and before they knew it, they were sweaty, breathless, relaxed and mostly naked, on the couch, the floor, the bed or anywhere the fantasy led them...

That day, it was the carpet in the living-room. They had arrived early to get the Friday night diner ready, but had gotten side tracked. Which meant that they had now, less than one hour to take two showers and to start a diner for eleven people. Indeed, all their New York family was expected.

It had taken time for Kurt to talk to Sam and Blaine again.

At first, all their friends stayed out of it, but not for long. Around one month after the break-up, Artie came to him, saying he should give Sam a chance to explain himself; then Tina came, and Rachel again.

Those talks were tiresome, but he managed to resist, until Finn interceded.

One night, whereas he went to bed alone, - in fact ever since his relationship with Puck changed of status - he arrived in the white room and...

He had stopped looking for changes in the door color a long time ago. It was always in the same shade of decoration, however, was constantly a surprise.

When he arrived that night, the sofa was gone, and had been replaced by two fainting-couches. Finn was lying on one, wearing an orange toga and a laurel wreath while eating fruits coming from what looked like a bronze basket.

"Ave Kurt take a seat or whatever that thing is called!" Finn exclaimed in an attempted of a serious tone.

Kurt burst out laughing and replied "It's a kliné, Caesar Finn" as he headed for the Kliné.

He picked some grape on his way and as soon as he lay, he ate them like they used to in the antic Roma, he coughed and pulled a face: not as enjoyable as he first thought.

"Kurt, you will take care of mum, won't you?"

Kurt glanced at his brother and nodded without understanding the meaning of his question: It was something he was already doing as much as possible despite the distance.

"I mean, if I am not there anymore."
Kurt didn't like where the discussion was going "Of course, but you are here so we shouldn't worry about that."
"Yes, I just wanted to be sure, you know, in case."

"Well, now you know. We should be talking about something else. Did you see anything interesting since the last time?"

Kurt knew Finn wouldn't tell him anything, because of some weird principles Kurt had started hating. As expected, instead of answering, Finn changed topic.

"Hey, did you talk to Sam recently?"

"Finn.. You know fairly well that I haven't. By the way I would love if Artie, Tina and Rachel stopped asking me to."

"Well, I can't do anything about that sorry. Why haven't you done it, yet?"

"Sorry? You must be freaking joking, right? Why would I want to listen to him? Have you forgetten what he did to me?"
Kurt was staring at Finn reject. "Why? Why should I talk to him?"

"Why not? I mean I know what he did, but you are with Puck now. Don't you need closure? Don't you want to understand why they did it? We know they are not together now. And if you ask me their one-night stand destroyed their friendship more than it improved it. You know, they aren't even living together anymore, Sam is with Mercedes and Blaine with Rachel."

"I am aware of that fact. But, hey, why should I care? As it goes: they made their beds, now they must lie in it!"

The silence which followed Kurt's exclamation was deafening. Kurt felt Finn's glare on him and fought not to look back at him. Uselessly.

"That's not the Kurt I know and love."

"But you saw what they did, you even told me! How can you.."

"Yes, I saw it, but, you know the deal better than anyone: I see things, but I am not in their minds. I don't know why Blaine decided to cheat or why Sam followed. They are the only ones who could give you the answer you need "

When he woke up that day he was still tired and had a headache. The medicine didn't treat it and Finn's words turned in his head all day long. Without being here, his brother wore him down and he called Sam.

Santana and Puck were not happy with his decision, saying he shouldn't be so nice with people who did him wrong, but he held his position.

Kurt and Sam met at spotlight dinner during one of Puck's shifts. It was the concession Kurt had to accept to have this talk with Sam one to one. That way his boyfriend would be there without really being there, if Kurt needed comfort.

In the end, Kurt was happy that he accepted.

The kick off of the discussion had been hurtful. Kurt wasn't sure it was right to be there and Sam'd been feeling shameful and awkward. It had been long, but to Sam biggest relief, Kurt offered to forget what he did.

Forgetting didn't mean forgiving.

That was how Sam came back in his life.

For Blaine it had been harder. And to be true, as far as Kurt could tell it was neither forgotten nor forgiven. He only accepted to have him back in his life to make things easier for Rachel, Mercedes, Artie and Sam.

But that was a long time ago, and tonight's meal was different: it was the last one before Rachel moved to L.A.

It was a new chapter of their lives. It seemed like life had been moving too fast since he came to New York, two years ago.

He went from working on to work side by side with June Dolloway to get his band discovered, from being Blaine's fiancé to Puck's boyfriend.

And he had absolutely no regrets: except that he would have liked to have gone without the heartbreak.

The competition Puck enrolled them brought them further than any of them would have imagined. If the meeting with the production of the show had been short notice, they were lucky enough to have two weeks before coming to the show.

Thanks to that distance, they arranged lots of rehearsals with the new member of the band. His forseen had been right: Jokebe was perfect for them. It seemed incredible to see such a thin girl played. Kurt and Puck often joked by saying she must have some octopus DNA.

The day following the show, Puck received a phone call from, "some chick named June Dollonay or something like that"as he said. She had loved their performance and wished to see them and talk about their futures.

If Puck and Dani didn't know who she was, the three others did and were more than excited to meet her.

Kurt couldn't recall Jokebe's reaction without laughing. She had screamed "But how is it possible for you to not know who she is? It's JUNE DOLLOWAY, guys! She is just one of the most important, one of the coolest socialite of New York! If we have her with us, we can do everything!"

And they did. If Kurt didn't get a good start with Mrs Dolloway, she was completely smitten with Puck, and Eliott. Thanks to her, they were in contact with the Wallace Company. The six of them _ with Santana, who now acted as their publicist _ had been discussing a recording contract for around two weeks. Nothing had been signed yet, they all had good hopes.

The end of the evening left a bitter-sweet taste in his mouth. Saying goodbye to Rachel and Jesse was hard. Harder than he imagined for Jesse.

With time, they all had more and less gotten used to see Jesse and Rachel together again. Surprisingly, the man had worked hard to be accepted by Rachel's friends, and Kurt was glad he was going with her in Los Angeles. Finn was right, they were good for each other, in a very strange and dramatic way.

Smiling, he remembered how she had reacted to his relationship with Puck. All the screams and hand motions. Of course she might have had a better reaction if she hadn't caught them in action in the shower.

It was funny now, not so much at the time. Even less when her screeching had led everyone present in the loft at the time straight to the bathroom.

Meaning: Santana ("Hmm kinky! "), Dani (who already knew), Jesse (who managed to calm Rachel and gained their eternal gratitude), Mercedes ( who turned around in giggling hiding her eyes behind her hand ) and Sam (who just laughed before being dragged away by his girlfriend).

That scene took place a bit more than a month after their first date. Now, he was holding Rachel tight, making her promise to call as soon as they touched down. It was hard to let her go, and as soon as he did, he reached for Puck's hand to anchor him.

One after another, his friends left, until only Puck and he remained. They stayed by the door in each others arms until Puck said "You're okay Prince?"

Kurt didn't reply, instead he tightened his arms around the waist of his boyfriend, letting his tears slid along his cheeks.

Understanding, Puck patted his back and kissed the top of his head. "Hey, that wasn't a goodbye forever, you know? You will see her again some day. And, knowing Rachel and Jesse as we know them, we will be soon bombarded with phone calls, text messages, and meeting on Skype..."

Kurt snorted, that wasn't wrong.

"Yes," he laughed. "Now let's get to bed, I don't know about you, but I am dead tired." And after a last kiss in his head, Puck bit his neck and ran toward the bathroom.

"You brute!'" Kurt exclaimed before going after his boyfriend.

Puck howled with laughter and when he reached the bathroom door, he glanced over his shoulder and held out his tongue "Stop the fussing, You love it and I know it!" and he closed the door.

Kurt stared at it, disbelieved. He didn't, did he? Kurt tried to pull on the handle, but it didn't move.
"PUCK! Open the door!" His only response came in the form of an evil laugh.

Half and hour later, Kurt came into his bedroom. Puck was already in bed shirtless. Kurt could bet his most precious scarf that the other half of his body, hidden under the sheet, was just bare.

He sneered in the inside.

He was still mad about the bathroom, so to get revenge on him, he chose to put a pajama on. A pajama, with a lot of tiny buttons, buttonned all the ways up. Of course he was aware that Puck wouldn't be the only one bothered, but it was worth it just to see his face.

"Prince?" Puck asked, clearly baffled. Kurt lifted his nose and failed to notice the call. Instead, he went to his side of the bed and slid between the sheets, his back turned to the other occupant.

"Come on Kurt that was a joke, don't be like that..."

Smiling, but motionless, Kurt let his boyfriend stew in his juice, maybe even believe he was in the dog house for the had not expected that Puck would try to coax him with anything other than words, at least not so soon. But he did, and his resolution crumbled under kisses, hugs and caresses. When sleep came it was late, or rather early in the morning.

"I finally did it!" Finn exclaimed.

"Oh please, tell me you are not dressed as Dora, that would be ridiculous, funny, but ridiculous." Kurt said before daring to look at his brother, but stopped before finding him.
They were not the only ones in the room.

"Nice costume Cinderella,. You know, I prefer the last suit I saw you in." Puck commented.

" Suit? Which one?"Kurt asked half because he wanted to know, and half because he was still puzzled to see his boyfriend in Finn's room, at the same time as he.

"Your birthday suit of course!"

"Oh god my ears! I just don't need to know that. No talk about nakedness while I am still here, okay guys?"

Kurt nodded and finally lowered his eyes to see what he was wearing. "That's not Cinderella, that's Mulan, you are Rapunzel.'" he finally glanced at Finn and pointing at him he added " Here is the Beauty. Finn, why are we all dressed as Disney's princesses?"

His brother smiled, and Kurt noticed a sadness in his eyes that wasn't there before. "Because it fits."

"What the fuck? How the hell does it fit to dress me up as that Rapunzel's girl? I know I said that I could wear a dress to school and people would think it's cool, but life proved me wrong. And, I don't think this shade of pink is my color."

"Who cares about the color? It fits." Finn announced as though was logical. And, it probably was, for him. Kurt looked around, and smiled, the room had gained new furniture: a round table in wrought iron, and chairs that matched.

Kurt grabbed the hand of a sulky Puck, and pulled him toward the table to sit with his brother. Once settle down, Kurt asked "By the way, what were you talking about when we arrived?"

"What?"

"He is right dude, you screamed 'I did it!' " Puck replied still fighting against his dress.

"Oh, well, I have been trying for a long time to get us all together here, and there we are!"

Kurt and Puck looked at each other: there was something strange here, and whatever Finn had under his sleeve, they weren't going to like it.

"So why Rapunzel ? Because I must say I don't see how it's appropriate." Puck interrogated in an obvious attempt to change the conversation.

"Because that's so you! I mean: She is a badass who needed help to find her way into the world."

Kurt smiled when he saw Puck accepting Finn's explanation."What about me?"

"Easy! At the first glance you might seem as thin and fragile, but you are greatest badass, you take charge and you are good. That's you!"

"And why the Beauty?"This time took his time to answer, his gaze was avoiding them both. If Kurt didn't know better, he could have sworn he was glaring at the green door.

"Finn?"

"Dude, stop it with the suspense, you know I hate it!"

Unconsciously, Kurt's grip tightened a bit more on Puck's hand. " Mine doesn't fit as well as yours... It's a person, who had been kept safe all her life. Just as I was. Then, when she was sixteen, she had an accident and she slept for a long time. She's kind of like me. Like I've done here. But, she was luckier because she woke up and got to live her life. Me..."

"Dude, no..."

"It's time, I mean, didn't you notice?"

"Noticed, what?"

"The door."

As one Kurt and Puck turned to stare at the door, not catching what Finn meant. It hadn't changed in days. It was green to them, but as far as Kurt knew it had always been white in his brother's eyes.

"Okay, so what about the door?"

"It changed. Don't you see the emergency issue board on it? The meaning of it is clear, and neither of us is dumb!"

Kurt couldn't see the board, but he was right: the color was exactly the same and he shivered. He wasn't ready, he didn't want to see Finn walking through that door, not now! It was way too soon. Kurt started shaking his head, "No, you can't, I need you, you can't leave.."

"He is right dude, we need you! Who would help me to not fuck up with Kurt? And You have to be there for our first Grammy and Kurt's Tony..."

"You don't need me, any of you. You have each other, and Burt and mum. Your mum also Puck and you totally should call her more often. You have friends, alive friends who can be there for you better than me. And, I told you, it's time for me. The door had been calling for a long time, but I wanted to say goodbye to you, to both of you. Goodbye guys, I wish you the best. " And without giving them a moment to comprehend or accept the reality he stood up and headed for the door.

One.

Two.

Three, and Kurt jumped from his chair to catch him before he could open the door, Puck was on his tail, as if his movement broke the spell Finn's departing words brought them to.

However, the room wasn't big and they jumped just in time to see him snap his fingers and shift his clothes: gone was the blue dress, they were faced to the Finn they had known: in blue jeans and football vision froze Kurt, but Puck kept walking, reaching with his hands, as if he was still hoping to prevent the departure.
Finn's hand was on the handle, and he flashed them a grin over his shoulder, showing off his dimples.

A dazzling light flooded the room and Finn disappeared from their view.

Kurt woke up with a start, and he sighed: it was a nightmare, a horrible nightmare: Finn wasn't gone forever. Kurt had just woken up, that was it.
He closed his lids a second and he sighed before lying down once again. He wetted his lip and looked at his boyfriend. Watching Puck sleep, always helped him to calm down , but he squinted and his heart froze: Puck was awake, and he was in tears.

Large silent tears rolled down his cheeks.

the end