A/N: Again sorry for the long wait but hopefully this makes up for it. Puck and Kurt make up!

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Puck woke up the next morning to a jolt of pain shooting up his arm. For a moment he wondered why, but as he squinted in the morning light he remembered his injured hand. Cursing under his breath he carefully stumbled over to the bathroom, hoping that his noise wouldn't wake Finn who was still snoring away. It took a little longer to get himself ready as he had to work one handed, but soon enough he was dressed and snuck out of the room before Finn woke.

Puck walked slowly through the empty hallways. It was early and many of the city's residents were still asleep. Puck was grateful for the quiet. It gave him a moment to think. And only one thought kept spinning around in his mind. Kurt. Puck was still anxious about Kurt's behavior in the infirmary. He'd tried to pry the information out of Rachel, but she'd managed to slip away before he could convince her to fess up. The rest of the afternoon had been a series of thwarted attempts to find the other boy. Every time he'd managed to carve out a spare minute to look for Kurt, something had come up. His mission for today, since Colonel Sheppard had commanded he take at least one day off for his injury, was to find Kurt. He needed to talk to the other boy and find out just what exactly was wrong, and clear up any misunderstandings. Puck wasn't totally sure what had gone wrong, but he knew Kurt was hurting over it and that made him feel sick inside.

By noon Puck was convinced that not only was the other boy avoiding him, he wasn't even acknowledging him. Puck had spotted Kurt once earlier in the day, they had made brief eye contact but Kurt had snubbed his nose at him and fled in the opposite direction. Just as Puck was about to call out to him one of the other marines had cornered him and started bugging him with stupid questions regarding the proper procedure of taking inventory of the weapons cache on PCX-236. Apparently Puck had failed to fill out all corresponding paper work the last time he had been there.

After his lecture on proper paper work procedures, Puck was both mentally and physically exhausted from his days search. He had been everywhere he could think of and still hadn't been able to pin Kurt down. The hunger pangs he'd been ignoring for the past half hour were finally beginning to wear him down. Defeated, Puck found himself in line at the mess. He loaded his tray with everything he could reach, tying his best to balance it all using just his one hand. As he looked around for a table he felt his tray tip precariously to the side, but at the last second before it would have been nothing more than a mess on the floor, a hand shot out and steadied it. Puck breathed a sigh of relief and was about to thank the mysterious savior but as his eyes swept up the thin arm that led to a face with shining blue eyes framed by golden locks of blond hair, his voice caught in his throat and the smile he wore died on his lips.

"You should be more careful." The blond doctor from the day before was smiling, what Puck thought of as a predatory smile. It was the same kind he used to use on the women back home and it had never failed to capture his prey but this blond little girl didn't have the experience that he did. She was way out of her league if she thought that her weak attempt at capture would work on him. "You need help with this? I'm sitting right over here and you can join me if you want." she cooed.

Puck had hoped that she would just give up and leave him alone but the way she smiled and batted her lashes told him he would have to make things clear. Taking ahold of his tray, as best he could with both hands, he smiled at her and took a step back, needing to put some distance between them. "Thanks but I'm not really interested in anything you're offering I already have someone I'm interested in so if you don't mind." Puck watched her reaction for a moment, seeing the faint blush creep up her cheeks as she stuttered for the right words.

"I ... It wasn't...I mean..." She must not get rejected much, he thought, smiling to himself.

Puck was already moving away from her as she continued to fumble for a witty comeback, but as he looked up he saw Kurt's angry face stare him down for an instant before the smaller boy flew from the room. Puck barely had time to register that his friend and Rachel had been sitting at a table, most likely with Kurt, before Puck tossed his tray on the first table he passed, in the process knocking over someone's drink. He heard the squawk of displeasure from the innocent bystander but continued after Kurt. He called out to the other boy several times with no response. Puck was beginning to get pissed now. He hadn't done anything to warrant this treatment from the other boy and he wanted answers now!

Puck followed Kurt down the hall and watched as he jumped into a transporter. Puck cursed softly, jogging quickly towards the closing doors. He managed to grab the doors at the last second with his good hand and slipped inside before they closed again. Slightly out of breath from the chase Puck turned to face Kurt. The smaller boy had his arms crossed over his chest defensively and stood rigid against the wall. He looked as if being in the small space with Puck was the last thing he wanted. After taking a few deep breaths Puck moved to stand closer to Kurt, blocking his way out when the doors slid open.

"Kurt what the heck is wrong with you? Why have you been avoiding me?"

Kurt turned his head to the side and refused to make eye contact. Neither boy moved when the doors slid open. Puck stepped closer and searched Kurt's face and stance for any answers. He found nothing but hurt and anger in those crystal clear eyes. When he spoke, Puck's voice was a pleading whisper. "Please tell me what I did wrong. Just...please just talk to me."

The soft desperate tone in Puck's voice weakened Kurt's resolve and he turned to stare into the marine's dark eyes. Kurt let out a loud sigh and shifted his stance. "Fine. But let's not do this here." He said as he maneuvered himself around the marine, making sure not to make any contact as he did.

Puck watched as Kurt slipped past him and made his way down the empty hall. After a moment's pause he followed after the other boy, silently rejoicing that he was actually going to be given the chance to clear up this misunderstanding that was going on between them.

Kurt led them to a small break room just down the hall from the transport. Once inside he did a quick check and seeing no one in sight closed and locked the door behind Puck, ensuring that they wouldn't be interrupted. Kurt walked across the room and leaned up against the counter on the back wall. He crossed his arms across his chest, taking up a defensive stance. He eyed Puck carefully, waiting for the other boy to start. Puck saw this and relaxed his posture, trying to convey an aura of calm.

"Kurt I just want to know what happened? Did I do something wrong?" Puck took a couple tentative steps toward Kurt but stopped when he saw the anger mar Kurt's pretty face.

Kurt had barely been holding back his anger from the beginning but finally let it loose when he saw that Puck was genuinely confused why he was mad. Did he really think he was that stupid? Kurt pushed away from the counter, his fury no longer contained. "Did you do something wrong? Really?" Kurt smiled evilly at the taller boy, shaking his head in disbelief. "Yes you did something wrong! You were flirting in front of my face! I thought... that...I thought..." Kurt hugged his arms around himself and seemed to deflate, not finishing his thoughts.

Puck was baffled by Kurt's sudden outburst and then watched as he seemed to crumble in on himself like he was trying to hide from Puck what he was truly feeling. Puck moved forward again and took Kurt's shaking shoulders in his hands and began rubbing his thumbs in soothing circles, for now ignoring the dull ache in his own injured hand. Kurt didn't try to pull away from him so he took that as a good sign that at least he had a chance to make things right.

"Kurt." Puck called his name softly, begging the other boy to meet his eyes. The tear filled blue gaze that he was met with made Puck's stomach churn painfully. "I honestly don't know what you're talking about." Puck spoke softly; keeping eye contact with Kurt, hoping the brunette would see the truth in his face.

Kurt's gaze turned incredulous as he twisted in Puck's grip, but didn't pull away. "The blond doctor!" His voice taking on a pitch higher than normal. As Puck's face scrunched into one of confusion Kurt's anger started to build again. "You were smiling at her yesterday in the infirmary and I saw the two of you in the cafeteria just now. Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about." Kurt's voice lost its edge on the last part and he looked away again.

Puck couldn't believe what he was hearing. He never even considered this as the reason for Kurt's bazaar behavior. He had brushed off the clingy blonde's advances from the start, didn't Kurt see that? Puck tightened his grip on Kurt, not painfully, just enough to regain the brunettes attention. When he had it Puck smiled warmly. "Kurt I never wanted that girl. She came on to me. I smiled at her yesterday because she gave me something to take away the pain. That's all." He desperately wanted Kurt to understand.

"What about today in the mess? I saw you talking with her and she was practically drooling all over the floor. You didn't seem to mind."

Puck watched him for a minute as he worked out just how to respond to that without upsetting Kurt again, but before he could respond Kurt was speaking again.

"I understand if you want to be with her. She's very pretty and I'm sure it would be easier to have a relationship with her than with someone like me." His voice was shaky and weak with unshed tears as he stared at Puck's muscled chest in front of him, avoiding eye contact.

Puck trailed his uninjured hand up to cup Kurt's pale cheek, tilting his face to force him to meet his intense stare. Kurt let him tip his head and then sniffed, trying to keep his tears from falling. One escaped the corner of his eye and burned a hot trail down his cheek, but before it could roll any further Puck's thumb was there tenderly brushing it away. The smiling face Kurt was looking into gave him hope.

"Kurt I thought scientists were supposed to do research and be sure of something before jumping to conclusions." The smile on Puck's face was clearly heard in the smooth tone his voice had taken. Kurt was beginning to relax and his tears subsiding as Puck continued to smirk at him. "You obviously need to work on that as a scientist and you definitely didn't hear what I said to her did you?" Kurt shook his head and Puck continued. "I told her that I wasn't interested and that I already have someone."

"You do?" Kurt asked, his eyes widening in shock.

Puck smiled down at him and nodded his head while gently caressing Kurt's soft cheek with his thumb. "Yeah. I do."

"Oh. I didn't know. I'm sorry." Kurt tried to pull away but Puck held him tight, moving his other hand down around Kurt's waist, keeping him close.

Kurt wasn't meeting his eyes again and was fidgeting nervously. Puck was confused at first but then put the pieces together. "You." He whispered. Kurt stilled in his grasp and lifted his head to stare at Puck. "I was talking about you, Kurt."

"Me?" It was all he managed to say but Kurt smiled up at Puck, pleading with his eyes for it to be true.

Puck snaked his other arm down around Kurt's waist and pulled the smaller boy flush against his chest. Kurt instantly relaxed into the hold and brought his hands up to rest on Puck's well toned shoulders, reveling in the feel of the hard muscles under his palms. "Yeah you." Puck chuckled, the sound vibrating through Kurt, causing a shiver to run down his spine. Puck took notice of Kurt's reaction and bent his head down with the intention of resting it against Kurt's forehead but one look into Kurt's shining blue eyes had Puck continuing his movement until his lips pressed against Kurt's in a heated kiss. They both pulled away panting and out of breath.

Kurt recovered first and ran one of his hands up Puck's neck and through the strip of hair on his head before softly scratching his way back down to the base of Puck's neck, kneading it softly. Kurt was staring at Puck with blue eyes darkened with lust and something else Puck wasn't sure of. Puck smiled down at the brunette and began backing them up until Kurt's back connected with the counter. "I have wanted to do this since yesterday morning." Puck smiled.

Kurt quirked one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him. "Oh really?" he teased. "Then what are you waiting for?"

Puck couldn't take it anymore, bringing his hands up to Kurt's small face he tilted it to the side and brought their mouths together again. It started off soft with little nips here and there, but Puck wanted Kurt to know exactly how much he wanted him. Puck licked along the seal of Kurt's lips, pulling Kurt's plump bottom lip into his mouth, tasting a sweetness that was all Kurt. Puck moaned into the kiss when he felt the other boy open under his questing mouth. Puck let his hands roam down Kurt's slender back until they found their way to his waist, pulling their hips together and causing both of them to break the kiss to gasp at the new sensation.

Kurt's heart was racing so fast he thought for sure he would pass out. He had never been kissed by anyone before Puck and this was almost too much but his head was swimming with lust and want and he couldn't bring himself to care if things were moving too fast. He had never felt this intensely before and didn't want that feeling to go away. Puck's large hands on his hips were slowly inching their way to grope Kurt's butt. He felt the strong hand grip his thighs and pull him up to sit on the counter behind him. Puck's hands slowly stroked Kurt's thighs as he stepped into the open space between Kurt's legs, leaning into the other boy. The new position put Kurt at a slightly higher position giving him the ability to control the kiss, but that didn't last long.

Puck broke the kiss and started kissing his way across Kurt's jaw over to his ear. Puck nibbled on the lobe and then licked the shell of Kurt's ear, nipping at the tip. Kurt shivered and squeezed Puck's shoulders as the action raised goose bumps all over his body. Puck giggled at Kurt's reaction and smiled against his ear before moving back to lick at the brunettes kiss reddened lips.

Kurt let Puck take control of the kiss once more as he began to move the kiss down Kurt's pale neck. Kurt tilted his head back giving him free range of all the smooth skin. Puck desperately wanted to leave his mark on Kurt so that everyone who looked at him would know that he was taken but he decided against it, not knowing how Kurt would react to the claiming mark. Instead he moved his kisses lower, pushing the neck of Kurt's shirt down and scraping his teeth across his collar bone.

Puck's hands were caressing the insides of Kurt's legs and trailing dangerously close to Kurt's growing arousal. "Puck!" Kurt cried and shuddered against the marine's chest. Kurt dissolved into a litany of unintelligible moans and gasps as Puck rocked against him, grinding their hips together.

"So good Baby." He breathed against Kurt's ear. Puck was on the verge of losing all control and he could tell that Kurt was close as well, judging by the way the other boy bucked and panted against him. Puck slowed his movements and ran his hand through Kurt's now messy hair, tilting his face so he could peer into his heavily lidded eyes. "You okay Princess?" He smirked, surprising himself how calm he sounded, despite the current situation.

Kurt's already stained cheeks turned a deeper shade of red as he stared back into dark lust filled eyes. He managed to nod but when he tried to speak it was breathy and whispered. "Ye...ah. I...It's good." Puck's smirk turned into an almost feral grin as he sped up his movements again.

"Good, because I'm not gonna last too much longer."

"Me too." Kurt sighed and turned his face into the side of Puck's neck, inhaling a sent that was purely Puck and let the sent and sensations wash over him. Kurt held his eyes shut tight and held his breath as the jolt of pleasure that had been building finally exploded with a flash of white light behind his eyelids.

Puck felt Kurt stiffen against his chest and heard the whimpered cry that fell from the scientists sweet mouth. Then Kurt's body sagged against him. The other boy's release had Puck's hips stuttering as he too was pushed over the edge, falling into oblivion as his pleasure reached its peak and he shook with his own release.

Both boys slumped against one another panting heavily and feeling boneless. Puck wrapped his arms around Kurt and held him tightly as they both came down from their pleasure induced highs. After a moment Puck could feel the smaller boy's breathing begin to slow down and even out. If he had it his way he would stay there all day just feeling the welcoming heat that poured off Kurt but he knew that was impossible. For one thing Puck knew they had to talk, they had moved faster than he had planned and he knew Kurt was new to the whole dating thing so Puck wanted to be certain that they were on the same page regarding where they both stood.

Puck shifted his stance and kissed the top of Kurt's head, the other boy peering up at him and smiling shyly. Puck brushed his hand across Kurt's rosy cheek and bent down to place a soft kiss against his mouth. Pulling away and searching the brunette's face for any signs of regret, Puck smiled happily when he saw only blissed out happiness. "Still okay?" he asked timidly, raising his eyebrows in question.

Kurt reached up and pulled Puck back to his lips, kissing him with less hunger and need and more love and tenderness. Kurt pulled away just enough to look into the dark brown eyes in front of him. "Still okay." He answered softly but looked down to his lap and wrinkled his nose. "A little messy... but still okay." He giggled.

Puck felt himself relax and chuckled at Kurt's predicament but then looked down at his own pants. "Yeah, I'm in the same boat as you on that front." He wiggled a little bit then stepped back to let Kurt down from the counter. He didn't want to break contact with the petite scientist but knew that if he didn't he really would stand there all day just holding the other boy.

Kurt hopped down and tried his best to smooth out the wrinkles in his outfit and hide the wetness in his pants. Looking up to Puck he saw the other boy doing the same thing, with less success. Kurt giggled, bringing Puck's attention away from his problem to stare openly at Kurt.

"Maybe no one will be in the halls and we can make it back without being noticed."

"Yeah maybe." Puck chuckled. When he spoke again his voice took on a serious note. "Kurt. I wanted to-"

Kurt cut him off before he could continue, shaking his head. "No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed anything without talking to you. It's just that... well, this is all new to me and I felt like I might have messed something up and she's really pretty and ..." Kurt fumbled for the right words, his nerves causing his stomach to do little flips as he turned his head away from Puck, unable to meet his dark gaze.

Puck rushed over to him and wrapped him up in a warm, tight embrace. "Shh." He soothed. "You did nothing wrong! I should have made it clear how I felt... but I was scared. This all seemed to happen so fast. At first I was just having fun bickering with you and making you blush, but then before I even realized it, I couldn't wait to see you every day." Puck laughed and shook his head at his own actions, he should have known sooner just what Kurt was becoming to him. Puck pulled back to look Kurt in the eyes as he spoke. "You are the highlight of my day. I pester Finn every morning to see if I can tag along with him and Rachel just for a chance to see you." His lips turned up in a big smile.

Kurt swiped at his eyes and matched the smile Puck wore with one of his own. "Really?"

"Yep." Puck reached out and ran his fingers across Kurt's cheek. "Kurt, I was so lost when you were avoiding me. I felt like my heart had been ripped out."

Kurt's hands gripped the material of Puck's shirt tight and his expression grew pained. "I'm sorry. I-"

"Stop! I told you it wasn't your fault." He tried to reassure the trembling brunette. He was having more trouble getting his thoughts out than he had hoped. He had assumed once he had Kurt in front of him the right words would just flow. "Kurt...I...I'm pretty sure...No...I'm positive. ..I know that I'm in love with you."

Kurt froze in Puck's gentle embrace and repeated the words over in his head. I'm in love with you; Puck had said that, he was sure. Kurt's heart fluttered in his chest and he struggled to keep his breathing even. No one had ever told him that they loved him and he wasn't entirely sure how to respond without freaking out the other boy. His first instinct was to immediately say it back but he didn't want Puck to think he was just saying it because he had. Before Kurt could make a decision either way he felt Puck tense in their embrace.

Kurt looked up to an unreadable expression and instantly felt guilty for making his marine doubt his confession. Kurt ran his hand up the muscled chest in front of him and smiled sweetly. "Puck... I'm in love with you too."

Chuckling, Puck leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Kurt's pink lips. "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry." Kurt was giggling as well.

"Don't be." He smiled and kissed Kurt again. "We really do need to get back before people start to notice we're missing."

Kurt nodded and reluctantly pulled away from Puck. They were about to leave when Kurt turned back. "Everyone is getting together for dinner tonight. You'll be there right?"

"Definitely, I wouldn't miss it Princess."

Kurt blushed as the two parted ways at the door, each sneaking back to their own rooms to change.