Disclaimer: I do NOT own rights to any of the characters from Glee. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: Another chapter up and ready to go. Thank you as always to those who have encouraged me to write faster by leaving me kind reviews. Each and every one is appreciated. For those who wonder, yes I am still working on my other stories and I will get to them eventually - my muse just takes weird directions is all... new directions I guess you could say XD

"Cuffed" by The Jellybaby Bandit

Chapter Four

Kurt could literally feel the heat emanating from his face as he tried to put 'Puckzilla-gate' behind him. The soprano had made such a fool of himself. Kurt couldn't believe that he'd gone and ogled Puck's junk in such an obvious way.

Ever since he'd realised he was 'different' to the other boys, Kurt had fastidiously maintained a façades of disinterest when it came to undressed male bodies around him. Mostly that was for self-preservation. After all if a particularly muscular but homophobic jock caught Kurt looking at him – as the soprano had been convinced would be the case with Puck just moments earlier – the result was likely to require stitches and a trip to the emergency room.

Puck had, to Kurt's eternal surprise, been gracious enough to have laughed his actions off. The soprano however wasn't prepared to be so laid back about it - it was - it was wrong was what it was. Kurt had gawked at the jock with absolutely no subtlety – and no permission - and now he just felt plain awful about it.

Puck might not have been the brightest spark in the history of the universe, but even to the half-back it was clear that Kurt was uncomfortable.

Yes the jock had laughed off Kurt's sudden 'interest' in all things Puckzilla. That hadn't of course been Puck's initial reaction, it was just the one that he'd let Kurt see.

At first, well... as much as Puck wanted to pretend otherwise, he – well he kinda liked the attention.

Now Puck was straight – that wasn't the issue – it wasn't being stared at hungrily by a guy that the jock enjoyed. It was -

'Ah hell...'

Ever since his return from Juvie, Puck had been trying to remould himself. He'd started hitting up Lauren and that got him a big fat zip in the loving department. The effortless Puckzilla mojo which had pretty much carried the half-back up until that point seemed to be losing it's effectiveness. Quinn wouldn't touch him, not with their history, Santana was just too toxic these days to even consider a viable option and Brittany was just too obsessed with Artie to even consider having a roll in the hay behind the wheelchair bound boy's back.

Eventually it seemed, the good girls – which Puck preferred to pursue as they tended to be the nasty ones in bed – got wise to him and wanted to be treated right. Being treated right meant leaving Puck behind as they moved on to someone knew.

It sucked being alone.

Kurt was grateful for Puck's sudden respectful silence. In times gone by the jock would have lorded Kurt's slip over him, or beaten him into a pulp. The fact that he'd just shrugged it off confused Kurt no end.

The soprano remained silent as they headed back out of the bathroom and into the bedroom proper. Picking up his pyjamas from the edge of the large queen size bed, Kurt rolled the soft fabric in his hands before a horrifying realisation struck the soprano.

"I can't get undressed...", said Kurt his voice soft.

Kurt chanced a quick glance in the jock's direction, daring to meet the taller boy's eyes for the first time in several minutes. Puck was busy slipping off his sneakers as he spared the brunette a confused look.

"Sure ya can... it's easy... you just -..."

"No...", said Kurt his voice regaining some of its former strength with the passage of time, "... I can't get undressed...".

As if to reinforce his statement, Kurt raised his hand and waved the cuffs in front of the jock's face.

"Oh..."

Puck tilted his head to the side as he attempted to absorb the soprano's meaning but it was abundantly clear, they were handcuffed together meaning there was no way to remove their shirts.

'Well damn...', Puck hadn't considered that particular problem.

"Uh... I guess you're right..", said the jock scratching the top of his head in the manner he did when he was mulling over a complicated puzzle, or a menu choice at Breadstix.

"Of course I'm right...", said Kurt sending the jock a look to suggest that the soprano was alwaysright and that the statement was redundant.

Puck considered the problem in front of him before arriving at a solution,

"RIIIIIP..."

Kurt's jaw fell open.

Puck had reached up to the collar of his tee and in one fluid motion had parted the fabric like it wasn't there.

And oh my God...

'Do not stare... naked Puck... oh God this weekend is going to kill me...'

Kurt squeaked girlishly and averted his eyes as Puck threw the the scraps of his tee down onto the bed. The soprano kept his gaze fixed this time on a spot on the far wall as he heard the unmistakeable sound of the half-back's belt buckle being unfastened and the fly on his jeans being once more unzipped.

Several seconds passed with the sounds of rustling fabric and the jock grunting occasionally before Kurt chanced a glance back in Puck's direction. The taller boy was standing, dressed in nothing but his boxers and looking supremely pleased with himself for some reason.

"That's your big solution...", asked Kurt his voice shaky as he tried to ignore the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach at the sight of Puck's admittedly very well defined chest, "... destroy your only shirt? Are you mental?"

Kurt's jaw snapped shut as his voice went shrill at the end of his sentence and he tried to control the forming blush on his cheeks.

'My God would you look at those-... No! Stop it, stop it, stop it...'

This was bad. This was very bad.

Puck paused before he realised that, bitchy though it undoubtedly was, Kurt had a valid point.

'And dammit that was a one of my favourite shirts too...'

Puck wasn't about to admit any of that to the brunette though. Affecting a neutral expression the jock shrugged and looked unconcerned.

"It worked didn't it?"

Kurt just rolled his eyes at the jock though and didn't even deign to get embroiled in a discussion about how stupid that response was. Puck's lack of assistance though was exactly what the brunette had expected though, he was clearly happy with his solution.

"Well that might solve your predicament but exactly how does it help me?...", said Kurt thumbing the fabric of his sleeve as a sorrowful look crossed his features, "... this is an Alexander McQueen original there is more chance of my turning straight than damaging this shirt..."

Puck held his ground and said nothing. After all the half-back hadn't an alternative plan so there was nothing to say. Puck expected that if he kept silent for a few seconds that Kurt would fold and just agree to the plan.

What the half-back had never considered however was that Kurt would capitulate and look for all the world like he was about to cry.

'Ah Hell...'

"What the Hell Hummel?", said Puck actually concerned that the smaller boy was about to begin bawling. The jock had enough experience with Sarah and her temper tantrums to know that a chick being emotional enough to cry wasn't a good thing for his own personal health – and Kurt was essentially a chick with a dick right?

Kurt sniffed and withdrew a handkerchief from his top pocket before blowing his nose loudly.

"I... please can we take the cuffs off - I can't... it's an original... please..."

Puck sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

What the Hell had happened to him all of a sudden to make Kurt Hummel fucking pouting so god damn annoying? So much so that the jock felt compelled to be niceto the soprano in order to make those damn pouty lips go away. This was some fucked up shit.

Puck reached his free hand out towards the stricken soprano only to stop in surprise as Kurt flinched and ducked away instinctively.

"What the Hell Hummel?", said the jock for the second time in as many minutes.

Now the jock had a better question – exactly what the Hell had Karofsky been doing to Kurt that the half-back had been unaware of. Kurt had never before been the type of person to shrink away in fear of anything. Sure Puck was aware that Karofsky had been giving Kurt a hard time but the half-back hadn't ever imagined that it involved physical violence – which the soprano's reaction seemed to indicate.

The thought made Puck angry.

Kurt sniffed before realising what exactly he'd done - the brunette was ashamed of himself to be jumping at shadows. This was what Karofsky had driven him to though, Kurt had been reduced to a nervous wreck.

"Sorry... I just... sorry...", said the brunette, unable to meet the taller boy's gaze.

Puck it seemed though, wasn't prepared to just let it go as Kurt had hoped.

"No. Apology not accepted – what the Hell was that Hummel?"

Kurt flinched again at the tone of the half-back's voice causing Puck to pause and sigh. The last thing Puck wanted to do was drive Kurt even further away – then there'd be no chance of his changing his mind about leaving McKinley.

Instead, the jock nudged Kurt back until the smaller boy's legs impacted the side of the bed and caused him to sit down.

Taking up a position beside Kurt, Puck waited a few seconds for the brunette to gather himself before he spoke quietly,

"You thought I was going to hit you."

There was no accusation in the statement, it was a statement of fact borne out by Kurt's clear reaction. If anything, the non-verbal response received from the brunette – of the smaller boy's shoulders hitching – was all of the evidence Puck needed anyway.

Again, several seconds passed in shared silence before Puck sighed once again.

"I... I just don't get it Hummel...", said Puck reaching out to the smaller boy before checking himself and letting his hand drop uselessly back to his lap, "... Why didn't you say anything? You know? To Finn? Or Schue? Or Hell, even to me?"

Kurt snorted before he replied, his voice thick with emotion that the brunette was desperately trying to suppress.

"It wouldn't have made any difference. It wouldn't have stopped him -...", said Kurt his voice unable to hide the bitterness to his tone, "... you wouldn't have stopped him..."

Puck didn't know quite how to answer that accusation. And the jock was in no doubt that it was an accusation. Kurt was saying 'you knew and yet you did nothing'. Puck remembered a saying about evil and good man and some shit.

It was true. He had known. He knew that Karofsky was targeting Kurt. The jock didn't know why exactly, but just knowing should have been enough to make him step in. He'd failed in that respect and it had driven Kurt to the only option he felt he had available to him. To leave.

"Just forget it...", said the brunette as the half-back remained silent and deep in thought.

Puck shook himself out of his recriminations but it was clear by the time that he'd tuned back in that Kurt had used the intervening seconds to shutter his emotions. The half-back cursed as he realised the soprano wouldn't be opening up again any time soon.

Focusing back on the problem of their being cuffed together, Puck came to a decision, something that he hoped would go some way towards repairing the strained relationship that had developed in the past few minutes.

Puck reached past the brunette who ignored the taller boy entirely in favour of staring morosely at the floor and snatched up a stray hair clip which had been lying on top of the vanity.

Biting his lip in concentration Puck inserted the end of the clip into his cuff and with a quick twist, the metal arms parted with a dull click and fell to dangle between the pair.

Kurt looked up in shock. He was – he was free – wait – he was free?

'That rat bastard...'

The brunette turned an accusing glare on the jock who squirmed in his seat looking uncomfortable,

"What?", said Puck defensively before adding as if it explained everything, "... I'm me remember?..."

Kurt couldn't fight the smile on his face despite his annoyance at seeing the affronted look on the half-back's face. Of course, this was Puck – the brunette had never considered that even without a key, Puck would be able to pick a lock on some handcuffs without breaking a sweat.

'Forget that though, I'm free!'

The brunette forgot about his annoyance with the taller boy and instead in a moment that he would later characterise as madness enveloped the larger boy in a grateful hug.

"Hey...", protested a startled half-back, "... what gives?"

Kurt pulled back from the hug, his eyes once again sparkling and happy – whether at the fact that he could now shower without having to ruin his outfit or at the fact he was uncuffed entirely the jock wasn't sure.

"I... just thanks, I guess...", said Kurt suddenly feeling sheepish for having been so familiar with the taller boy, "... but what about..."

Puck smirked causing Kurt's stomach to roil. Puck smirking would not lead to good things the brunette decided.

Kurt kept silent and braced himself for whatever bomb the half-back was sure to drop.

"Here's the deal...", said Puck rubbing his wrist where the metal had begun to bite into his tender flesh, "... I'll uncuff us but we're staying close together all weekend."

Puck raised his hand and forestalled Kurt's expected outburst and paused when the brunette just nodded in acceptance.

"What? No bitching? No moaning? No calling me an asshole and telling me to get the Hell out?", asked Puck smirking at the soprano.

Kurt shrugged and stood to cross to his dresser, the soprano kept his back to the taller boy as he replied,

"I know you won't leave if I ask, so why would I bother?"

'Or do you not want him to leave?...", added the traitorous voice in Kurt's head.

The brunette remained silent as he picked up a cotton bud and his cleanser and busied himself with an abbreviated evening skin routine,

"How close is close exactly?", asked Kurt as he angled the mirror so he could see Puck in the reflection while he cleansed.

"I'm not leaving you alone for a second if that's what you think...", confirmed the jock as Kurt groaned, even uncuffed it appeared the soprano was still going to have to shower and sleep in close proximity to the half-back. "... our deal still stands, I have til Monday. If you don't like it I'll just cuff us again, you know I could..."

Kurt rolled his eyes and threw a cotton ball into the trash as he asked,

"You do know you're not going to convince me don't you? All of this is a waste of both yours and my time."

"We'll see...", said Puck as he shuffled back on the bed to sit against the headboard and drew out his cell.

By the time Kurt had changed – thankfully alone in the bathroom, with Puck's reluctant permission of course – it was after 11 and the soprano was bushed. It had been a stressful day to say the least. What Kurt wanted most in the world was to just curl up under his duvet and sleep for a week.

Of course, that was unlikely considering the brunette wasn't alone.

Kurt padded over to the bed – another thing which Puck had insisted upon was that they'd share – and toed off his slippers before crawling under the covers with a contented sigh.

Puck was still it seemed still on his phone sending messages and though he probably wouldn't want to know the answer, Kurt was too naturally curious not to ask who the jock was talking with.

"Who you texting?"

Puck grunted a reply out as he studied a new message which had obviously just arrived,

"Not texting – sexting – Santana..."

Kurt wrinkled his nose in disgust at the thought that the taller boy was swapping intimate and graphic texts while less than a couple of feet from him – in bed too!

"You had better not think about doing y'know...", warned the brunette nodding his head in the direction of the jock's crotch, "... even with earplugs and a sleep mask I don't want to imagine that..."

Puck glanced up from the screen of his cell and replied,

"Don't think there's much chance of that... Santana's being a frigid bitch."

Kurt snorted as he shuffled back against the headboard and tried to get comfortable,

"You'd know more about the frigid bit that I would but Santana's always a bitch..."

Puck's rumbling chuckle vibrated through the mattress as the jock replied,

"Yeah I guess you're right... but she's a hot frigid bitch, when she's not being y'know a frigid frigid bitch..."

Kurt rolled his eyes at the jock,

"Eloquent as always Noah... you should have a tee shirt made 'I like my frigid bitches like I like my coffee... hot...'"

"Shove it Hummel...", said the jock good naturedly bumping the smaller boy with his shoulder.

The soprano would never understand the heterosexual urge to seek female companionship, especially when that companion was Santana Lopez. Now seeking companionship with Neil Patrick Harris that Kurt could understand perfectly. That week when Mr Ryan took over Glee club was still one of Kurt's best memories, the brunette maintained that Mr Ryan could have passed as Neil Patrick Harris' twin or at the very least his brother, nobody else seemed to agree with him though which Kurt just thought was plain weird.

'Hello nummy goodness all the same...'

Kurt reached over and plucked up his cell from the bedside table remembering that he had a call of his own to place. One that was bound to be uncomfortable.

The soprano pressed a speed dial button and tapped his foot under the covers while he waited for the call to connect. A part of Kurt didn't want to place the call but if he were to avoid doing so he knew he'd likely damage further his relationship with his best friend.

Considering how he'd made his announcement earlier in the day he wasn't surprised when the line was answered on the first ring.

"Hey 'cedes...", said Kurt desperately trying to make his tone sound positive.

'Please don't shout at me, please don't shout at me...'

Kurt ignored the curious look from Puck as he angled himself away from the jock in a self-imposed illusion of privacy. The soprano could have gotten up and left the room of course, but if Puck was truly serious about his five-foot rule – that being the maximum distance the jock was prepared to allow between them til Monday – he'd likely make a fuss.

Quite frankly the last thing Kurt needed was 'cedes making a scene over the fact that he was sharing a bed with Noah Puckerman.

'Oh God... never think that thought again...'

"What? Oh, no, no I'm just getting ready for bed..." said Kurt tuning back into the conversation having gotten distracted – at least it seemed as though 'cedes wasn't mad at him, "... yeah... of course we're still on...".

"Like Donkey Kong...", chuckled the jock as he tapped on his cell his eyes fixed on the screen.

Kurt placed his hand over the handset microphone for a second and waited for the jock to look up before he levelled Puck with a fierce warning glare,

"Sorry what was that?...", asked Kurt realising Mercedes was still talking away as if Kurt were still listening, "... no, nobody's here that was just the TV... alright then... Oh, I uh – I almost forgot... I have to bring someone with me 'k? Oh no, nothing like that – where exactly would I find a hot guy in this town? It's just my idiot cousin. Yeah he's here til Monday, I can't shake him... believe me I've tried."

Kurt redoubled his warning glare at the pouting jock who clearly hadn't appreciated the new moniker and looked as though he was about to mutiny.

"Uh huh... I will... OK... Well I'll see you tomorrow 'cedes. Night."

Kurt snapped his cell shut and placed it carefully back on the night stand. The brunette was aware of the gaze from the other boy boring into the back of his skull and knew that he was just seconds from the Spanish inquisition.

"I'm tired...", yawned Kurt as he wriggled further down under the covers and prepared to switch the lights off. He knew of course that Puck would likely want to know what was going on but something inside Kurt wanted to hold onto the secret a little longer.

'You like seeing Puck frustrated...'

As Puck laid his cell down on the night stand on his side of the bed and shuffled down beside the brunette, Kurt could feel the heat emanating from the jock's larger body.

"What did you do Hummel?", growled Puck not pleased with being so effectively shut down by the smaller boy.

Puck's stomach dropped as he saw the blossoming wicked smirk on Kurt's face - that didn't bode well. That didn't bode well at all...

"We're going shopping!", said the brunette smiling widely.

'Oh Hell naw...'

Puck jumped as Mercedes loud booming voice rang though his mindscape.

"Just imagine Noah, we can go look at clothes... oh and 'cedes needs new shoes, there were these darling little Louboutins that I would just kill for..."

Puck groaned and tried to ignore the brunette's prattling. Shopping was fine - the jock didn't have a problem with shopping. Puck was a bona fide grand master of the technique of get in, get what you need and get out.

Puck could and had done his entire holiday gift buying in one store in about ten minutes flat.

Shopping with Hummel and Jones? That was bound to be brutal.

'Remind me why I'm putting myself through this again?'

The jock groaned and slapped a hand over his eyes,

"Great now I'm going to have nightmares...", he muttered dramatically before rolling over and facing away from the brunette.

Kurt giggled and mimicked the move on his side of the bed before he turned the light off and plunged them into darkness.

"And to think they call me the drama queen..."

Kurt rolled over and his tired eyes fixed upon the glowing red numbers on his alarm clock -

'2.22... great...'

Puck lay beside the brunette, his large muscular arm slung over his eyes as the jock wheezed softly in a repetitive pattern. It was difficult for Kurt not to feel resentment for the half-back – Puck had dropped off to sleep pretty much as soon as the light had been turned off.

Kurt however found he couldn't settle. And strangely it wasn't the fact he was sharing a bed with another boy that was causing the brunette to lose sleep.

Kurt reached out in the darkness and groped around the night stand before his hand fell upon his cell. The soprano carefully drew gadget towards him and flipped it open, careful to shield the sudden bright light from the display from disturbing the sleeping half-back.

There it was, the message that had come in earlier that afternoon. Kurt had shrugged it off at the time, not wanting Puck to see how it had effected him, but the contents had been plaguing the brunette ever since. The soprano didn't know why he hadn't just deleted it and forgotten about it, something in his gut however told him that would be a mistake.

The number was withheld of course, quite how that had been achieved Kurt wasn't sure, but the soprano knew who the message was from - who else could it be from after all? It seemed that transferring to Dalton wasn't going to be enough to dissuade Karofsky from pursuing his vendetta.

What else did Kurt have to do? He'd decided to leave his friends, he'd decided to leave his school, he'd decided to leave everything that ever mattered to him behind - all in order to get away from Karofsky. And now it seemed, the jock just wasn't prepared to let him go.

'Do I really offend him that much? And if I do why? What did I do?...'

Puck snuffled and shifted in his sleep causing Kurt to jump in momentary panic and snap his cell shut once more. The meagre light died away and left the soprano once again consumed by the oppressive darkness.

Kurt glanced at the clock yet again as he set his cell back on the night stand with a soft thud,

'2.24..."

It was going to be a long night. As Kurt lay there staring at the imagined ceiling that his eyes couldn't quite make out, the words of the text burned behind his eyes so he could read them even without the cell in front of him,

'You can run but you can't hide...'

A/N: Ooooooh that was a little ominous even for me! LOL. Things are quieting down somewhat at work so I should be able to increase my output temporarily – it's what allowed me to finish this chapter in the last couple of days.

Coming up ahead, is shopping with 'cedes, a trip to a honky tonk bar and yes, my favourite thing in all the world drunk!Kurt... tune in next time on "Cuffed".

PLEASE REVIEW IT MAKES ME FEEL ALL TINGLY IN MY BELLY XD