Elizabeth

-xOx-

The loud doorbell echoed through the kitchen and Elizabeth laughed as his daughter Sage leapt to her feet and bounded out of the room in search of the arrival. Sam chuckled next to his husband and leant down to press a kiss to Elizabeth's cheek. Down the hallway, the two husbands heard their daughters call of acknowledgement that their guest had arrived, causing the two men to laugh again.

"That'll be him. Wish me luck?" Sam asked, steeling himself.

With a yellow spoon in his right hand and a green spoon in his left hand, Kurt scooped both of the spoons into their respective plates of mashed banana and fed them to their respective child, the two twins readily accepting the food into their mouths as their Papa rolled his eyes at his husband. "You won't need it, fool. But good luck, anyway."

Sam nodded and downed the rest of his coffee in one quick shot. "I got this. You can do this, Sammy!" he said to himself enthusiastically. He leant down to kiss Elizabeth on the lips this time, then pressed a quick kiss to each one of the twins before squaring his shoulders and exiting the room.

Elizabeth giggled at his husbands antics. "Your Daddy is so ridiculous sometimes, I tell you" he told his two babies, feeding them another spoonful of banana. "But I love him dearly for it. You can have his personality, if so be it, but you do not have my permission to have his dress sense, got it?" he mockingly chastised, giving his two children a stern look. The babies blinked owlishly. "Good!"

-xOx-

Sam answered the door with a warm smile and resched his free hsnd out to the man standing on his front step. "Good morning, Mr. Puckerman."

The man smiled and shook Sam's hand in return. "Please, Dude, call me Noah!" he replied, "We're practically the same age. Calling me 'Mr.' is just too weird!"

Sam laughed as he stepped aside to let Noah into the house. "Right! Well come on in. Lets go into the living room to talk. My husband should be down in a few. He's just giving the twins some breakfast."

Having put up with stereotypes all of his life, Sam waited for a reaction from Noah regarding his confessed homosexuality. Every bit a sweet and down-to-Earth h-West boy, Sam usually found it annoying when people assumed he was straight. Instead, though, Sam was pleasantly surprised and delighted when the other man just raised an eyebrow with a kind smile as he took a seat on the nearest sofa.

"Married with children?" he asked with a smirk, "Impressive! Oh how my mother would be proud if I were like you! Anyway, shall we begin?" At Sam's nod, Noah smiled. So, what kind of career path would you like to go down" Noah asked as he pulled out an iPad to begin typing.

Sam tilted his head in thought. "I'm really in love with the New York scene, and it's my home, so being based here is probably not going to change" he answered.

Noah nodded as he typed away. "Understandable. Plus the New York scene is pretty tight-knit as well. A few good words from influential clients to their friends and you'll have job offers pouring in!"

The two chuckled before Sam continued. "Ideally, I'd love to record my original songs onto an album. But to be honest, I don't think 'fame' is for me. To me, it's all about the quality of the music. I'm a musician. I'm a singer and a song-writer, and if you believe my husband, a pretty damn good song-writer at that. I want to share that with as much people as I possibly can, but in a more intimate way."

Noah hastened to keep up with Sam's aspirations as he typed everything out as quickly as possible. he smiled genuinely at the other man. "Well Sam, this all sounds promising. and I promise you that I'll do my best to try to make all of this happen for you. From what I heard if your music yesterday, I can honestly tell you that I am more than impressed. And I agree with you about the whole 'fame' versus 'fortune' thing. We just need to keep you in your coffee-shop happy place but somehow elevate that to the next level. And, in the mean time, get you some more gigs!"

The two men continued to chat for a while until Sam suggested they head on out to the patio for some lunch. About 15 minutes into their conversation, the men could smell the heavenly aroma of baked goods wafting from the kitchen and filling the air throughout the house. Noah regarded his newest clients house with curious eyes as the blonde man ushered him through to the back of the house.

The house was beautifully decorated, Noah had admired. Elegant and stylish, just like he'd assume a couple of gays' home to be. but there was a warmth in the house too, a sense of peace and a homely atmosphere that many of Noah's single gay acquaintances homes had never felt. He sensed that it had probably something to do with the fact that despite Sam and his husbands young ages, they were also parents to a brood of children. Still though, many of Noah's acquaintances who did have children, their houses had never felt as inviting and homely as this particular house had.

They finally made it out to the back of the house and Noah regarded the outside patio area just as critically. it was, of course, just as beautiful as the inside. The entire section was surprising large for a town-house in New York, and Noah idly wondered how much the property had cost, as well as how much money his new client and his family made.

The first half of the backyard was completely paved, white granite tiles leading from the kitchen and straight out onto the patio via large French doors. A wall of vines partitioned the area off into a small dining space directly opposite the kitchen, where a rectangular outdoor table sat, encased on one side by built-in seating against the vine wall.

Beyond the patio area lay green grass so kept and tidy, Noah was almost transported away from the New York city sounds surrounding him, back to his hometown of Lima. A sense of nostalgia swept over him as he spotted a large playhouse way at the back of the property, the house an exact replica of the grand town house, just on a much smaller scale. Noah was impressed.

On the table sat three empty plates with a set of cutlery placed upon it. A large basket of muffins sat in the middle of the table, and Noah's mouth watered at the sight alone. Next to the muffins sat a large mint-coloured tea pot, and next to that sat a large pitcher of orange juice.

The small girl from earlier, Sam's daughter, came out through the French doors, her tongue poking out at the side as her eyebrows knitted together while she transported a dish of something to the table. Noah watched with a smile on his face as she placed the dish of what looked like a delicious quiche onto a serving board on the table before triumphantly pumping her fist into the air. Sam exclaimed his joy towards his daughter and Noah watched as the two jovially gave each other a hi-5 before the girl ran back off into the kitchen.

"You have an amazing house" Noah said.

Sam smiled as he turned around. "Thank you! it's been in my family for generations. But it's never looked as great as it does now. Thanks to my husband, of course!"

"He's right!" a voice bellowed from inside the kitchen, "It's always been a beautiful house. But now, It's beautiful inside and out!"

"Ahh, my husband." Sam said with a huge grin as he faced Noah, "As humble as never!"

"Meh" Noah added with a shrug and a smirk, "Humbleness is overrated! If you have bragging rights, brag!"

"Don't encourage him!" Sam said with a laugh. He turned towards the French doors and his smile grew so wide, Noah thought his face would split. "Anyway, I'd like for you to meet my husband!"

Noah watched as Sam's husband stepped out from within the kitchen.

"Noah, this is my husband Elizabeth. Elizabeth, meet my new agent, Noah Puckerman!"

All three men gasped at the same time, but for seperate reasons. Sam gasped as a loud smashing sound echoed within the small patio area, the porcelain mug f maple syrup crashing at their feet. However, Noah had gasped because despite the name change, and the location change, and the fact that he hadn't seen this unique face for more than 8 years, he would recognise it anywhere. He had been haunted by that face for the longest time. He was looking at Kurt Hummel. His childhood best friend.

"Noah?"

It was barely spoken in a whisper, quiet and disbelieving. Sam's head whipped back and forth between the two men, between Noah's wide eyes and Elizabeth's misty ones. The two were staring at each other, stunned into silence, and Sam frowned in concern.

"Do you two know each other?" the blonde man asked them both.

Sam's confused gaze landed upon his husbands eyes. Elizabeth blinked a few times, still seemingly in shock, before he bolted from his spot and ran through the French doors to back inside of the house. Sam, worried, started to make after his husband. Noah's arm on his prevented him from doing so, however, and the blonde man quickly shrugged the hand off of himself.

"Kurt's your husband?" Noah asked quietly.

Sam's eyes narrowed at Noah addressing his husband by his former name, and he closed the distance between he and his guest and pushed the slightly larger man against the brick wall behind him, pinning him against it with his hands clenched into the other man's shirt. "What did you do to him?" Sam demanded between gritted teeth.

Noah, surprised from the swiftness of Sam's actions, raised his hands up in surrender. "Nothing!" he denied, although he knew the truth was far from it.

Sam glared at Noah, inches from his face, for a few long moments. A sense of fear run through the caramel tones in Noah's eyes, mixed with the same shock that had been painted across his entire face just a few minutes prior. With a huff of frustration and a gentle push back into the brick wall of the other man's back, Sam finally released his grip on Noah's shirt. He was completely in the dark about Noah and Kurt's recognition of each other, but he could deduce that they probably knew each other before Elizabeth was Elizabeth. And that immediately put Sam on the defensive on behalf of his husband.

"You need to leave" Sam said, staring intently at Noah as the other man brushed himself off.

Noah looked up at Sam. "I don't-"

"Get out of my house!"

-xOx-

Kurt smiled brightly as his friend opened the door, not noticing Noah's severely creased forehead and slightly anxious demeanor.

Walking passed Noah and into the familiar house, Kurt pulled out a CD and turned around to give it to his friend. "Hi Noah! Look, I saw this CD in the store this morning and thought about your completely adorable crush on Avril Lavigne, so I got it for you!"

Noah accepted the DC, smiling despite the feeling of looming dread within his chest and the pit of his stomach. "Thanks. But, listen, can we talk?"

Kurt frowned at the serious tone his friend took on but nodded. "Of course. Is everything OK?" he asked, suddenly concerned.

Noah sighed and made his way into the living room. Kurt followed behind him and took off his bag and placed it on the floor before taking a seat on the sofa. Noah slumped into the armchair, and Kurt's worry increased because Noah usually sat next to him on the sofa.

"Do you want a drink?" Noah asked, unsure.

Kurt shook his head, wanting to know why Noah looked like he was about to cry. "No, thank you. Noah, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. It's just that...I don't know, I just...don't know how to say what I need to say without sounding like a complete douche."

"You're a douche all the time, Noah," Kurt teased, trying in vein to lift the sullen mood. "But I still love you anyway."

Noah sighed and ran a hand through his long curly hair. "Kurt, I really need you to-"

"Stop doing that to your hair," Kurt chastised, standing up and making his way to be next to Noah. He reached his hand out to stop Noah's fidgeting hands. "You'll have terrible frizz-"

"Don't touch me!" Noah growled deeply, slapping Kurt's hands away violently.

Kurt recoiled, clutching his hand as if he had been burned. "Noah, what the hell?" he exclaimed, completely shocked.

"You need to stop touching me like that!" Noah demanded, standing up and towering over Kurt. "People are starting to think we're dating!"

Kurt grimaced as the true intent of Noah's impromptu meeting was revealed. "Noah, don't be ridiculous."

"The kids at school talk, Kurt, and they're asshole about it. And I'm OK with you being gay and all that shit, but they're starting to talk about me too!" Noah said as he started to pace the room. "They think I'm Fag now, like y..."

"Like me?" Kurt asked, thoroughly offended by his friends words. "Douche title firmly reinstated."

"Kurt, this is serious!"

Kurt laughed. "To you. Do you know what they say about me?" Kurt asked rhetorically. "I get it a million times worse than you do, Noah!"

"But I'm not gay!"

"Then why does it bother you so much?"

Noah slammed his fist against the wall. "I'm joining the football team this week, Kurt! If they think I'm a fairy, they'll tear me apart! I can't... I can't be friends with people like you anymore, Kurt."

Kurt reeled, feeling as if he had just been punched in the gut. "Y-you can't be s-serious..." he trailed off. Noah turned away, refusing to look at him. "Oh, my God! You're serious?" he exclaimed, incredulous this was happening.

"Don't make this any harder than it has to be, Kurt," Noah whispered, still avoiding looking at him.

Kurt mouthed the words Noah had just spoken, incredulity etched across his face. "Excuse you? You break up with me and then expect me to just be Ok with that?"

"See!" Noah yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Kurt. "Saying gay shit like that is what I'm talking about! We're not breaking up, because that's what a girl and dude do! We're friends, Kurt, not lovers!"

"Apparently we're not even friends!" Kurt shouted back, spitting the words out like poison. "And, apparently, you think very very little of that fact. I can't even...you know what? Forget this."

Kurt picked his bag up, only then noticing that his entire body was shaking, especially his hands. Draping the strap of the messenger bag over his shoulder, he turned to look at Noah, emotionally screaming out for him to stop this.

The other boy finally lifted his head to look at Kurt. Their gazes met and Noah grimaced at the tears welling up in his former friends expressive eyes. "I'm sorry."

Kurt rolled his eyes as he swiped at his cheeks. He turned to exit, but then turned back around with a question. "What about Blaine?"

Noah frowned. "What about Blaine?"

"Are you still going to be his friend?" Kurt asked, worried about the third to their friendship.

Noah nodded. "Yeah. Of course," he answered confused.

Kurt sighed, somewhat relieved. Then it dawned on him. "Does he know we're here right now? Doing this?"

Noah flinched, but nodded. "Yes."

"Wow," Kurt breathed, tears freely falling from his eyes. "I see. Well then, that's that, isn't it?"

"Kurt, I just-"

"Save it," Kurt glared, holding a finger up to silence the stranger he knew nothing about. "I don't even know who you are any more, let alone do I care what else you have to say. Goodbye, Noah."

Kurt turned and made to open the door. He paused with shaking hands as his eyes landed on his own wrist, covered with a bright Rainbow-coloured pleated bracelet. The bracelet Noah had made for Kurt the day that the smaller boy had come out to he and Blaine. It was Noah's way of saying that he supported his friend. With tears falling from angry eyes, Kurt ripped the offending bracelet off, slightly grimacing as the rope dug into his skin. Kurt looked up and saw Noah watching him with pained eyes, and he scrunched the meaningless bracelet and threw it at his former friend, then opened the front door and left.

Heart broken, Kurt slammed the door behind him. Huffing to himself as salty tears fell from his eyes, Kurt took a few deep breaths as he made his way off of the Puckerman residence. Noah was making a huge mistake, Kurt surmised. He'd come to his senses on Monday at school, and he'd apologise to Kurt and beg to be friends again. Kurt was positive of this. Nodding to himself as he began the walk back to his own home, Kurt turned to chance a look at the house he left behind him. The curtain flinched, signalling that Noah was watching him. Kurt nodded again and took a few more deep breaths. His tears dried and he forced a stuttering smile upon his face.

Yes, Noah would come to his senses and he'd apologise. Kurt would wait.

-xOx-

Seeing Noah standing next to Sam had been completely shocking. It had seemed so surreal, that Elizabeth had shaken his head and blinked to try to clear the picture in his mind. However, it had been real, and it wasn't until Elizabeth had said the other man's name that it had sunk in. Noah was standing with Sam.

Regarding himself in the reflection of the mirror in the bathroom that he had taken solace in, Elizabeth let out a huff of frustration and gave a hollow, indignant laugh. He wasn't upset or saddened by Noah's appearance. He wasn't even hurt or angry, like he had told himself countless times in the past that he would feel towards Noah if ever their paths were to cross. He had just been shocked at seeing the oh-so familiar and familial face of his former friend, and all Kurt wanted to do was to run into those arms and hug him tightly.

"Get out of my house, now!"

Spinning around at the loud demand from his husband, Elizabeth quickly unlocked the bathroom door and exited the room, his feet moving on their own accord. Stepping out into the foyer and leaning against the bathroom door, he waited until a few seconds later when Noah came walking in from the kitchen. Sam followed deftly behind the mohawked man, but halted when all three men came face to face with each other.

Elizabeth's breath hitched when those honey-brown eyes looked upon his own glasz eyes. "Noah," he breathed.

Noah looked back to Sam and flinched at the harsh glare, then turned back to look at Kurt. "Hi, Kurt."

"My...my name is Elizabeth, now."

Noah's eyes flashed with recognition and he gave a very small smile. "Like your Mom," he stated.

Elizabeth nodded. For so long, he had pictured a scenario where he would bump into Noah at a supermarket and the man would drop to his knees to beg for Kurt's forgiveness. Kurt would turn his nose up in the air and walk way, leaving Noah to grovel and cry and plead behind him. Or sometime's he envisioned running into Noah at a coffee shop and completely bitch out at him for the foolish things that had happened all those years ago. But this reality where it was just awkward had never been how the scenarios went in Kurt's head.

"Your hair looks stupid," Kurt announced, for lack of anything else to say, but an honest observation nonetheless.

Noah looked at Kurt. His eyes, always ever so expressive, shone with an almost burning fire of rage. Noah could see Kurt's anger, but something was a bit off with it. It wasn't Kurt's anger, it was Elizabeth's. Elizabeth hated Noah, but behind that anger, Noah could see clearly that Kurt still held him in kind regards. And that thought broke Noah's heart, years of guilt and shame weighing down his shoulders and sending the 6 foot tall man to his knees, fat tears almost choking him.

Without having to think about it, both Kurt and Sam acted instantly as they witnessed Noah keeling. The two men were too late and the third man in the foyer fell to his knees with a loud thud, crying for mercy and exclaiming an apology over and over and over. Noah's entire body was shaking frighteningly uncontrollably as he cried his heart out, and Kurt was at a loss as to what to do.

"I'm s-s-so s-s-sor-r-r-ry!" Noah bellowed, his face held firmly in his hands as he wept. "Please, I'm s-s-so-"

"Noah," Kurt finally spoke, placing a hand on Noah's left shoulder. When the other man ignored him, continuing his breakdown, Kurt sighed. "Come on, Noah, it's OK." he said. "Get up."

Noah did as Kurt said, managing to climb to stand on two almost numb legs. "Please, Kurt," he continued to weep. "Please, please f-f-forgive me."

"You need to calm down," the designer reasoned. "Come on, come into the lounge."

"OK."

With Sam's help, the two husbands were able to guide the still unstable man into the living room that he and Sam had had their meeting in earlier. They sat him on the sofa and Kurt and Sam sat on the opposite one. Wordlessly, Sam grabbed the box of Kleenex and handed it to his husband, sure the man was on the verge of his own breakdown in a few minutes.

"Stay?" Elizabeth asked his husband as he accepted the box of tissues.

Sam smiled as he sat down next to his husband. "Wasn't planning on going anywhere, Beautiful."

Noah had settled down somewhat, his breathing uneven and tears still falling from his eyes, but his body no longer shook so violently and the over-dramatic sobbing had ceased. Kurt regarded his former friend with sad pity. He had only ever once seen this man cry, and that had been when his Father had left his family. So Kurt knew that this scene wasn't an act on Noah's part. He was genuinely apologetic, and Kurt couldn't begrudge him. But this conversation needed to happen; it had been years in the making.

"Noah, look at me," he started. Noah immediately did the opposite of what Kurt had said and looked down at his lap, head hanging and shoulders sagging. Kurt sighed. "Noah," he said, his voice quiet and calm, "Please look at me."

Slowly and with a stuttering inhale-exhale, Noah looked up at Kurt. "I'm sorry," he whispered for the umpteenth time.

"What you did all those years ago," Kurt began. Noah flinched. Sam sat back into the sofa, grabbing a tight hold onto Kurts left hand and not letting it go. "All of the things you did, are inexcusable. I can't, in good conscience, forgive them."

Noah's eyes widened and he sat forward quickly. "Please!" he exclaimed frantically. "Please, Kurt! I-"

"Let me finish," Kurt interrupted, holding his free hand up for silence. Noah promptly closed his mouth. "I can't forgive them, and try as I may, I know I can't forget them," he denounced, saddened by that fact. "However," he continued. "I don't believe that forgiveness necessarily needs to be granted in order for one to move on. Look at where I am," Kurt said, gesturing with his free hand around the expanse of the room. "I've moved on. I'm not over it, per se, but I'm passed it. You don't need my forgiveness to be able to feel the same way."

Noah listened, processing what the other man was saying. His heart fell at Kurt's mentioning of all the things he had done to him in the past, not just one thing. And Noah's heart had clenched uncompromisingly when Kurt had said that he couldn't forgive him. The words had stung, but Noah hadn't expected anything else. And if he were being honest with himself, Noah didn't want Kurt's forgiveness. He sure as hell knew he didn't deserve it.

Nodding, Noah accepted Kurt's words. "I-I understand."

Kurt nodded too. "I don't need you as my friend," he said. Noah frowned. "But I'd like to be on good terms with my husbands agent."

Sam frowned too, looking at Elizabeth in confusion. "What? No, babe, I don't want to work with him-"

"Yes, you do," he interrupted, smiling fondly at his husband. "It's all you talked about all last night. I know you're excited to be represented, and I won't allow our past," he gestured between he and Noah, "To keep you from fulfilling any of your dreams."

"He's r-right," Noah butted in, his voice still a little uneven. "I still really want to work with you. I have-" he said, rummaging around in his pants pocket clumsily. He pulled out a small piece of paper, a sheet that had been folded up. "I have a list of artists that a friend of mine produces, who are looking for extra vocalists for recording. I heard about the jobs last night and automatically thought of you. I really want to work with you, Sam."

Lost for words, Sam blushed slightly in surrender. Kurt smiled and squeezed his husbands hand. "So like I said, I want to be on good terms with my husbands agent. And for that to happen, you and I need to move passed the past, and move passed this, and we'll be OK."

"I'm OK with that," Noah replied, nodding his head solemnly. He was saddened, but he understood.

Kurt nodded. He fell silent for a few moments, contemplating his next words. "I can't forgive you," he started, repeating his earlier statement. "But maybe with time, I can learn to trust you again?"

His voice spoke of hope, and Noah's heart did a little somersault in his chest. "O-OK?"

"Because to be honest," Kurt continued, looking at Noah eye-to-eye. "I really really missed you, Noah."

The admission was quiet and tender, Kurt's voice having caught in his throat. And with a squeeze to Sam's hand, Kurt finally let loose a treasurechest of tears of hurt and pain and longing.

Sam immediately drew his husband into a tight embrace, soothingly whispering promises of making it better. And while Kurt sobbed into Sam's neck, Sam looked over his husbands shoulder to the other man sitting in the opposite sofa, Noah once again sobbing like Kurt was. Of course, Sam knew everything about his husband, including his past best friendship with Noah Puckerman. He knew how his husband felt towards Noah; knew that while he shouldn't forgive and couldn't forget, his husband wouldn't be able to resist establishing new roots with his old friend. They may never be as fraternal as they once were with each other, and they may not even be able to call each other friend again, but Sam just knew that now Noah was back in his life, Kurt wouldn't let him go again.

His devotion to everything that he stood for was one of the biggest attractions that Sam had towards Kurt. He wouldn't even think to try to change that in any way, so he wouldn't try to force Noah away, even though the alpha complex in his masculinity screamed for him to do just that. No. Whatever Elizabeth needed, whatever Elizabeth decided, Sam would do everything to help him.

For better or for worse, Sam was in it for eternity. And Sam was going to make sure that the 'worse' part of that deal wouldn't last long. Sam would make it better.

Kurt pulled Sam in closer, clinging desperately to the love of his life. Sam would always make it better.

-xOx-

Patting his stomach, Kurt let out a contented sigh as he felt himself shift further into the large beanbag he was sat in. "I think I've had enough Pizza just today to keep off of it for the next 10 years!"

The two other boys burrowed in the two other beanbags and laughed loudly. "No way! I'm still hungry!" one boy replied.

Kurt rolled his eyes even though his friend couldn't see his face. "Blaine, you're always hungry!"

"Well my father said that I need to eat as much as I can if I want to grow up to be big and tall and strong!" the boy responded, faking being offended.

"You could eat an entire supermarket full of food Blaine, but let's face it, you're never going to be tall!"

Blaine gasped as the two other boys cracked up on his behalf. Kurt threw his head back into the soft beanbag and cracked up in laughter, his stomach cramping just a little and making it hard to breathe. Tears fell from his closed eyes, rolling down the side of his slightly chubby face and pooling around his ears.

"OK, OK, it wasn't that funny!" Blaine protested after a while, glaring at the two boys.

"Oh my gosh Noah!" Kurt exclaimed, finally gaining enough control to halt his laughter long enough to properly sit himself upright in the beanbag, "That was a good one! So funny, yet so accurate!"

Noah shrugged as he too sat up straight, a large grin on his face. "What can I say? It's a talent."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah yeah, you're super talented!" he mocked, sitting up as well, "Where would we be without you?"

"Stuck in a tree."

Kurt looked at Noah after his statement, then looked at Blaine. The bright red shade of blush creeping up the side of Blaine's face tipped Kurt's reaction and the slender boy burst out into another fit of laughter, high pitched and uncontrolled. A deeper, more hysterical laugh followed Kurt's, belonging to Noah. The two boys fell back against their respective beanbags as they squirmed around, wriggling like worms as their boisterous laughter echoed throughout the small living room they had been camped out in all day.

Blaine folded his arms childishly across his chest, irked at his two best friends laughing at his expense once again. Still though, he couldn't deny the small smile that the joke had brought to his lips along with the scarlet shaded blush.

"I was not stuck!" the fake-offended boy challenged for the umpteenth time during their friendship.

Kurt bolted upright, giving himself a slight headache from the combination of his overly enthusiastic laughter and the jarring sudden movement. "You were stuck to that tree like Jelly on Peanut Butter!"

"And you were stuck to that tree by your socks!" Noah made clear, "Your socks! Only Blaine Anderson would get himself stuck in a tree by his socks!"

"You've been deathly afraid of socks ever since!" Kurt added, pointing at Blaine's bare feet and setting him off on another fit of giggles.

"Having a lack of trust in something and fearing it are two completely different things!" Blaine defended weakly. "And anyway" he said, glaring at Kurt, "You didn't need to go around telling everyone that the 'short boy with moppy hair' was stuck in a tree!"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I was seeking help for you, excuse you! I wasn't about to climb a tree in my new Corduroys!"

"Luckily for you I was around" Noah exclaimed, nodding his head seriously, "Otherwise, like I said, you'd still be stuck in that tree!"

"That was when we were 6, in Elementary School, so it's more than likely that I would have been found by someone else by that days end!"

"Yes well, just remember that that's when we all became friends" Noah pointed out, his tone caring, "So it all worked out. We wouldn't be sitting here as best friends, about to start High School together, if you hadn't gotten stuck in that tree!"

The three boys nodded with smiles on their faces. Silence fell over the room for a few moments, each boy reflecting on the simple event that had lead to their unification and friendship that had developed in the years between then and now.

Before that day, Blaine had been 'the new kid' and nobody had talked to him the entire day. He and his family had just moved into Lima, Ohio from Michigan. His father came from an Irish-Italian family and his mother had come from an East Asian-American family, and the results had left Blaine with physical attributes from both sides. The mix of ethnic backgrounds created an adorably sun-kissed skinned boy with dark green eyes and a full head of unruly black wavy hair. However, the wild mane of hair coupled with the fact that he was fluent in 5 different languages and often forgot that not everyone else did too, left Blaine an outcast on that first day of school at Little Lima Elementary.

Noah had been a loner by choice, preferring to keep his head in a Harry Potter book than to sit and converse with the other kids. He was content to just fade into the backround. After his father had left his mother with a 6-month old baby when he was just 8 years old, Noah had taken on the role as a surrogate father to his little sister while his mother had worked hard to keep the family afloat.

Kurt had been popular, all the other kids charmed with his friendliness and creativity. The smart little boy started to withdraw from everyone though, after the death of his mother. He had stopped attending sleep-overs and Birthday Parties, preferring to stay home and watch old movies and musicals that his Mother had loved so much, or spend time with his father at the auto-repair shop or the occasional Baseball game.

"Let's make a pact" Kurt suggested, breaking out of his reverie.

"A pact?" Noah asked sceptically.

"Yeah!" Kurt replied brightly, sitting up on his knees and slapping his thighs, "A friendship pact! A promise to each other that whatever High School may throw at us, we'll still be best friends no matter what. That we'll still have each others backs."

Blaine nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds awesome. I'm in!"

Noah smiled and shrugged his shoulders, his long brown hair swaying with the movement. "Sure, why not? What do we have to do?"

Kurt quietly squealed as he contemplated what to do. "How about...we all pledge our commitment to this friendship, then state something we'll always do for each other? Like a lifelong promise?"

The two other boys nodded, then Blaine beamed. "I'll go first!" he announced cheerfully. "I, Blaine Giovani Rickard Juul Anderson, pledge my undying allegiance to our friendship, and hereby promise to...always support both of you wholeheartedly with every single decision that you make, to stand behind you no matter what!"

Kurt and Noah grinned widely as their friend finished his formal declaration. "What if I want to murder someone one day?" Noah asked with a chortle.

Blaine grinned. "Then I'll sharpen the knife before you use it!"

"And I'll help you carry the body out to the Marina" Kurt offered with mock-seriousness, "Because I love you, but I definitely won't be going anywhere near dirt and a shovel!"

The three boys laughed before Noah cleared his throat. "Well I, Noah Winston Puckerman, pledge my right foot, left leg and both earlobes to our friendship. I promise to...always put you two first. To be on your side. I'll always have your guys' back."

Kurt and Blaine listened, touched by their friends promise. They smiled at Noah who blushed. Not wanting to embarrass his friend, Kurt coughed then spoke. "And I, Kurtis Hummel, pledge my entire heart and soul to our friendship. I promise to...choose love over hate when dealing with you two. I promise to never hold a grudge against either one of you, to always forgive and love you both. Always."

-xOx-

A/N: OH! EM! GEE! Hello people, remember me? All I can say is that I'm sorry for abandoning this (and all of my other stories...) for so long! Life and work and Twitter got in the way, and to be honest, inspiration and motivation to write, for me, was severely lacking for a long while. But, thanks to friendly threats via PM and an almost constant threat of a-shankin' from my amazeballs friends AirNationOracle and clovrboy (SEE? I did update! :P), I'm getting my shit together and I'm going to start posting as much as I possibly can as often as I possibly can.

Again,. my sincere apologies. And I hope that you amazing people continue to enjoy this story. Thank you so much for sticking with me and it, it truly means a lot to me!

Having said all of that, how do you like this surprise twist? In my mind, since season 1, for some reason I've always believed that Kurt and Puck used to be best friends. But it isn't random, I promise. There's a bigger picture that I'm trying to paint by adding this detail into this story, and you'll hopefully see what I mean once the story goes further. We have to establish the foundation before we build the mansion, right? LOL.

Anyway, please enjoy! And let me know if you hate me but love this story, or love me but hate this story, or hate both of us, or love both of us, if the case may be! I love you! :D

Coming Up: Finn lets Burt in on a secret: he met Elizabeth once before, when Burt was in hospital after his heart attack! Does the revelation give Burt more hope that his son may forgive him one day? Find out next time!