Pretend there's a disclaimer here.

I'm pretty sure this is the last we'll be seeing of Archie (at least for a few chapters). There is a somewhat depressing conversation between Puck and Archie, but other than that, this seems to have been one of the lighter chapters I've written in a while.

Sorry about the problems updating this chapter yesterday. Hopefully that problem won't happen again.

Enjoy - and as always, feedback is greatly appreciated!

Chapter 10: World

As soon as Puck walked into the diner, he spotted Archie and headed over to the man.

The man was talking to someone on the phone, but when he saw Puck walking up to him, he stopped the conversation and hung up on whoever he was talking to. "I'm glad you were able to make it," he said hesitantly, standing up and shaking Puck's hand. "The food should be here any minute," he added as the two of them sat down.

"You wanted to talk?" Puck asked, getting right to the topic. "I'm not staying long, so make it quick."

Archie nodded slightly. "First of all, I wanted to apologize for my behavior when we last spoke. I was working with some faulty information and that was entirely my fault," he said. "

Puck shrugged. "Jess has always been a greedy bitch, and she's gone to extremes before."

"If you don't mind my asking, why did you keep going back to her?"

"I needed the money," he said quietly. Puck looked around the diner, relaxing slightly when he only saw two tables on the other side of the restaurant occupied. One older couple speaking quietly with each other and three kids who were clearly drunk and underage. It didn't look like he and Archie would be bothered any time soon.

"I beg your pardon?" Archie asked, looking shocked.

Puck sighed heavily. "Jess paid me for the sex," he said, his voice barely audible. "I'm the only one who takes care of my sister, and Jess would try to use her as blackmail when she wanted to push things too far with me." He hesitated for a moment. "I don't really blame you, I guess," he said.

Archie smiled a bit. "I suppose that's a good thing. Still, my behavior was entirely inappropriate and I'm not entirely sure how to rectify it," he said.

The two of them fell silent as a waitress walked up to their table and set their food and two cups of coffee in front of them before disappearing again.

"You can ask your questions, if you want," Puck said as he started in on his pastry.

"You're sure?"

Puck nodded. "I can't guarantee I'll answer them, but you can ask."

"In the video, you showed an incredible pain tolerance, and you also showed yourself to be quite flexible. How long have you been working like that to develop those kind of skills?" he asked.

"When I started with Jess and the others, I was fifteen. So it's been close to three years, I think." He shrugged. "I've always have a decent pain tolerance, and the flexibility thing just sort of developed out of necessity," he said.

Archie's expression closed off and he pursed his lips shut.

Puck didn't say anything, choosing instead to finish off his pastry and drink most of his coffee.

"Have you considered pressing charges against her?" he asked. "It doesn't sound like your initiation into this lifestyle was entirely consensual," he said.

Puck grinned, though the expression didn't quite reach his eyes. "Dude, this isn't L.A. This is Lima. If I so much as consider pressing charges against any of them, I put my sister back in my mother's hands, and she's almost killed Sara before."

"Abuse?"

"Neglect," Puck said hesitantly. "You'll keep everything that's said in this conversation to yourself."

Archie nodded. "Of course."

Puck was silent for a long moment before speaking again, albeit reluctantly. "My mom likes to take pills and drink. She used to hit me when I still lived with her, and when she was drunk, she got worse. She kicked me out once when I broke a bottle of her good scotch and flushed half a bottle of Oxy down the toilet. I would've left town after that if I wasn't so worried about Sara," he said.

Archie was silent.

"About two months after she kicked me out, I snuck back in to check on Sara because she hadn't been to school for about a week. The house was a fucking mess, and there was broken glass and trash everywhere. There was a bunch of puke in the kitchen and no food in the cabinets or the fridge," he said. "Sara was in her room, crying."

"Why?"

"When she'd asked for some food, my mom had thrown a bunch of half-empty beer bottles at her and screamed at her that she was an ungrateful whore, that she was the reason my dad left," Puck said. "Some of the broken glass on the floor had cut her foot and she'd tried to stop the bleeding with an old sock." At a concerned look from Archie, Puck offered him a weak smile. "There was nothing better in the house. When she saw me, Sara begged me to take her with me. She was like three years old, and I wasn't going to let her get hurt again."

Archie frowned but stayed silent.

"I packed a bag for her, wrapped her in my jacket and snuck her out my old window. I took her to a friend's house and her father fixed Sara up and let us sleep in their guest room for the weekend," Puck said. "We left after that, and I'd make sure that she always had a safe place to sleep at night - even if it was the basement of my mother's house, and she hasn't had any more problems in school."

"Have you obtained legal guardianship of your sister?"

Puck shook his head. "I don't want to drag Sara into that kind of drama while she's so young," he said. "But I talked to my mom one night while she was sober and we negotiated for her custody." Puck cracked a smirk. "Similar to the way you and I talked, though I'm good enough that I didn't need a gun to get what I wanted."

Archie smiled slightly but didn't say anything.

"After that was settled with my mom, I left and neither Sara or me have been back to that house since," Puck said.

"That's good," Archie said quietly.

"What are you going to do with the Porsche that you were in at school?" Puck asked suddenly.

This time Archie smiled. "Would you like it?"

Puck laughed quietly and shook his head. "I like my truck."

Archie nodded. "I picked it up and it's parked outside. I'll return it to the rental agency before I take my flight back to L.A." His phone started buzzing and he frowned. "Speaking of which, my assistant isn't going to leave me alone until I'm on my jet again."

"I've got somewhere to be, anyway," Puck said as he and Archie stood up.

The older man dropped a twenty dollar bill on the table and led Puck out of the diner, offering him a cigarette.

Puck hesitated only briefly before taking it. "Look, I get that you made a mistake, and I guess it's been nice enough talking to you like this, but to be honest, I don't think I ever want to have another conversation with you again," he said.

Archie nodded. "I understand completely, and I'd expected as much," he said, lighting up their cigarettes before reaching into his overcoat and pulling out a large, thick manila envelope. "This was meant to accompany my apology, but the diner seemed an inappropriate place to give it to you," he said, handing it to Puck.

"What is it?" he asked, hesitating a moment before taking the thing.

"Yours. Entirely."

Puck frowned, not trusting that answer. He opened the envelope, half expecting to see some kind of drug in there. His jaw dropped, though, when he saw a large pile of money. "Holy shit," he breathed out, looking up at Archie. "Are you sure?"

Archie nodded, looking slightly embarrassed. "It's the best that I can do on such short notice," he said. "I had hoped this would serve as both apology and a request that you not take our conversation to any authorities," he said.

"You're bribing me?" Puck asked, still in disbelief.

"Only if it's working," Archie said with a small smile. "If that isn't enough for you, you can call me at any time. I owe you at least a few favors, and if there's anything I can do to help you, or your sister, please let me know," he said, pulling a business card out of his pocket.

Puck was silent for just another moment, though he took the card and nodded his thanks to the older man. "I never thought about talking to the cops about anything. That's not going to change, either," he said quietly, putting the business card in the front left pocket of his jeans.

A comfortable silence fell between them as they both finished their cigarettes.

Archie's phone started buzzing again as he finished his cigarette. "I suppose that's my signal to leave," he said, pulling his coat a bit tighter around himself and silencing his cellphone. "At the risk of offending you, if you ever change your mind about trying a career in the adult film industry, it would be my pleasure to introduce you to some of my colleagues."

"Don't count on it," Puck said, though there was no anger in his voice.

"I hadn't thought as much," Archie said. "I wish you only the best of luck in the future."

Puck nodded. "You too, I guess," he said.

There was a short, awkward silence between them before Archie nodded a farewell to Puck and headed off to his Porsche.

Puck looked back down at the envelope before tucking it inside his jacket. He glanced back at Archie, who'd gotten into his car and was on the phone again, before smiling slightly and making his way over to his truck.

When he walked back into Will's house, Puck was only slightly surprised to see the older man sitting on the couch, waiting for him.

"How did it go?" Will asked.

"Where's Sara?"

"She asked if she could call Santana and Brittany to see how they were weathering out the storm," he said, gesturing toward the dining room behind him. "I let her borrow my cellphone to make the call."

Puck nodded. "I'm only going to talk about the conversation once she's out of earshot," he said, taking off his jacket, the envelope still in the inner pocket, and tossing it onto the armchair in front of himself. "What's for dinner?"

"I called the Papa Johns after Sara woke up and we ordered a large pepperoni pizza with green peppers on it. It should be here soon. Maybe ten minutes or so," Will said.

"She agreed to having vegetables on her pizza?"

"Cause you'd make me eat more if I didn't," Sara said as she walked back into the room. She handed Will his phone and smiled shyly up at him. "Thank you, Mr. Schuester," she said before picking up Ambrose and walking over to Puck's side. "Where did you go?"

Puck just gave her a weak smile before picking her up. "I know you and Schue ordered pizza, but you need to take a bath before we eat. The guest room is still clean, and the towels were washed on Tuesday," he said.

Sara nodded.

Puck looked over at Will, who stood up. "Go through the dining room and the bedroom's the closed door on the left, near the sliding glass doors to the backyard," he said. "The bathroom is in there, and I cleaned it up before Sara woke up. The hot water should still be working, too."

"What about lights?" Puck asked, glancing around the living room. There were a few candles lit, and the fireplace was still going, but he hadn't seen any flashlights and he didn't really want to leave Sara alone in a bathroom in the dark.

"There's one of the emergency torches on the dresser in the bedroom. It's got fresh batteries, so it should last for at least six hours," Will said.

"Thanks," Puck said before leading Sara back to the guest room, grabbing the duffel bag that held her clothes on his way.

Once the two of them were behind the closed door of the bathroom attached to the guest room, Sara turned to Puck, a surprisingly strong glare on her face. "You left me all alone with Mister Schuester," she said.

Puck was silent for a moment as he set up the torchlight on the bathroom counter. "He didn't mess with you, did he?" he asked, frowning slightly. He hadn't pegged the Spanish teacher to be the sort who would harass his sister, but then, he'd almost been fooled once before.

"No, he's nice to me," Sara said. "He's like you, Noah. He's a good guy."

Puck smiled weakly. "You're going to be alright without me, right?" he asked. "I can stay in the bedroom if you want," he suggested. Sara had never liked being alone in the dark, and he suspected her fear would be stronger now that the two of them were in a strange house.

Surprisingly, the six year old shook her head. "I'm not scared here, Noah," she said, grinning. "Mister Schuester promised me that we'll be safe here, and since he's a good guy, there aren't any monsters in his house."

"You're sure?"

"I'm a big girl." She paused. "Where did you go?"

"I went to talk to a friend of mine," he said.

Sara scowled.

"I promise, ahuvi, it was just a conversation," Puck said, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. "And I don't plan on heading out again until the weather improves again," he said.

She was silent for just a moment. "You promise?"

He nodded. "You're stuck with me, squirt," he said, finally chancing a real smile with her. "Take your bath, and the pizza will be here once you're with your bath."

"What about my clothes?"

"I put your bag on the bed just outside. Go pick some clothes out and I'll run the bath for you," Puck said, turning to the faucets after Sara nodded and left the room. Hot water filled the tub quickly, and it didn't take long for Sara to come back into the room, carrying an Iron Man t-shirt and a pair of blue sweatpants.

"I'll wear these," she said.

"And socks?"

"And socks," she added.

Puck nodded. "Once I leave, I'm going to close the bedroom door so you can have privacy, but if you need anything, just yell and I'll come in and help, okay?"

Sara grinned. "Don't eat any pizza without me."

"Wouldn't dream of it, kiddo," Puck said as he stood up and left the bathroom.

Will was still sitting on the couch, waiting for Puck. "Is she okay back there?"

"Yeah," Puck said, taking a seat next to Will. "She's a tough kid, but she's never really liked being alone in the dark," he said.

Will nodded.

A comfortable silence settled between the two of them before Puck leaned forward and pulled the envelope out of his jacket pocket. "Archie apologized, but he also told me that he'd introduce me to the good porn producers if I wanted," he said quietly. "Before he left, he gave me an incentive to keep the details of our meeting to myself."

"What sort of incentive?" Will asked, though he looked far from pleased at the mention of the porn producer.

Puck didn't say anything, choosing instead to empty the envelope onto the table.

Will's jaw dropped. "Holy shit," he said.

"Yeah. That sums it up pretty well," Puck said.

"Puck, there's got to be close to eighty grand here," Will said, looking at the pile of cash. "This is one hell of a bribe."

Puck nodded. "I figure if I keep things all worked out the way they are now, I can use this to pay for Sara's college wherever she wants to go."

"And until then?"

The younger man shrugged. "Payments from fight club and my whoring should be enough to keep the two of us comfortable until she's in high school. I'd planned to get her out of Lima before then, though." He paused. "I don't want her to know just how bad things were, and I don't want her getting shit from teachers because I'm a complete asshole."

Will smiled slightly. "I can guarantee you this much, Noah, no one who's a complete asshole would go this much out of their way to take care of anyone else," he said. "Do you have somewhere to put this money so it doesn't get stolen?"

Puck nodded and put the money back into the envelope, tossing it on top of his jacket. "My guitar case," he said, pointing to the object in question, which was leaning against the door to the hall closet. "It's got everything I've ever earned in it."

Not sure how to respond, Will just stayed silent.

"So," Puck said, quickly moving to back Will against the arm of the couch. "I thought about your offer while I was in my truck. I'm not much liking the idea of celibacy, but everything else sounds too good to pass up," he said, leaning closer to Will.

The older man shifted a bit under his student. "You'll live without sex," he said in a small voice, his face flushing bright red as he spoke.

Puck frowned and kissed Will lightly as he moved even closer to Will. "Haven't you heard the rumors, Schuester?" he asked. "I'm a goddamned sex shark. If I don't get some, I die."

Will laughed at that but didn't say anything.

"If I do stay, what are the odds of you breaking that part of our agreement and lending me a helping hand every now and then?" Puck asked, leaning in for another kiss.

"Slim to none."

Puck smirked. "So there is still a chance," he said before a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Dropping the smirk suddenly, he moved off of Will and looked around, scowling when he didn't see anything.

"What's wrong?" Will asked, sitting up.

"I thought I saw something," Puck said, still searching for the source of the movement. He still found nothing.

Will nodded slightly and stood up. "The pizza's here, then. It got here quicker than I thought it would," he said, stretching a bit.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang and Will pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his pocket. He made the quick exchange with the delivery man and took the pizza into the kitchen, not at all surprised when he heard Puck following him.

"How'd you know?"

"The drapes on the front windows are kind of opaque. Whenever someone walks up to the front door, the light shifts, or there's a shadow," Will said.

Puck nodded slightly, still looking a bit unnerved. "Right."

"It does take some getting used to," he said. "I'd forgotten to warn you about that." Will pulled two cans of Dr. Pepper out of his fridge, offering one to Puck, who took it with a grateful nod. "I don't mean to push, but based on your question in the living room, it sounds like you've almost made up your mind about my offer."

The younger man shrugged and popped open his can of soda. "Overall, it sounds like a good deal, but my decision is going to depend entirely on what Sara has to say," he said.

Will nodded.

"How long is school going to be cancelled?"

"I'd guess no longer than a week," Will said. "Why?"

Puck shrugged, not saying anything.

Will's lips quirked up slightly. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you like, no matter what choice you make as far as my offer," he said.

"It's not that, but thanks," Puck said. "I might end up checking on my mom if there's time."

That admission took Will by surprise. "Why?"

Puck shrugged. "I go by the house a few times a year, just to make sure that she's not dead," he said. "It's never a particularly pleasant experience, but I do it anyway."

WIll nodded, not even pretending to understand. "If you need my help," he offered.

"Thanks," Puck said quietly. "But I'll probably just end up getting drunk after checking on her. Old habits die hard, I guess," he said with a shrug.

Will frowned but didn't say anything.

Puck just shrugged again and headed back into the living room.

Will stared after him for a moment, still not sure how to take Puck's admission. Finally, he did his best to set that statement aside in favor of grabbing a few dishes and following the younger man out to the living room.

A comfortable silence settled between them as Will cleared off the coffee table and set up three dining spaces. Puck helped as much as he could, moving the pillows off the couch and making sure the fire had enough wood.

Sara joined them soon enough, approaching Puck with a towel and a frustrated look on her face.

"Can't dry it?" Puck asked knowingly, picking her up and starting to dry her damp hair. "If you'd get it cut shorter than your waist, it'd be easier to manage."

"But I don't want a mohawk, Noah," she said, pouting.

"We'd be twins," Puck said with a grin.

Sara grinned up at him. "I'd still be cuter," she said.

Puck scowled, though his amusement was still obvious. "Brat," he said, his tone affectionate. "Do you want a ponytail or a braid?"

She thought about it for a moment. "A braid, please," she said, handing him a comb.

Puck nodded and started combing through her hair. "Did you bring a hair tie?"

"Yep," she said, holding up a bright blue scrunchie.

"I'll go get the pizza," Will said after watching the two of them for a moment.

Sara beamed up at him and Puck nodded slightly, most of his focus on braiding Sara's hair.

Will brought the pizza out, grabbing the first slice out of habit.

As the three of them settled in together, a comfortable silence fell over the room, and both men found themselves wondering if, maybe, hopefully, this place would still feel this much like a proper home if Puck and Sara moved in on a permanent basis.