Soft prompt call request: Kurt tutoring Puck (they’ve gotten past the “uh god whyyy do I have to” phase by this point) and Kurt does something small that is actually really thoughtful and it leaves Puck gobsmacked.
finally got around to finishing this one! a few months ago i attempted to fill this prompt, but got distracted & ended up using it for something else. so, here we finally are! read it here on ao3 to view the tags!
“Sorry I'm late.” Puck looks up at the breathless apology, the smile that curved his lips up at the sound of Kurt's voice falling into a frown as he sees the expression on the smaller boy's face.
“Are you okay?” he asks, standing and then feeling stupid when he realizes he doesn't have nothing to do with his hands. He tucks them into his pockets and rocks back on his heels, eyes tracking down Kurt's frame and doing his best to ignore just how much he appreciates how tight Kurt's pants are.
“I'm fine,” Kurt snaps angrily. Puck raises a brow and waits him out. “I'm sorry,” Kurt tells him, just like he thought he would. “I didn't mean to snap at you like that. It's just been a bad day.”
Puck nods. He knows all about being a dick to people just cause he's having a bad day (see his whole freshman year). “S'fine,” Puck assures him, even if he hates when Kurt's upset with him. He knows that Kurt isn't, but being yelled at by Kurt sucks no matter what. “What happened?”
“Nothing but the usual,” Kurt tells him quietly. He sits down so Puck rushes to do the same, trying his best to will down the heat in his cheeks. “The football team potentially ruined a shirt I found last night. I know I shouldn't wear pieces I love so much to school, but I really want to show Mercedes and...you.”
Puck's head snaps up, but Kurt's face is all but hidden inside his bag. Knowing that Kurt wanted him to see his outfit makes him feel...warm, in a squishy type of way that only happens when Sarah does something cute. He narrows his eyes at the other boy and wonders just when all these feelings started ‘n then spends about half a second thinking about it before he decides: fuck it. Kurt's not a bad guy to like; super nice and kinda really hot and an awesome singer.
Kurt slaps a container down on the table between them, closer to Puck than to himself, and it startles him outta his thoughts.
“What's this?” Puck asks, looking down at the container with a frown.
“I...noticed that you don't bring a lunch. I thought maybe it was just because you didn't want to eat in the library or something, but you don't eat in the cafeteria either. You might eat in your other classes, but you don't in Spanish or Math, so...I thought you might be hungry, is all.” Kurt keeps his head down during his little speech. That's probably a good thing since Puck's face is doing something he definitely isn't happy with—smiling like some kinda dope, his eyes feeling a little wet as he stares at Kurt's flushed cheeks and pink lips and the lunch container he's sliding over the table like it's nothing.
Well, there's no way in hell he's gonna let his feelings go now. Kurt brought him freaking lunch just cause Puck's too poor to bring nothing ‘n he noticed. He looks at the books Kurt is taking out of his bag and back to his lunch container, pulling it closer and opening it with an appreciative groan. Damn, that smells good.
Decision definitely made, he takes a second to think how he’s gonna ask Kurt out, then decides again to fuck it. “You know,” he says, all nonchalant like, “dating me would keep you safe.”
Kurt goes still 'n silent, and Puck regrets opening his big, dumb mouth immediately. “What are you talking about?” Kurt asks in a tone Puck hasn't heard in...months, really. Not since before Puck joined Glee and then Kurt started tutoring him and helping him in his classes and, like, being his friend.
It kinda makes him feel like dirt. “They wouldn't harass you if were dating me,” Puck mumbles, poking at the container of chilli ‘n telling himself his chest doesn't feel like his heart is crumbling inside of it, “Not that football team, anyway. You'd be offered the same protection as any of our girls...”
“I am not a girl, Puckerman.” The name stings. Kurt's been calling him Noah for a few weeks, and he kinda loves how it sounds with Kurt's pretty voice.
A bit defensive, Puck paints on a leer and tracks his eyes down Kurt's form even if there's a table covering most of it. “I know that, trust me.”
“And yet you're still offering to date me?” Kurt's eyebrow is all raised like he's angry. Puck sighs, wondering why he's always such an idiot even if he isn't trying to be.
“Sure am. I mean, you’re hot, and the Puckzilla digs hotness,” Puck says, but his leer drops at the look on Kurt's face, and he lets himself be honest when he says, “And you're probably my best friend. You helped me because you noticed I needed it when everyone else just thought I didn't care. You're funny and super smart and a crazy good signer and you...you brought me lunch cause my Ma's too poor for me 'n my sister to both get one, and I didn't even have'ta tell you that. You just noticed it 'n then did something to help me. Course I wanna date you.”
“Of course,” Kurt says, kinda dazed like. Puck watches as his lips tilt up into a pretty little smile, and his cheeks go a very intriguing pink. When Kurt looks up, Puck kinda gets lost in how blue his eyes look, but he focuses when he starts talking. “Well, as long as you're not just doing this for my own protection. I would hate to be the only one benefiting.”
“Oh, you certainly won't be the only one benefiting,” Puck waggles his eyebrows, and the laugh he gets from Kurt makes him grin like a fool, but he can't even bring himself to be bothered. Instead, he shovels chilli into his mouth, and thinks, just to himself, that he's going to be benefiting far more than Kurt by getting to be his boyfriend.
