Laughing Fate (12 page)

Potter felt his anger start to boil and had to stand up.  He left the couch with out saying a word to Baby and went into the kitchen to check on the rolls that he had put in the oven. He felt his nerve in his jaw tick when he saw Tony wrap Puck in his arms and lightly kiss her neck.  Tony looked directly at Potter and smirked, the message clear.  Puck was Tony’s, got it, Potter thought angrily.  Dinner was going to be hell.

****

Puck sat at the table next to Tony. Potter was sitting across from her with Baby and Perri was at the end. The dinner had been really delicious, if a little awkward. There had been some underlying currents flowing at the table.  Potter seemed to be mad at Tony, Baby was furious with Puck for who knows what reason, Perri was distant, and Tony was oblivious to it all.  Potter’s forehead had a vein that was starting to show, and if he clenched his jaw any harder he was going to hurt himself. 

Puck laid down her fork, elbowed Tony to get him to take his hand off of her, and tried to think of some way to ease the tension.  This was a disaster; no one was having a good time, except maybe Tony who could have a good time anywhere.  Puck stared wide eyed at Baby who was glaring at her.  What was going on here?

She’d never been particularly close to Baby, Puck thought that she was a ditzy blond with loose morals, but Baby usually at least pretended to be nice to everyone. She would normally glare right back, but this was Perri’s friend.  Puck had always made it a point to be civil to Perri’s friends out of respect and love for her sister.

Puck grimaced when Tony leaned in close to whisper something in her ear; he was taking this pretend relationship way too far!  She elbowed him again in the gut, not hard enough to actually hurt him; he was her friend after all.  She met his hurt gaze and felt a moment of sorrow.  Tony was like a big teddy bear, it was just mean to pick on him.  Puck smiled at Tony in apology and this time when he put his arm around her, she allowed it. 

“So Puck, how long have you been dating Timothy?” Baby asked, her voice coming out sickly sweet.

Potter turned on Puck and exclaimed angrily, “How many boys are you dating?!”

Potter was acting just like a hormonal teenager tonight! Puck couldn’t keep track of all of his mood swings. Puck turned her wide eyes on Potter and felt her eyes begin to tear up a little at the tone of his voice.  What the heck? Puck didn’t cry! Especially not over a stupid question! Her nerves must be a little on edge from this stressful dinner.  Puck blinked quickly to get rid of any moisture and tried to think of a reply.  Did Potter think she was a slut?

Puck was saved an answer when Tony began to laugh. “You mean, Tony, don’t you, Prudence?”  He asked after he was done laughing.

Baby blanched at the use of her real name and shot a glare at Tony. “Who are you?” She asked haughtily. She hadn’t gone by her real name in years, she had always hated it.

“
Me? I’m Puck’s hot lover, of course.”

“
Tony,” Puck said, warning clear in her voice.

“
I’m also friends with your brother, Prudence, and I remember you from when you were ten and still wetting your bed.”

Oh god. The awkward dinner with tension served on a nice big platter just got a million times worse.  Why, oh why had Puck thought bringing Tony was a good idea? He was completely unpredictable and you couldn’t fault him for it.  Everyone who knew Tony knew that trouble followed close behind him.

So much for a nice dinner. Perri choked on her juice and gawked at Tony. Potter was busy trying not to laugh, which did not earn him points with Baby. Baby was alternating shooting daggers at everyone at the table, but mostly at Tony. Baby stood up in a huff and glared at Tony one last time before flouncing out of the house. She didn’t bother saying goodbye to anyone; she just left in an angry whirl wind.

Perri stood up as well, frowned at Tony disapprovingly, and followed her friend out the door. She did take the time to say a brief, rather insincere, thanks to Potter for inviting her and to tell Puck that she was going to catch a ride with Baby.  Puck nodded numbly and watched her sister run out the door.

Once the door closed, Potter gave up trying to hold in his laughter, the sound of his amusement filling the tiny kitchen.  The tension eased with the sound of genuine laughter and soon Puck and Tony were joining in. Potter threw his napkin down, stood up and still chuckling, started to clear the table.

Puck grinned up at Tony, “I can’t believe you said that!”

“Well, it’s true! She was a really annoying child, always following us around.  I can’t believe she didn’t recognize me, she used to idolize me, as all women tend to do,” Tony said modestly.

“
Oh, pa-lease! You are so full of it, Tony!” Puck laughed and nudged Tony in the ribs. “Not every woman idolizes you!”

“
Yup, they do.”

“
NO, THEY DON’T!”

“
Way I see it, you are about the most ‘man hating bitch’ around, no offence, and you love me- so see all women must idolize me, if you do.”

Potter slammed the dish he was holding in the sink, the sound of Puck playing around with Tony causing his vein to pop out again. Really, couldn’t they just go get a room? Puck had never been this relaxed with him, even when she was sleeping in his arms.  Sure, she was beginning to trust him; but this man had her full trust.  She was completely herself around him, laughing and teasing, she was more beautiful right now than she had been before.  All of her defenses were completely down, and it sickened Potter that it was Tony who made that happen.

Puck jumped at the noise of the dish slamming against the sink. It was only a small jump, but both men noticed. Tony put a reassuring hand around her shoulder, the first normal touch he had given her all evening. She leaned into him for a brief second before sitting up straight. She felt Potter’s eyes on her, so she looked up to see him scowling again. She furrowed her brow trying to think of a reason why Potter was mad, but then his scowl cleared and he was smiling again.

Puck smiled hesitantly back at him and stood up to help clear away the rest of the dishes.  She stood next to Potter, who was washing dishes, and handed him the rest of the dishes. Her nachos, which Potter had gamely piled high on his own plate, were left mostly untouched.  Puck smiled as she dumped the nachos and leaned in to whisper to Potter, “Tony really did make those nachos.”

“I heard that!” Tony called from the table. He had his phone out and was texting someone.

Puck had surprised a bark of laughter from Potter and the tension once again eased from the room.  She smiled brightly up at Potter, glad that she had put that smile on his face. She took a towel and nudged Potter over to make room for her by the sink.  Potter washed the dishes quietly, handing the clean dishes to Puck to dry. They continued on in companionable silence, until all the dishes were clean.

Puck turned to see what Tony was doing, to find him on the phone with one of his girls.  She grinned at his horrible attempts to mask who he was talking to.

“
Uh, yeah, well you know, you too. Ahem. Yeah, yeah definitely…you’re WHAT? Holy cow gir- um, what I mean is, that’s interesting. Listen, I’m at a friend’s house…NO! No, you know I wouldn’t…it’s a friend’s house…you don’t know them….well they are younger than we are….NO! I’m not saying you’re old...Listen, I just got to go, I’ll tell you later. Yes, you too. No, I won’t say it…I just can’t, I’ll explain later….LATER…..okay, bye.”

Puck was still grinning when she looked up at Potter, who was scowling again at Tony.  Why didn’t he like Tony? Everyone liked Tony. Potter crossed his arms and leaned against the counter waiting for Tony to put his cell phone down. 

“Who was that you were talking to?”  Potter asked, channeling an angered brother defending his sister’s honor.  His arms were still crossed and he was making it clear that he didn’t approve of Puck’s ‘boyfriend’ talking to his other sweet heart on the phone.  Puck had to resist smiling at Potter, he was being kind of sweet, but she didn’t need a protector.

Tony squirmed, looking to Puck for a cue. Puck decided to let him squirm, she really wasn’t nice person, and she was finding this to be the most fun of the entire evening. 

“Um, well that was my sister,” Tony said, glancing back and forth from Puck to Potter.

“
Really? Didn’t sound like it to me, it sounded like you were talking to another girl.  Are you playing Puck? Because if you are playing Puck and if you hurt her, you will have to answer to me.”

Potter’s voice came out cold and steely, Puck had never seen him act so forceful, it was hard to imagine that this was the same man who cringed at the word seagull.  For a brief moment she had the urge to whisper the word, just to see if he’d spaz out, but she was enjoying this new side of Potter’s too much to ruin it. His eyes were hard and piercing as he focused on Tony, he looked almost like Puck imagined her inner drill sergeant would look, it was scary. 

Feeling sorry for Tony, Puck decided it was time to step in. “Um, actually, we have an open sort of relationship.  We date occasionally, but he’s free to date other people. Don’t be mad at him Potter, you are going to make him pee his pants!”

Tony gave a tiny sigh of relief and quickly seconded Puck’s story. Potter, who had been watching him carefully, noticed and was convinced that they were lying about something.  He turned his gaze on Puck, who was smiling nervously up at him, and after a long pause he nodded his head and uncrossed his arms. He slowly straightened and took a step towards Tony.

“Because Puck obviously knows what is going on, I’m going to back off, but if you hurt her in anyway, I will come looking for you, is that clear?”

Puck came up behind Potter and rested a hand on his arm, it was really sweet that Potter cared about her, but he was taking things just a little too far.  “Potter, it’s okay.  Thank you for defending my honor, but I can take care of myself,” Puck smiled a bit to take out any sting her words might have, and caressed his arm soothingly. She stepped away and put a little more force in her voice, “Tony is family; if something happens to him I will personally hold you responsible.  Do I make myself clear? I will not have you fighting my battles for me.”

Potter nodded a little stiffly and after shooting one more glare at Tony, he left the room.  Puck watched him leave, feeling such a mix of emotions that she really couldn’t decide what she was feeling.  She turned on Tony and apologized profusely to him for getting him in trouble.  She let him know that he was off the hook, and soon she was watching him leave Potter’s house in a hurry.

Puck walked over to Potter and sat next to him on the couch. They sat in silence for a bit, neither one knowing what to say.

“This was not a fun evening, I hope you know. I think you need to work on your hostess skills.  You’re cooking, however, was by the far the best I’ve ever tasted! So thank you for inviting me, and I’m sorry it didn’t turn out the way you wanted.”

Potter glanced at Puck sideways and smirked, “You’re welcome, I think?” Puck grinned and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. She settled back more comfortably on the couch and rested her head on the back of the cushion.  She felt Potter do the same and turned her head to smile at him.

“I’m really glad you invited me, I wasn’t lying.”

“
I know.”

“
How did you know?” Puck asked indignantly. She prided herself on being a good liar.

“
Cause you are an awful liar, Puck.” Potter laughed at Puck’s outraged expression, and he grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. “It’s not a bad thing to be a horrible liar; it just means that you’re an honest person. I’m glad I invited you too.”

“
Baby sure looked pretty,” Puck said offhandedly. “Kind of like a porn star…” she muttered under her breath.

“
Yeah, I guess she did. Baby always looks pretty, so I’ve kind of stopped noticing.”

Puck was staring at their entwined hands, wondering if maybe she had some kind of allergic reaction to Potter.  He was making her hand tingle and little sparks were shooting up her arm.

“That’s not nice! You need to notice your girl friend everyday and tell them how pretty they are. Let them know that you find them incredibly sexy and that you can’t go a second without thinking of them…”

“
Is that what Kyle did for you?”

Puck froze and felt her eyes immediately fill with unshed tears.  She pushed down the emotion and pulled her hand out of Potter’s.  She refused to look at him as she stood up and straightened her clothes.

“I think it’s time for me to go.”

“
Okay,” Potter said, knowing that he had crossed a line.  Obviously the memory of Kyle was still too painful to talk about.

“
Puck?” He said, as he stood up.

“
Yes?”

“
You look pretty, but I hate your perfume.”

Puck smiled and rolled her eyes at Potter. “I’ll have you know, that this is a very popular fragrance at Victoria Secret.”

“Yeah, well I still don’t like it,” Potter smile at Puck and wrapped her in a warm hug. “I’m going to be busy at work the next couple of days, but how about I give you a rain check on the fun activity we were supposed to do after dinner?”