KHNP

Good Directions

KHNP

Author: PyretofSweden

Beta: The absolutely fantastic InsularFLY a.k.a AffraidofReality who gives me awesome ideas and helps me when I'm drowning in plotholes.

Summary: Kurt is lost on his way to NYC. Noah is selling turnips at a farmer's market and is very good at giving directions. (This is the first story in the Country-Verse Series).

Rating: PG or K+

Warnings: OOC-ness, Songfic, Boys Kissing, Silliness, Oh, who am I kidding? This story is so goody two shoes it makes Tangled look like a sordid sex-tale!

Spoilers: None

Word count: 2856

Genre: Songfic/Fluff/Feel-good-fic/AU-future (the boys are about 25)

Pairings/Characters: Noah Puckerman/Kurt Hummel, Kurt Hummel, Noah Puckerman, Finn Hudson, Mrs. Puckerman.

Disclaimer: Glee belongs to the fantastic Ryan Murphy and FOX. Good Directions belongs to Billy Currington and Mercury Nashville Records. I make no profit playing with their toys.

A/N: This fic is based on, and inspired by, Billy Currington's awesome song Good Directions (lyrics will be provided at the end of this fic). I hope I did a good job =P There are no chunks of lyrics in the story – that is a major pet peeve of mine, so I refuse to do it. The POVs change throughout the story (it will be clearly marked when that happens) and sometimes they overlap… I hope that won't cause anyone to break out in hives.

KHNP

Good Directions

KHNP

Kurt was annoyed with himself. If he just hadn't listened to the cursed GPS he would be on the interstate where he was supposed to be and not on this narrow, bumpy, dusty, excuse for dirt road. He'd grown up in a small town and was no stranger to dirt roads, but this one took the cake – in fact, it ran away with the whole damn bakery! There was no way it was meant for cars.

Just as he was starting to look for a place to turn around, the trees gave way to a large open space. It looked sort of like a big parking lot – only dustier and with less asphalt than Kurt was used to. On the far side of the lot he could see a green field with a fence running around as far as the eye could see; a pasture. And sure thing, there were cows grazing just beyond the fence. There was also some kind of building off to the left, a large red and white structure that looked as if it had seen better days.

A short distance from the building was a huge pickup truck, its bed stacked high with crates – very loud, shaking crates – filled with what seemed to be live chicken. There were other cars around the lot as well, mostly pickups laden with various types of farm animals and produce, but none as eye-catching as the one with the clucking zoo in the back.

"Oh, my god, I'm in redneck hell…" Kurt sighed to himself as he pulled further into the lot. "Why didn't I just keep to the main road? I'm gonna get myself killed out here." He worried and bit his lip as he parked near a beat up old Ford Pickup.

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Noah looked up – from where he was talking to Mrs. Grayer, one of his mother's friends, and munching on a pork rind, trying to convince her not to rat him out to his mother for breaking kosher – and saw the car that crept up the lane so slowly it was barely even moving. The license plate read BRDWY, so he figured that whoever was driving wasn't from around town.

He shook his head wondering what a person driving a car like that was doing in a place like this. The car looked truly misplaced amongst all the rusty beat up old pickup trucks, with its sleek lines and polished silver paintjob. Noah looked at his ride and frowned. Once old Rita had been a shiny cherry red, now you could barely see the original paint for all the rust.

As the mystery car pulled up alongside Noah's Ford, he tried to catch a glimpse of who was driving, but sitting on the bed as he was, he was way to high up to see anything but the car's roof. He squinted in the light reflected by the silver paint and almost didn't see when the door opened and a smartly dressed man stepped out.

"Thank you, Noah." Mrs. Grayer said as he handed her the bag of turnips she had bought from him, he threw her a distracted smile before he turned his attention back to the stranger with the fancy car.

"Hello, I was wondering if you could help me out. I'm lost and looking for the interstate, you wouldn't happen to know in which direction that would be, do you?" The man's voice was high and clear and Noah could tell he was nervous, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. Noah was a goner as soon as the man looked at him with the greenest eyes he had ever seen in his life, his mouth ran dry and for a moment he couldn't get a word out. He must have looked pretty stupid because the other man looked at him with a funny frown and heaved a sigh.

"Do you even speak English? Habla espaniol?"

"Huh, sorry," Noah rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, hoping this beautiful man didn't notice his blush under the tan. "You should go way up past the caution light to the little country store with the old coke sign. You have to stop and ask Miss Bell for some of her Sweet Tea – it's fantastic. Then a left will take you to the interstate, but a right will bring you right back here to me." He knew he was crap at flirting, a gay man didn't get a lot of practice in a small backwater town like this one, but somehow he couldn't help himself.

Sure, most people were ok with the gay thing, but that didn't mean there was a whole bunch of good-looking guys just waiting around for Noah to practice his pickup lines on them. If he did, he probably would get his ass kicked; no matter how ok most people were with him.

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Kurt blinked as he stepped out of his car, feeling apprehensive as he glanced up at the man sitting on a crate, of some kind of vegetable, on the bed of the old Ford Pickup. He felt his face heat up but he told himself it was the heat, making him feel like that. The sun was bright and there was not a single cloud in sight on the perfectly blue sky, and Kurt once again gave himself a mental kick for listening to the GPS over his own good sense.

He cleared his throat and said "Hello, I was wondering if you could help me out. I'm lost and looking for the interstate, you wouldn't happen to know in which direction that would be, do you?" He chanced a glance at the man sitting about two feet above him and was caught by surprise by the look in the other man's eyes. They looked open and interested in a way he hadn't seen since he left New York, and his ex, six months ago. When a few seconds passed and he didn't get an answer Kurt thought that maybe he had misread the other man – it wouldn't be the first time something like that had happened.

"Do you even speak English? Habla espaniol?" He asked when he lost what little patience he had. The other man looked down at him with an embarrassed smile as he rubbed the back of his neck and gave his answer.

"You should go way up past the caution light to the little country store with the old coke sign." Kurt looked in the direction the man was pointing, but as he continued talking Kurt turned back to him.

"You have to stop and ask Miss Bell for some of her Sweet Tea – it's fantastic. Then a left will take you to the interstate, but a right will bring you right back here to me." Kurt could barely believe his ears; the man was flirting with him! He caught himself staring, and quickly made himself look away, he could be wrong about the flirting and experience told him that straight men didn't appreciate being stared at by blatantly gay men. He blushed an even deeper shade of red, which was seriously clashing with his outfit, and stammered a thank you.

"Tell her Noah sent you, if you decide to stop at Miss Bell's." Noah smiled and Kurt slipped back into the driver's seat with a nod and a wave. As he drove off, Kurt watched Noah in the rearview mirror. He had jumped off his truck and was watching Kurt drive away, one arm lifted in a wave.

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"Hey, Puckerman, who was that just now?" Noah's best friend Finn came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder so hard he almost stumbled into the side of the truck.

"Hmm?" Noah was still looking after The Car – yes, it had earned mental capital letters – and hadn't heard what was being said.

"Did you get his number?" Finn was doing some weird wiggling with his eyebrows which meant he wanted to know if he was going to hook up or what.

"Dude, I didn't even get his name." Noah jumped up on the truck again to rearrange the crates, moving the empties to the front to make room for full ones near the back.

"Man, that's pretty pathetic, even for you." Finn snickered and climbed up after him.

"It's not… he was just so hot I forgot to ask." Noah smirked but he was secretly kicking himself for letting him get away. Noah had never believed in love at first sight but now he was starting to wonder. Something had just clicked when he looked into the other man's eyes – and he didn't even know his name! "You're right, I'm pathetic! Why didn't I just… do something?"

"Dude, forget about him. He's long gone by now anyway." Finn put a hand on his shoulder again but this time it was for comfort.

"Yeah, old Rita would never be able to catch up with him, and he probably thought I was a weirdo anyway; putting the moves on strange men in the middle of a farmer's market." Noah threw his hat to the ground with a frustrated growl and then he kicked it for good measure.

"Dude! Respect the hat!" Finn reprimanded as he picked it up and dusted it off before he handed it back to him.

"Whatever, Dude, he could have been the love of my life and now I'll never know. I'm allowed to be frustrated. Do you know how many attractive gay men there are in this town? This county?" He didn't give Finn time to answer, but continued his rant as if he wasn't talking to anyone in particular. "None!" He slumped on a crate and looked at Finn with sad eyes.

"It's ok, man; you'll meet someone some day. And if that guy liked you he'll come back. Though I don't really get why he would, he looked like a city boy to me."

"Thanks, Dude. It's nice to know that I'll always have your support." Noah said; sarcasm dripping from his voice like maple syrup, but it was lost on his friend.

"No problem, Puck. I have to go; Rachel is over by our truck getting antsy."

"Yeah, bye."

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It didn't take Kurt long to find the little country store Noah had mentioned, and since he was late already anyway, Kurt figured he could stop for some tea. It was pretty hot and he was thirsty. He parked his Lexus in front and went inside. It was a charming little store, it had a little bit of everything; clothes, toys, all sorts of outdoorsy stuff like tents and fishing poles, even dried and canned foods. He looked around for someone to get him a glass of tea but didn't see anyone. So he took a chance and called out "Hello?" There was a noise from a back room somewhere and soon a woman was smiling at him from behind the counter.

"Hello, dear, how can I help you?" The woman had something very motherly about her, dressed in a sundress and an apron with her hair up in a messy ponytail.

"Hi, Noah said this was the place to go for the best Sweet Tea in Georgia?" Kurt smiled his most charming smile at her and hoped he hadn't made a mistake.

"Oh, he did not, but I'll get you some anyway." The woman laughed as she once again disappeared into a back room. "I don't think I've seen you here before. Are you a friend of Noah's?" she asked from the other room and Kurt didn't know what to say, no he wasn't a friend but he wouldn't mind being more than that? As if.

"Not really, I just met him a little while ago." The woman came back with a tall glass of cold Sweet Tea and showed him to a small table in a corner of the store, she sat down with him and looked at him expectantly. "I was lost and looking for the interstate, he was kind enough to point me in the right direction." Kurt smiled and sipped his tea, it really was fantastic.

"Well, if I know my son right he's kicking himself right now for letting a cute thing like you get away. Why don't you take a couple of teas and dinner with you when you go back to him, hmm?"

"Do you really think he'd want to see me again?" Kurt took another sip just to have something to do and discovered that he had almost drunk the whole glass down already.

"What do you have to lose? You want to see him again, don't you?" He hadn't known for sure until he was asked that question, but now he knew without a doubt that he would regret himself into an early grave if he didn't see Noah again.

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As soon as Finn was gone, Noah slumped back on the crate he had been sitting on most of the day. He was getting tired and irritable after sitting out in the sun with not a hint of shade all day. He took his hat off and wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt, wishing that the day would end so he could go home and take a shower, have a beer and relax before everything would start over again tomorrow.

He was content with his life, but couldn't help but feel kind of trapped in this small town. He wanted to get out, but didn't know how he would do that. As the hours crept by he sold most of the turnips and talked to some friends on their way out. And the small hope he held that He would come back faded in time with the sun as it sank behind the horizon.

At first he thought he imagined the sound of tires on gravel, as he had dreamed and wished for the sound since the silver Lexus disappeared in a cloud of dust. But as he looked up he could barely comprehend what he was seeing, for a moment he thought he must be hallucinating and that there was no way he was so lucky as to the man of his dreams would come back. But as the car pulled up alongside the Ford he started grinning like a right fool; He had come back to him. Noah jumped to the ground and stood waiting for the man to get out of the car, nerves making his stomach flutter and his heart race.

As the man stepped out they stared at each other for about two seconds before Noah grabbed him and showed him exactly how happy he was that he had come back. The kiss was forceful and intense and sweet as only first kisses were and Noah didn't know who made those noises but he had a feeling it didn't really matter. As they pulled apart, Noah rested his forehead against the other man's and took a deep breath before he stood back a fraction of an inch to look into those incredible eyes.

"What's your name?"

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Kurt had never been so nervous in his life, not even when he got his first lead in a Broadway play and sang for a full house for the first time. Standing in front of this man, Noah, was more intimidating than anything he had ever faced before. Just standing there looking at him made Kurt's heart soar and when Noah surged forward and kissed him, Kurt felt at peace for the first time since he could remember. Resting against Noah after the mind blowing intensity of the kiss was like a balm healing wounds he didn't even realize was there.

And when Noah asked him for his name he let out a little laugh, because who was crazy enough to fall for someone before they even knew their name? And then he realized that he was that crazy because he only knew Noah by his first name and a pretty common name at that.

"It's Kurt. Kurt Hummel. What's yours?" He looked Noah in the eyes and saw his own amusement reflected back at him through hazel eyes, his breath caught as he waited for Noah to answer.

"Noah Puckerman, my friends call me Puck." He took a tiny step back and touched Kurt's cheek, and wasn't it absolutely cheesy that they were just standing there gazing at each other like a couple in some bad romantic comedy?

"Noah," Kurt sighed and reached up to touch Noah's cheek. Noah smiled and leaned into his touch but after a few moments Kurt cleared his throat and said "I brought you dinner." He turned around to get the bag out of the car and went to settle on the bed of the truck. Noah came after and peeked into the brown paper bag and after a delighted sigh he peered at Kurt and said with a mischievous grin "Did you have a nice talk with my mother?" Kurt blushed and instead of answering busied himself with getting the meal ready.

The End.

A/N:Now go to the second part of the Country-Verse Series; Tequila Makes His Clothes Fall Off

Good Directions

Written and Performed by Billy Currington

I was sittin' there

Selling turnips on a flatbed truck

Crunchin' on a pork rind when she pulled up

She had to be thinkin' this is where rednecks come from

She had Hollywood written on her license plate

She was lost an' lookin' for the interstate

Needing directions

An' I was the man for the job

I told her

Way up yonder past the caution light

There's a little country store with an old coke sign

You gotta stop an' ask miss Bell

For some o' her sweet tea

Then a left will take you to the interstate

But a right will bring you right back here to me

I was sittin' there

Thinking 'bout her perdy face

Kickin' myself for not catchin' her name

I threw my hat

Thought: you fool

It could've been love

I knew my old Ford couldn't run her down

She probably didn't like me anyhow

So I watched her disappear

into a cloud of dust

Is this Georgia heat playin' tricks on me

Or am I really seein' what I think I see

The woman of my dreams comin' back to me

She went way up yonder

Past the caution light

Don't know why

But somethin' felt right

When she stopped and asked miss Bell

For some o' her sweet tea

Mama gave her a big ol' glass

And sent her right back here to me

Thank God for good directions

And turnip greens