Ever since two great loves of my life (Phantom Of the Opera and Puck) were united, I've wanted to write something about it. This disregards most canon we have for Regionals (what is Finchel? I don't understand this concept!) but hey, its all gravy! This loosely follows I Get The Final Say, so take a look at that if you're interested
Don't own, because this Finchel thing isn't just a flesh eating disease (shudder)
Will Schuester would be the first one to tell you how incredibly proud he was of his Glee club. He walked into rehearsals and saw that the girls were already hard at work on their rendition of Mein Herr from Cabaret for their musical theatre number, and the boys were engrossed in sheet music. He cleared his throat.
"Guys, I have some bad news." He said.
"You and Ms. Pillsbury have been having wild monkey sex and she's impregnated with a curly haired ginger kid." Santana guessed.
"You approve of my latest costume designs for us, including the bird feather hair pieces and semi precious stone lined capes?" Kurt asked hopefully. Mr. Schue shook his head.
"Nothing like that. Mr. Figgins watched Cabaret over the weekend, and because the main characters are all washed up old hookers, he's refusing to allow us to perform Mein Herr." Will explained.
"Well, what are we going to do? We need a musical theatre number, and it's not like I can just pull out Don't Rain on My Parade again. We really don't have many other options, unless Kurt and I work through Defying Gravity. This is ridiculous; Mr. Figgins was going to allow the school to put on a production of Cabaret, why can't we do one number? Would you like me to contact the ACLU?" Rachel asked from underneath her Sally Bowles wig.
"That's not necessary Rachel, I've actually already picked our new number. We're going to do some Lloyd Webber" Will replied, holding up sheet music. Rachel raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat I hope. Its been done to death." She said. Will shook his head.
"Actually, I'd like you and Puck to do The Point of No Return from Phantom of the Opera." Will said, handing them the sheet music. At Finn's face, Will shrugged.
"Sorry Finn, you don't have the lower register to pull this off. Besides, we know that putting Puck front and centre in a number will annoy certain members of Vocal Adrenaline, and that can't hurt us, particularly if it drives them to distraction." Will pointed out. He moved over to the piano and led the group through warm ups.
"Noah, will it be easier for you for me to come to you or you to come to me?" Rachel asked at the end of rehearsal. Puck looked at her.
"Why don't we just come together?" He asked suggestively, with a flick of his eyebrows. Rachel glared at him.
"Not what I was talking about. We need to rehearse this number, and that's only going to happen if you can keep it in your pants. It has to be perfect. Now what will suit you better?" Rachel asked.
"I'll drive you home after school and we'll work on it from there. But if this is going to take longer than two hours I want to be fed for my troubles." He said firmly. Rachel nodded.
Learning the music had been the easy part. Now that they were actually blocking the piece, it was like pulling teeth.
"You're just not getting it!" Rachel groaned.
"What's to get? I'm some sissy who sings around a fucking opera house. Cut me some slack Rachel, this isn't exactly my thing." Puck shot back.
"Noah, this is so your thing. The Phantom has questionable mental health, and has killed at least two people at this point of the play, chiefly in his defence of Christine. He's kind of a badass, especially as musical theatre goes. Take a look at the lyrics. Are you aware of what you're doing here?" Rachel asked him. Puck sat down and shrugged. Rachel rummaged through her DVD collection, and put one in.
"Don't worry, I won't make you watch the whole thing. Just watch this scene." Rachel said. Puck's jaw dropped.
"That's the king from 300." He said. Rachel nodded. Puck watched the scene.
"Ok, what did you see?" Rachel asked.
"So, the Phantom dude was all hot for Christine, and Christine was all hot for him too, but she didn't want to admit it, so he put the moves on her onstage so she had to stay in character and couldn't escape him." Puck said. Rachel nodded.
"Now do you get it?" She asked. He nodded. Rachel stood up and pressed play on the rehearsal tape. She listened to Puck sing the Phantom's opening verse. She was shocked to feel his energy pushing in over her. She let him invade her personal space, before finally backing away. It quickly turned into a game of cat and mouse, Puck chasing her but Rachel trying to stay away. Rachel was shocked when she nearly missed her cue to start singing. Instead of a game of cat and mouse, Rachel's movement became much more teasing, and she gained back some of the status she'd lost when Puck had been singing. Finally, when they began to sing together, Puck grabbed hold of her, and spun her before dipping her. He carefully brought her back to standing, and they stood, chest to back, singing together, before finally turning toward each other for the final line.
Rachel looked into Puck's eyes, where she saw a mesmerising mix of green and gold, with tiny brown flecks. She realised that the music had cut out some time ago. Unconsciously, she snaked her tongue out to wet her lips.
"Was that what you wanted?" Puck breathed. Rachel nodded.
Rachel found herself looking at Puck's lips. Of all the people she'd kissed, Puck was definitely the best of the three. Finn was a tiny bit wet, kind of like the giant puppy he is, and Jesse had a tendency to be rough, and he'd bitten her on more than one occasion. Rachel blinked and used every ounce of self restraint she possessed to rid herself of any thoughts that involved sucking the face off of Noah Puckerman.
"Should we run it again?" She asked.
It was close to 7pm when they finally stopped rehearsing.
"What do you eat Puckerman?" Rachel asked.
"Come on. We worked for more than two hours, and I promised you food if you stayed longer than that. You kept your end of the bargain, so it's only fair that I keep mine. What do you want for dinner?" Rachel asked.
"I'll eat pretty much whatever. But I don't want any of that weird bean shit that you vegans eat." He said. Rachel rolled her eyes, and started going through the refrigerator.
"I'm not a vegan! I started eating like one around Jesse to stop him whining about what that cow went through to get onto my plate. How do you feel about spaghetti?" Rachel asked. Puck nodded.
"Sounds good." He replied. Rachel started to move around the kitchen finding things to prepare dinner. Puck was stunned. Rachel actually prepared pasta from scratch.
"You really don't do anything halfway, do you Berry?" He asked. Rachel shook her head.
"Not a thing." She said, covering the pasta mound in plastic wrap and putting into the refrigerator to rest. She picked up a knife and started to slice onions.
"So where are your dads?" He asked. Rachel looked up from the pancetta she was pan-frying.
"They had to go to Dayton for business until Friday." She replied. From the forced casual way she said it, it was obvious to Puck that they went on business for days at a time quite regularly.
"Are you sure you don't need me to help?" Puck asked. Rachel shook her head.
"You're the guest. Just sit and relax. There's soda in the refrigerator if you're thirsty." Rachel replied.
Given that there was no way she was going to let him help, Puck was content to watch Rachel move around the kitchen, doing her thing. The fact that she was in a pair of yoga pants so tight they were like a second skin didn't hurt either. He watched as she concentrated on rolling the pasta dough out, before putting it through the pasta roller. The pasta roller was situated on the end of the bench, and it was obvious that Rachel's arms were too short to feed the pasta through the machine and hold the flattened end at the same time. Puck kind of liked the way she jumped when he came up behind her and pulled the pasta from her precarious grip.
"I told you I could help." He said into her ear. She nodded. Together, they threaded the machine several times with the pasta dough, Puck discreetly taking in the delicate fruity scent of her hair.
"Thank you Noah," Rachel said when they were done. Puck was almost certain he'd never seen anything more attractive. Rachel was in a frilly Minnie Mouse apron, her hair in braids, with a smudge of flour on her cheek. Rachel's sound of pleasure when she tasted the pasta sauce went straight below the belt, and he found himself wanting to taste the sauce straight from her lips. Rachel served up, and even went to the effort of putting a pretty green thing on the plates.
They headed into the living room with their dinner, a bottle of coke and a plate of garlic bread between them.
"Now, I'm not that great a cook, so you don't have to pretend like it's the best thing you've ever eaten." Rachel cautioned him before he dug in. She watched cautiously as he dug in and took a mouthful.
"This is the best spaghetti I've had in a long time. Who told you that you couldn't cook?" Puck asked. The way Rachel avoided his eye told him everything he needed.
"Fuck he is an asshole." He groaned.
"I don't really want to talk about it." Rachel said, before starting on her own meal. Contrary to what you might expect, Rachel was not a dainty 'two crumbs in her mouth at a time eater' who couldn't finish a meal. Puck was actually pretty impressed with her effort.
"Seriously Rachel, that was epic." Puck said. Rachel smiled.
"You um, have a little pasta sauce on your face." Rachel said. Puck immediately stuck his tongue out to get the last of the Berry-made deliciousness. Rachel giggled.
"You keep missing it. Its right…" She leaned over to wipe the sauce from his cheek, but overbalanced and only Puck's football borne reflexes stopped her head from crashing into the coffee table. He pulled her up gently.
"Thank you, Noah." Rachel said. She pulled away from him quickly and moved to put space between them. She took several deep breaths to regain her composure.
"Did I get it?" He asked.
"What?" Rachel replied far too quickly.
"The sauce. Did I get it?" he asked. Rachel nodded stiffly. They sat in pregnant silence for a few minutes.
"Do you want to watch a movie or something? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, and I get it if you have other plans, because our number is ready to go, so you can go if you need to." Puck cut her rambling off.
"A movie sounds good." He replied. Rachel gestured to a huge cupboard.
"You pick. They're listed alphabetically." She said. Rachel frowned when she saw the opening credits to the old Lois and Clark TV show.
"Don't knock it. My mom always used to watch this when it was on TV, and even though the special effects kind of suck, its pretty good." He said. Rachel nodded. They managed to smash through the first season pretty quickly, and Rachel stood to change it over to the second season.
"Everything really would have been much easier if she just told him." Puck commented. Rachel shrugged. She'd slowly inched her way over closer and closer to him as the TV show had progressed.
"For their relationship yes. But you would lose all the sexual tension if they did that, and that tension is what drives the whole show." Rachel replied, shifting positions so that the blanket she had on her covered her more fully.
"Hey, don't be a blanket hog!" Puck complained. Rachel hesitated, and then came and sat next to him and draped the blanket across his legs.
"So you're saying that he should keep lying to her just because it makes everything more interesting to watch?" Puck asked. Rachel shook her head.
"Obviously in real life that would never work, and he should be honest with her, but the point I'm making is that the sexual tension between the two of them is what makes the show work. Don't get me wrong, I was cheering when she finally figured it out." Rachel said. They continued to watch quietly. They finally made it to the end of season two, and Puck went to move to change the discs over. He looked down, and realised that Rachel had fallen asleep on him. He carefully picked her up and carried her to her room. Laying her down on her bed, he gently shook her awake.
"I'm going to head off Berry. Don't worry; I'll lock up on my way out. See you at school." He replied. Rachel nodded sleepily and rolled over.
They were having a final dress run in the school auditorium. They worked through Faithfully and then their Journey medley, and then the rest of the group walked into the wings. Rachel quickly ran off, and stripped off the skirt she had on and replaced it with the black wraparound style skirt Kurt had fashioned for her for the number. It was the first time that Puck and Rachel had ever performed it for an audience, and from the way that the rest of the Glee club reacted; they knew it was a killer number.
They were on the bus to Regionals, and yes, they were wearing the tacky jean jackets that Bryan Ryan had made for them. Rachel had woken up feeling confident. She knew today was going to go well. The weekend before, Shelby had come to her house for dinner with her parents. Shelby had promised to take Rachel to breakfast the day after the big event, and they'd both agreed that beyond offering congratulations, they wouldn't talk about the competition. They were ready, Rachel was sure of it. They headed into their dressing room, and started getting prettied up. Rachel closed her eyes and let Tina stick on her false lashes, Santana was given free reign on her makeup, on the provision that she wouldn't end up with clown hooker eyes. Rachel teased her hair and hairsprayed the crappola out of it once she got her hair doing the right shape beehive. The girls banished the boys from the room so that they could change, and they let the boys back in as they taped themselves into their dresses (inappropriate dress was a huge point deduction that they weren't going to risk).
"We just saw Vocal Adrenaline. Honestly, what self respecting show choir wears salmon coloured shirts?" Kurt asked. The girls giggled.
"Andrea tried to stare us down, but Puck realised that she has a pool, so he revealed some of his extra curricular activities with the MILFs of Western Ohio and she shut right up." Matt added.
"And then we had to hold Puck back when St Fuckstick tried to talk trash about you Rach. Like it worked, we all know Rachel is too classy to have done what he claimed she did with him in the choir room." Artie added. Rachel rolled her eyes.
"And we'll ask you about that later!" Mercedes said to Rachel meaningfully.
"Ok, I think we should just go warm up." Quinn said, rubbing her stomach and cringing.
Rachel forced herself to push thoughts that involved Vocal Adrenaline being amazing from her mind as she and Finn stood at the back of the auditorium, about to start their performance. He gave her a brotherly hug and they began to move as the music started. Rachel was pretty impressed with both of their performances. The glee club traipsed offstage, and Rachel quickly changed her skirt, and walked back on stage and sat down on the stool that had been put there. She began to twist her hair and gaze off into space. She felt the familiar chill chase its way down her spine when Puck started to sing.
Passarino - Go away for the trap it is set and waits for its prey.
You have come here
In pursuit of your deepest urge
In pursuit of that wish which till now
Has been silent
Silent.
Rachel turned side on to face Puck. Her jaw dropped. He had ditched the tie, and undone his shirt to reveal some of his well-toned chest, mimicking the style of shirt worn by the Phantom in the movie, and he'd donned her Phantom mask.
I have brought you
That our passions may fuse and merge
In your mind you've already succumbed to me, dropped all defenses
Completely succumbed to me
Now you are here with me
No second thoughts
You've decided
Decided.
Rachel was leaning so far away from his touch that she was practically in a fully body layout, and she quickly stood up from the chair, and began to move away from Puck, fully aware that he would follow her
Past the point of no return
No backward glances
Our games of make-believe are at an end.'if' or 'when'
No use resisting
Abandon thought and let the dream descend
Past all thought of
What raging fire shall flood the soul
What rich desire unlocks it's door
What sweet seduction lies before us?
Rachel made eye contact with him, and felt his low and husky voice envelope her flushed skin. She was the first to break eye contact and she quickly began to move away again.
Past the point of no return
The final threshold
What warm unspoken secrets
Will we learn
Beyond the point of no return?
Rachel paused and faced the audience dead on when she began her verse.
You have brought me
To that moment when words run dry
To that moment when speech disappears
Into silence
Silence.
She turned to Puck and moved slightly upstage as she kept singing
I have come here,
Hardly knowing the reason why
In my mind I've already imagined
Our bodies entwining
Defenseless and silent,
Rachel's left leg slowly slithered up her right, and her hands ran lightly along her torso- and at that moment, she admitted to herself that the words she was singing weren't entirely Christine's.
Now I am here with you
No second thoughts
I've decided
Decided.
Rachel took on all the power of the seductress, and slowly began to move around the stage, occasionally flicking her hair and checking over her shoulder to make sure that Puck was following her
Past the point of no return
No going back now
Our passion-play has now at last begun.
Past all thought of right or wrong
One final question
How long should we two wait before we're one?
When will the blood begin to race
The sleeping bud burst into bloom
When will the flames at last consume us?
Rachel finally accepted Puck's extended hand, and she could feel her relief when he touched her. He quickly spun her in; and as they sang, he lifted her leg to curl around his hip so he could swing her into a dip and twist her so that she stood with her back to his chest, his hands in hers, running over her body.
Past the point of no return
The final threshold
The bridge is crossed
So stand and watch it burn
We've passed the point of no return.Rachel turned to face him and stare into his eyes, as they'd practiced, until the applause started, but she was surprised to hear the music continue.
Say you'll share with me
One love, one lifetime
Lead me, save me from my solitude
Say you want me
With you here
Beside you
Anywhere you go
Let me go too
Puck's voice faltered for a second. Rachel smiled at him with shiny eyes.
That's all I ask of you.
There was really only one thing she could do. She drew him in for a kiss that she felt all the way in her toes, and the world disappeared; all that mattered was Noah Puckerman.
Rachel was happy with all that went down. In a twist of fate that nobody saw coming, the third team in contention for the Regionals prize came in first- Vocal Adrenaline and New Directions had tied for second. New Direction stood in a clump with all of their parents. Rachel was chatting away animatedly with her dads when she noticed a sour faced and salmon clad Jesse approach her.
"You know, if I thought you were going to go all Slutterella on me, I would have thought it would've been with the missing link over there, not with that Lima Loser." Jesse commented snidely. Rachel's jaw locked tightly, and she saw out of the corner of her eye that all of New Directions had come to stand around her.
"The only reason I didn't break your face when you egged Rach was because I wanted to see your pretty face here at Regionals. Normally I don't hit girls, but this time, I think I can make an exception." Puck growled menancingly. Jesse just smirked, and New Directions cheered when Puck's fist quite literally knocked the look off his face, and put Jesse on his ass, also literally.
"Mess with my girl again and I swear to everything good and holy on this earth, I will go Phantom on your ass. I know you know what that means; and I know that you know it won't end well. So I would advise you keep your hand at the level of your eye." Puck added.
Then all of New Directions took a step back when they saw Shelby approach.
"Oh, Jesse, what have I always told you? Pick on people your own size. Go and ice that, you'll be fine." Shelby said condescendingly.
"Oh, and Jesse?" Shelby called out. Jesse turned around.
"Call her a slut again and there will be nowhere on earth you will be able to hide from me." Shelby added sweetly.
She quickly checked that nobody important in the show choir hierarchy was watching, and quickly offered her hand to Puck for a high five, to which he frowned at momentarily, before finally returning when he realised he wasn't going to get eaten.
"That was a work of art. I've wanted to do the same thing since I found out he egged her." Shelby said. She turned to Rachel.
"Baby, that was stunning." She said simply, before pulling Rachel in for a tight hug.
"He's a catch. Any guy manly enough to wear the Phantom mask is one to hold onto." Shelby whispered into her ear. Rachel giggled and nodded.
"Hey guys, I want you to meet my mom, Shelby." She said to the group.
Like Will said, he was incredibly proud of his kids. If anybody would have been able to tell you the kind of year he was in for when he took over the leadership of New Directions, he probably wouldn't have taken the job, but he was certainly glad he did.
Fin. Also- many thanks to Sassy26, my firstest twitter buddy, for kicking my butt on my epic twelve line sentences! She's amazing, this fic would have been crap without her help! Read her stuff…its gorgeous!
Review?