Title: What's Not There
Warnings: Confusion, and misunderstandings and a bit of heart-break. Based in season 1.
Summary: Finn's confused, so Rachel tries to help. She just gets the wrong idea.
Pairings: Rachel/Finn and Finn/Puck
Disclaimer: I own nothing, apart from the prompt list, and the idea for this fic.
AN: I write this during season one, though never got around to posting it, so it's not the best quility. All mistakes go to me, as this hasn't been betaed.
Based off of: Prompt #1 – Truth.
Rachel Berry practically bounced into the choir room, a spring in her step and a plate of large, mildly warm cookies grasped in her hands. She figured that bribing Finn with food would get him to tell her his problems. She found him sat on one of the plastic chairs, with a pen in his hand, tapping it nervously against his knee. There were various different coloured scrunched up papers on the chair beside him, and she noticed one snapped pencil.
She strolled over to him with a bright grin. "Hello Finn, how has your day been?"
He quickly glanced up at the tiny girl before continuing to stare at the blank piece of paper lying in his lap. Feeling a slight hint of rejection, caused by his absent reply, she carried on avidly, "Well, I, for one, am in an exceptionally good mood today." She then added, "These are for you." She twitched the plate in his direction, the movement causing him to look up, finally noticing the food.
Despite his anxiety, he eagerly took the offered cookies from the brunette and the cover was swiped off. Rachel's grin grew at the boys enthusiasm.
Gracefully, she sat down on the chair next to him, sitting as close as possibly, without physically sitting on the boys lap. Finn didn't seem to notice, or otherwise didn't care, as he made no attempt to move as their legs touched. She watched with amusement as he bit into the delicious treat, nearly eating it whole.
"These are amazing," He praised, looking at her and grinning, reassuring her that his complement was genuine.
She nodded, barely holding back a flinch in disgust as she spotted the half-devoured cookie rolling around his tongue. She then made a sound of agreement. "I'm glad you like them," She commented. She then began to blabber on about her 'two gay dads' and their faith towards take-out, which had then encouraged her to take up bakery classes, but in a much more wordily length.
After fifteen minutes or so, which had been enough time for Finn to consume the cookies, she noticed that he had a distant look in his eyes again. Her eyes narrowed in irritation. "Finn!" She snapped, grabbing his attention. "Are you even listening to me?"
"Y-yeah, course I was Rach.'"
"Oh, no you weren't! Don't you die lie to me Finn Hudson," She almost screeched, sounding remarkably like his mother.
Throwing her a sheepish look, he said, "I'm sorry Rachel, I didn't mean to…"
Staring into Finn's big puppy dog eyes helped to soothe some of her annoyance and she took his giant paw into her own small one and briefly marvelled over the huge contrast. "Finn, what's wrong?" She asked softly. "You have been awfully distanced lately?"
The lanky man avoided eye-contact, and said, "It's nothing.'"
Rachel's big brown eyes narrowed dangerously. "Something is obviously bothering you, and this distraction could reek havoc on your vocal ability. Is it those jocks again? Are they harassing you about being a member of New Directions? If they are, you should talk to Mr Sch-"
"No, it's not anything to do with them," he interrupted.
"Then what's wrong?" Finn stared down into her giant brown soft eyes that where full of compassion and understanding.
He took in a deep breath and began to talk. "How do you know if you're in love, Rach?"
Rachel felt her heart skip a beat. Love? Did Finn love her?
"Umm, well. Everybody has a different prospective on what love feels like, Finn. So that is a difficult question to answer." She peeked up in to his eyes, and saw the desperation in them, and her heart strings tugged painfully. "Well, some people may say that love is where you like everything about a person, even their imperfections. Other may say that love is where when the person in question is apart from you, you feel as if you cannot function, like you need them in your life to stay alive, to feel alive. While some may choice to say that love is where you trust that person with your life, you love them so much that jealousy doesn't even come in to it, because you are sure that someone wouldn't betray you." She had a dreamy look in her eyes, and her tone was light, almost as if she was floating and her words where going to carry her into the air.
She glanced over to Finn. His lips where slightly upturned and his eyes where boring holes in to the far wall, obviously trapped in his thoughts.
Rachel felt her heart jump in glee, excitement, and anticipation again.
This was it.
She had been dreaming of this moment since she was a little girl. Her true love was finally going to realize his undying desire for her, sweep her off her feet and they would live happily ever after. All the cheerio's and jocks would be so stunned, but realize her true talent and she would have a worshiping boyfriend, and the admiration of those who all thought they where once above her.
"Yeah," he said slowly, as if he was tasting the fact on his tounge, savouring it, and adjusting to it's sweetness. He then broke into a grin that was so stunning and bright that Rachel was sure the corners of his mouth would crack. "I'm in love," he proclaimed, then laughed breathlessly, "It's obvious, I'm fucking in love."
She tried to ignore the cuss, because this was their moment.
Then Finn jumped to his feet, the relations too much to contain sitting down, and Rachel was quick to follow him to his feet, swaying at his side. He turned to her, and Rachel's breath caught in her throat at the sheer joy on his pale face, which matched the happiness she was containing in her chest. Yes, she thought, they where perfect for each other. Perfect.
He grabbed her hands, and she bit back a squeal. "Thanks Rachel, you're the best ever you know that." She bit her lip harder.
This was it, he was leaning forward now, his lips puckered. She closed her eyes and gripped onto his hands tightly as she tried to still herself, her excitement making her light headed. She puckered her own lips, felt something warm and wet against her check, and then her hands drop, and then heard door swing shut.
She opened her eyes and blinked in to the light.
What?
She stared at her hands, felt the area on her check where his lips had touched, and then glanced at the door.
Her eyes narrowed and she stormed out after the giant teen, inraged.
"Finn!" She yelled, the pervious excitement, now replaced with disappointment caused it to come out something more akin to a shriek, like an injured bird that had tried to fly, but had fallen out of it's nest and had lost all hope of returning.
The drummer turned to look at her curiously. "Rach', you okay?" he asked.
She stormed over to him, and he involuntarily took a step back.
"What was that?" she hissed.
He blinked, clueless. "What was what?"
The small brunette pointed at her check, as if it held discriminating evidence. "A kiss? On the check?"
This only seemed to help his confusion grow.
"What?"
Rachel found a sob bubble up in her chest. "I thought…all that stuff in the choir room? I thought you loved me," the last part was strained, like she didn't have the capacity to talk anymore.
And then Finn was holding her hand and squeezing it, and now he was the one looking all fucking understanding and compassionate.
"Rachel, I do love you," her heart stopped. "But as a friend." And then it dropped dead.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to get the wrong idea," he continued to say. She glared up at him through her eye long-lashes.
"But…I've been with somebody for a while now, and he just told me….that he loved me…" Finn chuckled breathlessly to himself. "I got scared, and he got pissed because I didn't know if I loved him back…and…I've you to thank for helping me figure it out."
Rachel blinked in confusing, and felt a tear slip from her eye. The sadness had been forgotten, it was just shock she felt now. "Him?" she whispered.
Finn bit his lip, his eye flicking to the floor in a moment of insecurity, and then back up to hers, his confidence inflauted. "Yeah," he replied, still sounding out of breath, but assirtive, like he wasn't going to let anybody tell him no. "Me and Puck…four months now…he…told me he wanted to come out, and that he loved me…" Then he was laughing, and Rachel failed to find what was so funny. "But, Rach, you saved me…you saved us…"
She felt that wetness on her cheek again, and he squeezed her hand. Then the warmth from his breath on her face and his hand in hers was gone, and he was leaping down the hallway, shouting, "Puck…Puck, wait up!" and he was practically bouncing from where he was so happy, like there was loaded springs in his legs instead of a fucking hinge joint.
Rachel stood there, shell-shocked.
She could have understand now where he daddy told her to stop asumming things, but the other part of her, the more childish and heart-broken part told her that she had to make this right.
She had to get Finn to love her.