Title: Hot Sauce
Summary: Rachel doesn't know what to be more surprised by –Puck standing in her kitchen, or the fact he's just pulled a bottle of hot sauce out of his pants. Set between 'Pot O Gold' and 'First Time'
A/N: This was intended little more friendship then actual romance, but because I cant control my fingers while writing for these two, there is a little bit of Puckleberry 3. Also, this is unbeta'd, so all mistakes are mine. If you see one, point it out...I've never been perfect with going over my own work
Disclaimer: I dont own Glee or any of its characters or storylines. If I did, I would be one rich, rich girl, and would probably be able to afford better clothes
When the doorbell rings, Rachel is slightly annoyed. Whoever's at the door is interrupting a very good episode of Supernatural, and Sam and Dean should definitely not be interrupted in the middle of one of their oh-too-sweet brotherhood moments. She sighs and (reluctantly) pauses her show. She walks up to the door, glancing at the clock as she passes it. 9.35, it reads. This person had better have a very good reason.
"You know, it's polite to call ahead if you plan on visiting someone this late…" she starts as she opens the door. Her voice catches in her throat when she sees Puck standing on the doorstep, hands in his pocket. "I-I…what…are you…?" she stutters. He rolls his eyes as he pushes past her, walking (uninvited!) into her house.
"Quit stuttering, I need to talk to you about something" He stands in her kitchen and looks around. "Huh. Almost forgot what this place looks like" He runs his hand fondly over the kitchen counter. Great memories of this bench…
Rachel manages to find her voice and composure and glares at Puck, hands on hips. "Noah, may I ask what exactly you are doing in my house so late at night…and what on earth are you doing?" At that moment, Rachel doesn't know what to be more surprised about –Puck standing in her kitchen, or the fact he's just pulled a bottle of hot sauce out of his pants. To be frank, they're both quite shocking.
He looks at the bottle on the counter, and then back at Rachel. "It's a long story. And it's not what I came to talk about" Rachel sighs and pulls herself out one of the bar stools that sits next to the counter. She was never going to get back to Supernatural.
"What did you want to talk about then?"
"Alright…this isn't going to be easy to say. It's kinda stupid really, and a major fuck-up on my part. I don't even know where it really started. I was going to visit Shelby," Rachel frowns at the mention of her mother, "and Beth was crying really loudly and Shelby couldn't get her to be quiet. So I pulled out my guitar, 'cause that normally makes her happy again, and I play Waiting for a girl like you. Beth stops crying and Shelby's all smiles at me. I smile back at her, and then she leans in, and I lean in and…" Rachel puts out a hand to stop him.
"Please…tell me this is not going where I think it is" Puck cringes and nods, and she groans and puts her head in her hands. "Noah! How did you even…oh my god…this is…"
"Huge. I know. I have fucked up royally here. I'm trying to make an impression of being a model citizen dude, you know, look like a real dad, and I end up making out with her. Great impression, nice work, Puck" He bangs his head on the table and groans. Rachel stares ahead, shocked beyond measure. How in hell…he has really screwed up this time, hasn't he. "What do I do, Rach? Do I confront her about it, or pretend like it never happened? I'm so fucking confused right now…I have no fucking idea about anything. I think I may like her, but I don't know if I was some kind of mistake for her"
"Noah…whatever your feelings for Shelby may be, you have to bear this in mind…while she may be Shelby to you out of school, in school she's Ms Corcoran" Puck stares at her blankly and she sighs. "She's a teacher, it's really illegal to have anything more than a plutonic relationship with her. You could get into so much trouble for this, Shelby could get into so much trouble for this"
"Look, maybe it won't be that bad, maybe it'll all just blow over" She slams her fist on the counter, scaring the life out of Puck. I'd forgotten how hot she was when she got mad
"Noah, this will not just blow over! You and Shelby need to talk this over immediately, this is too big to just try and forget about. What do you think is going to happen if the school board gets wind of this? What do you think is going to happen to Beth if Shelby gets questioned by the police?" She looks at Puck's slumped position over the table and rubs her hand up and down his back compassionately. "Look, Noah," she says quietly. "if you have feelings for Shelby, you should wait till graduation before acting upon them. Who knows, maybe it'll be good for Beth to have a mom and a dad helping her grow up. You just have to wait it out, and please, I know this may be hard for you, but don't do anything rash. I'd hate to see you getting hurt by this" Or rather, more hurt, she thinks as she looks at the boy in front of her. He really had gone through a lot these past two years. They both had.
He turns his head up to look at her. "Do you ever wish you had a mom and a dad to grow up with, Rach?"
"My two dads took very good care of me, they always made sure I was happy and that I could fulfil my dreams to the fullest. I could never ask for more from either of them. But yes, sometimes –only sometimes –I do wish that I had a mother, someone who would do my hair in the mornings for me, someone who would go dress-shopping with me and offer advice other than 'They all look pretty, pumpkin', someone who would teach me how to make friends with all the other girls and help me feel just that little more loved. As I have learnt from my past meetings with Shelby however, I have to accept that I'm never going to get that mom I always dreamed about, even just a little bit of one" They both stay in silence for a little while, mulling over her words. Puck clears the quiet with a cough.
"It's kind of weird, isn't it? Me kissing your mom and all"
Rachel cocked an eyebrow. Weird is not the word…"I guess it is, yeah"
"Am I like, destined to mess-up my entire life?" he asks.
"I really don't know, it sure seems like it. Maybe you're just using up all early, which probably means a stress-free adult life. Lucky you" Puck smirks and playfully punches her in the shoulder.
"We should do this more often" he says. "Why don't we hang out? We would make kickass awesome friends, admit it"
Rachel looks down to her hands. "You know why" He scoffs.
"Right, I almost forgot about Finnocence. You really think he's gonna care about us hanging out as friends? I am able to talk to chicks without banging them, I talk to Tina sometimes, and I've sure as hell never gotten anywhere with her"
"It's not the point, Noah"
"Then what is?" He looks deep into her eyes, and she fights the urge to look away.
"Finn will never admit this, but he's a little jealous of you. He sees that you always get the girl, and I think he just wants to hang on to me, keep me for himself. I'm a little flattered really, the attention is quite nice" Even if it is a little too possessive at times.
"Rach, if I wanna hang out with you, I'm gonna fucking hang out with you. Nothing that Finn can say is going to change that. I want you to be my friend, and when I want something, I like to get it"
"That's not what you said before" Puck stares at her, confused. "The bleachers? When I broke up with you? You said that we weren't friends before, implying that you did not want to build any type of friendship bridge between the two of us" He grabs her hand from across the table and she tries not to blush (she is dating someone else after all).
"Well, maybe I changed my mind" The two are quiet after he said that, Rachel processing his words. To tell the truth, being friends with Noah Puckerman didn't sound that bad…it actually sounded kind of (dare she say)…awesome.
He pulls his hand out from hers and runs it through his head. "I gotta split now, Rach. Gonna take your advice and call Shelby, see if I can sort shit out. Thanks again, you really are a star" She smiles and says she's glad to help. She watches him walk down the hall and stop before he reaches the doorway, turning back to face her.
"Oh and Rach, just so you know…you're wrong" She raises an eyebrow at him. "I don't always get the girl. I didn't end up getting Santana, I didn't end up getting Quinn…and I didn't end up getting you" He closes the door behind him and she stares at the space where he once stood, paralysed to her chair. A few minutes later, she returns to watching Supernatural, but she isn't as into the show as she was before Puck's little visit.
For the umpteenth time in a while now, she wonders if it really was a good idea to break up with him that day
{fin}
A/N: All I could think about after the 'Pot O Gold' episode was "What happened to that bottle of hot sauce that Puck shoved down his pants?". And because I was very annoyed there was no Puck and Shelby arc in the next episode (I waited a week for that, and Shelby wasnt even in the episode!), I wrote this. Reviews are very much appreciated, they feed my over-blown ego