Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Glee.
A/N: I'm planning on this just being a one-shot but I'm not sure yet. I'd like to continue this but I like how this chapter ended so it can stand on its own, plus I'm kind of already writing four other Glee fics at the moment so I'm pretty busy. Let me know what you guys think.
Puck found Rachel down at the farmers market and she looked like she was having an absolute fit with one of her dads. As he got closer he could hear what she was complaining about.
"But, Daddy, you can't let this man do this. This has to be illegal." Rachel stomped her foot.
"I'm sorry, sweetie, there's nothing I can do." David, her dad, shook his head. "What this man is doing here is perfectly legal."
"It's not right!" Rachel shrieked and Puck saw she was starting to draw attention.
"Now pumpkin, come on, you're starting a scene." David tried to shush her.
"Good!" She replied. "I want everyone to know what this man is doing. It is cruel and should be stopped instantly. These poor animals do not deserve to live like this."
"Rachel Barbra Berry! You stop this right now." David ordered.
"No, Daddy." Rachel said firmly. "You always taught me to do what I thought was right and that's exactly what I plan on doing."
"Hey, Mr. Berry." Puck broke into the conversation. "I'll take care of Rachel here."
"I do not need to be taken care of." She crossed her arms.
"Yea, well, we have an extra Glee practice in half an hour so unless you're planning on missing that I'm taking you with me." He threw his arm over her shoulder and started to lead her away from the crowd watching her.
"Noah Puckerman, this is absolutely unnecessary. You should be lucky I care about Glee so much or I would be punching you in the face right now." She said coldly.
"I don't doubt it, Berry." He smirked pulling his truck door open and helping her in.
"The second practice is over I'm coming straight back here and putting a stop to what this man is doing." She nodded. "It's wrong and I am ashamed to even have someone like him living in the same town as me."
"Chill, Berry, all he does is sell some stupid rabbits. No big deal." Puck shrugged.
Rachel snorted. "Really? That's all he does? Let me tell you something, Puck, he forces those innocent animals to breed every chance he gets and then shoots them up with a drug to make them have more babies. It's disgusting. Then they're forced to live in cages much too small for them for their much too short lives before they're sold off to some random person. Rabbits are living things, Noah; they need to be set free - to live like they're meant to be - in the wild where they can start families and do whatever they want."
"So what are you? Some animal advocate?" He chuckled although he was oddly impressed by her passion for something like this. It almost made her more likable.
"Something like that." She nodded. "I didn't become a vegan just for my health, Noah. I did it because animals don't deserve to be treated like that. They can't speak for themselves and I damn-well intend to speak for them. As soon as I make it as a star the first thing I intend to do is become the new face of Peta."
"That's cool, I guess." He looked over at her. He was almost to the school.
"Well, I'm glad you approve." She said sarcastically.
Practice went much too slow for Rachel's liking. Every minute she was here meant another minute that those rabbits had to stay in those cages and another minute that man had to sell them off. She let out a sigh when Mr. Schue dismissed them and she quickly gathered her things before whipping out her cell phone. She needed backup if she was planning on rescuing those bunnies.
"What's up with, Berry?" Mike asked Puck after practice when they saw Rachel talking hysterically on her phone.
"Dunno." Puck shrugged. "I think she's trying to find a way to save some damn bunnies."
"What do you mean you're busy? How can you be busy when there are precious lives at stake?" Rachel screamed into the phone before roughly hanging up and throwing it in her purse.
She turned to find Mike and Puck staring at her incredulously. "What are you staring at?"
"I don't really think I've ever heard you really yell." Mike smirked.
Rachel frowned. She didn't have anyone to help her with this project and if it was anyone else they would have given up but it was Rachel and she never failed at anything. Especially something this important. She spotted the keys in Puck's hand and suddenly got an idea.
"Can I borrow these? Thanks." She snatched the keys from Puck and started to hurry outside.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Berry?" Puck asked following after her.
"I'm going to go rescue those poor, innocent rabbits! Now are you going to help me or not?" She stomped her foot.
"You really are bat-shit crazy, you know that?" He shook his head. "But I guess I'm even crazier for letting you rope me into this." He groaned.
"I'm in too." Mike spoke up.
"Thank you, Noah, Michael. Your support is very important to me." She smiled letting the boys lead her towards Puck's truck.
"So, Berry, what exactly is the plan here?" Puck asked.
"I'm not sure just yet. I figured we'd play it by ear." She sighed. "Unless either of you have a better plan."
Puck let Mike drive and when they finally pulled up at Rachel's destination she all but shoved Puck out of the truck and ran over to the small cages that were tightly packed with adorable little, mostly white, bunny rabbits
"They are so cute!" She kneeled down to pet one through the wire cage.
"$5 each." The man selling them said.
"Rachel." Puck said when she pulled out her wallet and yanked her over towards truck out of earshot of the man. "There's like twenty rabbits there. You can't buy them all."
"I can't let him sell them. Do you know what happens to them when little kids come by and think about how great it would be to have a pet rabbit? Parents buy their child one because the bunnies are cute and small now but they get bigger and they grow up. The child gets tired of them and the rabbits usually get mean from being caged up all the time. These animals deserve to be set free, Noah. Don't you want to do whatever you can to help them?" Rachel questioned.
"That's a lot of money, Rach. Even if all three of us pool together we won't be able to get them all." Mike insisted. "I'm sorry, Rachel."
"I know but look at them. You can't just leave them here." Rachel put on her best pouty face and aimed it towards Puck just for the fact she knew he would crack first. "Please, Noah."
"Don't fall for it, Puckerman." Mike shook his head.
"Look at them, Chang." Puck smirked. "With their big brown eyes. How can you say no to that?"
"You can so no to the rabbit's just fine. You just can't so no to Berry." Mike chuckled.
"Come on, Mike." Rachel pleaded.
"Fine, what's the plan?" Mike asked.
"Take that off." Puck yanked on one of the sleeves of her cardigan to reveal her shoulder.
"Are you asking me to undress, Noah Puckerman? That is very inappropriate considering we are here to save little bunny lives." Rachel scolded him.
"We can't buy them so we'll just have to do what I do best. Steal them." Puck smirked. "You'll distract the old guy while Mike and I load the rabbits into my truck. I'm sure you can handle a simple task like that."
"Are you suggesting Rachel flirt with that guy? That's gross." Mike looked disgusted.
"It's for the bunnies." Rachel nodded. "I'll do it." She shed herself from her cardigan and tossed it onto Noah's truck seat. "You have five minutes. Try to make it quick."
Puck and Mike took a few seconds to admire what the tight tank top did for Rachel's boobs. She glared at them and Mike quickly snapped his gaze up but Puck continued to stare.
"Pig." Rachel muttered and turned to walk towards the man selling the rabbits. "Hello." She thought about using a sexy voice but she wasn't sure if her sexy voice was all that sexy so she settled on the flirty voice she knew worked on Puck and if it worked on Puck it would probably work on anyone.
"Hi." The man looked a little nervous and if he hadn't been selling innocent animals for a profit Rachel might feel sorry for him.
She looked over his shoulder to see that Puck and Mike were currently loading the cages of rabbits into the back of the truck. "What kind of fruit do you sell here?" She asked. So, yeah, she knew she wasn't the best flirter but she also knew that if she just kept the man's attention for just about a minute longer Puck and Mike would be done.
"A little bit of everything." The man smiled down at her. "Would you like to try something?"
"Sure." She looked around and almost reached for the banana but that would be gross and Puck would never let her live that down. She didn't like apples so she decided on the green pear. She inwardly rolled her eyes not believing she was actually about to do this. She picked it up carefully in her hands and smiled sweetly at the man before taking a bite of the fruit. Rachel knew it was working when she saw the man lean towards her when the juice lightly dribbled down her chin.
"It's really sweet." She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and bit into her bottom lip lightly. "You should try it." She offered it out to him and he leaned down to take a small bite of the pear that was still in her hand.
She glanced over his shoulder again to see Puck and Mike were just finishing with the deed and Mike gave her thumbs up before hopping into the driver's seat of Puck's truck.
"I just have one question." She told the man.
"What is that?" He asked.
"How can you live with yourself?" She dropped the fruit at his feet and glared at him. "How many animals have you hurt from continuingly breeding them just so you can sell them off like they aren't living, breathing things?"
"What?" The man looked confused.
"Come on, Rach!" Puck yelled and the man looked over to the truck.
"What the hell?" The man screamed.
"Oops! Gotta go!" Rachel started to run towards the truck. "I really am sorry about this. I don't usually condone stealing but you left us no choice!" She called back to him.
When Rachel reached the truck, Puck looped his arm around her waist and pulled her into the truck as Mike tore off before the man could catch them.
"That was so… exhilarating!" Rachel laughed looking out the window to see the man yelling obscene things their way.
"Who knew Rachel Berry was so badass?" Mike smiled.
"Or that that she could flirt like that? That was so fucking hot, Berry." Puck added and pulled Rachel over for a quick kiss.
It was over almost as soon as it had begun and it left Rachel stunned. Puck had never kissed her before – well except when they were making out in her room last year or when she wanted to get back at Finn – but he had definitely never kissed her in front of someone. Rachel decided it was heat of the moment and only because they were so wrapped up from the excitement of saving all of those animals.
Rachel felt the blush spread over her cheeks and awkwardly took her place back in the middle of Mike and Puck.
"So…" Mike broke the awkward silence. "What are we going to do with all of these rabbits?"
"Set them free." Rachel smiled gesturing for Mike to pull over down an old, dirt side road that led towards the woods.
Once the truck was parked and Puck and Mike had unloaded all of the rabbits Rachel started to let them out.
"So Rachel, huh?" Mike and Puck had hung back by the truck and watched as Rachel did her thing.
"I don't know what you mean." Puck shrugged innocently.
Rachel was slowly getting one bunny out at a time before kissing it on the nose and setting it on the ground. She did this over and over until each rabbit was happily hopping off.
"She does know that they're probably going to get killed by a bigger animal sometime in the near future, right?" Mike asked quietly.
"Just let her have her moment." Puck smirked watching as Rachel laughed at the sea of white bunnies scurrying around the leaves.
Mike smirked at his friend. It had been a long time coming but he was pretty sure this was the moment Noah Puckerman fell in love with Rachel Berry. Mike couldn't wait to get home so he could tell Tina. She would be so mad she missed this.