DISCLAIMER: Jesse St. James, Rachel Berry, Noah Puckerman, and anything you recognize does not belong to me.
Your Voice Doesn't Stop Me From Missing You
A/N: So I am actually incapable of choosing between and Puckleberry, so I decided the best solution was just to write St. Puckleberry. So I did.
This fic differs from canon in four major ways - 1) Jesse and Rachel reconcile sometime in early season 2, 2) Lauren and Puck never have their thing, 3) Finn and Rachel never get back together after their break up in "A Very Glee Christmas", 4) Jesse doesn't flunk out of UCLA and therefore doesn't come back in season 2 since he's busy at school.
1.
When Puck strolled into McKinley, he found Rachel already leaning against his locker. One of her arms was slung across her stomach, her fingers curling around her own hip, while the other was holding her phone in front of her face. There was a wide smile on her face as she looked down on it.
He came up on her from behind and wrapped his arms around her. He tucked one hand into her front pocket while his other arm pressed against hers to let his fingertips brush the ones she had against her hip. He hooked his chin over her shoulder, turning his head to press a kiss to the underside of her jaw. "Hey baby, sorry I couldn't pick you up today. I had to drop Sarah off at the middle school."
"It's fine. I understand." Rachel let go of her grip on herself, turning her hand and twining their fingers together. She pressed their lips together briefly.
Puck pulled away from the kiss and peered down at Rachel's phone. He grinned when he saw Jesse staring up at him. The other boy was sat in his dorm room at UCLA. He was leaning against his headboard, his hair sticking in all directions and a sleepy look on his face. The room was dark around him.
"Hey, other baby," Puck greeted.
"Hey," Jesse answered. His voice was soft and quiet.
"Why're you calling so early?" Puck questioned. "Isn't it like four in the morning over there?"
"I'm going back to sleep once you two head to class," Jesse said. "I wanted to see you guys and say congratulations. It's your first day of your senior year."
"Thanks."
Puck fell silent, letting Rachel take the conversation back over. He focused instead on the feeling of Rachel's body against his and the soft tones of Jesse's voice.
It'd only been a week since Jesse had gone back to California, but Puck found that after spending all summer with both of them by his side it was hard to adjust to having just one of them again.
"We should get going," Rachel said. There was a hint of sadness in the statement. "Classes will be starting soon."
"We could skip," Puck murmured. "Stay here and talk to Jess."
"Absolutely not," they chorused together.
His lips twitched, just slightly.
"You need to attend your classes this year, Noah," Rachel scowled. "You won't get into NYU if you don't."
"And that's absolutely not an option," Jesse followed. "I'm not transferring to NYADA with Rachel just to find out that we're separated from you this time around."
Puck let out a soft sigh, "I know, I know."
There was a moment of silence between the three of them, cut only by the warning bell ringing over head.
"Go," Jesse said. He gave a small smile, "Have fun on your first day."
Rachel gave a smile of her own. "We will. I love you."
"Love you, Jess," Puck said.
"I love you guys, too."
Puck and Rachel stayed as they were after Jesse's face left the screen.
Rachel let out a soft sigh after a moment. "I miss him."
"Me too, baby." Puck repositioned them so she was tucked into his side, his arm slung over her shoulder. He pressed a kiss against her temple. "Me too."
2.
"I've decided that Noah should serenade me."
None of them had been talking prior to Jesse's declaration. Puck and Rachel were sitting in her bedroom with her laptop propped on her desk and a video call with Jesse open. Jesse and Rachel were seated on their respective beds, Rachel with her textbooks open as she worked on her homework and Jesse typing an essay. Puck had sat on Rachel's floor, back against her bed, absently strumming at his guitar.
Puck quirked an eyebrow and said, "I should?" He glanced up to see that Jesse had moved. Instead of being hunched over typing, he was flat on his stomach with a fist under his chin.
"Absolutely. It's just not fair you know."
"What's not fair?" Rachel questioned.
"That Puck and I don't have a song. The two of you have Sweet Caroline and Rachel and I have Hello."
"It's a little bit different if you tell me to serenade you," Puck pointed out. "I mean, sure Rachel told me to sing a solo but she didn't necessarily say it had to be for her. And Hello was a coincidence. It just happened to be what was in her hands."
Rachel snorted, correcting, "Hello was an ambush."
"I told you that meeting was an accident, regardless of Shelby's orders."
After spending all summer together, the mention of Rachel and Jesse's first relationship no longer served to build tension between the trio. They still didn't talk about the end of it, Puck still had to be the one to cook if they wanted eggs after a night together because Rachel flinched when they were in Jesse's hands, but the beginning of it and the reason for it flowed between them now.
"I didn't say us meeting was an ambush," Rachel said. "I said Hello was. And it was, I had no intention of singing in that store and then you just started and I couldn't help it."
"I wanted to sing with you. And now I want Noah to sing to me."
"You're serious about this?" Puck questioned. His fingers stilled on the strings as he looked away from it and focused on Jesse.
Jesse nodded. "Music is a huge part of our relationship. I want to connect with you that way as well."
"We sing together all the time, baby."
"It's not the same."
There was a small pause before Puck turned away, focusing back in on his guitar, "I'll look for something and next time you're around, I'll sing it to you."
Rachel piped up, "And give me an repeat of Sweet Caroline?"
Puck shook his head, more in disbelief then denial. A small smile forming on his lips. "I just can't catch a break. I guess that's what I get for falling in love with two music freaks."
3.
"They cast me as Roger."
Puck stilled as Jesse's voice washed over him. He'd answered the call without thinking, assuming it would be his mother or sister since anyone else who would call him was currently in Glee practice with him.
Recovering from his shock, Puck said, "That's great, Jess!"
"I mean, I wasn't expecting not to get it but I'm excited nonetheless," Jesse answered. Puck could tell he was downplaying his excitement, His voice was breathy and his words coming out faster then they normally did. Jesse only lost his composure like this when he was feeling exhilarated, and it made the corners of Puck's mouth twitch. "Is Rachel with you? I wanted to tell you together, but I didn't think I could wait until tonight and yours was the first name in my phone."
"We're in Glee practice so she's around here somewhere. I'm backstage, just let me-" He had been turning while speaking and cut himself off when he spotted Rachel at the piano with Mike. He almost felt bad for interrupting them, since he knew Mike was insecure about his singing and likely asking Rachel for tips, but this was important. He raised a hand, calling out, "Rachel! Come over here!"
"Oh. I totally forgot what time it was there. She's not singing, right?
Puck snorted. "You really think I'd call for her if she was singing? She'd fucking kill me."
"What is it?" Rachel called across the stage. She didn't move from her spot next to Mike.
"If she's busy-"
Puck ignored Jesse, answering Rachel instead, "Jesse's on the phone! He got the part!"
"In Rent?" Rachel said. He could see the grin spreading across her face as she climbed to her feet. "He got Roger?"
"Yeah."
"Oh!" She ran across the stage to him. She threw her body against Puck's, making a motion for him to hand the phone over to her. The second he did, she had it against her ear and she was speaking rapidly. "Oh, Jesse! I told you, you would get it! You'll let me help you practice right? We could sing Light My Candle together."
Rachel had stayed pressed against him after retrieving his phone, so Puck wrapped his arms around her and tucked his hands into her back pocket. He couldn't make out the words Jesse was saying, but he could hear him speaking.
As Rachel and Jesse talked, Puck looked out at the other members of the club. It was pretty clear to everyone around them that Puck and Rachel were in a relationship, but almost no one knew about Jesse. They weren't trying to keep it that way, it was just that Jesse wasn't in Lima to display the same type of public affection the two of them did and when he was they were either locked in a bedroom or in Akron since it was close and had more places for a date then just Breadsticks.
Him shouting Jesse's name hadn't exactly given away that they were dating, but it was pretty clear that Rachel and Puck were at least talking to the guy again.
Half of them looked livid. Mike looked contemplative. Sam looked confused, but Mercedes was already leaned in and whispering an explanation. He was pretty sure he read the word 'St. Jackass' on her lips.
He pulled Rachel a little closer to him. He caught the end of Jesse's sentence, "-more of a Maureen then a Mimi, Rachel." She made a small sound of agreement.
He let out a soft sigh before burying his face in Rachel's neck.
An excuse, he decided, could wait until Jesse was off the phone. Being there to celebrate with him, even if just over a phone call, was more important.
4.
Recently, Puck has found himself with a whole new reason to hate babysitting at the temple.
Before it was simply because they were annoying little brats and he wanted to rip most of their heads off, but now it was all of that on top of the fact that it made him acutely aware of how much he missed Jesse.
He didn't show it very often, there was enough emotions in their relationship with Rachel and Jesse both being utterly crazy and it wasn't very badass to cry just because your boyfriend lived thousands of miles away, but sitting there watching Rachel play with the kids had almost made him crack on more then one occasion.
Babysitting at the temple was, after all, how the three of them had gotten together.
Right after Hanukkah their Junior year, Puck's mother had guilt tripped him into doing it as a favor for all he'd been putting her through. He hadn't known Rachel had been the other chaperon until she'd walked in with Jesse on her heels.
There had been a lot of tension and more then a few screaming matches (both before and after the kids left) at the beginning. Rachel kept insisting that although she and Jesse had been texting before her break up with Finn, it wasn't anything more then friendship between two people who understand each other perfectly. Puck had screamed back that he didn't believe her because her and St. Jackass seemed to attract each other like black holes and that him coming back to Ohio just to visit her during his Christmas break didn't seem very platonic at all. Jesse had mostly just been smug and pointed out that Finn and Rachel were no longer together and other various things no one asked for his input on.
Over the weekends, however, it had cooled into easy friendship and then something more had blossomed. Before Puck really knew what was happening, it was April and he was dating two of the biggest divas on the plane
He was pulled from his thoughts by his ringtone. He glanced up to make sure Rachel had everything handled, Bobby had a massive crush on Valencia and had decided pulling her pigtails hard enough to make her cry was a good idea, before he answered it.
"Yo," Puck greeted.
"Despite the fact that I initiated this call, I wasn't actually expecting you to pick up," Jesse said. "Shouldn't you be entertaining your charges?"
"Rach is trying to stop keep Abbey from ripping Bobby's throat out for making Val cry."
"Oh no. What happened this time?"
"He was pulling her pigtails, literally. Rach got her to stop crying by promising we'd sing A Whole New World for her, but Abbey is of the opinion that Bobby deserves some punishment." He added, after a moment, "I kinda agree with her. Can't let him think it's okay to make girls cry."
"Certainly not." He heard a soft sigh from Jesse's end of the line. "They're horrid children, but I miss them a little bit."
"They miss you too. They've been refusing to watch The Prince of Egypt because you're not here to sing the songs." He caught Rachel's eye. She arched an eyebrow when she spotted his phone. He mouthed Jesse's name at her. He saw her open her mouth to reply, only to wince when one of Abbey's flailing limbs caught her in the chest. "Okay, I think I'm going to go, Jess. Our girlfriend is kicking the shit kicked out of her by a seven year old."
"Alright. Have fun."
Puck hesitated for only a moment before saying, "Look I know I don't usually say it, but it's not just the kids that miss you. I do too."
Jesse's voice was full of affection as he answered, "I know. I miss you too, Noah."
5.
"You're absolutely certain you don't care?" Rachel said. She was squatted down in front of him, a tube of red face paint in her hand, while he straddled a chair. The laptop was sitting on the vanity, an open container of white face paint next to him, with Jesse on a skype call. He was seated in his desk chair, one knee drawn up to his chest and his chin resting on it. "This is your last homecoming...It's very important to you."
"Yeah, it is," Puck agreed. "But you hate football."
"I do, but I love you," Rachel murmured. Her fingers dipped into the paint. "I want to support you the way you support me."
Puck resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You do, but I'm not making you come to the game. You'd be sitting alone in the cold watching me play a sport you don't even like."
"I wouldn't be alone," Rachel said. She lifted her finger from the container, pressing into the skin just under Puck's left eye and swiping so she left a streak. She moved to repeat the motion under the right. "Blaine, Kurt, Mercedes, and Tina will be there."
"Yeah, but Blaine is actually going to be watching the game and Kurt and Mercedes are going to get caught up in something. Tina's nice, but she doesn't talk much. Why would you go sit with them when you could here and watch movies with Jess?"
The oldest of the trio had been silent but when his name was spoken, Jesse declared, "Having one of us there to support you is more important then watching Funny Girl for the thousandth time."
"I resent you saying that as though you don't appreciate Funny Girl every bit as much as I do," she said.
"I was just pointing out that we aren't losing anything by not watching a movie tonight."
Puck sighed. He leaned back in the chair as Rachel wiped her hands on a towel and moved to pick up the white paint. "I appreciate what you two are trying to do here, but I don't want you to come to the game. The two of you have your skype date, I will go play my game, and when I'm done I'll come over here to join the two of you."
"Over here?" Rachel inquired. She looked up, having been focused on unscrewing the cap on the make up. "Isn't Quinn throwing a party after the game?"
"Yeah, but I wasn't planning on going." He saw Rachel glanced towards the laptop, exchanging a glance with Jesse. He gave another sigh, reaching up and running his hands through his mohawk. "For the record, I wasn't planning on going even before you started kicking up a fuss about this. I was always planning on playing and then coming back to you guys. I mean, what would be the party when I've got two hot babes waiting for me right here?"
There was a moment before Jesse said, "You're really certain you don't want Rachel to go?"
"Yes," Puck answered, keeping the word firm. "She won't enjoy it anymore then you'd enjoy sitting around your dorm all night." He waited a moment to see if anymore resistance would come. When it didn't, he gave a short nod. "Good. Now, Rach, let's get this white paint on my face. I've got to go to war."
Rachel let out a soft, fond, sound as she dipped her fingers into the white paint. "Of course, Noah."
1.
"Do you think they'd notice if we snuck out?"
Puck glanced over at Rachel. The two of them were sitting with the rest of the glee club at one of the nicer restaurants in town, Mr. Schuester having agreed to treat them on account of their regionals win. Though all of their plates had been swept away, the group was still talking without any indication of stopping.
He let out a soft hum. He used the hand he had slung over the back of her chair to brush his fingertips against the back of his neck. "Ready to go talk to Jesse?"
"Yes. He said he would be watching the performance on a live stream, but I would still like to tell him about our win ourselves," Rachel said.
"And maybe celebrate a little?" Puck questioned.
Before Rachel could answer, a familiar voice interrupted, "Well, I thought you might like to celebrate with your teammates before I swept you away. But if you're ready to leave already, we can."
Puck's head wiped around so fast his neck burned.
Something inside of him loosened when his eyes locked on Jesse. The college Sophomore was standing at the end of their table, rocked back on his heels and his hands shoved in his pockets. There was a small smile on his face as he looked at Puck and Rachel.
"Jesse," Rachel breathed. Puck barely had time to pull his arm back before her chair was tipping over and she was out of it. She launched herself at Jesse. "Oh, Jesse! You didn't tell us you were coming!"
"As if I would miss your last regional competition." Jesse's arms wrapped around Rachel's waist and he pressed a soft kiss against Rachel's lips. A warm feeling spread through Puck at the sight, even as several members of New Directions let out angry noises. "I am so proud of you, Rache. Your rendition of Here's to Us was simply fantastic."
"You think so?" Rachel questioned. "It wasn't lacking emotional depth?"
Jesse let out a small laugh that had Puck rising to his feet.
A hand reached out and grasped his wrist before he could make it very far. He looked down at the hand and growled out, "Let me go, Quinn."
"I know you're angry at her for cheating on you," she began, and Puck barely held in a laugh at that, "but this is not the place to start a fight with them. You can hit him outside."
"I'm not going to hit him," he said, ripping his wrist out of her grasp, "and Rachel's not cheating on me."
"I don't know if you missed it, but she was just kissing St. Jackass," Santana piped in from the other side of the table. "That's usually an indication of cheating."
"She can't cheat on me with her boyfriend."
Several people began to talk at his words.
"Noah." He turned to see Rachel and Jesse had made their way from the end of the table to stand next to him. Their arms were slung slung across each others waists, Rachel's fingers curled into the fabric of Jesse's leather jacket and Jesse's hand settled over Rachel's hip. "What's going on here?"
"We're trying to keep Puckerman from bashing your boyfriend's skull in in the middle of the restaurant," Santana quipped.
"Why would he do that?" Rachel questioned. "That would make Jesse rather difficult to kiss."
"Speaking of," Puck cut in, "I didn't get a hello."
He stepped close to Jesse, sliding a hand up to the back of his neck and tugged him close to him.
He loved kissing Rachel, but he hadn't kissed Jesse in months and there was something to be said for how different the two of them kissed.
Despite how long they had been together, Rachel was still soft and slow with her kisses. If Puck wanted something more from it, he had to take the initiative. Jesse didn't have any qualms, just through himself into the kiss with confidence and an intensity that wasn't always appropriate in public.
When they pulled apart, Jesse ran the tip of his tongue along his bottom lip as the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. "I missed you."
"I missed you too," Puck answered. He leaned forward, pressing their lips together again, briefly this time. "I am so ready to get out of here with you two."
"I was planning on taking you two out for dessert," Jesse said. His eyes flickered towards the table, "Assuming you haven't already eaten anything?"
"No," Rachel assured. "They didn't have anything vegan on the dessert menu, so Noah was going to take me out after."
"There's a vegan bakery around the corner from my hotel," Jesse offered. "We could pick something up before we go there."
Puck resisted the urge to moan at the thought. He nodded. His voice was low as he agreed, "Fuck yes."
"Will someone explain what is happening right now?" Puck let out a groan at the sound of Blaine's voice. "I mean, I know I've only been here a few months, but this whole thing has me really confused."
Kurt answered, "Trust me, darling, all of us are confused right now."
"There's nothing to be confused about. The three of us are together," Rachel explained. Puck could see her fingers tightening around Jesse's hip, a clear sign that she was just as eager to get out of here and get to Jesse's hotel room as he was. "I apologize if it seemed like we were keeping this fro you. We really weren't, it was just that it didn't seem like something we needed to mention when Jesse was in California."
"And on that note," Jesse declared, "I'll be taking my boyfriend and girlfriend and leaving. I haven't seen them since Hanukkah and we have a lot to catch up on."
"Oh fuck yeah we do," Puck said. "You brought the ranger right? With the tinted windows."
"Yes."
"Good. We're leaving then!" He grabbed both of their wrists and tugged. "Thanks for dinner, Mr. Schue, but I have two really hot people to sex up in my boyfriend's car! See you at school!"
"Noah!" Rachel exclaimed, a red blush crawling up her neck at his words. She wasn't resisting his pull though, so he took that as a good sign. "You can't wait until we get to the hotel?"
"Of course not. I'm way to in love with you guys not to want my hands on you both now that we're all together again."
