Title: It's All About Timing
Category: Glee
Genre: Romance/Drama
Ship: Rachel/Puck
Rating: Teen
Warning(s): Coarse Language
Word Count: 1,490
Prompt: "There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment." – puckrachel drabble meme
Summary: "Noah Puckerman, will you do me the honor of being my date this Friday and every foreseeable one for the near future?"

It's All About Timing
-1/1-

"Why?" she asks, her brows furrowed and her little hands fist at her sides. "Just tell me why!"

He glares, wants (not for the first time) to just cut and run. He doesn't need this. He doesn't need her big brown probing eyes or pretty pink mouth asking questions he doesn't have answers to.

"Noah!" She taps her foot now, staring at him like she needs this answer immediately, like he shouldn't have to think. And okay, he probably shouldn't. She not-so-politely told him they should date again, only for real this time, but she used bigger words and maybe hinted at some kind of pie chart. That only made him think about lunch and how he was missing it to argue with this half-crazy (maybe more than half) midget that he shouldn't (but does) want.

What he should say is, "'Coz you love Finn! 'Coz you'll always love Finn! 'Coz I'm a Lima Loser who isn't going anywhere and you're just too stubborn to realize that! 'Coz being with you means wanting more, trying for more, maybe even fucking getting more!" But what he does say is, "'Coz your timing's shit! Three months ago you were humping Hudson's leg and making creepy photo albums about your future children." So she didn't really do that (he's pretty sure) but the point is the same.

"My timing…" she scoffs. "You're saying no to going out with me because you think I haven't recovered yet from my tumultuous relationship with Finn?"

"Look, Berry..." He sighs, rubbing his forehead. "You're hot… and crazy… Mostly hot… I think… But me and you? We only ever get together when we want other people or we've got big ass secrets and need to just chill out and like be wanted for awhile…"

"Don't you see the common denominator there, Noah? Wanting. We want each other even when we want others. And when those others don't want us, we wind up together because our want never really fades… Because even when I was with Finn, when I finally had him, I had to wonder… What would've happened if I'd stayed with you? What would've happened if you wanted me and not Quinn? What would it feel like to have you, really truly have you?" She shook her head, those big brown eyes looking up at him like she was baring every bit of her soul, like this was one of her songs and he was the only person in the audience. "Because even when he was holding me and touching me and kissing me, I thought about your arms and your lips and your voice… And it was wrong, I know that! We're young and we make mistakes and we follow our hormones more than our hearts, but this is me saying I want more… I want grape slushees and Neil Diamond and the crass Jewish boy with the offensive Mohawk. And if you would just stop avoiding the obvious, you would realize that you want me too!" She stomps her foot to make her point.

His jaw ticks, eyes darting way. 'Coz yeah, hell yeah, he wants her. He's wanted her since she looked up at him like he was someone to be proud of, like she was lucky and happy to have him on her arm. He's wanted her since she washed corn syrup from his hair and told him she understood if he picked football, even if she was disappointed. He wanted her even when she finally got her leading man and he was treading too close to repeating the same old mistakes. And he had her, for a little while, on that too-pink bed of hers when she was angry and hurt and pretty sure Finn wanted Santana more. He had her perfect white teeth biting at his lips and her nails scraping through his 'hawk, and that tight little body of hers pressed up against him and the guarantee that he was about to cash in her V-card. Except he didn't. He walked away. 'Coz he couldn't do that to Finn again and he couldn't have her for just a little while only to watch her walk back to Hudson.

Just like he can't see her do it now. He can't have her and let himself fall in love with her and then watch as Finn starts getting interested again and she stops caring about the loser she convinced she really wanted. 'Coz Finn's her endgame and Puck's just the guy she bones until then. It's how it always goes.

He crosses his arms over his chest. "'m not your second choice, Berry… 'm nobody's second choice."

Her brows furrow as she shakes her head. "There's no choice here." She reaches out and grabs his hands and he's not strong enough to pull away. 'Coz those little midget fingers are small but they stroke his palm and they curl around his fingers and they hold on tight, tangled and fucking right. "You're scared I'm going to break your heart." It's not a question, she just like knows…

He drags his hand away then; this time he is going to leave.

"Noah, wait!" She grabs his shoulder, stops him, moves so she's looking up at him. And all that determination and that stubborn resolve of hers is plain in her face. She sets her chin and inhales deeply. "There is never a time or a place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment…" She licks her lips. "And I've had that with you, twice, in a way I've never experienced with Finn…" Her eyes fall for a moment. "He was sweet and nice and he holds my hand and says silly things to make me smile… But he also hurts me and he doesn't know why and he never really apologizes… He makes me want him and then he chooses other people, because it's easier to hurt me than make the hard choice…" She squeezes his hand. "I know what that feels like. I… I would never do that to you." She presses her palm to his chest, too close to the heart that's beating loud and hard. "You're all rough edges and rude and obnoxious and honest to the point that it seems mean… You have no filter or you just don't want one. I-I talk too much, with words too big for most kids our age to understand. I dream too loud and I expect others to wilt under my unwavering talent." She looks up at him then, gaze penetrating. "Now I can't promise that we're forever. That one day you might want somebody less loud or who doesn't talk as though she swallowed a dictionary. But I can promise you that I will try my very best to never hurt you. That I'll believe in you even when you don't believe in yourself. That I'll support you and listen to you and try not to smother you with my personality…" Fiercely, she narrows her eyes. "But I won't change who I am. I wear animal sweaters and short skirts and slushee facials entirely too often. So if you can handle that, if you're strong enough to stand by me, then I'm going to ask you one last time…" She stares, chews her lip as if she's scared that her last try won't end the way she hopes. "Noah Puckerman, will you do me the honor of being my date this Friday and every foreseeable one for the near future?"

If he was smart (and nobody has ever said he was) he would walk away from this crazy pint-sized diva, screw his head on straight and dive into the freshmen girls with nothing but a very Puck-like smirk and the promise to give them multiple orgasms. But maybe because he's not smart (or because he's smarter than anybody thought), he holds his arm out for her to take and silently agrees to put his beat-up heart out there again. And with a smile that makes his stomach flip-flop and his heart stutter, Rachel takes his arm and stares up at him just like she did back when he first realized she'd gotten under his skin.

Maybe their timing really is shit and maybe they won't make it. Maybe she'll turn around and tell him it was all a mistake and go running back into Finn's arms. Or maybe they'll prove everybody (himself included) wrong and they'll make it through high school and slushees and they'll kick the dirt of Lima off their boots while they're taking over New York. Maybe he'll watch her climbs the Broadway ranks until she's sitting at the top, where she was always meant to be, and he'll be the guy in the front row that she blows a kiss to and goes home with later. Maybe. Maybe not. But he's gonna give it a chance just in case.

[End.]