A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! This is a cute little story that came to me when I was listening to my iPod. The lyrics just really inspired me and I absolutely had to write it. Just a fluffy, happy fic to get you through the cold winter nights (and the loooong wait for the return of Glee). Set AFTER sectionals.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. Or any of the songs used.
Puck's palms were sweaty as he waited for his turn. Mr. Shue wanted everyone to have a chance to showcase their talents, so they were all required to sing a solo of their choice. And not just in the choir room, but in the auditorium, on stage. Now, Puck usually wasn't one to be nervous, but this particular instance had his stomach in knots. He didn't care about what anybody thought of his performance, not even Mr. Shue's. The only person's opinion that really mattered was Rachel's.
Yep, Rachel freaking Berry. He picked this song specifically for her, or more like TO her. He wanted to show her how much she meant to him and the perfect opportunity happened to come in the form of a school assignment. Ironic, right? Puck thought shaking his head.
He turned his attention back to the stage, where Finn was singing some Justin Timberlake song. Seriously, dude? Justin Timberlake? But Puck had to admit, he did sound pretty good and the song matched his voice fairly well… Ah geez, I've been hanging around Rachel too much.
After the whole babygate fiasco, Finn had stayed clear of Puck and Quinn, spending the majority of his time with Rachel. Puck had tried multiple times to apologize, but Finn would walk off before he even had a chance to finish a sentence. He also stepped up to the plate with Quinn, constantly pushing to be a part of his baby's life and surprisingly, she had finally relented, allowing him to help her and their child. His mother was obviously upset but, being the good woman that she was, couldn't turn away her own grandchild. So they moved Quinn into their house, she taking Puck's room and Puck moving into the basement. After a pathetic attempt at being a couple, they both realized that they just weren't right for each other and agreed to keep things platonic.
At first, he hadn't even noticed how Rachel seemed to be there whenever something went down. Whenever Quinn was puking her guts out in the restroom, Rachel was the one holding her hair and ordering Puck to run get her a Gatorade from the school's vending machines. When Quinn's belly began to grow bigger and bigger, Rachel was the one who took her shopping for maternity clothes. It seemed they had formed some type of weird companionship that eventually grew into a true friendship. Puck was beyond grateful to have Rachel's help, because frankly, he had no clue how to deal with Quinn when her hormones started raging. About all he was good for was making craving runs.
As months passed, Puck found himself growing more attached to Rachel. He opened up to her and told her of all the insecurities and worries he had about being a father. She re-assured him and made him feel better every single time. He got used to her being around all the time and the things she did that used to annoy him, didn't bother him so much anymore. He even began noticing things that he hadn't before. Like how she bit her lip when she was thinking really hard or how her eyes brightened when she talked about a song. Puck slowly began to realize that he had feelings for her and the more time he spent with her, the more his affections grew.
Then one day, after a grueling day of football practice, Puck had come home to find something that changed everything. His mother was working and his sister was sleeping over at a friend's, so Rachel had driven Quinn home and stayed with her. He smiled, in spite of himself, when he pulled his car into his driveway, next to Rachel's. The minute he opened the door, his mouth watered, the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies lingering in the air. He was just about to call out to the girls when he heard Rachel's voice carrying from the living room. Quietly, he set his gear down and peaked in. Rachel was lying next to Quinn on the couch, an arm draped around her, the other placed lightly on Quinn's belly. Quinn was fast asleep, her head resting on Rachel's shoulder. Rachel was softly singing a lullaby, her hand tracing over Quinn's belly in a soothing manner and Puck quickly realized that she was singing to the baby. His heart squeezed in his chest and it was that moment when he fell completely in love with her. He blinked back the tears he felt coming on, because Noah Puckerman DID NOT cry, and returned to the front door, making a lot of noise, making it seem as if he'd just arrived. She'd called out "Noah? Is that you?" and he went to greet her. She gently disconnected herself from Quinn and took his hand, leading him into the kitchen where she presented him with a plate of cookies, smiling at him sweetly. Oh yeah, he was definitely in love with her.
Puck hadn't known how to approach the Rachel situation, and Quinn, with her motherly instincts, caught onto his feelings in no time. She repeatedly told him to go for it, firmly believing that Rachel felt the same, but Puck was still apprehensive. Rachel and Finn had been spending quite a lot of time together, despite the fact that she was helping out Puck and Quinn, and he knew that if the choice were between him and Finn, Rachel would surely choose Finn.
Puck was quickly proven wrong when Finn and Quinn reconciled out of nowhere. It was eventually revealed that Rachel had been helping Finn through his hard times while helping him realize that he loved Quinn and still wanted to be with her. She even managed to fix his friendship with Finn. She never failed to amaze him.
After another scolding from Quinn, Puck finally worked up the nerve to talk to Rachel, man, since when did he become such a pansy?, and drove to her house, encouraging himself the entire walk to her front door. He knocked a few times and heard someone bounding down the stairs. Rachel swung open the door, smiling widely when she saw it was Puck standing there.
"Well, hello Noah! What a pleasant surprise!" she said cheerfully, smile still in place.
"Hey Rach. So I need to talk to you." He looked down at his feet, shuffling. Come on, spit it out already! He silently scolded himself.
Rachel looked at him funny, "Are you all right? Would you like to come inside and talk?"
Puck took a deep breath, looking her in the eye and rushed out, "Listen Rachel, these past few months you have been absolutely amazing and I don't know what I would've done without you and I know that it didn't work out the first time, but I want to try again because you mean a lot to me and I want to be with you." She just kind of stood there looking at him wide-eyed and he thought that maybe he should keep talking because it would really suck if she turned him down. "I know this may seem really random but it's not. Actually, I've been feeling this way for a while now but I've kind of been too much of a wuss to do anything about it and-" he stopped when he noticed Rachel. Was she? She's giggling! Sure enough, Rachel had a hand over her mouth, trying to contain her laughter, but her body was visibly shaking from the effort.
"I'm glad you find this entertaining!" Puck shouted, "I'm over here bearing my soul to you and-" but he was silenced as Rachel threw herself into his arms, pressing her lips against his. The kiss only lasted a moment before Rachel pulled back, "I was only laughing because you sounded like me, rambling on like that." Puck thought about it for a second and couldn't help but laugh as well. "Yeah, okay, I'll give you that," he said, before leaning back down so that he was inches away from her lips. "So whaddya say?" he whispered, "Be my girlfriend?" Rachel grinned at him again, bringing her hand up to touch his face lightly and whispering back, "Thought you'd never ask." He'd brought their lips back together and kissed her senseless.
That's how he'd gotten to this point. Quinn moved back into Finn's and the three of them came to an agreement that they would raise the baby together. Puck couldn't believe how incredibly lucky he was. He'd gotten his best friend back, the chance to be a father to his child and the girl of his dreams. Who knew his life could get so good?
Mr. Shue finally called him to present his song and he kissed Rachel's cheek, grabbing his guitar and climbing on stage. When he'd positioned himself in front of the microphone, he looked at Rachel, who gave him an encouraging smile and thumbs up. God, she was cute, he thought before the first strum of his guitar.
I've been beaten down, I've been kicked around
But she takes it all for me
And I lost my faith, in my darkest days
But she makes me want to believe
They call her love, love, love, love, love
They call her love, love, love, love, love
She is love, and she is all I need
She's all I need
Well I had my ways, they were all in vain
And she waited patiently
It was all the same, all my pride and shame
But she put me on my feet
They call her love, love, love, love, love
They call her love, love, love, love, love
They call her love, love, love, love, love
She is love, and she is all I need
And when that world slows down, dear
And when those stars burn out, here
Oh she'll be there, yes she'll be there
They call her love, love, love, love, love
They call her love, love, love, love, love
They call her love, love, love, love, love
She is love, and she is all I need
She is love, and she is all I need
She is love, and she is all I need
Puck had kept his gaze locked with Rachel the entire time and he watched as her face grew happier with every sentence. And about halfway through the song, he saw the tears threatening to spill over her cheeks and assumed they were tears of joy. At least, he hoped they were. It had been difficult choosing the perfect song to sing to her but after much searching, finally came across one that really conveyed how he felt. He was kind of embarrassed singing it because, what if she thought it was totally lame and cheesy? Then he'd look like a complete idiot. But he decided, what the heck?, and went for it. Of course, he'd had to change the key to match his voice and learn how to play it on his guitar, but he figured the extra effort would pay off. Everyone clapped enthusiastically and Rachel jumped to her feet, giving him a standing ovation. As soon as he was off the stage, Rachel ran to him and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. Some of the glee kids whooped and others yelled for them to get a room, but everyone was truly happy that everything had worked out between them.
Rachel stopped kissing him, but kept her head tilted up, looking at him lovingly. "That was fantastic, Noah!" she gushed. "You really liked it?" Puck asked smiling. "I really did," she replied. Then a sultry look came over her face as she whispered so that only he could hear her, "Why don't you come over tonight and I can show you how much I liked it?" and kissed him gently. Oh, yeah… PERFECT song choice. "Sounds like plan," he murmured in her ear, placing a kiss on her neck. She was up next and gave him a quick hug before bouncing up the stage stairs excitedly. Puck went back to his seat next to Finn and Quinn, who was ready to pop any moment, as Rachel adjusted the mic to reach her small form.
When it was situated at the correct height, Rachel nodded at the band before turning her attention back to Puck. He smiled and threw her a thumbs up, which she laughed at before the music began and her beautiful voice filled the room.
Oh, oh, oh
Maybe I don't say all the right things
Maybe I stumble on my words
Maybe I laugh at all the wrong times
Maybe I mumble and I curse
The best I can do is to be myself
And I hope it's enough to make you proud
I can't explain just why I'm actin' this way
I can't control it, so I go with it
I'm just a girl, I won't be changin' the world
And boy you know that, I'm not perfect
But I'm perfect for you
Rachel threw him a wink as she sang that last line.
When you're in the room, my head is clear
You make the world just disappear
So open up your eyes and see
I can't explain just why I'm actin' this way
I can't control it, so I go with it
I'm just a girl, I won't be changin' the world
And boy you know that
Oh yeah
I can't explain just why I'm actin' this way
I can't control it, so I go with it
I'm just a girl, I won't be changin' the world
And boy you know that, I'm not perfect
I can't explain just why I'm actin' this way
I can't control it, so I go with it
I'm just a girl, I won't be changin' the world
And boy you know that, I'm not perfect
But I'm perfect for you
The music ended and everyone stood as they clapped, because she was Rachel freaking Berry and nobody could do it better than her. She flashed that million dollar smile again, talking a small bow. She stared back at him, an expression of pure delight on her face as she blew him a kiss. He couldn't have agreed more with her song. She was perfect for him, and he'd never forget it.
A/N: That was tons of fun to write! I love Puckleberry *dreamy sigh* ;)
Songs are She is Love by Parachute and Perfect by Alexz Johnson (take a listen, they're both great songs!)
My first attempt at writing a one-shot! (Did I do all right?)
Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Please Review! (Think of it as a Christmas present!) lol
