AN: This is my first glee fic! I've written two Matt and Rachel one shots, but both of them are a little similar because I was writing them at the same time. The other one should be up later.
Disclaimer: I don't own glee, or the song "Never Knew I Needed" by Ne-yo.
Just to be clear, she did NOT chase after him. Absolutely not. She was done chasing boys who didn't really want her, and this time she was going to let him come to her. Because she was Rachel Freaking Berry, and she was a Star. (But that didn't mean she couldn't help him along. Because sometimes boys just need a little shove or two to get them in the right direction.) This boy hadn't noticed her very subtle hints. So she had to pull out the big guns. (Metaphorically speaking of course because she didn't condone violence!)
Honestly, she'd always noticed him there, in the corner of the choir room, and had even talked to him a few times. Then suddenly he was asking her to dance with him at sectionals, to be his "awesomely short spitfire dance-partner who can sing amazingly". And who was she to refuse? He was cute, very much a gentleman, and she was allowed to have fun. (A year later she would find out that he'd had a huge crush on her for years, and that was his way of "establishing himself as a part of your world".)
Everything was good. Finn was her boyfriend, she had friends, and she was no longer getting slushied. But then Finn just had to go and break her heart. She sat alone in the auditorium crying (after her performance of "Gives You Hell" with her new "amazing Asian sidekick for life") over the same boy who always made her cry, when he came in. She'd expected him to walk back out, but instead he came and sat beside her.
"Rachel…you okay?" Matt asked in a low voice. That just sent her into another wave of tears and buried her face in her hands. Slowly, he put an arm around her and gently hugged her, letting her tears soak his shirt.
"Why doesn't anyone like me Matt? I try so hard to make people like me, but they never do!" she sobbed. "What's wrong with me?" he rubbed her back, and ran a hand through her hair, trying to find an answer.
"There's nothing wrong with you Rach. It's everyone else that's the problem." His kind words helped mend her heart a little.
Throughout that week, Matt blocked Finn from talking to her, not even letting him see her in the hallways, constantly walking her to class. He enlisted Mike, Brittany, and Santana to help, and surprisingly, they didn't put up a fight. They were actually…nice to her.
All of that was strange indeed, but the strangest thing of all was Quinn Fabray being her friend…and then moving into her house.
Matt remained a constant, unwavering force in her life. He was the one she talked to about having sex with Jesse (reluctant and uncomfortable though he was), the one who listened when she talked about her 'Run, Joey, Run' disaster, and the one she came to when she found out about her mother.
He was also the one who held her when she cried about her mother.
"She doesn't want me Matt. My own mother doesn't want me." she sniffed. "I guess I can just add her to the list of people I've tried to make love me."
"Baby don't cry. It'll be okay." He soothed her by singing one of his favorite songs.
"For the way you changed my plans, for being the perfect distraction, for the way you took the idea that I have, of everything that I wanted to have and made me see there was something missing." He hurt for her, she could tell because he held her tighter, closer, as if trying to make her apart of him. "For the ending of my first begin and for the rare and unexpected friend, for the way you're something that I never choose but at the same time something I don't wanna lose and never wanna be without ever again."
He was the one who took care of her when she was made a human omelet. He took her to his house where she met his younger brothers, David and Benjamin. His mother, Julia, was everything Rachel thought a mother should be; concerned about her son's friend, annoyed with him for not cleaning his room, and still able to playfully smack him on the back of his head and tease him. She made Rachel wish for her mother harder than she had before. Julia helped her clean the eggshells out of her hair and held her when she started crying again.
Through all this, Rachel realized that Matthew Rutherford was The Perfect Man, and she wanted him.
A plan was formed, laid out step by step, making sure everything was carefully positioned so failure would not even be an option, much less an actual occurrence. (Remember, she's a little psychic.) However, she only had a week. So, slightly shorter skirts were needed, slightly tighter shirts, and she just had to slip to Mr. Shuester the dancing pairs that would be good for their Epic Takedown of Vocal Adrenaline, informing him how well she and Matt could dance together, and he fell for it hook, line, and sinker. But then, he apparently had some time to "think" on it, and decided that all week they would dance with different people, to "get a feel for each other" (Noah made some sexist comment) and then the boys would pick how they wanted to dance with on Friday. Then they would crush Vocal Adrenaline's dreams in on fell swoop.
She didn't let that bring her down, and when it was time to get funky with Matt, she brought the house down and, to quote Artie, "crushed them like the hand of god." And by the look on his face, her plan was working fantastically. But what good is shocking him, when he doesn't actually do anything about it? If she believed in cursing, she would put Noah Puckerman to shame, she was so frustrated. Why weren't boys as simple as girls? (And yes, she's knows that statement is absolutely ridiculous.)
Not allowing herself to feel devastated that the boy she liked (once again darn it) was not really interested in her that way, she threw herself into "funky town". Her plan was pushed aside, she would just be friends with him(She would be the best friend that boy had ever had!), nothing more and she willed herself to forget about the entire thing. And succeeded.
Until Friday, when Matt announced to Mr. Shuester that he wanted her to be his partner for "Give Up The Funk".
The look on VA's faces when Noah said, "See you punks at Regional's" was priceless, but she didn't get much time to laugh because someone grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the costume rack. Before she could say anything, his lips were on hers, and dear God, why hadn't she been kissing Matt longer? He was intense and gentle and…Rachel Berry just had her brain wiped of all her intelligence.
Please stand by until Matt is finishes kissing Rachel.
"Why," she gasped when he pulled away, "did you do that?"
He grinned. "I wanted to."
The next week was filled with dates and kisses (that he wouldn't tell his friends about, and they would always go places that his friends would never hang out at), making her forget about the seriousness of Regional's. Then, after the meeting at Mr. Shue's, everything smacked her in the face. So she did what Puck would call "A Classic Berry".
She freaked. Or, as Mercedes put it, she FUH-reaked.
"-" she paced back and in forth in a flurry of skirt. Matt wrapped his arm around her from behind, clamped his hand over her mouth and waited it out, until finally she stopped talking (muffled though it was) and squirming. He removed his hand, but still held her back against his chest.
She took a deep breath. "Thank you Matthew. Everyone, I would like to sincerely apologize for my insane outburst, it was rude. I also hope you do not think I don't believe in us, because I do I just-"
"-needed to have a Rachel Freak-out." Quinn said smiling.
"We get it Diva. We're used to it, and everyone needs to let it out every now and then. Especially you." Kurt added with a smile.
"Yeah, we all gotta let go sometimes." Mike said.
"Thank you. I really appreciate it. Now" she said dramatically, smiling her mega-watt smile, "if Matthew would kindly let me go, we can continue practicing."
The only fight they had was when Rachel kissed Finn. Matt, good person that he was, had stopped ignoring Rachel long enough to listen to her.
"He…he likes me Matt. I was momentarily caught up in that, but I know it was a mistake. It was a stupid, stupid mistake. Finn and I are never going to happen, and I'm okay with that. But"
"But what?" he sounded cold. Not like Matt.
"It's not because of you. I have realized that I don't like Finn anymore, and I haven't for a while now."
"Nothing to do with me? You're with me, Rachel, me. Not freaking Finn. I'm not him Rachel. You know you're my girl, everyone knows you're my girl, but you still kissed him!"
"I'm 'with you'. Hmm. Everyone knows. Really. Alert the media, because the world knew something before Rachel Berry did." she scoffed at him, and he didn't like it.
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't know I'm your girl, seeing as you never even asked me to be your girlfriend. In fact, we've never talked about anything, because you always cut me off by kissing me. And" she continued even though he tried to interrupt. "when we go on dates, you make sure we don't go places where your 'friends' who aren't in glee don't hang out. All because you, Matt Rutherford, underneath all your niceness and charm and wonderfulness, are ashamed to be seen in public with me. Because no matter how much you think you care about me, you are still a teenage boy who wants to fit in. And let's face it, dating me certainly won't help with that."
She sighed, and he hated to see a glimmer of tears. "I'm not trying to turn this on you, because I messed up. But so did you."
And she just walked away.
"I'm forever yours…faithfully." she sang with as much conviction as she could, gathering her courage, before glancing at Matt as she and Finn moved into place for the next song.
He kept his eyes on her whenever he could through the rest of the songs, ready for it all to be over…
And then it was. They were getting on their charter bus to go home the next, when Matt saw Finn and Rachel talking. His blood boiled. This was going to end right now. Neither noticed him as he walked up. Rachel was talking.
"Finn, I am not in love with you. I love you as a friend, and I care about you a lot, but I just don't love you like that." Finn seemed to brighten up a bit, which surprised Rachel and Matt.
"Aw, that's cool Rachel. I think that's what I was trying to say, I just didn't say it right, you know?" he was grinning as he said it.
"So were still friends?" Rachel asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, absolutely!" they hugged, and Finn got on the bus, winking at Matt as he walked away. Rachel turned to face Matt.
"Hi."
"Hey."
It was almost like they moved at the same time. His lips on hers, her lips on his, it didn't matter because she was in his arms after five horrible days without her. "I'm sorry." he said in between kisses. "I didn't mean to make you feel like I was ashamed of you, really I-"
"You are talking as much as me." she kissed him again. "I know, I overreacted, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kissed Finn, I just-"
"I know baby. I know."
"Finally." Mike muttered to Kurt and Mercedes. "I thought they were going to stare at each other for another ten years."
"And our diva has finally come to her senses about Finn." Mercedes added. "They got back together pretty quick."
"I am quite proud of them. They didn't even need our help." Kurt said, wiping away a fake tear. The others just looked at him. "Well, not much."
"I hope they won't be one of those couples who breaks up every other week." Finn said. "I'm not sure if I can do this again."
"I feel a little bad for lying to them." Tina said worriedly.
"They'll thank us one day." Artie said confidently.
"If they ever find out." Puck said.
"And we don't need to tell them, right Brittany?" Quinn asked the other blonde.
"Totally." Santana looked at the others.
"Nice team work guys."
When they were on the road a hour later, Rachel asleep on his shoulder, Santana turned to look at him. "So you caught the Berry, huh?" she smiled, because she knew Rachel was awake.
"Yep. I have definitely caught the Berry." she stopped faking it, and lifted her face to his.
"You're the best thing I never knew I needed, so when you were here I had no idea, you're the best thing I never knew I needed, so now it's so clear I need you here always." he sang softly.
"To sir with love…"
Everyone, including Mr. Shue, was in tears, hugging and talking about good memories and fun times. Rachel, who was sitting in Matt's lap, whispered in his ear.
"You're not just another football player to me." he smiled and gave her a quick kiss. Before standing up and spinning her.
"I love you Rachel."
"I love you too Matt."
Both of them were smiling so wide that they didn't even pay attention to the rest of the club laughing at their silliness, or Puck calling Matt whipped.
Cause he definitely was.
"Somewhere over the rainbow…way up high."
Another year of Glee. He looked at Rachel, sitting in between him and Finn. He could deal with that.
"Baby," he said over his shoulder as he answered the her front door, "I don't care if you are destined to play her. I don't like her, she acts all fawny and girly." Laughing, he turned to face the person at the door, expecting the pizza man. "Hey what's…up." Standing there was Rachel's mother with baby Beth.
"I thought I had the right house-unless you're her brother, or-" she stammered.
"Miss Corcoran, I'm Matt Rutherford, Rachel's boyfriend."
"Oh. Can I, I mean, can I talk-"
"I don't mean to be rude," he said as he cut her off. "but Rachel's been through a lot, and if you're not here to step up and be her mom, then I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." When she didn't say anything, he continued. "I guess you're just trying to make things right after you rejected her," he paused "again. This had better not be some half-assed attempt to say sorry, or make excuses, cause that won't work on me."
"I just want to be apart of her life." she sighed. "I want Beth to have know her sister, and I want to know my oldest daughter."
He studied her for a minute, before pushing the door open wider. "Okay. C'mon in. Rachel's trying to get me to watch West Side Story."
Shelby made a face. Matt laughed.
"I think we'll get along just fine."
"I would like to thank the good Lord for giving me the faith and patience it takes to believe in myself. I want to thank my fathers most of all. They pushed me to be were I am right now, and have made everything possible by constantly being there with their unwavering love." she sniffled. "Thank you to everyone on the cast and backstage, for making Les Miserables everything I dreamed it would be when I was twelve, and then again for making it so much more." From the top of the balcony, cheers and screams erupted, and she looked up to see all of her friends. "That's my high school Glee Club up there. Thank you, all of you, for encouraging me, and sticking by me even though I'm sure I drove you crazy all the time. Mr. Shuester, Finn, Quinn, Tina, Artie, Mercedes, Mike, Santana, Brittany, Kurt and Noah. All of you are amazing, and I love you for being my friends for all of these years, not just fellow club members. Thank you for being my family, even through the tough times where we wanted to kill each other. To Shelby and Beth Corcoran, my mother and sister, I love you."
"And finally," she wiped away tears. "to Matt, my husband, who has been with me for ten years, through ups and downs, really wonderful times and really horrible times, I love you with all my heart, and baby, we did it." she smiled that mega-watt smile at him where he was sitting in the front row, beaming at her.
When she made it back to he seat, he kissed her in front of what seemed like the whole world. "Rachel, you just won a Tony." She smiled, and shrugged.
"I have better news." he gave her a confused look.
"I'm pregnant."