Puck was fairly used to spending Friday nights in a girl's bedroom, but it usually looked a lot different than this. There were no beer bottles scattered around the floor, no dimmed lights in a vain attempt to set the mood, no kisses that would inevitably lead to more. Instead, he was surrounded by a stack of CDs and sheet music while Rachel's favorite playlist played on her iPod. His guitar was in his lap instead of her, while she was clutching a pink legal pad rather than his hands (or his thighs or you know, something else that'd make him a little happier).
"Noah, we have to find a song," she told him. She was insistent that they find another song to sing together. Sure, they'd sort of agree to sing another duet but Rachel wasn't sold on it being the right one. And since Rachel thought it was important, Puck had to think it was important or she would pout. He had learned over the past three years that no one benefited or won when Rachel Berry pouted. "The mood isn't right. I've tried everything from my usual repertoire."
"Babe, we've been at this for hours."
"And we still haven't found the right song," she reminded him. She leaned across the bed to press her iPod onto the next song. "Jack Johnson, Eric Clapton, The Eagles…maybe something more in the rock genre? That's your best bet most of the time, isn't it? It's definitely not something I do a lot outside the confines of big group numbers, but I think we could sound pretty great."
Puck tilted his head for a moment before shaking it in decline. "Actually, the best we've ever sounded together was when we did that Lady A song last year. We never really do any country in Glee, so it'd definitely be unexpected," he pointed out. "Plus, there are a ton of killer duets that we could totally kickass on. A lot of the more modern stuff has enough pop to it that it still fits in with the rest of the set list."
Her eyes were wide as she grinned at him as though she was awestruck. "Noah, you're a genius!" she cried, clapping happily. "We've already tackled Lady Antebellum, and I'm not a fan of repeat performances. Besides, that duet was under less than ideal circumstances, so I suggest that we continued to explore other artists of our caliber. Do you have any recommendations?"
He shook his head, forever wondering how many times she would use all those words when only a few would do. "Why don't we just listen to the radio for awhile and see what comes up? I get my best ideas when I'm driving around in my truck, we could go for a ride."
Rachel lifted her left shoulder in a seemingly apathetic shrug but he knew her well enough to see through it. She loved riding shotgun in his truck and loved having her there. She always looked so tiny in his huge truck, a pristine contrast to his disgusting vehicle. "We're not going to go anywhere, are we? I don't really feel like getting redressed."
Puck looked down at her fitted yoga pants and soft yellow off-the-shoulder top. "Yeah, that," he said, waving his hand suggestively, "stay with that."
Ten minutes later, they were tucked into the cab of his truck, the heater blasting on his face as they headed toward the edge of town. The lake had kind of become their place. She had turned the radio on as soon as he had pulled the driveway but had twisted the volume knob so that it was way down low. He watched her hum along to some old Johnny Cash song absently while the blur of streetlights washed over her face. She was beautiful when she was quiet like this, lost in her head and in a song. Then again, he thought she was beautiful all the time. She was his best friend, but in that moment, he knew that he was in love with her.
"Rach…"
"Wait, Noah, this is it!"
Rachel leapt for the radio and turned it up loud enough that the speaker in the door bounced against his left calf. He knew as soon as he heard it that she was right. This was the song. This was the perfect song that said everything they needed to say to say to capture an audience and hold the judges under their spell. This was the song that said everything he had been feeling about her for so long and no plan could effectively explain it to her as these few verses. This was the answer he had been looking for.
He drove the rest of the way to lake without singing along. Instead, he just enjoyed the sound of her voice on the female parts and imagined his intertwining with hers on the male counterpart in front of a packed house and all of their friends. And as he imagined that, as he tried to take it all in, he saw only her face in a sea of other faces and knew that's exactly how it would be. The song changed to something else by the time he pulled to a stop in the remote part of a gravel lot beneath a lone amber light. He killed the engine and effectively the radio.
"Rach, I need to tell you something."
"Is it about the song? Do you not like it? We can figure else out."
"No, it's not about the song," he replied. "The song is perfect. You're perfect. This, here with you, it's perfect. I love the song, Rach, because it says all the things I've forgotten for so long. Or the things I wanted to forget but never really did. I love the song because it's us and I love it because I love you. I don't just want to be your friend anymore. I want to be with you."
Rachel was completely still for a full two minutes before she opened and closed her mouth three times in silence. Those words were far from typical for Puck but the feelings were all there. The things she had seen staring back at her for so long, the way he was a friend to her, she had known this all along.
"Noah."
"Rachel, I know everything you want to say. I know that you have every reason to doubt me and that we have a lot to deal with once we get outside of this truck. I also know that you feel the same despite the fact that you really don't want to. I know that I am going to have to tell my best friend that I love the girl he wanted to marry and deal with my ma going on and on about me finally finding a nice Jewish girl. I know all of this and I know it's a train wreck waiting to happen and I know that I don't care. I just love you."
"Why, aren't we big no the confessions today?"
Her slow smile gave him the permission he needed to wrap his arms around her and pull him against her. "You are such a surprise, Rachel Berry."
"Did you really think I'd refuse an offer like that?"
"I didn't really think about it much past the moment," he confessed. "I just knew that I had to say it before I lost the courage. I've basically said it a million times in my mind, and this is the only time it actually came out like I wanted."
She nestled her head into his chest as he laid a kiss atop her head. "It was perfect."
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
"Fishing, are we, Noah?"
"Damn straight," he chuckled. "I just laid it out there, and you haven't said more than a sentence at a time since. It's like we've reversed roles."
"Unsettling, isn't it?" she teased him. "It's always so maddening when I talk for ten minutes straight, only to have you offer up two words in response. And now that you're the one who has said everything first, you want to regain control. You think that if I give you what you want, we'll slip back into our proper roles. I'm not sure that I like that."
"But?"
"And yet, I just gave you exactly what you wanted because that is who we are, Noah," she smiled up at him. "You are quiet and strong. I am bold and resilient. We're complimentary in nearly every way, and we don't make any apologies for taking what we want in the best and the worst of circumstances. I've always known that I wanted New York, and now, I know that I want New York with you."
"And?"
"And I love you, you moron," she laughed, elbowing him in the ribs. He laughed for a moment before leaning down to claim her mouth. It was only a moment but it was the best moment of his life. Rachel finally understood what Finn meant when he talked about fireworks.
Less than twenty-four hours later, Rachel and Puck came into the choir room with a duet that was perfected during third period and enough sheet music to satisfy the entire band. "Mr. Schue, if you don't mind, this is something that Rach and I was to try out. We've worked on it a little," Puck explained as he strapped his guitar across his chest.
"For your consideration," Rachel said with a small bow before she nodded toward Puck. "One, two, three, four…"
Puck leaned into the microphone. "We didn't care if people stared. We'd make out in a crowd somewhere. Somebody'd tell us to get a room. It's hard to believe that was me and you. Now we keep saying that we're okay, but I don't want to settle for good, not great. I miss the way that it felt back then, I wanna feel that way again."
The two of them turned to look at each other. "Been so long that you'd forget the way I used to kiss your neck," he sang to her. Rachel answered him back in song. "Remind me, remind me."
"So on fire, so in love, way back when we couldn't get enough," he returned as she echoed, "Remind me, remind me."
"Remember the airport dropping me off. We were kissing goodbye and we couldn't stop," Rachel sang. Puck grinned as he layered his line below hers, "I felt bad 'cause you missed your flight," before they belnded back together for "But that menat we had one more night."
"Do you remember how it used to be? We'd turn out the lights and we didn't sleep."
Puck's breath caught as he looked at her. "Remind me, baby, remind me."
"Oh, so on fire, so in love, "she sang back to him as they walked toward each other. He stopped strumming his guitar to reach out for her hands. "That look in your eyes that I miss so much."
Just like he had imagined it in his head, everything but Rachel faded away. "I wanna feel that way."
"Yeah, I wanna hold you close," she sang to him.
"Oh, if you still love me," they harmonized in unison. "Don't just assume I know."
Rachel stepped away and swayed her hips slightly. "Do you remember the way it felt?"
"You mean back when we couldn't control ourselves?"
"Remind me," Rachel implored in song. Puck volleyed back, "Yeah, remind me."
"All those things you used to do that made me fall in love with you," she wailed. "Remind me oh baby, remind me."
Puck fingered the hem of her shirt as he gazed down at her. "Yeah, you'd wake up in my old t-shirt. All those mornings I was late for work. Remind me…."
Puck was kind of surprised at how quiet the room was once the song was over. He looked around at his friends, waiting for the applause that would never come. Mr. Schuester was smiling like the cat who'd stolen the cream, so it was safe to say that the song was in for Nationals. Finn and Quinn both looked like someone had kicked them in the face. Everyone else was just oddly quiet.
"Thank God," Blaine sighed. "They finally figured it out."
"Who had this week in the pool?" Artie asked as he pulled a notebook out of his backpack.
"I think I did," Santana said, rubbing her hands greedily. "What do I get?"
"Last count was $200," Mercedes said as she bumped her fist against the Latina's. "Couldn"t you guys hold out for two more days?"
"You guys were betting on us?" Rachel asked, aghast. "How could you do that?"
"Yeah," Puck added. "You should have totally cut me in."
"Noah!"
"I'm so excited!" came Brittany suddenly as she jumped over Tina in the front row so she could wrap Rachel and Puck in her arms. "Puckleberry is back on!"
Rachel patted her back awkwardly while Puck just laughed. He loved that girl. However, he stopped when he saw Quinn. More accurately, he saw Quinn staring up at Finn. "Finn, man…"
"Rach, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked, completely ignoring Puck. "In the hall."
"Uh, sure," she replied softly before looking at Puck apologetically.
"Quinn, are you okay?" Sam asked out of nowhere. Puck slid his eyes back to the blonde boy and then to the mother of his child. "Quinn?"
"Hey, Q," Puck said softly as he knelt in front of her. "Let's go talk."
Puck never knew what Rachel and Finn talked about in the hall because he didn't ask her. He only knew that Quinn told him that she was in love with Finn and she was scared that she was going to lose him. Puck admitted he thought about that all the time because Finn and Rachel had been something special. "Just like we were, Quinn," he told her with a soft smile. "But what Finn and Rachel don't have, what we didn't have, is a future. You once told me the entire future you knew you'd have with Finn Hudson. I can see the same thing for Rach and me in New York. So don't worry, we're not going to lose them. She is the only place I've ever belonged."
When Rachel came back in the room with a smile on her face, Finn didn't seem to be glaring him down. He took that as a small victory, one that became bigger when her tiny little hand slipped into his. Puck looked over at Quinn, who was tucked neatly under Finn's arm. It wasn't perfect yet, but it looked like they were finally all on their way there.
