Discalimer: I do not own the 'Glee' world.

A/N Ooh, we've reached a decade of chapters. How exciting! And I'm one story alerter away from 200! Thanks guys! And for the reviews and favourites too, of course!

Oh, and thanks to those who told me that knackered is a no-no! I shall try not to put it in my fic :)

Chapter 10: Puck Doesn't Eat

"Berry, this doesn't fucking make sense!" Puck yelled over Evie's cries as the baby writhed in displeasure in the tepid bath water. "It's mathematically stupid!"

His plan to get Berry to talk to him properly again was not going well.

While this whole mess with Berry was his fault he still didn't really understand what had set it off. He suspected that it was a number of different things.

He'd been really tired when he'd come in from work on Thursday and despite what he'd told Berry he was fucking starving. And then he'd walked in on the two of them and things had just gone to shit.

He wasn't really surprised that those two were getting it on – they'd been dancing around each other all fucking year and now that Quinn had taken off it didn't seem like there was anything to keep them apart anymore. But the sight of them just reminded Puck of how different he was to all his friends now. They could carry on with their lives; flirt with their crush, spend all their money at the 7-11, waste a whole day playing Halo and worry about beating Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals next year. None of that was really open to him anymore.

He wasn't complaining; he had Evie and that was what he'd asked for. He was just mourning the loss of his childhood, really. For years he'd been acting tough, playing the man, and now that he'd finally grown up and given himself something to be responsible for he wished he'd stayed a kid for a little bit longer.

Then Finn and Berry had been so into each other that they hadn't even heard him come in; like being together was the most important thing in their nauseating little lives. There might have been a few pinpricks of jealously too because he'd made out with Berry a lot in their week of dating and he knew what a freakishly good kisser she was. Puck hadn't gotten any for a couple of weeks and, in Puckland? That was a fucking long time.

It'd taken him a few seconds to notice that Evie was in the room too and for some reason that made him even more annoyed. He was sure that Berry at least had loved acting like a family with Finn. His former best friend had probably enjoyed it too; he was into all that girly shit. Playing house was fine for them and all the other gleeks; a practice for when they were older and had children of their own. But this wasn't just some game to Puck; this was his life and Evie was here, now.

He realised that Berry was probably just using this whole experience to add to her fucking acting bank for when she'd have to play a mom one day. He and Evie would just end up being some trivial reference that she'd look back on when she was all famous on Broadway and shit. The idea left a bitter taste in his mouth and all of these angry thoughts combined to leave him feeling extremely pissed off.

And a pissed off Puck doesn't really keep a rein on what words come out of his mouth.

He'd been glad that Finn had fucked off pretty quickly – they'd only just gotten on speaking terms again.

Puck had been able to sense Berry watching him closely, acting like he was a fucking scared deer. Anger; increased.

He'd turned his gaze away from Evie and been met with the sight of a very dishevelled Berry. Her hair was all messed up and her lips looked, like, twice as big as normal, all thanks to Finn fucking Hudson. Anger; increased.

The idea of eating something that the lovebirds had made together twisted his stomach in a way he'd really not liked. Anger; increased.

The look on Berry's face as she told him how fucking perfect Finn was at looking after his daughter was nauseating. Anger; increased.

Berry throwing a freakin' Shakespeare play at his head? Anger; fucking increased.

So, to sum up? He'd been a bit annoyed at Rachel Berry that night and he'd taken it out on her a little. He hadn't even said anything that bad but she'd fucking freaked out at him like the little psycho that she was.

Ok, so that was a bit unfair. He knew that Berry wasn't a psycho; she was just a little intense sometimes and that was only because she was so passionate about things. And that wasn't really a bad thing, it's just that he wasn't used to people caring so much about anything.

He'd carried Evie carefully up to their room and spent the rest of the evening definitely not sulking.

The next day he'd discovered something more annoying than having Berry yap in your ear all day; the Rachel Berry silent treatment. It didn't really make sense for him to be more frustrated that she wouldn't say anything when he'd previously been constantly wishing that she would shut the fuck up.

Basically, she was just ignoring him; pretending that the space that he was occupying was just empty air.

Her dads gave them both a weird look at breakfast but it was obvious that they didn't want to interfere with Berry when she was upset. Puck quickly got out of the kitchen because he didn't want to have to explain to her dads why Berry wasn't talking to him – the big black Berry was a bit scary.

He hadn't really been able to concentrate that well on his school work cos he wasn't sure whether Berry was going to take Evie after school like normal or whether he'd have to blow off work, which would be a really shitty thing to do in his first week.

Thankfully, Berry was waiting for him at three-thirty but she didn't say a single fucking word to him as she accepted Evie and marched off to where Tina was waiting for her.

Work went by ridiculously slowly that night and he was looking forward to getting back to Berry's and having whatever the hell she laid down in front of him for dinner that night.

"Oh, Rachel said you wouldn't be eating with us tonight, Noah," one of her dads told him when he got in. He wasn't fucking impressed. Bitch.

He'd mumbled something about there being a change of plan and headed back out to get some takeout from the first place he could find.

Saturday started out pretty much the same as the day before when Berry ignored him while she got ready for her drama/dance/music classes. Puck thought of ways to get her to talk to him again while he waited for her to get back so he could go to work. However, he didn't get an opportunity because she left it until the last possible moment to get home and he had to shoot off so he wouldn't be late for work.

He finished earlier at the weekend and when he got back he discovered Jem with Evie and Rachel in the front room. They were rehearsing for another fucking show.

"Rachel says you're not allowed to be down here until we're ready to perform," Jem told him and Puck rolled his eyes that Berry couldn't tell him herself.

He rescued his daughter and took her for a walk around the area. It rained about ten minutes in and he got fucking soaked as he ran back to Berry's house to get Evie into the dry.

He didn't sulk in his room again (seriously, what the fuck had happened to his life that he wasn't sulking in his room on a Saturday afternoon?!) until Jem told him they were ordering pizza for dinner and she wanted to know what he wanted on the pizza. Puck told her that he didn't care as long as there were no mushrooms. Frankly, he was relieved that he was actually going to get some dinner this time.

While they waited for the pizza to arrive Jem and Berry put on their 'show' and Puck was sure that Berry had torturing him in mind because it featured songs solely from fucking High School Musical. But at least she didn't make him sing this time – she was probably too angry at him to want to share the spotlight with someone other than Jem.

"I think Rachel's mad at you," Jem told him when the pizza arrived loaded with mushrooms.

"No shit, Sherlock," he sighed.

And that's when he decided that he was the one who was going to have to put the effort in to fix things between them. Yes, it was his fault, but when he fell out with someone he normally just left things until they got better naturally (see Finn Hudson). Yeah, it took a lot longer but this way he got to keep his pride and didn't look like a total pussy.

But this thing with Berry? He didn't think he'd be able to wait that long; she was ridiculously stubborn. Plus, it made things incredibly awkward when they lived under the same roof and he really wanted some food again.

So, now it was Sunday and the only way he'd managed to get Berry to be near him since she'd ruined the pizza was by asking her to help him bathe Evie. This was always a struggle because it turns out that his daughter really fucking hates baths and had started wailing the instant her skin had met the water.

Berry told him they should sing to her because it normally calms her down and suggested some lovey dovey song from Rent. He didn't really care what crap he sang, as long as it got Evie to shut up.

Berry shoved the sheet music in his lap and that's when he got annoyed because this song, Seasons of Love, was for eight people. And he knew his math wasn't great but there were only two of them…

"I know it's difficult but just try to do your best," Berry spoke loudly, "it's the song that Finn and I found calms her down the best."

He wasn't sure whether it was the mention of Finn or that he really wanted something to eat for dinner that night (or that he was sorry for what he said to her) but he decided to just sing the damn song and get this madness over with.

He didn't really know the song so he had no idea whether they were singing it right or not, but Evie did calm down once they got going.

"Thanks for your help," he said to her, once Evie was encased in a towel. Berry shrugged.

"That's okay," she replied and got up to move away.

"No, wait," he called, "I need to talk to you."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "There's nothing I want to hear from you."

"For fuck's sake," he snapped, "stop being so stubborn and just listen to what I have to say."

Berry tentatively sat next to him and Puck knew that this making-up thing really wasn't going well.

"I don't mean just 'thank you' for the bath," he muttered, "but, you know, for everything." He saw her smile and knew he was on to a win. "And I'm sorry for what I said."

He knew that what she'd yelled at him on Thursday night was true – she'd done a hell of a lot for him and Evie, without really having to be asked. She was like, some freaky nice person who actually liked doing things for other people, without asking for something in return. She was, like, the best friend you could ask for when you were in the shit.

Puck nearly groaned when she flung her arms around him and told him that he was forgiven as he'd just realised that Rachel Berry (yes, Rachel Berry, the girl he'd tormented for years; the girl who loved show tunes; the girl who was in love with Finn Hudson; the girl who stuck freakin' gold stars after her name) was his fucking best friend.

A/N Ah, how sweet. Yep, sorry for its shortness but, it is quite a significant chapter seeing a Puck finally appreciates what she's done for him.

Ok, the reason I wanted to get a chapter out is that I'm going to Rome on Monday (Hell, yeah!) for a few days. You probably won't get another one for a couple of weeks though…

Anyway, guys, it's Easter tomorrow! Hooray! Congrats to everyone who's kept their Lenten promise!

Please keep the reviews coming! They = love!

Ciao for now (ha, it rhymes!)

Love,

Lil Drop of Magic

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