a/n: First off, my apologies for taking so freaking long on this chapter. My muse has been crazy lately. Either way, here it is. I don't own the song "Just Like Heaven" by The Cure but I chose it because Mark made a playlist once for a magazine article and that song was the first track because he said he was playing it when he saw his first love. The lyrics fit for the moment used and it was perfect. Also, I was tweeted by Darren Bousman the other day! Those of you who don't know who that is, he's the director for Repo! so I flipped out about that! I also don't own Glee, duh. Smuckleberry ahead! Please read and enjoy!
Puck stood on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan, staring up at the brown granite building. It was fucking terrifying for some reason. He heard a car stop behind him, a door shut, and then the tap of heels against concrete. Help was here!
"Remind me why we're here," he said, trying to keep his voice even. Santana slipped her arm through his and grinned up at the same building he was sneering at.
"Shut up Puck." He rolled his eyes and turned his head to look at the woman beside him.
"Well I see marriage hasn't made you less of a bitch." Santana's returning smile was actually real as she stared down at her left hand, her wedding band and engagement ring both shining brightly in the sunlight.
"Now come on Puck, if I suddenly started being nice to you, you'd think I was sick or something." He couldn't help but agree with her and turned so that he was facing her. Santana looked up at him and grinned again. "You know, last night Rachel told me that if I touched her stomach one more time, she would cut off my hand. It is definitely your badass spawn inside her. That kid is totally bringing out her bitchy side. I think she's worse now than she was on my wedding day. I like it." Puck rolled his eyes again but couldn't help laughing. Baby mama really didn't care for people touching her stomach.
"San, she was barely pregnant then. The main reason she was like that on your wedding day was because you went insane and made her blow up on you. Or did you conveniently forget the whole "Bridezilla Attacks Defenseless Tokyo" headline in the papers the next morning?" Santana bit the inside of her cheek and glared half-heartedly back at him.
"The next morning, I was too busy basking in wedded bliss to notice fucking headlines. I fucking love being married!" Puck just laughed as the people walking around them on the sidewalk shot both of them funny looks. Santana took a deep breath and smiled again. "Okay Puck, let's go get your Tokyo!" Puck tried to laugh but looked up at the building again and the chuckle stopped in his throat.
"Alright seriously Lopez, why are we here? There are plenty of jewelry stores all over the city that are a fuckload less intimidating than fucking Tiffany's! When I called you for help, I thought you were actually gonna help, not scare the shit out of me." Santana rolled her eyes and laughed, shaking her head so that some of her hair fell out of her loose ponytail and framed her face.
"The reason we're here Stupid is because I'm the best friend and I have information you need. When me and Rachel first started out as friends, I hated musicals. They annoyed the shit out of me and I hated when the people would just burst into song because they were making a sandwich or something. Well, the only movie we could ever agree on watching was "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and every time we watched it, Rachel always said that the perfect man would give her that little blue box and she would know it was meant to be. Puck, you're her perfect man. You're just missing the little blue box." She waved her hand out in front of her towards the building and grinned. "This is where you get the little blue boxes." Puck took a deep breath and nodded his head. Rachel deserved the best. He stood straight and squared his shoulders, walking straight ahead towards the doors.
The second they were inside, it was like he could feel Rachel's ring in there. It was there somewhere.
A blonde woman stepped out from behind the glass cases and walked over to them. Puck noticed the way her hair was pulled back into a bun so tight it looked like it might hurt her face if she blinked.
"Hello, my name is Miranda. Can I help you find anything in particular?" Puck looked down at Santana and then back to the woman.
"Engagement rings," he said simply. The lady's face lit up like the fourth of July and she turned to Santana.
"Lucky lady, do you know what style you would prefer?" Puck started to protest but Santana just laughed and took her hand out of her pocket, wiggling her jeweled fingers in front of the woman.
"Lady, my wife knows what style I prefer and I'll be keeping it that way. Your commission isn't coming from me so why don't you suck up to him instead." Puck almost felt bad about the look of total embarrassment that crossed the woman's face but then decided it was hilarious. He was so glad he brought Santana with him, if for nothing more than her attitude to help him handle the pushy salespeople. The woman looked back at him as if for clarification that Santana was joking or something. He laughed and nodded his head.
"She's married to my sister and is best friends with my girlfriend, the actual 'lucky lady'. She's helping." The skeptic look on Miranda's face told Puck she didn't believe that Santana would be helping at all. That just made him laugh again. "Okay, how do we see rings?" His statement seemed to kick the woman into business mode as she led them to the correct glass case. Well, what she assumed was the correct glass case. Puck took one look at the rings she was preparing to show him and knew that Rachel's ring wasn't there. He looked up at Santana with a quirked brow and chuckled. "None of these are what I'm looking for. Can we see what's in the other case?" Miranda eyed them carefully before speaking.
"Sir, these rings are very economically priced. Perhaps if I took a few out for you to see a bit better?" Puck leaned over the counter, careful not to touch the glass, and spoke very clearly.
"Look, Miranda was it? I know I don't look like Donald Trump or anything but I can assure you that I'm not hurting economically. So, do we have to have a 'Pretty Woman' moment where I tell you that you've made a big mistake or are you going to show me the rings I actually want to see?" Miranda was very visibly stunned by Puck's little speech, but you could see the happy smile just bubbling underneath because of the commission she would be getting off of the sale. Santana clicked her tongue beside him and released a very small giggle when Miranda flinched.
"My apologies Mr.?" Puck smiled victoriously and replied,
"Puckerman."
"Mr. Puckerman, I'm very sorry for that. It was very presumptuous of me and I—" Puck held his hand up to stop the annoying apologetic rant about to spew from the woman's mouth.
"Save it, just show me the rings." That shut her up and she quickly slid over to another case of rings. Miranda took one of the foam things full of diamonds and platinum out of the glass box and set it on top. Puck looked over them and just as Santana's fingers reached out to touch one and he said, "Nope, it's not here. Next." Santana turned her head quickly with widened eyes and her mouth dropped open.
"Puck you didn't even look at any of them. That one's pretty and it's a cushion cut." Puck rolled his eyes and shook his head, seeing the ring in question.
"If I wanted something ugly and wrong, I would've called my mom for Bubbie's ring in the first place. I'll know Rachel's ring when I see it and it's not in this tray. Next." His tone had a surprising finality to it that both women reacted to. He couldn't help but smile at himself just a little bit. Before Miranda could pull another tray out, Puck looked down into the glass case. "Hey wait, lemme see that one."
Two hours and one very frazzled Miranda later, Puck and Santana had managed to narrow it down to three rings. Rachel's was there, right in front of him, but for some reason it was really hard to feel which one was the one. With an annoyed huff, Santana shoved one at him.
"God Puck I'm hungry. Just pick one already!" Puck stared at the ring she'd pushed across the glass towards him, much to Miranda's chagrin as it scratched against the surface. It had three oval cut diamonds placed side by side. The ring was beautiful, but when he pictured it on Rachel's finger, it looked out of place. That one was out. He picked it up and handed it back to Miranda.
"This isn't it." Miranda took the ring from him and placed it back in the case as he picked up the other two rings. The one in his right hand he knew Rachel would like. Like the previous ring he'd put back, this ring had three stones too. All three diamonds were emerald cut with the one in the middle slightly bigger than the other two. He could easily see that one Rachel's hand.
But then he looked at the other one, closed his eyes, and all he could hear in his mind was 'yes'. The voice in his head sounded like Rachel's and he knew that he'd found it.
"What did you say this one was called again?" He sat the ring with the three emerald cut diamonds down and held the other one up in the middle of their small group so Miranda could see it. The smile on her face told him much of what he needed to know about the price but he didn't even care.
"That, Mr. Puckerman, is our Lucida with Trilliant Side Stones. Is that the ring you would like to purchase?" Puck noted the way her voice took on a saccharine tone, preparing to seal the deal. If he hadn't of been so excited to finally find the ring he was looking for, he would've strung her along for a few more minutes just to mess with her. He pulled the ring back to his face and studied it more closely. The Lucida diamond was a rectangular stone with more facets added on the top, breaking the light that hit it into tiny rainbows. The stones on the side looked like triangles and he guessed that the word 'trilliant' came about because they were a mix between a brilliant-cut and a triangle-cut. He didn't really care how the stones got their name, just that they came together to make the ring that would make Rachel his. You know, as if the baby in her belly didn't do that enough in the first place.
"Yeah, that's it. I'll take it." He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of Rachel's rings that he'd stolen from her jewelry box that morning. "I need it in this size. When can it be ready?" Miranda took Rachel's ring and smiled.
"If we have it in this size, it can be ready within a few minutes. Let me just check and I'll be right back." As Miranda left with Rachel's ring and Rachel's new ring, Puck turned to Santana. Santana quickly wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"Rachel's gonna love it!" Puck smiled proudly into her hair and hugged her back. "So are you going to propose before the baby comes or wait until after?" He scoffed at the question and threw his head back.
"Like I could wait that long! No, this ring is going on Rachel's finger as soon as fucking possible. I love her more than anything Lopez, and I love that baby too. Rachel has been it for me for a while now, and now that we're going to have a family together, I can't imagine going another day without her. I'm gonna marry her." Santana stood back and smiled at him.
"Yeah you are!" Puck looked around the large room full of diamonds as he waited for Miranda to come back out from the back room. He really hoped they had it in Rachel's size so he wouldn't have to wait any longer than absolutely necessary. Santana tapped him on the shoulder and waited for him to look at her before she spoke. "You should come with Rachel to the studio this afternoon. We're gonna start doing photos for every month of her pregnancy and she mentioned last time we talked about it that she'd like you to be there too. And I could finally get a professional photo of you two together, while you're both awake instead of the ones that I used to sneak all of the time when you guys were fooling around." Puck raised his eyebrow and pursed his lips at what she'd said.
"Lopez, exactly how many pictures have you taken of Rach and me?" A guilty look crossed her face as she pretended to count on her fingers.
"Just a small photo album, no big deal. It's not my fault you two look fucking perfect together. It's a lot harder to get photos of you two now that me and Rach don't live together but there were a couple of times that you guys fell asleep watching a movie over at Mike's or something. I'm a photographer Puck. Did you really think you were safe from my camera?" Puck could only shake his head at her before he saw Miranda walking back towards them. She was all smiley again so he figured she had good news. When he saw the little blue box in her hand, he felt like a pussy because his heart skipped a beat.
"Good news," Miranda trilled, "we had it in the correct size. I had it polished for you so you can really see it shine." Her hands worked quickly as she removed the velvet ring box from the slightly larger Tiffany blue one. When she opened the velvet box to show him the ring, Puck grinned. Something about seeing it snug in its own little box made it even more perfect. This would be how Rachel would see it first, the way she would see it when she said 'yes'.
"How much," he asked quickly, removing his wallet from his back pocket. He knew it wasn't going to be cheap. The second he'd stepped out of the cab in front of the building, he'd been prepared to put the club up for collateral if he had to. Rachel was worth it, and Mike would probably understand…probably.
"Eleven thousand," Miranda chirped. Puck did a double take, hearing Santana choke on her tongue, and slid his debit card out of its slot. Blondie snatched it up before he could blink and went off to ring it all up. Puck stared down at the ring on the counter and smiled.
"Wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Like a small car or something. I wonder if we should bump admission up a few bucks at the club though." Santana laughed lightly and nudged his shoulder.
"Probably couldn't hurt actually. But I think you'll be okay. Of course, doctor's appointments and baby stuff aren't really cheap but," Puck cut her off with a stern look.
"Not helping San." Santana rolled her eyes and replied,
"Puck, you own one of the most successful nightclubs in New York City. And you have savings and shit plus Rachel is crazy about saving for the future. I'm just giving you a hard time because it's so damn fun to mess with you right now. You're all nervous and excited, it wouldn't be right if I didn't exploit that." Puck laughed but couldn't help feeling a little relieved at her words. Financially, he and Rachel weren't hurting. At least that was something he didn't really have to worry about. And considering the money he had saved up, (his mom had used her wonderful powers of Jewish guilt on him to convince him to put money away for a rainy day) the price of the ring didn't actually seem that bad at all.
Miranda came back with his card and he slid it back into his wallet as she began to rewrap the ring in its boxes. She reached under the counter and pulled out a small bag to place the box in. "Congratulations," she said warmly but Puck knew it was more from the sweet commission she'd just 'earned' than from actual congratulatory feelings she may have held towards him. All the same, Puck smiled back at her as he grabbed the bag and replied with a cool,
"Thanks."
Once he and Santana were outside, Puck's phone started ringing in his pocket. It was Rachel's ringtone and it instantly made his blood heat up. He looked at Santana, who'd promptly started laughing.
"It's like she's fucking psychic or something! The other day, I got her a gift card for a bookstore she likes and she called me then too! It's like she knows when I'm getting shit for her!" Santana quieted her laughter as he answered the phone. "Hey baby, you okay?"
"We're fine Noah," he grinned that she was talking about both her and the baby, "but I have something to ask of you. Santana is going to start photographing me throughout my pregnancy since I'm entering my third month and I would really like you to be in the photos as well. It shouldn't take very long." Puck smiled again and tried to not laugh.
"Yeah that'd be awesome. What do you want me to wear?" He heard some shuffling in the background before she spoke again.
"I'm bringing some of your shirts that I like and the jeans you put on this morning are fine. And I'm sure that the studio will have some clothes that Santana can use if she wants to go with a different look. Thank you Noah, this will be wonderful to look back on once the baby is born." He couldn't help grinning once more into the phone.
"No problem Rach. I'll meet you at the studio then. I've got to stop by home first and drop some stuff off but I shouldn't be too long." Noticing the look she gave him, he held up the bag with the ring in it so that Santana would understand why he couldn't just go to the studio with her.
"Well why don't I just wait for you here Noah and then we can go together?"
"No," he said a little too quickly, "I mean, you go ahead and go. I'm pretty sure that Santana will probably want some pictures of just you before I get there anyway. Just go to the studio and I'll be there in a bit." He was instantly worried that she would get suspicious but she just breathed out and said,
"Okay Noah. I'll see you there. Love you." Puck breathed a sigh of relief that her voice wasn't doubtful or anything.
"Love you too Rach." When he had his phone back in his pocket, Santana burst out laughing. "See what I mean," he defended. "It's like she's some kind of sixth sense whenever I'm doing something like this. I'm gonna have to propose as soon as possible just so she won't figure it out beforehand! Alright, I'm gonna swing by and figure out somewhere to hide this so she won't possibly find it and then I'll be at the studio." Santana hailed a cab still laughing and opened the door.
"Hide it in one of your guitar cases. She'd never go looking there." Puck grinned and hugged Santana before she could sit down.
"That's perfect. But you can't act different around her. She'll know something's up. For all I know, she can read our minds now or something. I'm fucking paranoid now. I should just go home and make a little tin foil kippah to protect my thoughts." Santana rolled her eyes at him and shut the cab door. Rolling the window down, she gave him a hard look and said,
"She's pregnant you moron, not an alien. Just go hide the damn ring and get your ass to the studio." She turned and gave the driver the address to her workplace and left Puck standing on the sidewalk.
When Rachel saw Noah walk into the studio, she felt a tingle go through her entire body. She was just entering her third month of pregnancy, which meant it was her second trimester.
In every book she'd read, the second trimester was the easiest and for that, she was grateful. Her morning sickness had died off so that made her immensely happy. The only genuinely odd craving she'd had so far was for dill pickle potato chips dipped in a peanut butter and Nutella mixture. Noah had made a face at her for that one but he'd kept his mouth shut, fearing she would go off on him. And that was another thing, her hormones were finally leveling off so she didn't feel like she was bipolar anymore. The one thing she had to adjust to was the suddenly ever-present horniness. She felt like a teenager again, and living with one of the finest male specimens to ever walk the earth certainly didn't help her control.
Her eyes had landed on him the second he'd walked in and she felt like a cat in heat. She was honestly glad that Santana already had a few pictures of her so that in case she felt the sudden urge to jump on him during the shoot, the day wouldn't be a loss. Noah walked up and slipped his hand over her stomach, now sporting the tiniest of baby bumps, smiling as he pressed his lips to hers. He was the only one Rachel allowed to touch her stomach. When they'd first told people about the baby, everybody wanted to touch her stomach all of a sudden and it really freaked her out. But when Noah did it, it just felt right.
"Happy second trimester Rach," he whispered and she couldn't help biting her lip at the way he'd lowered his voice. That tingle wouldn't leave her alone. Santana snapped a picture while his lips were still at her ear and his hand still splayed across her torso. In the back of her mind, Rachel knew that photo would be beautiful. Before she had the chance to really say anything, he looked up and said, "Alright Lopez, what am I supposed to do? Just stand behind her or something?"
While Santana was instructing Noah on what shirt he needed to change in to, Rachel was getting a little hot watching him. She quickly pulled the pink blouse over her head, leaving her standing there in the pair of jeans that Santana had put her in and her white camisole. Rachel piled her hair on top of her head, holding it there with her raised hands, and took a deep breath. She couldn't jump on Noah. She could not jump on Noah. It would be highly inappropriate, especially with Santana standing right there. But there were dressing rooms somewhere close by, or closets, or film developing rooms, or…she shivered again.
Santana turned around and saw that Rachel had taken the blouse off. She looked at Puck as he was shrugging into a white button-down shirt over his gray muscle shirt and then back at Rachel. She didn't miss the way her friend's eyes darkened as she stared at her baby daddy and future fiancée. Puck was gonna have fun later.
"Puck, sit down in the folding chair right there and I want Rachel to straddle your legs." Rachel felt her skin heat up again at the thought of straddling Noah in any fashion. When Noah made a comment about Santana directing a porno, Rachel could tangibly feel her impulse control slipping through her fingers. Noah sat down in the chair as Santana had instructed him to do and Rachel moved to straddle his lap. Her breath hitched as she did so and she could feel Noah's eyes on her, the smirk on his face just daring her to do something unseemly. Santana told them to act natural as she started snapping away.
"You okay baby?" His heated breath on her neck made her bite her lip again. Rachel just nodded, afraid that if she opened her mouth to speak, she would moan instead. His hands curled around her sides as he tried to get her attention again. "Rachel," he whispered, "you look so hot right now, you know that? I'm gonna take you out to dinner tonight to celebrate. And when we get home, those clothes are coming off as soon as the door shuts." Rachel trailed her fingers down his face, cupping his cheek in her hand as they both looked towards the camera.
"Noah, with my hormones right now, there's no way in hell I can sit through a dinner. I'm this close to telling Santana to go into another room for about twenty minutes so I can have my way with you. And that's just to get me through this shoot. Once I get you alone, we're not leaving the bedroom. If we even make it to the bedroom, that is." He stared at her for a minute, somewhat shocked at her words, but then he smirked.
"So you want take-out tonight?" Rachel couldn't help laughing at him, despite how turned on she was, and saw the flash of another photo being taken.
"Okay you two, just a couple more and then you can go home to screw yourselves into next week. Get up and stand over here." Rachel eyed Santana as she stood up from Noah's lap but didn't say anything. It's not like her friend was wrong. The second they got out of there, Rachel had every intention of feeling him inside her as soon as possible.
By the time Santana declared the photo shoot a wrap, Rachel was practically climbing the walls. The last few poses Santana had them in were innocent enough. However, with Noah, nothing stayed innocent for long. His calloused hands were like fire on her skin and she just wanted him to take her right there.
She practically pushed him outside, growling when he made a jab about her being pushy, and into a taxi. When his fingers tugged on a loose thread hanging from her jeans, Rachel hissed through her teeth and placed her hand over his.
"You could at least attempt to make this easier for me Noah," she snapped. When the cab pulled up outside the apartment building, Rachel almost ripped the car door off its hinges getting out. Even with as fast as she was walking, somehow Noah made it to the door before her and opened it so she could go inside. Rachel hurriedly pushed the elevator button a couple of times until she felt him step up behind her. He wasn't touching her, and it was infuriating. The doors opened and she stepped inside, thankful they were alone.
She pushed the button to their floor and as soon as the damn things closed, she was on him. Noah grunted as she shoved him back into the corner of the elevator and pressed her lips to his. Rachel felt one of his hands curl around the back of her thigh while the other cupped her butt cheek. Using the way he was holding her body, she ground her hips into his. She felt him responding almost instantly, and the smug feeling she got from that was fantastic.
"Rach, you're killing me right now," Noah muttered. Rachel just laughed and bit his lip before she pulled away.
"Payback's a bitch huh Noah." Just then, the doors opened on their floor and he released her, just in case anyone was standing in the hallway. They walked very quickly down the hall to their apartment and Rachel had the door opened before Noah could get his bearings about the situation. Before Rachel heard the door shut, she was unbuttoning her jeans and sliding them down her legs. The camisole was next to hit the floor as she turned around to face her boyfriend, happy to see that he'd finally gotten the hint and had removed his clothing as well. "Bedroom." She bit out the word and took a step backwards. Knowing that Noah had a thing for her baby bump, Rachel dropped her hand to her stomach and watched his eyes follow the movement. He released a low growl from somewhere in the back of his throat but Rachel kept walking backwards toward the hallway with a smirk on her face.
Once in the bedroom, Noah stepped up to her and fingered the lace of her panties for a second before yanking them down her legs. He guided her back to the bed and pushed on her shoulders until she sat down. She watched him drop to his knees in front of her and felt the moisture flood her center in reaction. But cunnilingus could wait, she couldn't. Lifting her fingers under his chin, she met his eyes.
"Noah, it's sweet that you want to do that but right now, I need something far bigger than your tongue inside me." He smirked and slowly stood to his feet again. Leaning over, he kissed her hard, inhaling her scent as he pushed her back on the bed. Rachel opened her mouth to him, hungrily tangling her tongue with his. Noah's fingers were fiddling with the front clasp of her bra. Suddenly she felt the scorching heat of his chest against hers and she moaned into his mouth.
Noah sat back on his knees and ran one hand up her side where she was ticklish. The second the smile came to her face, before it could turn into a laugh, he pulled her legs up to his shoulders and thrust himself inside her heat. Rachel let out a high pitched sound, somewhere between a moan and a scream, and tightened her muscles around him. She watched him through lowered lids as the feel of every vein in his penis rubbing against her walls brought her closer and closer to the brink. When he let her legs go, she instantly wrapped them around his body to pull him deeper. Her hands gripped the duvet when he lowered his body over hers, careful to keep himself hovering just inches above her. Rachel closed the space between their mouths and traced a line along his lips with her tongue. Her body began to shake, arch off the bed, out of her control. Her grip on the bedspread became leverage as she met his thrusts, chasing after her release. Noah moved his mouth down from her lips, sucking and nipping at her neck. He brushed a thumb over her pebbled nipple and the combined sensations made her body arch again.
"Harder," she hummed in his ear. He growled against her neck before rising up on his arms. Rachel moved her hands up to his chest and raked her nails across the taut muscles as he pounded her body against their bed. Suddenly, her orgasm flooded through her body and she moaned into the room. Her hands gripped his arms but he didn't let up, just kept rocking into her bed with this impassioned force she'd never really felt before. She couldn't catch her breath before she felt her center coiling again. Noah hiked her legs a little higher around him and continued to thrust. Rachel could tell he was holding his own release back, waiting for her to fall again. That knowledge sent her reeling all over again, with him following her this time. Noah's body went rigid as she milked his length for everything he could give her.
After a second, he collapsed beside her, still taking shallow breaths. Rachel turned her head and smiled. "Noah," she questioned him. He raised an eyebrow acknowledging that he'd heard her but just grunted. Rachel laughed, sitting up to throw her leg over his. "More." The demanding quality of her voice made him laugh as she splayed her hands across his chest and ground her hips into his.
He honestly didn't think he'd be able to go again for a least another hour. The sheer intensity had taken a lot out of him. But then, Puck looked down at her baby bump and he could feel himself rising to the occasion. Rachel looked down and smirked at him, knowing what was going on in his head. His hands moved up to cup her breasts, getting larger by the day it seemed, and he grinned.
"This is my favorite fucking trimester."
The next morning when Puck woke up, he slid out from Rachel's hold and headed towards the bathroom to take a shower. He was actually surprised as hell that he could still walk after the night they'd had. He turned the water on and brushed his teeth while he was waiting for it to heat up. Just as he was spitting out the remains of his toothpaste, the bathroom door opened and Rachel walked in, hair all a mess rubbing sleep from her eyes, in all her naked glory. Without even acknowledging he was there, he was almost positive that she was still a little asleep, she stepped into the shower and closed the curtain. In shock, Puck stood there, just staring at the shower curtain, seeing her silhouette going through the motions of showering, and wondered if he'd actually fucked her brains out the night before. When she started humming, he started to look at his skin to make sure he hadn't developed some kind of weird invisibility powers. Shit, had she fucked his brains out? Both conclusions were quite possible.
Puck shook himself out of his internal wanderings and looked back at the shower curtain. Quickly, he threw it open to find Rachel mid-lather under the spray. She looked at him like he'd lost his mind.
"Well are you going to get in or let water get all over the bathroom floor?" Puck knew the answer to that, moving his feet over the edge of the bathtub to get in with her. Rachel pushed the curtain to its closed position once more and shoved him under the spray. He didn't have time to feel the water rolling down his back before her lips were on his. Instinctively, his arms circled her waist to pull her closer until he felt her stroking his length between them. He pulled away and grinned at her. "Now Noah," she breathed out against his cheek. Who was he to say no?
About an hour later, they were both sitting at the dining table eating breakfast with very satisfied smiles on their lips when Puck suddenly knew where he had to propose. Rachel looked up and cocked her head to the side at the way his face looked.
"Sweetie, did you just figure out how to achieve peace in the Middle East?"
"What are you talking about?" Rachel laughed and sipped at her tea before laughing at his expression again.
"Well you were sitting there and suddenly you looked like you'd just thought of the best idea ever. Your face lit up and your body sort of tensed in an excited way. I don't know, it just seemed like you had an idea of some sort." Puck crossed his arms over his chest, smirk in place but inside berating himself for how obvious he was, and met her gaze evenly. Rachel huffed after a second. "Whatever. You don't want to tell me, I don't care. Keep your Middle East Peace all to yourself. Be selfish." Puck busted out laughing when she said that. He couldn't help it. Her pouty lips were freaking adorable and absurd all at the same time.
"Are you done," he chuckled. Rachel grabbed the last of her toast and stuffed it into her mouth petulantly. Puck just shook his head as she shoved her plate across the table at him. "I meant trying to get inside my head but if you're done with breakfast, that's fine too I guess." She giggled a little bit as he took her plate and stacked it on top of his. She smiled as he stood up and walked around behind her chair, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and kissing her neck. "I think we can both agree that I am pretty damn selfless when it comes to certain areas." Rachel didn't bother to silence the involuntary moan that slipped past her lips when he traced the shell of her ear with his tongue. Didn't matter, he loved it when she was vocal. The louder, the better. She had to catch her breath when he took their plates into the kitchen to put them in the sink.
Rachel pulled her t-shirt away from her chest, using it to fan herself while he wasn't watching her. Hot tea wasn't gonna cut it anymore. She needed something cold.
Puck didn't hear her bare feet pad into the kitchen behind him so he jumped a little when the refrigerator opened, but definitely heard her giggle in response. Time to put his plan into action.
"Hey babe, you remember Miguel right?" He turned to lean against the counter, watching as she tried to think of who he was talking about.
"The little boy in the park that you used to play guitar with at his family's restaurant. Sure, why?" Grinning that this might actually be a little easier than he thought, he replied,
"Well, it's his birthday today." That was a total lie. Miguel's birthday was like two months ago but Rachel didn't need to know that. "And he always plays guitar with his dad and brother in the park for his birthday, since they came to America. But this year, his dad burned his fingers pretty bad at the restaurant so he can't play with them. They asked me to play his part in one of the songs since, well I helped write it and I'm the only other person that knows how." Rachel stepped closer and nodded her head, understanding.
"You're going to the park to play with Miguel and his brother." When he saw a tear trickle down her cheek, he got really worried that he'd already fucked up his brilliant plan. But then she looked up at him and smiled. "You are going to be an incredible father to our baby Noah. You're already an amazing role model for that little boy." Puck released a quick breath of relief as she wiped her tear off her cheek and laughed nervously. "Go, have fun." He reached out and took her hand to pull her back to him and smiled at her.
"Well I kinda wanted you to come too though. Miguel freaking loves you and I know you like the music. Besides, I want my woman out in the crowd watching me." Rachel ticked her eyebrow at him and he knew exactly why. "Rach, we've been over this. You're my woman. It's basic caveman instinct that I can't fight. If we lived back then, I'd be bringing Snuffleupagus ribs and tusks back to our cave to prove that I could be a better mate than all the other Sapien dudes. Just get over it." Rachel poked him in the side and giggled when he squirmed against the kitchen counter.
"Okay, I'll come with you to the park. I should go change into something more suitable though if I'm to be seen in public with my man." Puck looked down at the t-shirt and shorts she'd thrown on after their shower and thought she looked suitable as hell. But he let her go change since he was already in a t-shirt and jeans that were really comfortable.
The second she left the kitchen, he turned around and started splashing water on his face. Truth was, he just had to propose to her in Central Park. It was where he'd taken her for their first 'real' date and where they'd shared countless other memories together since then. The place was special to them both and he felt like Rachel would really understand the sentiment that he was trying to get across to her if he proposed there. He didn't even actually know if Miguel's family would be there or not. They usually played on weekends so it was a good possibility and he knew that if he took his guitar, which he had to even to keep up appearances for his charade and because the ring was in the case, the family would have no problem letting him sit in for a song to help him out. It would be awesome, and he was stoked that he actually thought of it. Plus, out in public, there was no way she could refuse.
Puck walked into the living room and over to his guitar case where the ring was hidden. He ran his fingers over the strings, noting that two were out of tune, and then lifted the instrument out of its case. He opened the compartment in neck of the case just barely, catching a little glimpse of the blue box buried inside. With a breath, his hand closed it again and he positioned the guitar in his lap. Once he had it back in tune, he sat back on the couch and started strumming. While he waited for Rachel to get changed, the familiar tune flowed through his fingers to the strings and he started humming along.
"Show me show me show me how you do that trick. The one that makes me scream, she said" he sang softly. He kept singing until a pair of hands slid down his chest from behind the couch and Rachel's soft voice continued the lyrics.
"Show me how you do it and I promise you, I promise that I'll run away with you. I'll run away with you." He turned his head and planted a kiss on her arm before looking up at her with a smile on his face. "Apt song choice Noah. 'Just Like Heaven', I feel like that a lot lately." He leaned over and placed his guitar back in the case.
"Me too Rach, you ready to go?" Rachel nodded her head and waited by the door for him to close up the case and strap it to his back. She would run away with him in a second.
They were walking in the park holding hands when Rachel heard the sounds of the little Cuban boy's music. She smiled when they got closer and saw that Miguel was doing a familiar dance with a man that looked to be about Noah's age, she guessed that was his brother. Noah kissed her cheek and released her hand to walk over to Miguel's brother with his guitar. Standing just on the front of the crowd that surrounded them, Rachel watched as Noah gestured to her. That was confusing but she shrugged it off and watched as he took his guitar out of the case. The two men and little boy began to play a song she didn't recognize but it still took her back.
Central Park was where Noah had taken her on their first real date. It was where she'd first seen him play the guitar, and where she'd first seen him lose himself in music. That was the first time she'd seen him in a different light, as something that could be more. As she looked down at her abdomen, she realized it had all become more than she'd ever dreamed of.
As Puck played, he was thanking every star in the sky that Miguel's brother had understood his issue. Marco was more than happy to let him step in and play the song he'd told Rachel about, to help him out. It helped that their father had actually decided to stay at home that day, which worked out so that Puck didn't look like a total liar in front of Rachel when he'd told her about the man getting burned. So far, his plan was going pretty damn well. He just had to seal the deal. As their song came to its end, he stepped forward and took her hand, bringing her to the middle of the circle, to the middle of the crowd. She looked so confused and slightly embarrassed but it would be worth it in just a few seconds.
"Noah, what are you doing?" Puck just grinned and motioned for her to stay put. Marco brought his guitar case over and slid it in between them, making Rachel look a little more wary. Puck dropped to one knee and heard the crowd around them gasp with Rachel. With a grin on his face, he looked up at her.
"You got a lot of titles Rach. Tony award winning actress, love of my life, and the mother of my child. But I've been thinking that I want to add another title to that list." He opened his case between them and withdrew the ring box. Rachel covered her mouth with her hands. He took the little velvet box out of the Tiffany's box and grinned at her. "So Rachel Berry, marry me. Be my wife." When he finally got it open so she could see the ring, she whispered,
"Gottenyu Noah." Her hand was shaking when she held it out towards him. "Yoh, zikher, avade, yes Noah yes!" Noah slid the ring on her finger, grinning at the rush of Yiddish affirmatives she'd yelled out in the middle of the now clapping crowd. The ring looked perfect on her hand, even better than he'd imagined it would.
Rachel watched him stand up and slide the guitar around behind him. She looked down at the ring on her finger and gasped again. Leaning over the guitar case, she wrapped her arms around his neck, squealing lightly when he picked her up and swung her body around. Rachel giggled and when her feet hit the ground again, she kissed him as hard as she could. When they both pulled back, she held her hand up between them and took a shallow breath as she looked at the ring once more.
"I did pretty good huh," Puck joked. Rachel just nodded her head and laughed at him. She looked around them and remembered all the other people watching. Ignoring them, she met his eyes and replied,
"This is so much better than a Snuffleupagus rib."
a/n2: So, like it? Not like it? Tell me about it! If you haven't read my latest one-shots "Apology Accepted" and "Track Eight", you should give them a gander as well. Thank you so much for reading. I legit have some of the best readers on the planet. Love you guys! Please REVIEW!