Author's note: So, I've been trying to stay on the Puckelberry track...again, since a few of my reviewers have had to "Gibbs Slap" me about it. I've been shuffling all of my Quinn and the Troubletones ideas into a separate folder, to perhaps be cobbled into its own spin-off story. Also, all of my other ideas that don't really fit into the Puckelberry fold, but still add to the story, I'm going to start posting into the Protecting Berry Excerpts, which I originally created for just that reason! Endgame: Protecting Berry will be all about the Puckelberry, or at least feature one or the other in the scene...for now, lol. Alright, enough talking.

Music suggestions: "I can't go for that/You make my dreams come true" by Glee Cast, "With me" by Sum 41.

Disclaimer: Don't own Glee.

Mash Off, Part 2

"What is that?" Shelby asked suspiciously, eying the unidentifiable object Puck had just placed on her desk.

"It's a tofu wrap." Puck stated with a flourish, rising back up to his full height.

"Why is it on my desk?" Shelby asked with a frown, poking at it with the end of her pen.

"Because Mike told me that Matt told him that Tina overheard you grumbling about not being able to take your lunch because you'd forgotten to bring anything, and you didn't have time to stop by the caf to grab anything. I would have brought you something normal...but I was hungry. This is from Rachel's lunch. She didn't notice when I swiped it from her bag. She was arguing with Artie about some last minute set change."

"Thank you." Shelby finally said graciously, although slightly reluctant as she lifted the wrap from where Puck had placed it.

After she picked it up, Puck patted down all his pockets, as if searching for something. Finding it in the chest pocket of his button up, Puck then dropped three ketchup packets on the desk.

"Here, I almost forgot." Puck said, pointing to the packets. "If you put ketchup on it, it almost tastes normal."

Fighting back a smile, Shelby shook her head.

"You better get going." Shelby said, shooing Puck away from her desk. "I just saw Rachel walk by the door. She's probably looking for you."

"See you later, Ms. C." Puck imparted with a salute.

What was his hot little Jewish American princess up to on this side of the choir room?

ooooozoooo*ooooeooooo*

"I just wanted to say, that I've really missed you." Rachel said in a rushed tone, one hand gripping a shelf support, the other around Noah's shoulder.

"Missed you, too." Puck mumbled against her neck, trailing lingering kisses down her throat and along her collarbone. One of his hands pushed underneath Rachel's dressy top, his fingertips caressing the baby soft skin he found there.

He definitely missed these stolen moments in dark, private rooms, too. Turns out, that's why she'd been looking for him.

"We really don't have time for this." Rachel pointed out in a distracted tone when the hand trailing up her torso nudged her lightweight bra up, his hand closing around the treasure that had been revealed.

"Uh huh." Puck uttered, his other hand lifting Rachel's leg and settling it around his thigh, gathering up all of the extra material of her long black skirt so he could pull her flush against him.

"I suppose it would be okay, if we were really quick." Rachel admitted after a moment, reaching between their bodies to the closure of his jeans.

Thumbing the button loose with practiced ease, Rachel was just starting to pull the zipper down when a thunderous pounding echoed from opposite side of the janitor closet door, startling a squeak out of Rachel.

"I know's you two are in there!" Santana called out, shouting through the door. "I saw Rachel tow you in there five minutes ago! Practice starts in less than a minute!"

Jumping apart, both Rachel and Puck began to hastily straighten out their clothes. Reaching up, Rachel ran her hand along Puck's mohawk, smoothing down the haphazard spiking she'd caused by fisting it up in her fingers, just minutes before. Heat still swirled in Puck's eyes, and he began to lean in again.

"Unless you want me to tell Mr. Schuester and the rest of the glee club you all need a minute because you've still got two minutes left of seven minutes in heaven..." Santana threatened, pounding on the door once again. "You's better open this door in five, four, three..."

Ruefully, Rachel ducked under Puck's outstretched arms, and pulled open the door right before Santana reached "one".

Fist still raised, Santana pulled her hand back when the door opened and Rachel stood before her.

Sweeping by her, Rachel closed the door behind her.

"He's going to need the rest of that minute." Rachel imparted in a cheeky tone when Santana raised a curious eyebrow as to why Puck hadn't immediately followed.

Before Santana could say anything in reply, Rachel sauntered past, making her way to the choir room.

Head tilted as she watched Rachel walk away, Santana then nodded approvingly.

"Yeah...I would totally hit that at least once." Santana commented out loud, hearing the door open behind her.

"I heard that." Puck grumbled as he exited the janitor closet, shifting uncomfortably.

Shrugging carelessly as she directed a jaunty glance over her shoulder, Santana started off for the choir room, leaving him to make his own way.

ooooovoooo*ooorooooo*

"Are you nervous?" Puck asked in a hushed tone, leaning in to Rachel's side, as the rest of the glee club continued to discuss the song choices for their mash up, having just selected the Hall & Oates music group.

"I must admit," Rachel began after exhaling a deep breath. "I'm not very confident about our artist choice. I personally would have gone a different way..."

"I was talking about going to see Shelby tomorrow." Puck clarified in an amused tone, a smile pulling at his lips. "About your letter of recommendation?"

"Oh." Rachel uttered. She thought for a moment before speaking. "I've already written the letter, all she needs to do is sign it. I'm confident that she will. There really isn't anything to be worried about."

"That doesn't mean that you can't be." Puck countered sagely, reading the tenseness in her shoulders and neck, despite the fact that he'd just reset her stress levels about fifteen minutes ago.

All that work for nothing. Guess that meant he had to do it all again later.

Such sacrifices he had to make.

She didn't know it yet, but he had a romantic dinner planned for them Thursday night. Shelby was already in on the plan, and had offered to buy them all dinner after the show on Saturday, instead. Her dads had given him permission to use their kitchen and dining room, and they would take their "date night" a day early so he and Rachel could have a little privacy. They'd be home before ten, but that had never been a problem for him and Rachel in the past.

Also, if everything went well with Shelby and Rachel's letter, then Rachel would be in that much better of a mood at dinner.

"Have you thought about letting her write the letter herself?" Puck asked after the conversation around them heated up again.

"Yes, I have." Rachel said after another thoughtful pause. "I have given it a lot of consideration, actually. But, like myself, she is also very busy, and probably doesn't have any extra time to inconvenience herself by writing a caliber recommendation letter, just because I'm her daughter."

Puck directed an incredulous stare her way.

"Babe, she's your mom, and you hardly ever ask her for anything. She'd probably get a real kick out of it. I think she probably already has it halfway written, just from all the time you've spent with her. Have you ever thought that maybe she'd feel honored and proud to write that letter for you?" Puck asked speculatively.

"Perhaps she would." Rachel agreed, staring down at her folded hands in her lap. "I'll see what happens when I talk to her."

"That's all I'm asking." Puck said, draping his arm around Rachel's shoulders and pulling her against his side.

"I really don't like our song choices, though." Rachel complained with a grimace after they'd tuned into the group discussion for a few minutes.

"Shh..." Puck murmured against her ear. "Finn is on a roll."

"Just as long as I don't have to wear the mustache." Rachel murmured in a deadpan tone.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that one." Puck tossed back.

"Right now, I'm more worried about Kurt than anything else." Rachel said, her gaze fixed on the boy in question. "The debate is after school today. We've prepared for about as much as we can, but the fact of the matter is, no one cares. He's going to reveal his plan to ban dodgeball today at the debate, and while I agree with all that he has to say...I'm just not sure that our school is evolved enough to grasp the concept."

"That is kind of ballsy, but then, Kurt always has to shake things up with dramatic flair." Puck whispered once Rachel's comment settled in his brain.

"He deserves to win. More than anyone." Rachel admitted in a tone full of conviction. "I want him to win."

"I think we're gonna need to finish this conversation later." Puck murmured out of the side of his mouth, quirking his head forward when Rachel looked over at him with a confused frown.

Mr. Schuester stood waiting at the front of the room, arms crossed and a mildly irritated expression on his face.

"Sorry, Mr. Schuester." Rachel said in a recalcitrant tone. After a couple of seconds, Rachel continued speaking, her tone changing to one of criticism. "But I don't agree with the costume choices, unless you want the Troubletones to laugh themselves out of their seats..."

Shaking his head, Puck leaned back in his chair, and just let the Rachel effect flow.

ooooooaoooo*ooowoooooo*

"How are you feeling about the debate?" Rachel asked Kurt, having pulled him in to the girl's room for an impromptu green room pep talk beforehand. "Do you have everything you need? I'm ready to go wherever you need me, even if it's for a vanilla latte at the Lima Bean, even though you said you're trying to cut back."

"I'm okay, Rachel." Kurt replied in a calm tone, happy to have her with him, helping him get through all of this. "You really didn't need to have Puck stand outside the door. I'll be perfectly fine. I seriously doubt there'll be any death threats."

"This is very serious." Rachel said in a mincing tone, taking Kurt by the shoulders. "No one has ever attempted this before, and this school is very barbaric. We both know this from experience. Our peers are not likely to take your announcement very well."

"I'm not backing down from this. It's the right thing to do." Kurt stated emphatically, placing his hands over hers. "Changes need to be made, and sometimes that's hard. But someone has to take the first step, be the one to spearhead the charge. It might as well be someone as well-versed and sharply dressed as myself."

A weak smile tweaked Rachel's lips.

"I'm proud of you, Kurt." Rachel admitted in a quiet tone. "But I don't want to see you get hurt. I want you to win this, because you deserve it. You will make changes at this school. I know you will. However, I would feel better if you let us look out for you for awhile, in case anyone wants to try to hurt or intimidate you into backing down."

Squeezing Rachel's hands, he then pulled them away from his shoulders.

"I'll let Puck walk with us to the auditorium, and again when we leave." Kurt finally said in a compromising tone, touching Rachel's cheek affectionately.

"We should get inside." Rachel said, breaking the moment between them.

oooouooooo*oooeoooo*

"How do you feel about the debate?" Puck asked Rachel on the drive home, to Rachel's house.

"I think everyone is still in shock." Rachel said after mulling the question over. "While I'm relieved that no one threatened Kurt tonight, I fear that the worst is yet to come, once he gets elected."

"If he gets elected." Puck corrected her, glancing over at her briefly.

Rachel said nothing.

"What are you thinking now?" Puck asked in a weary tone, reaching over to clasp the hand she had laying on the bench seat between them.

"Noah, I want Kurt to win this election. By any means necessary." Rachel admitted in a steadfast tone. She then hesitated before continuing, turning to stare at him warily, as if she didn't want to disappoint him so soon after they'd made up. "I want to falsify the results by adding additional ballots with Kurt's name on them, into the box on election day."

"You mean you want to stuff the ballot box?" Puck asked, just to be sure he was hearing things right.

"That's what I said, didn't I?" Rachel said, frowning in consternation.

Puck fought back the smile that tugged at his lips.

It wasn't exactly right...alright, so it was totally cheating, and he shouldn't encourage this kind of behavior...but this was a battle he really wouldn't mind contributing his efforts towards. Besides, he kind of agreed with Rachel. Kurt had to win this election. Otherwise, they'd have absolute jack to look forward to, considering all of their other options.

However, for all of this to go down smoothly and without detection, it had to be done just right.

To start, they were going to need numbers from the previous three elections, to get an idea of how many voted each year, and then a total number of enrolled for the senior class this year. He couldn't get those kinds of numbers on his own...they needed someone who worked in the office.

"We'll need an inside man." Puck stated matter-of-factly, setting the ball into motion. "And I happen to know just the man."

ooooocoooo*ooooovoooo*

"Do you have any idea what I had to do to get this information?" Matt asked in a hushed, clandestine tone as they all stood lingering on the stage, waiting for the mash off to start. "Now, on top of all my homework, I have to prepare a bullet speech for tomorrow's morning announcements."

"I don't know what that means, but it sounds like it sucks." Puck offered out of the corner of his mouth, arms crossed over his chest, with the tucked hand standing open for deliveries.

Grumbling under his breath, Matt passed the tightly folded sheet of paper into Puck's hand.

"It means I have to take all that information I found for you, highlight the numbers, and put some flowery spin on it to try and entice future voters through the mouth of Coach Sylvester." Matt enumerated, crossing his own arms over his chest once he'd passed the information off to Puck.

"I appreciate this." Puck said, glancing over at Matt briefly. "I'll owe you big time."

"What are you gonna do?" Matt asked curiously, staring at Puck, giving up the pretense of secrecy.

"The less you know, the better." Puck replied cryptically, his gaze straying to Rachel as she trailed exuberantly behind Mr. Schuester, rounding up both clubs.

"Whatever you say, man." Matt said in an off-beat tone, following Puck's gaze, and finding Santana standing right beside Rachel. "I just hope Kurt wins. I really don't want to live in a world with Brittany, or Rick the Stick, as president."

ooooooozoooo*ooooaooooo*

"Well...that was different." Rachel commented after their performance, wiping the sweat from her forehead as they all exited the stage. She could still see the way the Mack's eyes had bugged out before covering her mouth, probably to smother the laughter Rachel had seen bubbling in her eyes.

Puck, trailing alongside her, with his mustache and curly wig in hand, didn't necessarily disagree.

"It was cheerful. And upbeat." Puck suggested, his tone slightly questioning, as if searching for appropriate adjectives.

"That it may have been, and while I appreciate the thoughtfulness behind Finn's choice, and the point he was trying to make, I still believe that the choice was too dated, and it may have cost us the match." Rachel critiqued, nevertheless attempting to lessen the blow, even though Finn was out of earshot.

"Rory was good, though." Puck said, looking for a positive.

"Rory was excellent. He performed spectacularly. Finn was right about that." Rachel conceded with a small smile.

"Did you talk to Shelby today?" Puck asked as a subject change, glancing over at her as they walked.

"I did." Rachel said simply. She twisted a loose thread on her tulle skirt. "I asked her to write her own version of the letter. You were right, she appeared to be very happy when I asked."

"I told you, babe." Puck said, twining her arm around his and squeezing it supportively. "She wants to be there for you, to make up for all that she missed out on. I can be right about some things, you know. It's what makes our relationship so awesome. We balance each other's wrongs with rights."

Chuckling, Rachel pressed into Puck's side, tightening her hold on his arm.

"If you say so, sweetheart." Rachel said glibly, patting his face affectionately.

Mock snapping at her fingers with his teeth, Puck then turned them towards the locker rooms, the rest of the group already entering their respective rooms.

ooooowoo*ooooooaooo*

So I'm switching things around slightly, in that the debate takes place on Wednesday, before the 1st day of Mash Offs. I moved that to Thursday. I wanted to try and put their romantic dinner scene in this chapter, but it just didn't work out. Well, that's it for now.