Disclaimer: see chapter 1.
Puck had a finely held veil on the veela inside.
MATE. CLAIM. KNOWS. His veela was growing even stronger recently with not having been able to see Rachel. He knew she rejected him, but wanting to meet him could put the plan C, or Phase Two or whatever Kurt was talking about back on track. He almost just wanted to hold his breath until he turned blue.
As he turned the corner to the football field, he saw her on the bleachers. School had let out a few hours ago and the general population fled for the weekend. His veela wanted to break free with his memories of the largest fail ever last time the two were on the bleachers. The veela couldn't let Puck forget that he let his mate go, without even a fight.
He took deep, deep breaths, as he went up the stairs. He hesitated. Should he sit in front of her or behind? Should he just stand and wait for her to approach? His moment of indecision made hers. She saw him, standing and walked over to him.
"Noah," he heard her take a deep breath. "Noah," she had much more conviction this time, "I have done some thinking. I have made a choice."
Puck just kept nodding. He already knew whatever she said could not be worse than her flat out sprinting away from him.
"I have decided to.. " She looked at her Mary Janes. "I have decided to consider you.. as a suitor." She glanced up at him at this.
His veela was rumbling with anger, hope, and confusion. "Rach, Babe, what does that mean? Are you rejecting me or not?"
"I am giving you a re-do, Noah. This past month or so has been us enjoying our friendship, but now I understand the full extent of your intentions, I am willing to discuss and ponder the reality of being your mate." Hearing Rachel call herself his mate made his veela preen.
"So, you're not saying no, but you're not saying yes. Is that right?" He asked hesitantly.
"That is correct." She bit her lip.
The veela almost wing-ed out with that one action. She was his everything and he would show her.
"But, I feel you should be warned, especially with the violent tendencies common with veelas, that Finn has also made me aware of his continual affections."
Puck could smell the slight fear coming off her in waves. Did Finn make her fearful or him? He growled slightly. "Rach, if he's doin somethin you don't like, you got to tell me."
Rachel widened her eyes at the implication. "No, of course not. Its just... You need to be prepared." The two paused to let the information sink in.
"Here. This." Rachel whipped her head to turn to Puck. He continued, "This is my biggest regret, Rach. And it wasn't even when I became veela. I shouldn't have lied to you on the bleachers that day. I wasn't going to break up with you. I wasn't in love with Quinn. I cared about her and was worried, yeah, but I was in love with you. Even then." Puck lowered his head in recognition of the truth.
"Oh, Noah," Rachel started, voice overflowing with sympathy. She audibly sighed. "Well, that was what I wanted to say. Is there anything you feel I should know?"
Puck leveled his gaze at hers. "Yeah," he itched the back of his neck in worry. How would she take this development? "There is just one major difference.. from before." He called upon his veela, feeding on the hatred from Finn's actions in the past and the frustration at his future attempts. Suddenly, his long black wings ripped through his back, pushing his unshed feathers into the surrounding area like confetti. He heard Rachel's deep gasp. He tried not to chuckle to himself. He'd never shown anyone else his new feature. Sure, he examined them in the mirror once it sunk in who and what he now was. However, he never heard anyone else's opinion on them. He almost blushed with the intensity of her gaze.
"May I.." she reached out in an attempt to touch.
He almost wanted to warn her that his veela was very close to taking control, but figured it wouldn't hurt. He shrugged as she stepped closer. His veela was very happy and proud. The moment she made contact with the soft obsidian feathers, he instantly purred with contentment. She started stroking them gently, enjoying the feeling between her fingers. Her scent was heady all around him, making him blissfully drown in Rachel. His ears heard a booming sound come from behind him. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around the teen, and let his wings pick the two off the ground. Her shrieks went mute to his ears.
His veela was fully in control at this point, and he took her to his nest, home, room. Landing on the tree outside his room, Rachel turned to face the boy she thought she knew.
"Noah?" she asked quietly.
"VEELA." She heard a low growl accompany the voice like rocks in a blender. She swallowed in fear. "MATE NOT BE AFRAID. MATE SAFE."
Rachel nodded slowly, in an attempt to appease the veela.
She knew she should be much more afraid than she was. She felt more surprised at the appearance of Noah's veela than anything else. The hazel orbs she loved so much had grown to complete darkness, and were now just lazily taking in her face. She realized this was the perfect chance to ask the veela about the mate issue.
"Veela, what does being your mate mean?"
"MATE LOVE AND LOVED. PUPS. TOGETHER FOREVER. EVERYTHING."
Rachel nodded again, still slightly paranoid of the precarious tree crouching they were doing. "And I know you want me to be your mate, but does Noah? The human Noah?"
"NOAH LOVES. YES." That answered that.
"Where are we going now, veela?"
"VEELA AND MATE IN ROOM. WINGS DONT FIT. NEED BED. NOAH HAS IDEAS." A very dark grin grew upon Noah's face, which resembled the slightly sexy smirk he wore to rile her up. Realizing the thoughts of Noah and veela, Rachel blushed.
"Umm, veela, I.." she wondered how to word it so as to avoid angering the veela. "I haven't agreed yet to be a mate. To anyone."
"MATE NOT REJECTED VEELA."
Rachel nodded. "Yes, that's true. I did not reject you. I am still in the process of making a decision. Finn has also, in a way, asked me to be his mate." At the mention of Finn, the veela growled.
"GIANTMAN HURT MATE. MATE NO NEED GIANTMAN. MATE NEED VEELA." Rachel's pulsed picked up at the fear that Noah would attempt to hurt Finn over whatever slight the veela believed happened.
"No, Finn never hurt me. We disagreed."
Noah shook his head. "GIANTMAN MAKE MATE FEEL BAD. HE HURT MATE."
Rachel's eyes widen in understanding. "That day in your car. You thought.." Rachel realized that this was not the way this conversation should be heading. Attempting to explain the intricacies of a relationship to a veela was not the best way to calm him down. "Well, Veela, I am perfectly safe and happy right now. So, maybe we could let Noah back in order to fit inside the house?" She hoped the combination of employing logic with her placating acting voice would be enough to get Noah back in control. Noah nodded and took three deep breaths with his eyes closed.
When he reopened them, they were her favorite enticing hazel. "Sorry, Rach. It's a reflex now, you know." Noah looked down in shame. Then, he realized how high up they were. Opening the window, he held out a hand for Rachel to hold onto as she stepped through.
Puck looked around his room, kicking the dirty clothes under his bed as much as possible. "Sorry, I..." Puck sighed. He knew his room was bad. He had lived in it for two weeks practically without leaving. It was a tornado crime scene. He looked up, blushing a little as his petite brunette stepped around the piles of clothes and dirty dishes. He saw her nod with determination. His heart beat faster, anticipating her next words.
"Noah. I realize how this situation must be for you, and I apologize. I needed some time to fully grasp my role in your life now. Before I allow any of this to continue, I have a few questions." She sat on his bed, taking out a pink pen and hand-sized notebook from her side purse. While she flipped it open, Puck sat down in his swivel desk chair, mesmerized by her presence in his space.
"Firstly, I need to know the intricacies of being a mate. What does that entail for our relationship from now forward, should I decide to reciprocate." She looked up expectantly.
Puck took a deep breath. Fuck, he thought to himself. All of his midnight fantasies were starting on a repeat reel in his mind. She was too distracting. "Rach, my mate is the one person in my life I care for more than myself." Puck could feel his face heating up even more than before. "I want to spend every second with you, if I can. Touch you, smell you, remind me that you are here and safe. I... care for you too. In every possible way," Puck used every amount of veela strength not to seductively wiggle his eyebrows at this statement. "I guess, what I'm trying to say, is that I need you in my life." He paused. Puck knew this would be a leap, but he knew Rachel. He knew she needed to hear this. "At first, I thought that once I found my mate I would instantly propose," he chuckled a little to lighten the severity. During his speech, Puck had taken to picking at a string coming loose at the bottom of his shirt. Hearing Rachel's little gasp after the word propose prompted Puck to meet her surprised gaze. He swallowed. She looked so beautiful sitting on his bed.
Rachel nodded affirmatively. "Ok, I understand. I think." She went back to her notes, making a few scribbles here and there on the page. "My next question. What are your alternatives? Can you ever find another mate?"
At this, Puck's veela growled. "No, Rachel. I can't. I don't ever want another girl to touch me again." His eyes started to turn dark as he glared at his mate. After a moment of stunned silence, Puck relaxed. "Rach," He ran a hand along the back of his 'hawk. "If you reject me. And I mean like officially reject me, I will die about a month after we graduate." Rachel's loud, shocked gasp filled the room.
"Oh dear, oh Noah." Rachel wrote frantically on her notepad. "What about my family? I know Veelas are generally very possessive, especially in regards to others of the same sex. Will there be problems with you and my fathers because they hug me or kiss me on the cheek?"
Puck shook his head. "Hell no, Rach. I know they are way too old for you. Plus, the image doesn't make my skin crawl, so I think we are good. Its just people like..." at the mere thought of the tall pasty jock, the veela growled viciously.
"Finn.." Rachel whispered, but Puck's hearing was able to pick up on it. Puck nodded. "School will be interesting," she mentioned somberly. "Oh! That was why you knocked him unconscious when we mentioned our engagement!" Rachel's smile lit up the room. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to hold back the memory for Puck.
"GIANTMAN NOT CARE FOR MATE. MINE," he rumbled lowly. Puck screamed at his veela for coming out again. He just got himself under control! This was no way to win Rachel's heart if his veela appeared every time Rachel even mentioned Finn! In the midst of cussing out his veela (and himself), he heard Rachel's soothing tone.
"Oh, it's alright Veela. I completely understand. Finn has not fully immersed himself in the role of perfect boyfriend. I believed him to be my leading man, but he has made too many mistakes. That is why I am opening the role to auditions, so to speak." She giggled to herself, making the veela utterly relaxed. Puck took the chance to nail down his possessive sidekick to take control.
"Sorry, Rach. It's just, I never really got an audition, you know. When we dated, it wasn't like I was really trying to get you to like me. I was..." Puck couldn't bring himself to say why he really dated Rachel back then.
"Oh, Noah. I know. Quinn's state was the impetus for attempting to make yourself a more qualified boyfriend and father. As well as drawing her away from Finn's orbit. And I, of course, as you already know, was besotted with the idea of capturing Finn's attention for good." She sighed wistfully. "If only my dreams could have been the reality." That last statement made Puck sit up. He barely understood half of what she was saying, but he knew regret intimately.
"Well, Rach. What did you want?" He asked hesitantly.
Rachel's paused, studying him. She looked at the carpeted floor of his bedroom. "You know," she started quietly, "I don't think Finn has ever actually asked me that." She turned back to the boy, beaming. "Thank you, Noah."
Puck shrugged. His veela bristled at being compared to Finn as well as the idea that Finn couldn't care enough to actually ask the girl about her desires. He smirked, "I know you eventually want a ride on the Puckzilla machine, babe. But, being a mate is way more than that." He looked at her softly. "That's kind of what I've been trying to say."
Rachel nodded. They continued to talk for another hour, both of them already prepared with research on Veelas. Rachel confirmed that Puck had already notified Shelby of Beth's possible inheritance soon after he was confirmed to show the gene for it. They agreed, despite much protesting on Puck's end, that Rachel would alternate dates. One with him, one with Finn. Also, during the Finn dates, Puck would be sure to be around someone who could help control his Veela side while Rachel would text Puck every half-hour as to where she was and what was happening. After Rachel left, Puck realized that he never let any other girl walk over him like he let Rachel.
Thinking about his next date with her, Puck feel asleep with a sly grin on his lips.
A/N: Does anyone want to see Finn's date? Or should I end it before that? I can't decide!