A/N: While I'm still working on "Best Christmas Ever", a line popped into my head and forced me to write a fic that it would fit in. Sixteen words became over eight thousand, and here is the result.
Disclaimer: They own the sandbox, I just play in it.
Recovered from his eye surgery, Blaine decided to take advantage of his family's absence that weekend by having his Glee friends over for a party. Things were going pretty well – music, a bit of dancing, some singing, and a whole lot of conversation – but as it got later, Puck brought out his latest drink mixture and started passing it around.
"Let me know what you think of this, I've been working on the blend," Puck said as he filled up some cups and handed them around. Most of the boys took one look at the pinkish color and passed them on, but the girls started tasting them. Kurt tried a small mouthful and had a hard time not spitting it out; it tasted fine, but it was very alcoholic.
"No thanks," Kurt said after he swallowed. "And you really shouldn't have." He left the mostly full cup on the side table, then went back to talking to Blaine, his head pillowed on his boyfriend's shoulder.
Most of the girls just tried a bit; some of them, like Santana and Brittany, grabbed some extra cups and split it between themselves, watering it down. But Rachel was already having a happy night, relaxing and spending time with her friends and with Finn. The drink was tasty, and pink, and she kept idly sipping from her undiluted cup as she sang along to the music being played, her left hand resting on Finn's knee.
Finn felt Rachel's hand creep higher up his leg, and then drop down to rub his inner thigh. He looked at her; she seemed to be doing it quite idly, her attention on the music instead. The effect on him was anything but an idle one, though. The song finished and she applauded enthusiastically, particularly to Blaine and Kurt who had also been singing along. He was glad to see her so animated, but also glad that she'd removed her hand from his leg; her touch there had been turning him on too much, and he didn't want to show everyone how she made him feel, not like that.
Her cup empty, Rachel excused herself to go to the bathroom. On her return, she noticed the cup Kurt had left on the table and brought it back with her. She was thirsty, and her sips rapidly turned into gulps. She snuggled beside Finn, swaying idly back and forth to the music. After a while she started waving her hand as she moved to the music, and she brought it up to caress his cheek. Finn smiled, enjoying her touch, and kissed her hair.
"More please," she said as he stopped, so he bent down and kissed her again, twice in her hair and once on her forehead. "Mmmm." She hummed, but pouted a little. "Real ones," she demanded, turning her face up to him, her expression insistent. He smiled and pressed a light kiss to her lips, then turned his attention back to the conversation he'd been having with Mike.
"Not like that," Rachel said, interrupting him. "Let me show you." She leaned up to nuzzle his neck, and pulled his earlobe with her teeth. Her hand laced into his hair.
"Um, Rach..." God that felt good but... Finn stroked Rachel's hair, and coaxed her away from his neck. Mike flashed him an understanding grin and dropped their conversation, moving off to talk to Tina.
Rachel rose on one knee, turning into him, moving as if she was about to straddle him. "Finn, baby," she said teasingly, tracing her lips over his cheek. She pouted as he put his arm casually in her way, but grabbed onto it to lever herself up. She put her face next to his, her forehead in his hair, and inhaled. "You smell so good, baby," she said, quite loud despite being right by his ear.
And she smelled wonderful too, vanilla and berries in her hair, and that undefinable but unmistakeable scent that was Rachel aroused, the one that made him want her even more. And... quite a whiff of alcohol. Uh-oh. Finn cupped her face, looking into her eyes, seeing how dilated and hectic they were. "I think you've had a little too much, babe," he said. Her grip on his arm was strong, but her balance was a little unsteady. "Why don't you sit back down." Rachel pouted again, but sat down to snuggle into his side with his arm around her, and took a gulp of her drink. "Hey, you should go easy on that stuff, you'll get sick," Finn said, taking the drink out of her hand in a sudden panic. He glanced inside the cup and frowned as he saw there was only a little of Puck's 'magic juice' left in it. He cursed silently and wished he'd noticed how much she'd been drinking sooner.
"I feel good," Rachel stated loudly. "And I know what would make me feel even better," she went on, rubbing her hands down Finn's chest, letting them linger near his crotch. "Come on Finn baby, you know it too. Don't make me beg."
"You're... drunk, Rach," Finn said, trying to fend her off. Their fun evening had suddenly turned very awkward. But she was all over him, and he had to admit to himself that her obvious desire for him was kind of hot. How the hell do I resist this? Do I even have to?
"Just a little tipsy," she insisted. "And you wouldn't be taking advantage of me, it's not like I wouldn't do these things sober, I mean we have done them sober, over and over..."
While the others were trying to ignore Rachel's drunken ramblings, a few of them snorted at this.
"What's in that stuff," Finn asked, grabbing at Puck's drink supply. He took a whiff of it. "No wonder, this is at least two-thirds alcohol," he said, annoyed. Shit.
"Hey, you can thank me later for my help," Puck smirked. He'd been sampling his own mixture pretty heavily too, though Finn didn't know how he could stand the sweet taste.
"I don't need any of that kind of help, Puckerman," Finn said angrily.
"Yes, Puck," Quinn commented drily from the corner where she sat with Mercedes. "Not everyone needs to get the girl drunk first."
"Hey," Puck said, shocked into semi-sobriety by Quinn's veiled accusation. "You weren't that drunk, and you knew what you were doing when you invited me up to your room."
"Yes, okay, I did," Quinn admitted. She frowned. "That still doesn't let you off the hook for how much you spread the stuff around, though." She looked over to the couch, where Finn was trying to hold Rachel's shoulders while also keeping her hands away from his privates. "Is she going to be all right?"
"It goes through her system pretty quickly, I think," Finn answered. "She's just too small to drink so much so fast." He took the cup of water that Tina offered him, and silently nodded his thanks to her. "Just calm down, Rach honey," he said quietly, lifting Rachel's hand from his crotch and holding it in his.
"Okay, I'll be good now," Rachel promised sweetly, giving Finn a beaming smile. "Will you be good to me?"
"Always, Rach."
"That's right, you're always so good to me," Rachel said, looking adoringly into Finn's face.
"Here, have some water," Finn said softly, holding the cup to Rachel's lips. She nodded and drank deeply. As he lowered the cup, he saw a drop of water clinging to her lip. "Let me get that." He smiled and wiped it away with his thumb, the gesture and her wide vulnerable eyes taking him back two and a half years and to the stage at McKinley. His heart thudded, much as it had then. Then his lips were on hers, tasting the remnants of Puck's sweet booze mix, feeling the unexpectedly firm pressure of her mouth under his as she returned his kiss. She doesn't seem that drunk now. Maybe.
The others turned away, unwilling to witness a moment that intimate. Random chatter filled the room, and Blaine changed the music to something upbeat.
"Hey," he breathed as their mouths parted. He'd only had a couple of beers, earlier in the evening, but that didn't matter; Finn felt he could get drunk just on the way she looked at him.
"Hey," she smiled in return. "No running off this time, please baby," she murmured.
"I promise." Never again. He absently noted that she seemed to be progressing to the maudlin stage, so hopefully her system would work the booze out of it soon. He breathed a small sigh of relief as she snuggled quietly into his side.
The conversation moved on, and Finn talked to Blaine and Kurt for a while, all joking about a few things at each others' expense. Rachel sat forward and laughed loud and long at something Finn said about Kurt, which earned them both a glare.
"Hey, it wasn't that funny, Rach," Finn told her.
"You make it funny," she stated, looking up at him. "That funny honey of mine," she sang. "Only she's being ironic and I'm not, honey mine," she continued pertly, looking up at him, running her hand up his arm and into his hair.
"Damn, I thought you were sobering up," Finn muttered.
"Loaded and still on pitch," Quinn commented wryly.
"It's probably just the last drink from her stomach," Mercedes offered. While it seemed awkward to be discussing Rachel in the third person while she was right there, it was quite obvious that she was completely focused on Finn and Finn alone. "She might have been better off if she'd brought it up."
"Can't, no gag reflex," Finn responded idly, his eyes fixed on Rachel.
"How do you even know that?" Sam asked.
"You lucky dog," Puck commented with a leer.
"Shut up, Puck," Finn threw back. "I'm not so lucky right now, am I?"
"You're not lucky, baby?" Rachel asked, looking up at Finn. "You could get lucky, I mean you can always get lucky with me, you know that right? With me and only me."
"Ah, sure, Rach," Finn replied. "You're my lucky star." He winced at saying these private endearments in earshot of their friends. He loved her so much, more than anything, but right now she was killing him.
"And you're mine, I love you so much." Rachel bounded to her feet and took a few surprisingly steady steps. "Come dance with me, Finn," she ordered, holding both her hands out to him. Finn rose to take them, and she pulled him into the center of the room with a fair amount of force.
"Dancing with me is kind of risky at the best of times..." Finn protested, but still went with her.
"Drunks take risks," Santana laughed.
"Not that kind of dancing, silly," Rachel proclaimed, grabbing Finn tightly around the waist. Her feet rooted to the floor and she started moving her body sinuously, sliding over Finn's groin, grinding her hips up at his. Finn was suddenly glad that he'd had those beers earlier, just enough alcohol to stop him from coming right away in front of everyone. He gritted his teeth and thought of colder things, of hitting the mailman, of anything to take his mind off of the raging erection in his jeans and how good Rachel's body felt against his.
"Not here, Rach," he muttered in her ear. Despite her small stature, she was still proving difficult to handle on his own. "Kurt, could you please give me a hand here?" he called out.
"Okay, I've got you, little drunken diva," Kurt said, coming up and putting his arm around Rachel to support her as Finn moved her to the side of the room. But Rachel startled at his touch and pulled away, sending Kurt momentarily up against Finn. Kurt jumped back and glared at his brother. "Seriously, Finn? You're turned on by this?" he hissed.
"She knows how to do it!" Finn gritted out, his jaw clenched. He steadied Rachel back in his arms.
"It's not hard," Santana called out.
"Oh, I beg to differ..."
"This isn't helping, Kurt!" Finn was exasperated. "This really isn't a time for jokes, okay?"
Kurt surveyed his frustrated brother and inebriated best friend, clinched together. "I'll make her some coffee," he said, leaving the room.
"I'll give you a hand, since you need one," Puck said, coming forward, a little unsteady himself.
"Haven't you helped enough?"
"Hey, you know I'd never do anything to hurt her, right?" Puck asked Finn, looking pained. Apparently Puck was getting to his own maudlin drunk stage.
"Yeah, I know," Finn responded. "Just please don't give her any more of that stuff. Ever. Another cupful and she'd probably have alcohol poisoning." And I've heard more than enough from Mom about that. "She's not a subject for your booze experiments, okay?"
"Sorry, dude." Puck gave his friend an apologetic look.
Finn looked down at Rachel, who seemed steadier. "Kurt's making you some coffee, okay Rach?"
Rachel shook her head violently. "Don't want coffee." She smiled up at him. "I just want you, baby." She rubbed her hands up his arms, her fingers stroking deeply into the crease at his triceps. "I love how your strong arms feel around me, Finn," she cooed.
Ah, sure, any time, he thought, still trying to keep his mind away from the physical effect she was having on him.
"I feel like you could carry me anywhere. My man."
"Anything for you," he said quietly, trying to cajole her into calmness. He leaned over and held her tightly, stilling her movements and keeping his groin away from her.
"With you under me, I feel like I'm flying..."
Um, what? Could be innocent enough, but... "Not here, Rach," Finn hissed, trying to shush her. "Uh, we should go." Upstairs at least. They'd planned to stay over, and he couldn't take her home like this.
"I want to ride you like a horse, baby... I mean you are hung like one -"
"Rachel!" Finn flushed scarlet, stepping back from her in shock.
Rachel pressed her hand to her mouth and giggled. "Oops. Of course I wouldn't ride a horse like that, but you always make me feel so good, Finny..."
Oh my God I can't believe she said that. Any of it. "This is way too public, Rach," Finn said, steering her into the hall. She usually called him "Finny" only when she was really far gone on alcohol, cold meds, or lack of sleep, which wasn't often. He looked back at the others. "I'll, uh, try to settle her down," he said. "Sorry about this." And please forget everything she just said. He was having a hard time figuring out what to do; between the blood suffusing his face due to embarrassment, and the blood hitting his groin due to arousal, there wasn't much left for his brain.
Finn guided Rachel up to the Andersons' guest bedroom. Luckily Blaine had let them have this room for the night, so it was already set up for their use, and they'd left their bags here. Finn hadn't planned to be using it so soon, though, and he wasn't sure whether they should be going in for the sort of activities that they'd originally had in mind, no matter how much Rachel was obviously wanting it. He'd been hoping for some leisurely post-party lovemaking, once most of the others had left and Kurt and Blaine would be similarly occupied over in Blaine's room at the other end of the house. Maybe he should just settle Rachel in bed and give her some more water.
Rachel, however, had other plans. "Alone at last," she chirped as he returned to the room with a glass of water.
You mean she knew we weren't alone before? Finn thought, his mind reeling. Then Rachel's hand snaked up her back and opened the zipper on her dress. She let it slide down her body and stepped out of it toward him, clad only in her lacy slip and panties. He gulped and held the water out to her, but instead of taking the glass she bent her head and drank from it as he held it. Then she looked up at him, meeting his eyes, her tongue passing slowly and deliberately over her lips to lick up the few stray drops that clung to them. So damn sexy, was Finn's last thought before all his blood rushed south. He swallowed and put the glass down just in time, just before Rachel crashed into his arms.
Finn staggered back into the side of the bed, somehow managing to stay on his feet. Rachel was pressed tightly against him from her momentum, a delicious armful of hair, lace, and skin. Warm, soft, and his. He tried to move her back a little.
"Please, Finn," Rachel murmured, pulling him down to her. "I want you so much. I know I'm a mess but it's hard, being so close to you, wanting you, and not..." her lips started to work on his neck, massaging his pulse point.
Oh, he knew what that was like all right.
Finn knew Rachel wasn't herself right now. But they were engaged, and, as she had drunkenly declared earlier, making love was a regular part of their lives these days. And she really, really wanted him, and her lack of inhibition was seriously hot. He certainly couldn't leave her alone in this state. She ground into him again, and he lost his resolve to resist, moving his arms to hold her to him instead of keep her away. She smiled, kissed him sloppily – ok, that wasn't so hot – and went to open his belt. He quickly snatched a condom from his pocket as she opened his fly and pushed his jeans down. A moment later she launched herself into his lap, pushing him backwards onto the bed.
Not like this, he thought. "Slow down, Rach," he pleaded, catching her hands and pushing her clear of his throbbing groin. He didn't want to be just a quick fuck, and he was sure she really didn't want that either, not matter how aggressive she was being right now. He grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes as she protested. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? Just take it easy, we'll get there."
"Okay, baby." Rachel seemed a bit more tractable now. "Whatever you want."
"Good, 'cause I really don't want to injure, um, anything important," he explained. He rose off the bed and shed his jeans and outer shirt, leaving him in just his tee and boxers. Rachel gave him a flirtatious smile and shimmied a little; he wasn't sure what that was about until he saw her step out of her panties, so she was wearing only her slip. He sat back down on the bed, swallowing, as Rachel crawled towards him over the covers, a predatory look on her face. Her slip hung loose as she leaned forward and he had a clear view down it of her breasts, nipples already taut. Oh Rachel.
Then all thoughts disappeared again as she crawled over his lap and attacked his mouth with hers.
"Do you want me?" Rachel challenged, panting from the kiss.
"God yes," Finn choked out.
"Good, 'cause I want you," Rachel proclaimed. "I want you so much, Finn." She ground herself against him, and he felt how wet she already was, how slick with her need for him. He moved her off for long enough to free himself from his boxers and roll on the condom, and then she was on him.
Rachel slid onto him, using her weight to push him more deeply into her, and started rocking back and forth. Finn stroked her body and moaned soundlessly, his throat tense, still dimly aware that their friends were all downstairs. Rachel, however, was not similarly restrained. As she pushed herself up and down on him, and moved her hips around, her moans filled the room. Rachel had an excellent vocal range and projection, and all of that talent infused her vocalizations as she moved, showing how much enjoyment she had in the feel of Finn inside her and the friction between their bodies.
Back downstairs, the rest of the group were distracted by the sound of moans coming from above. After a while they heard Rachel screaming "Oh yes, Finn, Finn, you make me feel so good," repeatedly, with variations. Puck cracked up, which set most of the rest of them laughing too.
Kurt rolled his eyes. "Welcome to my world," he said. "They don't always notice that I'm home." He grimaced. "So Rachel's drunk, but what's Finn's excuse?"
Blaine turned up the music, which was somewhat effective, but they could still hear some loud on-key moans and high notes coming from above. "I'll give Finn a pass on this," he stated. "Rachel wasn't giving up, and at least he got her upstairs first."
"What Rachel Berry wants, Rachel Berry gets," Mercedes laughed.
"That's not really true," Brittany said, and everyone looked at her. "Well it's not. She's wanted lots of things she hasn't gotten."
Kurt put his hands over his ears. "My best friend and my brother are going at it like dogs in heat," he complained. "I really do not need to hear this."
After a while, they heard a particularly loud scream of satisfaction from Rachel, and a much lower-pitched suppressed groan that was presumably from Finn. Then quiet descended.
They all exchanged glances, Kurt uncovering his ears, but none of them were willing to break the uncomfortable silence. Finally Brittany turned to Santana. "I thought you said he was bad," she commented.
"Past tense, apparently," Artie said.
Santana was unsettled by the proof that her frequent needling about Finn's lack of prowess was seriously out of date. "Obviously he's had a lot of recent practice," she admitted reluctantly.
"Yeah, over and over," Mike said, chuckling. He glanced up at the ceiling. "Sorry."
"I hope it's not 'over and over' this time," Rory said with a laugh, and he got a few answering snickers.
"She's definitely right about his size, though, Frankenteen is big," Santana commented, her usual confident demeanor returning. "I don't know how the dwarf handled it but I'm glad he wasn't my first."
"I wish you wouldn't talk about the guys you've been with," Brittany pouted quietly, mostly aside to Santana. "We were even kind of together then."
Santana was startled. "It was your idea in the first place. And you brought it up just now."
"Some of my ideas aren't as good as my other ones," Brittany responded. The others gently chuckled at this admission. "But I think we should dance now. Like really dance, not what they were doing."
Santana smiled and jumped to her feet, making for the middle of the floor where Brittany joined her, and many of the others soon started dancing as well. Since there were no further sounds from above, the party resumed and went well into the night.
Finn woke up the next morning and watched Rachel still sleeping at his side. So peaceful and so beautiful, he thought. Wonder if she'll have a hangover though. After a while she stirred and yawned.
"Hey there party girl," he said softly. "How's your head?"
Rachel sat up a little suddenly, then lay back down. She rose more slowly, turning to look at Finn. "Um... okay I think," she said. She blinked a few times. "But I'm a bit dehydrated." She swallowed. "More than a bit."
Finn smiled and handed her the glass of water that he'd left by the bed. Rachel drank thirstily. "That's better," she said. "Thank you, you're so good to me." She paused for a moment, thinking over what she'd just said, the familiar wording triggering her memories of the night before. "Oh God, I didn't," she gasped. "I did." She sighed, putting her palms over her face as she remembered various things that she'd said last night. "That concoction of Noah's should be illegal," she said. "Not that it takes that to get me to appreciate you, but..." she groaned. "I can't believe I told everyone." Finn laughed, which earned him a shove from Rachel. "Don't laugh, please," she said. "I'm mortified."
"Hey, I was pretty... mortified.. last night," he said. "It gets a bit better with time."
"Oh I'm so sorry Finn, I was so embarrassing," Rachel apologized. "Not only can I not hold my liquor but I was completely all over you. I did not want to be that clingy drunk again, and look what I did anyway." She sighed. "And I did not mean to just jump you like that."
"Should I not have...?" Finn trailed off. Had he taken advantage of her condition?
"Oh no, you didn't do anything wrong," she said quickly. "We'd intended to, and you know how much I want you and love being with you, I'd hate to think my drinking a little would stop us. Anyway, you had to, I mean I practically made you go to bed with me, from what I remember I'm sure it was the only way to quiet me down about it." She smiled. "And it felt so good, you always make me feel wonderful and take such good care of me. But I didn't mean to treat you like some sort of sex object, I love you Finn." She stroked his arm.
"I love you too, Rach."
"I may have said things I wouldn't have when sober but every last word was true."
Finn smirked. Yeah, I guess, he thought. Except... "I'm not sure the quieting down part worked though."
"Oh?" Rachel looked thoughtful, trying to remember, and then froze. "Oh." She buried her face in Finn's chest. "I was so loud," she groaned. "Oh, I am so very sorry, Finn."
"It's okay."
"No it's not, I ruined the party for you," she insisted. "If we were just going to do that we could have stayed at your place. I know you like to relax at these things. And everyone must have heard – I get a little alcohol in me and I ruin things for everyone. Blaine must hate me, I completely ruined his party."
"No, they kept it going for quite a while, um, after," Finn said. "I heard the music going, anyway."
"Oh, that's good." Rachel sighed. "I need to apologize to them all, though. Especially Blaine, he was so good to give us this room and look what I did with it, you even had a hard time getting me to wait until we got up here." She thought. "I need to do something to make it up to them," she stated. "I could bake, and ask Kurt what Blaine likes." She frowned. "It doesn't seem like enough."
"Everyone loves your baking so that's never a bad idea." He stroked her shoulder. "And I could always have some more of your banana bread, any time."
"That's what I'll do today, then," she determined. "After I beg Blaine to forgive me, of course." She smiled at Finn. "And you can always have more banana bread, you don't need to sleep with me to earn that."
"And you don't need to make me banana bread to get me to sleep with you," Finn responded, grinning. They exchanged a kiss.
"I must taste awful," Rachel protested.
"Better than last night – I can't stand that stuff Puck mixes, it's too sweet," Finn said. "You're sweet enough for me on your own."
Rachel giggled and kissed him again. "Oh I am so far gone on you."
"Hope so, since we're going to get married," Finn smiled, then gave her a more serious look. "Same here, Rach. Though I've gotta say, you make a cute drunk but I like you better sober."
"I'll try to remember that." She looked at him carefully. "You're taking this very well, Finn."
Finn lay back and smiled at the ceiling. "It wasn't exactly torture, Rach," he teased her. "And... I did like having a chance to have you lose control with me." He swallowed and pursed his lips. "I mean, it's so hard for me to stay in control around you, like, all the time," he explained quietly. "It's just... really hard to keep my hands off you. It's actually good we don't have classes together this year, aside from glee club, because the closer we get the harder it is to think about anything other than you. And I know you love me and you want me, but last night I finally got it that it's hard for you too, that you're just a little self-control away from ripping my clothes off and having your way with me." He looked at her, glad to see that she was smiling at him. "It's great to know that."
Rachel leaned over him. "What, you didn't know that before?"
"In my head, I guess. It's not the same as actually experiencing it."
She stroked his face, then kissed him, her tongue sliding into his mouth. "Yes, it's hard for me too," she whispered. "It always is." She laid her head on his chest, smiling as she listened to his heart beat, fast and strong.
"You do realize you're still wearing only your slip, right?" he whispered to her. "And that it's taking every ounce of self-control I have not to flip you over right here and now?"
Rachel laughed and sat up. "If we go at it again this morning they'll never forgive last night," she said, sighing.
"I know. But it's hard anyway." Rachel flicked her eyes quickly down his body and up again, and Finn realized what he'd said. "I didn't mean it like that. At least not intentionally."
Rachel gave him a light kiss and stood up. "I'll stop teasing us both and get dressed."
They heard sounds coming up from the kitchen, so Rachel hurriedly washed up and changed into the spare clothes she'd brought. She went downstairs and timidly approached Blaine, who stood at the stove with his back turned to the doorway.
"I am so very sorry, Blaine," she said.
Blaine chuckled and looked back at her. "It's okay, Rachel," he said. "Really."
"Says you," Kurt called in from the dining room.
Blaine turned away from the stove. "Yes, says me, it's my place," he said. "You seem okay, I'm surprised you even remember."
"I didn't drink that much," Rachel protested.
"Just enough for a good excuse, huh Berry?" Puck wandered in from the living room. He had also spent the night, in his case on the couch; the others had all sobered up or had rides from those who had.
Rachel was outraged. "If you think I need an excuse -"
"Hey, calm down," Puck said. He looked her up and down. "Well you don't look too much the worse for wear, of either kind. Hope you left Hudson in one piece."
"I would never damage Finn. He'll be down soon."
"Good, 'cause you break you buy."
Rachel glanced down at her engagement ring with a small smile. "Even so." She turned back to Blaine. "I don't suppose the coffee offer is still open? Please?"
"Wow, you really do remember the details," Blaine said. "Sure, I'll make some more."
"I've got some of my mix left if you want it," Puck offered with a smirk. "You know, to use the next time you want to loosen up."
Rachel shuddered. "No, if I've learned one thing from last night it's to never take a drink from you again, Noah. And I do not need chemical assistance to 'loosen up'."
"Can we please talk about something else?" Kurt yelled.
"Sure thing, Kurt," Blaine called back. "Hey, did you hear about that storm that might come through in a couple of days?"
"The weather? Really?" Puck snorted.
"Hey, it could be a problem," Blaine answered. "They're saying maybe two feet of snow."
They were retelling weird weather stories from past years when Finn came down five minutes later, nodding to Blaine and deliberately ignoring Puck's knowing leer.
Rachel spent Sunday afternoon baking batch after batch of I'm-really-sorry-I-had-loud-sex-at-your-party muffins, and stashed them in the pantry so she could bring them to Glee on Tuesday. She made some extra blueberry ones for Blaine, having been told by Kurt that Blaine liked them, and added some apple-cinnamon for Kurt when she realized from his tone of voice how uncomfortable he'd been too. Her final effort was several loaves of banana bread for Finn.
Any hope that the glee club circle was sufficiently closed for the events of Saturday night to not get out was dashed for them both when they arrived at school Monday morning. As Finn went to his locker he was met with the sight of a crudely photoshopped poster of a horse and rider, with Rachel's face on the rider and Finn's on the horse. Finn stared at it in horror, only to have it ripped down in front of his eyes by an irate Rachel, whose hands were full of crumpled posters.
"They're all over the school," Rachel said. "I am so sorry, Finn. I don't know how it got out."
"Hey, Finnsatiable," Santana jibed as she sashayed past.
Finn stepped in front of her. "Did you have anything to do with this, Santana?" he asked, gesturing to the posters Rachel held.
"Nope, not me," Santana declared. "The only thing I've done about your big show on Saturday is try to scrub it from my brain." She shrugged. "Word gets around though, it could have been anyone. See ya."
As the halls filled with students going to class, Finn and Rachel were met with whispers, giggles, and stares.
"Hey, Hudson, didn't recognize you without your bag of oats," one hockey player called out to him as his teammates laughed.
"Yeah, are you saddlebroke or does she go bareback?" another added.
Finn gritted his teeth in rage, but Rachel pulled his hand to her. "Let's just ignore them," she said quietly.
Finn's first class was Math, which he shared with Puck and Sam – and several knuckledraggers. The class filled with snickers and mock applause as the Glee trio went to their seats.
"Ooh, Finny, you make me feel so good," one guy behind him falsettoed.
"That can change," Finn muttered under his breath.
"What was that, Finny?" the guy's friend put in.
"He said he's not interested in you," Sam put in. "But we wish you all the best in finding someone who is." He glanced over his shoulder at the pair. "I realize that may be a long search for you, so good luck."
"Thanks, dude," Finn muttered to Sam, opening his text.
"Hey, they only wish they could get that kind of testimonial," Sam muttered back.
As he went to his next class, Finn found his path blocked by a camera, and he looked down to see the sneering face of Jacob ben Israel.
"So, how does it feel to be the big swinging dick of McKinley?" Jacob asked, sounding even more vicious than usual. "Do you think having a reputation as a big stud will help you hold onto your girlfriend this time?"
Finn blinked at the unusual question – while others had so far been taking the story as true, it seemed Jacob wasn't, or at least was trying to spin it differently. He frowned and pushed the camera out of his way. While he could understand the guy at least when it came to wanting Rachel, he'd had more than enough of Jacob's jealous smears and had already vowed never to say anything to him ever again. If Jacob could figure out a way to make it look like Finn was spreading the story himself, he'd do it. Finn lengthened his stride and walked on, very grateful for the support of his friends.
Puck lingered behind. "Just a tip, ben Israel – if you're swinging it, you're doing it wrong."
As the school day wore on, the razzing started to decrease, especially since Finn determinedly did not give his tormentors much of the reactions they were after. Indeed, not quite everyone had heard about Saturday night – Finn overheard a group of gamers talking about 'berry pie' on his way to lunch, and he almost clocked one of them before he realized that they were playing a strange card game involving zombies and had no idea why he was so pissed off. But the story had spread widely, and as the taunts faded Finn found they were replaced by the speculative eyes of a large part of the younger female student population. Some of them were flirting outrageously with him, while others were clearly checking out his crotch. After lunch a group of them surrounded him at his locker, some of them going so far as to press up against him. At first the attention had been kind of nice actually, especially after the morning's constant ribbing from the guys; hey, what guy doesn't like being looked on as some kind of sex god? But pretty soon he felt like just a piece of meat, like he was a pinup in one of those girl's magazines. When a sophomore girl in a Cheerios uniform "accidentally" stumbled into him and tried to rub against his crotch he stepped back and put his hands out to clear his personal space.
"Look, girls, I don't know what you've heard -"
"We'd like to find out for ourselves," one of them tittered.
"- but I'm engaged. Off the market. Taken. Not interested."
"Ohhh," came the disappointed sounds from the girls.
"Are you sure?" asked the Cheerio, putting her hand up to stroke his chest. He blocked it and pushed it away. "'Cause I could be so good to you."
"Then you haven't heard the full story, because my fiancée already seriously is." He grimaced, knowing that Rachel was probably going to come along at almost any moment, and she would not like how this looked. "So will you please all just back off?"
They pouted, but stood aside to let him pass. And sure enough, there was Rachel leaning against the far wall, looking at him with a little smile on her face. She was wearing a shirt and skirt instead of her dress from that morning, though, and he winced at that evidence of a likely slushie attack. He went up to her.
"Hey babe." He touched her hair, happy to find it still had its normal silky texture.
"Hey babe yourself," she said, beaming at him.
"I'm really sorry about that," Finn said sheepishly.
"Sorry about what? I thought you handled it very well," she said, taking his hand as they walked through the hall. "And it is all my fault anyway, if I wasn't so loud..."
Finn leaned down to Rachel's ear. "Actually I like that you're loud," he murmured. "I like knowing how good I make you feel, it's a real turn-on. I just don't want, uh, ..."
"The whole school to hear it," she finished for him. "I am so, so sorry, Finn. I know I keep saying that but I don't know what else to say."
"That's okay, Rach," Finn responded. "And there are much worse things than everyone knowing that I, uh, make my fiancée really happy."
Rachel blushed. "Well you do. And not just like that."
"You make me really happy too. In every way." They walked down the hall, Finn putting his arm around Rachel's shoulders. "So who went after you?" he asked quietly, trying not to get angry about it. "I know those are your spare clothes."
She shrugged. "One of the hockey players caught me by surprise. I didn't see exactly who. He said I needed to 'cool down'." She spoke matter-of-factly. "But they also sniggered about using wildberry flavor, so their message was rather inconsistent."
Finn looked down at her, disbelieving. "You had a slushie thrown at you and you're critiquing their style?"
Rachel laughed. "Well... I've had cleverer ones. Not that I said anything about that to them, I wouldn't want to encourage them to practice."
"Of course not."
"Though I did say something about us at least being able to score," she said tentatively. "I know we agreed not to encourage this but they were shut out by Carmel on Saturday."
Finn laughed. "Just jealous."
"Of course. We had a much better Saturday night than they did." Rachel pulled Finn's arm closer around her. "They'll pick on anything, it doesn't matter what. You know that."
"Yeah." But Finn frowned wryly. "Can't believe I'm actually cheering for Carmel though." Rachel laughed in response as he walked her to her next class.
After school Finn decided to work through some of his residual tension by hitting the weight room with Puck, so he went to the locker room and changed into his workout gear. He kept his back turned to the room as he changed, not wanting to get any additional looks or comments about his 'equipment'.
"Hey Hudson!" Josh Coleman, captain of the sophomore rugby team, came up to him with a smirk. "Didn't know Berry was so hot in the sack, guess I'll have to taste some of that myself, especially since she likes 'em big -"
Finn slammed Josh up against the lockers, his left forearm at Josh's thick throat, the broad build of the younger rugby player still no match for Finn's potent combination of size and anger. "Guess again," he snarled. He pulled his right arm back, making a fist, but his punch was stopped by Puck taking a tight grip on his arm.
"Stop," Puck shouted in Finn's ear. "Dude, he's not worth it."
"Hey, Hudson, calm down!" Coach Beiste, her attention drawn in from her office by the unmistakeable sound of a body hitting a bank of lockers, came up quickly to intervene. "Finn! Come on, big guy, back off."
"You didn't hear what he said about Rachel," Finn gritted through his teeth, still glaring at Josh.
"No I didn't, but it's all just trash talk, you know that," Beiste said. "Come on, don't do something stupid. It can't be that serious."
"I think a rape threat's pretty damn serious," Puck said, his arm still around Finn's right elbow.
"R-rape threat?" Josh gasped out. "No, man, I would never." But Finn's arm pressed even further into his windpipe.
"Well you said you were going to 'taste some of that', and she hates your guts," Puck elucidated. "Plus she's engaged to my man Hudson here. So what else could you mean?"
"I -" Josh looked up at the fixed expression of fury on Finn's face. "I didn't mean it." He tried to swallow. "I was just mouthing off," he gasped.
"That's not an excuse, Coleman," Beiste said. "It's harassment, and intimidation, and there's no place for that at McKinley. We've already tolerated far too much crap from students picking on each other and then saying they were just joking. Some stuff you just don't joke about."
"I guess I crossed the line..."
"The line is two football fields behind you."
"I'm sorry, I – I won't again." Coleman looked sincerely contrite, or at the very least sincerely afraid.
"You'd better not," Puck put in, adding his own glare to the onslaught at Coleman.
"Let him go, Finn," Beiste ordered.
Finn gave Coleman a last hard look and slowly took a step back, lowering his arms as Puck released him. Josh leaned over, rubbing his windpipe, taking in deep breaths. He looked up at Finn. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, man," he said.
Finn looked back at him, his face still set. "You get anywhere near her, you will regret it."
"I won't touch her, I promise."
"Okay, you two need some space," Coach Beiste declared. She looked at Finn. "Hudson. Your workout is over for today. Take a walk, now." She turned to Josh. "Coleman. You are going to show me how well you run. Then maybe you won't have the excess energy to be so interested in cute girls who aren't interested in you."
"But you're not my coach -" Josh protested weakly.
"Do you really think that matters, in my locker room?" Beiste glared at Josh. "You're the one who threatened someone who's not here, whether you meant it or not, so you're the one who's staying."
Finn grabbed his gear and left the locker room without changing back, then went to the choir room to find Rachel. She was sitting at the piano, trying out a new piece of music.
Rachel looked up as Finn came in. "Finn, I thought you were going to work out," she said. She saw the expression on his face, still showing the remnants of his anger at Coleman, and she went to meet him. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, I got into a bit of a dustup with Josh Coleman in the locker room," he said. "Coach Beiste split us up so I had to leave." His arms fell around her as she hugged him. That's better.
"Who's Josh Coleman?"
But Puck said Rachel hated him. "From sophomore rugby."
"Oh, that jerk," Rachel said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "I don't know how anyone puts up with him, he's vile. Did you hear about what he said to Santana right after she came out?"
"Uh, no," Finn responded. Not that I need another reason to hate the guy.
"He told her that she just needed the 'right man' to turn her straight and that he was up for it. Something like that. Which is ridiculous as well as offensive because if she hasn't found the right man it's not for lack of trying, and she's certainly found what she feels is the right girl."
"What a douchebag." Finn felt better about losing his cool with Coleman, since it obviously wasn't the only time he'd been a jerk about women. Dude had it coming.
"He only wishes he could aspire to that status. Anyway, we girls told him off, it's not like he had a chance with any of us anyway," Rachel said, tossing her head. "So what did he do to set you off?"
"I'm not going to repeat what he said," Finn said. "Coach Beiste told him off for it and convinced me not to kick his ass, and if I think about it again I'm going to change my mind. But let me know if he bugs you at all, okay?"
"Sure," Rachel said, still a little concerned. "Were you defending my honor?"
Finn smiled. "Maybe."
"Thank you." She rubbed his back. "You're still very tense, and you wanted a workout," she commented. "You need some sort of physical release."
"Um, I guess, but we're at school, that'd be even worse..." Finn stammered.
"What?" Rachel looked at him for a moment, then laughed. "No, I didn't mean that," she said. "And you're right, here would be worse, especially now. But you need to relax. Why don't you hit the drums for a while?"
"Sounds good," Finn said, giving Rachel a light kiss and releasing her. "That's probably just what I need. Sing with me?"
"Of course."
Finn plugged his iPod into the sound system, sat down behind the drums, stretched out his hands, and started playing along. After a while he started singing, relaxing into the music, enjoying both the physicality of drumming and the sound of Rachel's voice entwining with his. Off in the little world the two of them shared, everything else no longer mattered.