Happy New Year, sweethearts! :)
Did you party hard on NYE? I really hope you all had an amazing night and an equally amazing first day of the year.
I wanted to thank all those wonderful hearts that wrote me a review (Your reviews really mean the world to me!). And thank you so much to every single one of you who read, reviewed and faved the story: y'all are a blessing!
So, to celebrate 2013, here a whole new chapter of my story! I really hope you'll like it!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything :(
Three weeks into the new year, their little group was relaxing at the bar down the street from Finn and Rachel's place. It was like their hangout now and, almost every week, they made a point to meet up there and have fun together.
They became a sort of family. Before, yeah they worked together and really got along really well but they didn't see one another out of work very often (well… except Puck and Sam, for obvious reasons). But now, with the girls and Finn in their lives, they basically were together 24/7! Mercedes got along really well with Rachel and Kurt, stating that divas have to stick together; Brittany became very close to Mike (at the point that she started to help him choreograph their performances) and Sam, while Puck and Santana were a match made in hell.
Not to talk about the new romances: Sam and Quinn seemed just landed from the Golden coast all cute and all and they just marked the second day of their relationship; Blaine and Kurt were doing bedroom eyes at each other but, according to what Rachel told Noah, they just met a couple of times for coffee; Finn started to date Tina's friend, Marley, and they were still getting to know one another while Mike and Tina were basically fuck buddies.
Which leave us with the best of them all: Puckleberry (as Brittany kept calling them).
Being with Rachel was the most natural thing he had ever done; he couldn't even remember a time in which they weren't together and he definitely didn't miss it! They barely spent a night apart and on of his favourite thing was feeling her sleeping next to him with her arm around his chest, as if she didn't want to let go of him either.
Another of his favourite thing about her? Her laugh. Every time she laughed, he had to laugh too. She hated it because she said that this is not how a lady should laugh but, in his opinion, was one of the sexiest thing about her (after her legs, her eyes, her lips…).
But the coolest thing was that she totally understood him. She didn't push him to turn into something he wasn't; she embraced him for who he was, perks and flaws. "Noah" she said to him one day "I want you to be you. I don't want what you think is an improved version of yourself, because the one that is in front of me is quite perfect to me" (Obviously that ended in loud sex… Let just say that Sam had to put earplugs on – he finally talked her out of that nonsense of 'no sex while there's someone else at home'. He was a fucking stud like that.).
The same went for Rachel. Noah revealed himself to be the sweetest man she had ever met: he would leave the core of his Danish (the one with more chocolate) for her to eat because he knew that, even if she followed a diet, she was a sucker for chocolate Danishes. Or, when they weren't together, he would send her sweet messages to tell her how beautiful she was (and begged her, right after, to delete them or hide them in a file with a password because he knew that Santana had almost free access to her phone and didn't want to lose his status of BAMF). And after a long day at the diner, the only thing she wanted to do was cuddle with him on the couch.
Even Finn was getting acquainted with the idea of the two of them together and Rachel was very happy of his approval: her family's opinion meant the world to her. Noah had even passed her dads' test: she told them about him and, after a few question and with all that Burt told them from the Chrismukkah's dinner, they were very happy for their little girl. Of course, they told her that for a more deepened assessment they had to meet the man in person.
And she loved how they were silly together; like when they built a fort our of sheets in his apartment. It was the best fort she had ever seen: it took almost half of his living room and the two of them pretended to be warriors that had to protect the fort from the evil blonde dragon (Sam wasn't very happy of all the things the two threw at him while he was trying to watch TV). Or when they spend the whole afternoon rolling down a hill in Central Park and they ended up covered in snow. With him, she felt like a child again: happy and carefree.
Around the table, the air was filled with laughter and chatters until Santana spoke to say "Wait a minute, y'all! I want to hear the story of Finn's first strip!". The guys (minus Kurt) started to laugh like mad men while the girls were looking at them. The only ones who didn't seem happy were Rachel and Finn. "No! Please, guys, don't do this to me! She would never let me live on that!" begged the tall guys, while the Latina's eyes lit up even more and with an evil smirk added "Uh! Is it that bad? Do tell, right now or I'll go all LimaHeights on your asses!".
"Well, if you ask so kindly, who am I to tell you no? You see, that night…" started Puck but was promptly shut up by his girlfriend, who put a hand on his mouth and, with pleading eyes, told him "Please, Noah. If you care about me and my mental sanity, do not say another word!". Noah licked her palm, forcing her to take off her hand from his mouth and wipe it on her sweater while glaring at him, and replied "Babe, I think your mental sanity never actually existed but, hey, it's fine with me; I really dig your crazy!".
He turned to talk to Santana and the one that missed Finn's debut on stage when the petite brunette grabbed her drink, got up from her chair and started to walk away. Noah called after her and asked her where the hell she was going, receiving as answer "I'm going to the only person that still cares about me in this place" and, with a swish of her hair, she resumed her walk until she sat down on a bar stool talking to Tina. Puck tried again to get her attention but no "Rach" or "Babe" would make her come back.
He was about to got up himself and walk to her when Santana's voice said "Oh! Come on, Puck! She will be fine. She's just a drama queen. So sit your ass back down and tell me everything about that night!". He looked for a last time at his girlfriend and, with a deep sigh, sat back down and started his tale.
The New Directions was packed and he already performed for the night. For all he cared, he was free for the night., so he walked to the main hall and flirted a little bit with the customers. He was talking with a redhead with very green eyes when he heard Finn's voice behind him; lately the tall one was like his fucking shadow so he wasn't surprised when he heard him call for him.
So, Puck gently got rid of the woman and turned on his heels "Hudson, missed me already?". But Finn replied "No. Schue told me to stay with you and learn everything I need to know how to be ready to 'rock the stage'". The mohawked man shook his head, before saying "I don't even know why you're not already performing. When I was the newbie I was on stage after a fucking week. I know you're not a stud like me but c'mon! It's a month!".
He took a sip at his Jack Daniels On The Rocks and turned to the stage where Blaine was moving against a woman that was, at least, 60 pounds more than him. The short man decided to lift her up but, from his back, came a light crack and Blaine growled in pain. However he was nothing but a professional so he kept moving even if his moves were stiffed and induced him pain.
Puck was laughing out loud at his friend on the stage: he always told him that he was too fucking tiny to do weightlifting but Anderson kept telling him that it was totally untrue. Guessed that Puck was right.
Finn and Noah's night continued smoothly until Schue dragged the two in the changing room. In it, Blaine was lying on his belly with a hot-water bottle on his lower part of his back. Artie and Mike were watching him with sympathetic looks, leaned on the wall in front of the door.
"Puck, we have a fucking problem" stated the owner at his employee, gaining a raised eyebrow as an answer. So Schue continued "Blaine was supposed to do another number this night and I don't know what to do! He has to get his ass on the stage in less than two minutes but he can barely stand! Puck, you have to help me. I don't know what to do!".
Puck told him "Listen, I already did my two numbers this night. I'm not going back on stage. You go out there", but Schue kept talking "C'mon, Puckerman, give me something. I'm not going to hit the fucking floor!". Puck looked at Finn before saying to Will "You want me to do something?" and the owner answered enthusiastic "Fuck yeah, man!".
He suddenly grabbed Finn by his arm and started to run with a very confused man on his tow. "Puck, where are we running?" asked him but, without any warnings, Puck threw him in the middle of the stage. Finn froze for a couple of seconds, too shocked with the recent even, while the women hollered and yelled at him. On the background, the DJ put on 'Like A Virgin' remix version and Puck started to yell "Just start to take your clothes off! Walk out there and take your clothes off!". Finn glanced at Schue, who was now standing next to the console, and then at Puck, who told him "C'mon, you got that. Start, bro!". With hesitation, Finn started to unzip his hoodie and took a step forward, hearing Noah's laughter from backstage.
Still with a straight face, he started to take off his clothes: his hoodie and his tee. He was so embarrassed! He glanced once more at Schue, who nodded at him, and looked at the crowd in front of him. The women was clapping in time and yell in encouragement.
He took off his shoes and unbuckle his belt, letting it slide free from his jeans' loops. He took a more few steps on the stage before taking off his jeans too, leaving on just his socks and black boxer. The ladies started to yell louder and louder. Finally a small smile broke on his face while he turned and teased the crowd playing with the hem of his boxers; one last glance at his boss, who nodded in approval, and he lowered his briefs, leaving his ass bare for the crowd to see.
He covered his butt cheeks and turned, flashing a goofy smile at a woman with a pink sash and a crown. He got off the stage, sat on her lap and kissed her deeply. While her friends hollered, he moved his hand and grabbed the money that were resting on the table, putting them in his pants.
After that, Finn was stopped by Schue's voice "Alright, alright! Give it up for The Kid, Ladies! And now, I want to hear you scream for our Blue Thunder!".
Finn waved awkwardly at the woman and walked away towards the curtain that led to the dressing room. As soon as he walked behind it, Puck, Sam and Mike started to clapped at him, making the tallest of them blush furiously. Puck grabbed Finn's clothes from the floor and gave them to him, patting his shoulder and saying "Wasn't that hard, uh?". Laughing, the hazel-eyed man started to walk away but turned around and told him "Oh, and your face when you stepped on the stage was fucking priceless. Wish I had a camera!".
The table erupted in a loud laugh at Puck's story. Santana's wiped the tears that were about to come out from her eyes and patted Finn's back before saying "Well, well, well… Who knew you had it in you? I am really impress!". Poor Finn was hiding his head in his hands, shook it hopelessly: if his friends could see the colour on his face would see that it was almost burgundy red.
"Stop it, Tana" he muttered under his breath while glaring at his sister's best friend. But the Latina kept laughing and proudly took his face in her hands and patted his cheek gently. She said "Finnie, don't be shy! You finally grew a pair and you should totally be proud of you. Let's have another round in your honour!" and waved her hand to the waiter.
Puck got up and walked to Rachel that was sipping at her drink absent-mindedly and looking at Tina, who was mixing a drink with ability. He sat down next to her and dragged her stool very close to him and tried to kiss her cheek but she moved away. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes, before saying "Babe, you can't really be mad at me!".
Rachel glared at him and replied "Oh, really? Watch me!", returning to stare to her friend with a stone-cold expression. Noah's eyes grew bigger and bigger; he couldn't believe that she was really that mad! He didn't do anything wrong; all their friend had fun while he was telling them the story.
So he asked her "And why the fuck is that?", which pissed her off even more. Her mouth open, she told him "'Why is that'? Did you really just ask me that? After you purposely ignore my request when I asked you, politely, not to tell my brother's first strip-tease, since it would make me and Finn very uncomfortable? I guess you would love to hear the story if the roles were reversed and it was your sister instead of my brother, right?".
Puck groaned at the mere though and tried to erase the image from his mind but Rachel continued with a sarcastic tone "Oh, I'm sorry, did the image disturb you?" and got off the stool. She barely made step that she felt his hand grab her by the arm to make her stop; however, she didn't turn around to face him.
With a pleading voice, he whispered "Please, Rach. Look at me". Something in the tone made her turn and the two looked into each other's eyes. "I'm sorry, okay. I was being an asshole but I didn't think it would hurt you so bad, I wouldn't had done it if I knew that" he said truthfully; her gaze dropped but his hands came immediately up on her face, grabbing it gently and forcing her to look at him. His thumbs moved slowly on her cheeks and he said "Please, don't fight over this anymore. I'll try to keep my assholeness at bay, 'kay?". At this, she closed her eyes and sighed deeply before leaning against him and hugging him, nodding against his chest. He kissed her head and whispered "I don't want to argue with my hot little Jewish American princess… So are we okay, now?". He flashed her a tentative smile and she rose on her tip toes and kissed him sweetly before saying "Yes, Noah, we're good. And thank you for apologising; it really means a lot to me". Puck held her tight and whispered against her lips "You're welcome" and kissed her passionately. A few catcalls from the other customers made Rachel put a stop on the kiss.
They smiled against each other's lips and lost themselves in the other's eyes until they heard Santana's voice "Puck, did she give you your balls back? Because, if you two lovey-dovey lovebirds are done with the arguing, me, you, Finnie boy and other Asian are in for play pool, now that that fuckers finally cleared the table".
He wasn't sure if it was a good idea: a part of him wanted to go play but the other one said that it was probably better to stay with Rachel and not piss her off even more; however Rachel decided to put him out of his misery. She patted his chest and told him with a smile "Go. Have fun. I just go back to the table and talk with Blaine about his classes". Noah stared down at her and asked "You, sure, B? It's not a trap or some shit like that, right?". Rachel deadpanned "Your vocabulary astounds me. However, no Noah. It's not a test or whatsoever. I just want you to have fun" and, after kissing his cheek and flashing him a warm smile, started to walk towards their table.
He caught up with her, slid his arm around her shoulder and kissed the spot behind her ear, making her shiver: he found out that it was one of the spot that turned her on the most. He smirked and said "You're fucking amazing, Babe" and walked to his other three friends just to turn and wink at her.
She smiled thinking about how much she was lucky: even if the one of that night wasn't their first argument, she knew that he was her perfect match. When she was with him she felt a funny feeling inside: her heart would start to beat fast at his mere touch and, in her stomach, thousand and thousand of butterfly would start to fly. She was like a 14-year-old girl with her first boyfriend and she was really happy that she hadn't ridicule herself because of that yet or she would just die of embarrassment. She shoot a last glance at where her boyfriend was taking a sip at his beer with a pool cue stick on his other hand (Good God, she was really one lucky woman. Her man was hot!) and started to talk with Blaine about his music theory class.
She got up trying to be as silent as possible. Noah arrived at her place with Finn around 4 a.m. and now it was only 7.30. Usually, on this occasion, she would love to spend a lazy Saturday morning with him, cuddling under the warm blankets, but the night before Kurt sent her a text.
From: Kurt "Diva, I need to talk to you about a really important matter. You know what does this mean? See you there at 9. See you tomorrow, Barbra. Your, Judy."
Her soul sister needed her help so her decision was made and she waved goodbye to her cuddling morning with her stunning boyfriend. She started to look for a dress, choosing for a cute black, red and white dress and her favourite black stilettos. In the bathroom, she combed her hair in a classy bun before rouge herself with a light make-up.
She entered in her bedroom to take her purse when she heard Noah say in a sleepy voice "Your spot's cold. Come back to me, Babe" but she sat down next to him and caressed lovingly his head "I have to go, Noah. Go back to sleep, I will try to come back as soon as I can and we can have the afternoon for ourselves, okay?". Noah seemed a little more awake by now and popped on his elbows and took a good look at his girl before mumbling "B, not that I am complaining because you're fucking stunning, but where the hell are you going dressed like this?", which made Rachel giggle and answer "I'm just meeting Kurt for breakfast". He raised an eyebrow and pointed at her "Aren't you a little overdressed for breakfast?" but she shook her head and pecked him on the lips "It's a tradition of ours to be dressed like that in these occasions. Now go back to sleep, you look tired". She pushed him gently down on the mattress and caressed his cheek, making him sigh contently. "I will wake you up when I'm back. Sleep tight, honey" she cooed, pecking his forehead and going out of her room, getting ready to face the February morning cold.
She made it to the appointment in perfect time. Rachel arrived in front of the massive granite building and looked out for her friend. He was waiting for her right under the emblem "Tiffany & Co." with a white paper bag and a carton with two cups in it. She waved her hand, catching his attention, and ran towards him. They kissed on the cheeks and Kurt extended her the carton, signalling with his head the cup with 'Rachel' written on it, and said "Soy non-fat cappuccino without cream for my favourite diva after Barbra, Celine, Patti, Judy, Idina and Kristin". Rachel laughed, grabbing her cup, and replied "Why, thank you very much for keeping me in your Top 10! I'm flattered. You're in mine too!". This make him giggle and extended the white bag, wiggling it a bit "As usual, Cinnamon rolls for me and chocolate pastries for you, milady". The woman dig happily in the bag and grabbed her treat, smiling broadly at her friend, who grabbed his roll and throw the paper bag and the carton in the nearest trashcan.
They stared for a couple of minutes at the magnificent window of the store before Kurt decided to face the reason why he wanted to talk to her "How can you trust him?". She chocked lightly with her drink and look at the stylish man, who was still looking at the jewellery behind the window and nipping at the cinnamon roll, and asked with a caution voice "What do you mean?".
Kurt turned to face her, sighed and said "I really like Blaine. He's my perfect match but I can't let myself trust him because of the job he has. I just can't picture my love interest being touch by someone that isn't me. So, I'm asking you, how can you trust Puck? And I want you specifically because we're basically the same and only you can help me untangle the mess that are my thoughts right now". Kurt stared at her while she was thinking at the most effective way to help her friend out.
"Well," she started "first of all, before being strippers, they are human beings and worthy to be loved like anyone else on this planet. The thoughts of other hands on my boyfriend hurt, a lot, but I can't do much about it. I'm not going to ask him to quit his job because of it, it wouldn't be fair; I knew what his job was when I fell for him and still decided that being with him worth every single stomach-ache that I have to face. Of course, it was a very difficult choice: you know my love past, so I really put very much thought in it. Pro and cons lists, charts, late night's inner soliloquies. But, in the end, he always won. And look at what I would be missing! He's amazing. So, to answered to your question, I trust him because I believe in us, because I love him. Don't hold back with Blaine just because you're scared to be hurt. What you could have with him, could be the greatest story of you life".
Kurt nodded deep in his thoughts; his friend gave him so much to think about.
After a while, he decided to speak again "You know what, darling? You're right. He's worthy. I mean, he knows my coffee order, has a similar high-school personal story as mine and have you seen how adorable he is with his little bowties? And we click so well together. It's just easy with him, you know?", looking down at the petite woman, who nodded at him smiling. He smiled broadly and hugged her tight before stating "You truly are my soul sister, Rachel Berry".
The two talked comfortably about every topic that came in their mind when, suddenly, he asked with a smile "Did you tell him?". Rachel gave him a puzzled look and scolded him "Kurt, you really should be more specific with your question, because it's the second time in a couple of hours that you did that and it's starting to be quite annoying", at which the flamboyant man rolled his eyes and reformulated the question "Did you tell Puck that you love him?".
Rachel's gaze dropped a little, making Kurt frown in concern, and she shook her head. Then she told him "No, I didn't say that to him yet, even if it was about to slip out a couple of time. It's just that I don't want to spook him and make him run down the hills. Ours is his first real relationship so I don't want to pressure him or scare him away. I'm trying to let him adjust to all of this before saying it. But I'm also waiting because I would really like to hear him say it back to me", the last part almost whispered.
"Oh, Hon! You shouldn't really worry about that" cooed Kurt "Even a blind man could see that the infamous Puck is madly in love with our own lovely diva. Doll, you tamed the wild stallion so don't worry about that" but the brunette shook her head lightly and replied "I know that he cares about me very deeply. He proves it to me every single day. And I'm also aware that he loves me but I don't know if he's in love with me the same way I am or, if he is, if he's aware of that". She shrugged and looked at Kurt, who smiled tightly at his soul sister and stated "Have faith, ma chère. He might surprise you".
He hugged her sideways and the two started to walk down the crowded sidewalk and back home.
They were spending a quiet evening at his place. As soon as she arrived at Noah's home from work, she changed into something more comfortable and, after a quick shower and dinner, they sprawled themselves on the couch, watching X-men (It was his turn to pick the movie).
Her head rested on his arm while he played with the end of her hair absent-mindedly. His other arm hugged her and he was caressing the strip of skin just above the hem of her yoga pants, under the shirt. Noah's gentle touch and the steady beat of his heart lulled her into a light sleep. She kept sleeping until he whispered "C'mon, babe. Let's go to bed", at which she nodded, sat up straight and rubber her eyes tiredly.
After he turned off the TV and check the lock, he took a step towards his room. Rachel was standing next the sofa and, when she saw that her boyfriend was giving his back to her, she couldn't resist at the temptation, so she ran and jumped on him, legs around his waist and arms around his neck. He laughed and turned his head slightly, feeling Rachel's lips leaving a light peck on his neck.
She left her position only once they were in his bedroom and she slid easily from behind him to the soft mattress. She crawled on it and settled with her knees in front of her chest and her back against the headboard, staring at puck, who was taking his shirt off.
He looked down at his chest and, after flexing his muscles a couple of times, stated "I could definitely be Wolverine! I mean, have you see my guns?" but glared at his girlfriend when she snorted and tried to hide her smile behind her cute hands. She said to him "Honey, your arms are lovely but you're not as built as Hugh Jackman and his physique fitted perfectly in the portrayal of Wolverine".
This affirmation made him cross his arms and raise an eyebrow at her before saying "Should I be jealous of him?"; she smiled at him and said "I always had a crush on him since I saw him in 'Kate and Leopold' and he's a Broadway performer: he won a Tony of his portrayal of Peter Allen in 'The boy of Oz'! He's in the cast of the film adaptation of 'Les Mis' and he's very talented and stunning. And… have you seen his guns?". Just as she finished talking, she winked at him, who started to crawl menacingly towards her.
She giggled at his behaviour and, to stop his advance, she put her foot right in his face, starting to laugh out loud. He stopped on his track, dumbfounded by her action; so he sat straight and grabbed her by her ankle saying "Really, Rach? Did you really just put your foot on my face?" but she couldn't answer for how much she was laughing.
"Well," he continued with a grin "I really want to see how your precious Hugh Jackass will save you from this!" and started to tickle her foot without mercy, making her squirm and laugh even harder. "Noah, stop! Stop it! Please! Noah!" she begged between her laughter and until she finally felt the tickling stop.
She felt herself being dragged on the mattress until she was totally lying on it and, in mere seconds, he settled himself over her and tucked one of her curl behind her ear. They stared into each other's eyes, Rachel still chuckling, until he kissed her sweetly on her nose and whispered "God, you're fucking perfect". She blushed and smiled, caressing his cheeks with a feather-like touch. That moment was pure perfection.
"I love you".
Her voice was small but firm. She knew how strong her feeling for him were and she really wanted to let him know.
But panic settled on her stomach when he was staring at her stunned, without uttering words. So she hurried to say "Y-you don't have to say it back. I completely understand if you're not here yet. Just, please, say something. You're scaring me".
Her eyes turned a little glassy. She ruined everything; she pushed too far and now he would tell her that their relationship wasn't something serious, that it was just fun and that they were just friend 'with benefits'. It was her fault if she read to much into it and fell for him.
Puck was speechless. No one had ever told him that he was love with such honesty (well, except for his mum and Nana… and sometimes his sister). And he never told anyone else those three words; he never felt that way for any girl before.
But then, here she came; a bundle of energy and positivity that swept him off his feet. With her big doe eyes, big voice and bigger heart, she turned his world completely upside-down, making him feel things for the first time in his life.
He kept staring at her and, suddenly, realised that she was getting misty-eyed, making him feel like shit for let it happen. So he descended to her lips and kissed her, sucking her lip gently. He released it and, opening his eyes, he said "I love you too".
Her eyes burst open and searched for any kind of confirm in his, before saying with hesitation "Really? Aren't you just saying that to make me happy?". He laughed lightly and answered "I kinda wanted you to be happy for that, since it's basically the first time I say it to someone else beyond the women in my family, but I definitely feel it". He watched her face turned from a sad frown to a huge smile and he felt himself puff with pride. He was the fucking shit.
Her arms went around his torso and she lifted herself up to kiss him soundly, so his arm slid between the bed and her back, making it easier for him to hug her. The kiss expressed all their feelings, full of all the love and passion they felt for the other.
With their lungs begging for oxygen, they broke the kiss and nuzzled their noses against the other until Rachel broke the silence "Well, if this is the outcome, we should talk about Hugh Jackman more often", making him narrow his eyes and smirk. He bit her nose lightly and, after gaining a slap by the petite woman, murmured "I'm totally better than him".
She smiled and stated, before kissing him again. "The best" she said, before losing herself in his lips.
Remember, my dears, that reviews are love and I really, really care about your opinion!:) Let me know what you think of this story so far!
See you soon with a new chapter!:D