A/N: So I'm back!

Seriously…I took a little hiatus on all my stories, due to real life kicking me in the ass momentarily. The school year was hard for me to acclimate to this year for some reason, and my frustrations manifested themselves in a hellified case of writer's block.

For real, you guys should see my house…it hasn't been thoroughly cleaned since mid-August.

Work, kids…all of that has had me totally discombobulated. Add all of this to the fact that my Mom has been sick, and you end up with an errant author.

But I'm back now.

I wanted, in this chapter to show some real, meaty changes in the burgeoning Puckcedes ship; so in addition to making some progress on the romantic front, I chose to give them something else to bond over in this update. I hope you guys like it!

Thanks Illy and Anni!

Disclaimer: Despite the fact that I love the characters used here, they don't belong to me. Nor does the show they appear on.

Sharing

Now, I already mentioned briefly a lot of the different ways Mercedes and I got closer following her breakup with Trouty. But I actually only told you about the tip of the iceberg. Because from what I can tell, girls who take a dude as their bestie like to get as involved in every aspect of that bestie's life…the same way they do their female best friends.

The fact is, that sleeping in the same bed together, eating all our meals as a duo, hanging out all the time…all of that shit created this serious intimacy between me and Mama over time. We shared shit everyday that neither of us would even mention in passing to other motherfuckers; and we were comfortable doing it, too.

I mean, she'd lay in bed ,some nights, and admit to me how hurtful it was for her to see Kurt and Rachel together these days; and how jealous she got every time they stayed in New York together instead of visiting McKinley with the rest of us old-heads. Or I'd ride to Mama's studio with her for work, and tell her how scared I was for Jake…scared that he'd end up like our Pops if I didn't keep my eye on him, or that the bastard would show up some day, and fool my little bro into thinking they had a shot at a real relationship. Mama spent most of our workouts explaining to me how she felt she had a duty to lose weight for her job; since a lot of the other background singers were on the small side, and she didn't want to lose any opportunities to move up in the ranks because they could wear crop tops and hot pants to work. And one day, while we ate dinner in our condo, I admitted to being disappointed, because I wouldn't make it back to Lima to celebrate Passover with my family.

I'm not like, super devout or anything. Not really. Yeah, I own my heritage; and yeah, I'm proud to be a part of Jewish history. But I don't belong to a synagogue here, and I usually don't feel obligated to celebrate my faith in LA. And up to now it hasn't been an issue, because I went home for Hanukah and Purim.

But I won't be able to for Passover. I have too much going on here… pool cleaning gigs that will basically pay my rent and utilities for the next two months, and relationships that I'm trying to forge with the wealthy and influential owners of the fucking pools. The main reason I can't go, is that I promised a new client I'd come by the afternoon of March 25th and service his two pools and three hot tubs. The guy is this big advertising exec in Beverly Hills, and could potentially give me a lot of business. So there's no way in hell I can do it and still make it to my mom's house before sundown…which left me to make the tough-as-fuck decision to stay my ass here.

Cedes and I talked about this, and I admitted to missing the ritual of it all. The feeling of home and contentment that comes from participating in shit I've participated in all my life. She let me talk about all my usual contributions to the ceremonies…contributions that got bigger and bigger every year, and made me start feeling like a man. I told her about my growing responsibilities; how early on, I did all the shit the youngest child of the family is supposed to, and how later on I participated in the capacity of the older child. How, since I've been a teenager, I'm now responsible for acting as the head of the household. I told her how much I love that shit. When I said that part, Mercedes offered to celebrate with me…and she told me we would do it up big.

I know her, and understand Mama's brand of determination…probably better than most of the motherfuckers in our lives. So I trusted and believed that she would do exactly what the hell she said she would. The thought made me smile my ass off. I was so happy in fact, that I offered to go to church on Easter Sunday with her in return... Which made Mama start cheesin' too. In the end, we both agreed and got to work making the shit happen.

That entire week of March 17, Cedes insisted on going to one of the libraries at UCLA to research or whatever. She wanted to, even though I told her I could explain anything that needed explaining. Mama responded all stubborn-like, telling me she'd rather get some background information beforehand, in order to have the best understanding possible. She took this 5-subject spiral notebook with her every day, and me…that way we could be sure to, like she put it, "temper what she learned about Passover from books with what I told her about doing things the Puckerman way." So we took about two hours every evening that week, to write things down and make notations. She asked questions, we looked things up...she learned a lot, and to be honest, so did I.

Then every night, we went on a housecleaning rampage…doing the prelude to the ceremonial removal of chametz. See, Jewish law requires that any olive-sized or larger quantities of leavening, or yeast, be removed from one's possession before night one; and the best way to make sure it happens correctly is to put your hands on everything beforehand. At least, that's the way we always did it in Casa Puckerman.

While we scrubbed the cracks of the kitchen counters and got up in the cabinets to sweep away any traces of flour and yeast, Mama and I talked about all the times I'd helped Moms do the shit when I lived at home. I made her laugh by telling her how I'd sweep all the hard floors and dust and vacuum with my mother, popping Cheerios in my mouth the whole time. I described the way my sister Michelle would toss them into my mouth and laughed her ass off at my Nana for giving me the evil eye. Nana always helped clean and celebrated with us; so she'd beg my Moms to make me stop…since the Cheerios were part of the shit we were supposed to be getting rid of. She wanted to burn it all instead of just letting me eat it…Old World Style. But my mother never did; because she figured I was getting rid of it! Mama told me I must have been adorable, acting all Puckish, even before I officially became the Puckzilla. I just replied by chewing on one of the three bagel bites I'd heated up as a snack.

We threw out all the yeasty foods, and replaced them with unleavened alternatives, so we could refrain from eating it that week without missing any meals. By the time Sunday, March 25 came, our home was ready, and Mama and I were both 100% on point with what we had to do.

After nightfall on the 25th, we performed the ceremonial formal search for remaining leaven. Obviously, we'd already gotten rid of most of it, but we left 10 pieces of Shredded Wheat strewn around on purpose, just like Moms and me did at home. Ever since Michelle turned 6 or 7, my fam always preferred to let the youngest child do the searching…it was a good way to make sure she felt involved. So BabySis would run around doing a scavenger hunt with me -in my capacity as head of the household- going with her for supervision. It was always fun.

But Cedes and me didn't have any kids, therefore she and I did the search as a team. We turned off all the lights, and rooted around the condo by candlelight because that's the only way to illuminate the corners without casting any shadows. We used a feather to dust clumps of leaven out of hiding, and a wooden spoon to collect the shit and burn later on. I chased Mama with the feather and tickled her, to which she responded by smacking me on the butt with the spoon. It may have been sacrilegious, but to be honest, doing it with Mercedes was a lot of fun. My girl helped keep me from missing Lima so much, by playing around with me.

The next morning, we woke up bright and early to burn the ten Mini-Wheats…I don't have one of those metal bowls my Moms always uses, but we took them outside to my hibachi grill (which we also cleaned) and mixed them into some burning coals. I'm head of household here, so I repeated the declaration of biyur chametz, like I always do at home, declaring any unfound leaven to be null and fucking void…. Truth be told, I always feel kinda like a Ghostbuster when I recite that little bit, and Mama could tell something silly was flitting through my mind while I did it; I guess I must have been puffing out my chest a little. When I explained my thoughts, she giggled rolled her eyes and thumped me. Again, we laughed.

The next thing we did was eat breakfast…"breaking our fast," so to speak…because neither of us had eaten anything the entire day before. I explained to Mercedes how the Fast of the Firstborn usually worked, and that it was important for atonement, commemorative mourning, and commemorative gratitude. As a childless couple, it was my duty to perform the ritual for our family; Mama only fasted with me in solidarity. So we hadn't eaten anything or drank anything other than water since dawn the day before.

During all her research, Mama figured out that most observant Jewish families typically owned a complete set of serving dishes, glassware, and silverware to use during Passover…stuff that never came into contact with any chametz before. And as a gift to me, Mama went out and bought us special Passover dishes to use. She'd already broken them in while trying to figure out how to make homemade matzo…so we sat down for our first meal of homemade waffles made with baking soda and powder -yeast-free- and baked chicken legs; using what I now consider our first dishes bought as an almost-couple.

Mama referred to the condo as the Puckerman/Jones House of Chicken and Waffles while we ate, by the way.

Then, Mama and I spent most of the rest of the day getting ready for Seder. If you ask my Nana, our family is pretty conservative; but in Moms' house, we always observed Passover, more-so in the Reform tradition. We celebrated for seven days, and only planned for one Seder service…observing the first and last days as major holidays complete with no work and daily reflection.

Mercedes did most of the cooking that day…boiling up birds for chicken soup, making matzo balls. Mama steeped chopped-up apples, spices, and nuts in some wine from my Moms for homemade charoset, and then she made matzah brei. We worked together and baked kugel on top of the stove in this Wonder Pot I borrowed from Nana, and when she got done I helped her make this fire-ass Passover brownie cake, too. The rest of all out kosher foods were store-bought, and I even ran out and got some processed gifelte fish so she could taste the nasty shit one good time before we threw the rest of it out. I also talked the dude in the deli up the street into selling me a couple more bottles of Kosher wine. Jews drink a lot of wine during Passover

For the rest of the day, I looked over the Kiddush blessing, read some of the Haggadah, and the Passover story. Mercedes read the 15th number of Psalms with me, so we could study the original 15 part-ritual…and we only took time away from our study to have a lunch of store-bought matzo, hardboiled eggs, and macaroons.

Right before dark, Mercedes set our table with her special dishes and silverware, while I got the Seder Plate ready. It was separated into seven sections, kinda like those things people take deviled eggs to potluck dinners on. One section held maror and chazeret; or horseradish and romaine lettuce. Another section was full of the charoset Mama made earlier in the day. A third section contained parsley, then there was a roasted chicken wing, and a hard-boiled egg. I placed a bowl of salt water on the table, and set out the wine. We placed three whole matzot, stacked and separated by clean cloths, next to the Seder Plate, as well as a copy of the Hadaggah at each of our plates. Then we sat down to eat and talk about Jews Exodus-ing from Egypt.

First, I recited the Kiddush blessing by heart and we drank our first cup of wine. Then we washed our hands and dipped the parsley in salt water and ate it. We broke the middle matzo from the pile and hid the afikoman -the bigger half- since it was part of the ritual; even though there were no kids here to find it. I always figured that part of the ceremony was meant to help keep any children awake, actually. Next, I told the Passover story and recited the Four Questions, which Mercedes was happy to answer before drinking our second cup of wine.

We washed our hands again, this time with a blessing. We blessed and ate the top matzo, and other half of the middle matzo, blessed the matzo, then ate the maror (romaine lettuce) to symbolize the bitterness of slavery. Then we ate a sandwich made out of the bottom matzo and horseradish. After that, Mercedes served the holiday meal of roasted lamb shank, and some of the goodies she made earlier in the day. Finally we searched for and ate the afikoman.

There was another blessing after we ate, along with the drinking of the third cup of wine. I recited the Hallel and we drank the fourth cup of wine…and finally we recited the final prayer, told each other "Next Year In Jeruselum," and I played a few tunes on my axe so we could do a couple of my favorite lyric prayers to music. After that we went to bed.

I'm not sure that any serious religious scholar would approve of what happened next. I mean, it probably says in the Torah somewhere, that a good Jew probably wouldn't go and sleep in the same bed as the very woman he lusts after day after day. Especially on one of the High Holy Days. But I was tipsy from the wine, and Mama had changed into this billowy, babydoll pink nightie that was modest for her, but still showed off the girls. I wanted to curl up next to her like a motherfucker. So I put my guilt aside and slept like a baby. The next day we went back to work.

Mama and I spent the next five days celebrating Chol HaMoed…festival weekdays. We went on "family" outings and had picnics at the park. Every night we did Counting the Omer and ended each evening with prayer service; and then that Saturday before nightfall we went to Lima and did it again with my whole family.

Nana was really impressed with my roomie…she'd come from Cleveland the Sunday before for Passover like she always does. And she was so happy to learn that I'd celebrated so devotedly in my new home that she didn't even bat an eyelash when we informed her that I'd be attending Christian church with Cedes the next morning. Actually, I could tell she liked Mercedes, and would have even if we hadn't celebrated Passover together. Nana gushed about how pretty she was; and busted out her siddur, so she could teach Cedes a few of her favorite prayers because my girl had a voice like an angel. She promised to roast Mercedes a lambshank to take back with her to LA next time we came to Ohio, and even let Mercedes sit next to her during prayers...an honor she usually reserves for the youngest child in the family! Nana was sprung.

So were Moms and Michelle...they showed Mama pictures of me during Passovers from way back when; along with snapshots from my bar mitzvah and a few of me helping to light candles at Hanukkah. Michelle reminisced about those days when Mama baby-sat for her, and Moms showed her some of the latest photos of Beth from Shelby. They treated her just like family and I was so grateful I could have kissed every last woman in the room.

Seeing all the women in my family coo and cluck over Mama like that was good for me. It made me appreciate her efforts more, and I think I fell even harder in love…if that shit was even possible. Cedes is probably the kind of girl that can be comfortable and happy in most situations; but to me, her participating in Passover as a part of my family was like evidence or something... Proof that I was special to her, and that one day she and I could make a real life together, in a forever kinda way.

I mean, one of the things that used to worry me when Quinn and I were plotting to take Beth away from Shelby, was knowing how Que felt about my being of a different faith. She was always just...so intolerant. I don't knock BabyMama at all…don't get me wrong here. I know her religion is a big part of who she is, and that prayer and thinking about Jesus helped Quinn though a lot of shitty times in her life. But I also know Que ain't budging on certain things…ever. I realized early on that Quinn would probably fight me tooth and nail about getting Beth baptized and having first communion and shit. I also knew she'd never let me introduce our daughter to the rituals that were important to me. For all I know, the chick was planning to convert my ass! And based on that shit alone, I knew we'd have been miserable as fuck together as a couple.

But Mama ain't like that…because she gets it. With her, I'll always have a space in our home to be me. If I ever get it together and declare my feelings, 'Cedes and I have a great shot at lasting a long time. I hope one day we can be that couple that falls madly in love and forms this perfect, multi-culti partnership that all our friends are jealous of. It's what I see happening, and can't wait for.

Not only that, but you gotta know that celebrating Passover together made me wanna raise kids with Mercedes like a motherfucker. I could see us in my head, following our little Puckcedes babies around our first home, smiling while they did all the shit she and I did together just days before. I know it sounds crazy, but those kids seemed...missing...or some shit. Like they were on the horizon. Before the second night of prayers was even over, I was already itching to share these things with those fictitious-ass munchkins. I just hoped that one day I'd get my chance.

Confrontations

Sunday morning, I went by Mercedes' parents' house for church services…wearing a blue suit and plaid button down with no tie and my favorite tan boots. I was nervous, of course…because I've only been to Christian church service one other time before. And I was a little worried that the members of her Black church would look at me all kinds of crazy. But I don't call myself the 'Zilla for nothing. I manned up, reminded myself that Jesus was a Jew, too…and then remembered that Sam was a fixture at Mama's church way back when, anyway. I stood on her doorstep, psyching myself up, but before I could ring the doorbell Mercedes' big brothers answered the door.

Matt and Marcus are pretty fucking cool. We gotta lot in common, being big bros to a little sister and all. And they never judged me for the shit I pulled in high school…even after I moved in with Mama! I know that they were both real close to Sam as recent as last summer…they took family vacations and shit together or whatever. But those two never once treated me anything but cool, ever since I lived in Marc's room after Beth was born.

Actually, they were the ones who helped me and Mama drive our cars out to the West Coast that first time. We traded off taking the wheel for the trip, then they caught a plane back to Ohio. I don't know how they arranged it, but at one point I was in the car with the both of 'em, and they thanked me for being around to watch out for Mercedes. Add that to the fact that I see a lot of their relationship in my new bro-ship with Jake… I just feel like me and them share a lot of common ground. So I wasn't exactly scared to see their asses in the doorway.

"Sup, Puck…" Matt started. "…Mercedes ain't even much ready yet, dude… plus the service don't start for forty five more minutes. You wanna come with us and grab coffee for everybody right quick?"

"Yeah…" added Marcus. "…it'll give us a chance to have a lil talk."

"Um…okay." I agreed. "Should I let Mama know I was here?"

"Nah, she'll be straight." Mark answered. "Your homegirl'll be pissed if you put off bringing her some caffeine, anyway. Sissy had a slow start today…"

"We won't be long, man…" Marc cajoled. "…don't worry." So I nodded and hopped in the middle row of Doc Jones' Escalade while Matt sat in the driver's and Marc took the passenger seats. The drive to Lima Bean from her place is only about ten minutes long. But these two musta had a plan, because they used all ten minutes up grilling my ass…and didn't waste a single second, either. I must have seemed a little apprehensive, because the first thing Matt said was more than likely meant to make me more comfortable.

"Relax, Playa…." Matt looked at me in the rearview mirror, "...we ain't tryn'a fuck with you or anything. Marcus and me just waylaid you so we could thank your ass."

"Oh, yeah?" I asked stupidly.

"Yeah, don't be skurred…" Marc agreed. "…you been doing some above and beyond shit for a minute now with Babygirl. Keeping her ass safe after you two moved to LA, spending time with her so she wasn't all lonely, getting to know her new friends…." He shot me a grin. "You had Mercedes' back."

I grinned back.

"Then when Green Eyes and she broke up, you kept her from flipping the fuck out." Matt chimed in. "Consoled her and shit…Dude; we appreciate ya'."

"No prob, man…" I shook my head to let them know I was happy to do it. "…it was nothing."

"Nah, Bitch…" Marc took his turn on the tag-team conversation. "That shit was anything but nothing. MJ coudlda went all the way off the rails when that last little bit happened. But you kept her ass on the ground. And we owe you."

"I was happy to do it…" I started.

"Good," Marc interrupted "Cause you ain't done helping yet! We wanna know what happened there, and we wanna hear it from somebody other than Mercedes. So we need you to tell us whatever the hell you know about the breakup."

"We never asked MJ." Matt added. "She was too sad, and talking about it just made her even sadder. But we need to know because we got something to say to you, and we can't do that until we know what all went down."

I was intrigued, but still not convinced. "What about Mama, though? Will she be all pissed off at me for running off at the mouth?"

"Hell nah, fool!" Matt looked fucking offended. "It's us…plus, she would have told us herself if we'd have pushed. The two of us are just trying to get some pertinent information, without making 'Cedes relive it. Trust...your input is gonna help your homegirl out, in the long run…"

"Okay," I decided to trust them. "Basically, Sam and 'Cedes had just figured out how to get their relationship back on track, when he pissed her off by acting all insecure. They had a fight, and he said some real shitty stuff…"

They shot me a mad look.

"…below the belt, I'm-mad-as-hell kinda shit," I explained. "He called her a cheater and accused Mama of keeping other dudes on the back burner. And I don't think he believed the shit he was saying for real…from what I could tell, they were just fighting words."

Marcus pounded his fist into his palm and Matt swerved in traffic a little. I guess my little disclaimer didn't make any difference.

"Then …" I continued. "…Mama must have decided that the dude was way too immature for her these days, since she's all grown-up and on her own now…because she told him about himself. She quit him, and he came back to Lima."

"They still in love?" Marcus asked, still clenching his fist.

"Fuck if I know…" I admitted. "…All I know is that Mama was mad as hell, and now she ain't even mentioning his ass."

The bros nodded. "Good, that's good…" Matthew said.

"Why?" I wondered.

"Because, Bruh. We told Mercedes and Sam good not to let the distance fuck them up again. Last summer…" Matt replied. "…took the time out of our busy schedules, to give them both advice that would help their relationship last."

"Right?" Marcus asked. "Puck, Matt and I personally took Sam under our wing, and hipped him to a bunch of shit he needed to look out for when they separated this year. Even told him to avoid Brittany S. Pierce by name. But the fucker didn't listen…"

"Now, we like Evans, don't get me wrong…" Matt let me know. "…he's been good for BabySis in a lot of ways. But Mercedes can't deal with drama –it just ain't in her DNA to put up with a bunch of bullshit."

"And she rarely gives motherfuckers a third strike, ya feel me?" Marcus asked and I nodded…knowing at one point I was probably on my second one and counting.

"So if the relationship is fucked up, that's on him. Much as we understand where he's coming from… We can't say the boy wasn't warned."

"I feel you on that shit," I agreed. They shot one another a sneaky look and Marc nodded permission for Matt go on.

"So Puck…" he started conversationally. "…when you gonna quit being a pussy and let BabySis know you wanna get with her?" I could se him smirking in the rearview mirror.

"You taking a mighty long time, for somebody who finally has a shot at something he wants bad as hell…" Marc added, also smirking. "…What's that about?"

"Hold up!" I demanded. My ass was shocked and offended at the same damn time. "First of all, who the hell told you I had feelings for Mama? And second…Are you trying to tell me you approve of me dating your sister; even though we live together and shit?"

They both shrugged.

Marcus answered first. "We can just tell. You got it bad…"

I lowered my head in shame.

"And not to be insensitive or anything, but we used up the worst part of our big-bro protectiveness on Evans' ass." Marc explained. "I know you don't wanna hear it, but it's hard to hate or mistrust you, even half as much as we did the cherry-popper who fucked her first."

I winced.

"You ain't wrong, Bruh," Matthew agreed, nodding his head. "You'll understand for yourself, Puck…when your little sis takes that step one day."

"Plus, much as we hated to admit it, MJ ain't a bad picker," Marc continued. She's made good choices about her love life, compared to other girls her age."

Matt nodded. "We can tell you ain't the same bitch-ass fool you were before Quinn had your baby…don't forget, we've seen how you act with your own little brother."

I nodded.

"Plus, we actually trust you now. So if Mercedes likes you, we can't even hate, for real."

"You two think your sister likes me?" I wondered aloud. There was no point to denying it at that point, and hell…I wanted to know.

"We know she does," Matt let me know. Dude seemed pretty damn sure.

"Yeah… So when you gonna snatch her on up?' Marc asked.

"When I'm sure Mama ain't on the rebound," I answered honestly.

The bros shared a look before busting into laughter. We'd made it to Lima Bean's parking lot and were sitting in the car with the engine running.

"Too late, motherfucker!" chuckled Matt. "Babygirl ain't thinking about her breakup…she's ready to date right now."

"How can you be so sure?" I wasn't convinced.

"Because she told us, and MJ don't lie to her big bros." Marcus answered.

"But…" I started.

"And anyway, you're her fake man already!" Matt interrupted, as he cut the engine and pocketed the keys. "Y'all live together, go on play dates, you share a household budget, and you spend all your free time together…"

I didn't realize until Matt pointed the shit out, but it was true; our friendship right then was pretty much identical to back when we used to pretend to be a couple…except this time I was all trapped up in feelings I ain't have the first time.

"You two celebrate holidays together, spend time with one another's families, you have the same friends," chimed in Marcus. "And I'd bet money she's sleeping in your bed and waking up to make your ass breakfast every morning!"

I shook my head, "Not quite…I go get breakfast for us both."

They rolled their eyes. "See? Only thing missing is the fucking title," Matt replied. "So get up on it, Mane!"

"But what about…." I began.

I guess this was the moment I got some payback for all times I felt it was my duty to read motherfuckers the riot act. Because her bros took off the fucking gloves right about then.

"Think about all the shit you and 'Cedes do together, Punk!" Marcus deliberately mispronounced my name. "You want another motherfucker taking your place?"

"Fuck, nah!" I was slipping into F-Bomb territory right before church. I probably needed to check that shit.

"And when 'Cedes starts feenin for some luvin' and decides to go find some new dick to keep her warm at night…" Matt added. "…you wanna be in the room with her, or down the damn hall?"

Getting mad now; my fists were clenching all on their own.

"Plus, you're on crack if you think Evans ain't gonna bring his ass around and try to get Lil Bit back. Don't you wanna be the obstacle he finds in his way when the shit does happen?" Marcus asked me.

Biting my lip now…

"Boy, quit playing like you don't want up on her…I can see that shit all over your damn face! And I know your ass is thirsty as hell and ready to get you some, too." Matt turned around to look me up and down. "Or ain't my sister good enough for you? What, you so used to hoes you can't get shit popping with a good girl?"

Okay that's enough. "All right, shut the fuck up!" The bros fist bumped turned around to smirk at me again. "I got it…and I'm on it; can we just get my girl some coffee and quit talking about this shit?"

"So what you gonna do, Fool?"

"Yeah, how you planning on making the shit happen?"

"That's my business," I honestly wasn't sure yet if I'd go the sweet-and-romantic route or if I'd just seduce the shit out of Mama then fuck her till she agreed to be my girl. "But I got this. Next time you see me, I'll be the third Bro…is that good enough for you two assholes, or do I need to video it when I do fuck her and send the shit your way?"

They ignored my ass, but I knew that was the last time I was gonna get away with that kinda shit.

Matt rolled his eyes. "That's all we wanted to hear, Bitch…"

"Yeah, Fool…" Marc was looking mad determined. "…so handle that shit, Motherfucker…"

Finally…

So after my little talk with Matthew and Marcus I knew it was probably high time I came on with the truth...even though I was already knew the shit was gonna be hard as fuck to do. But I couldn't risk waiting around, because everything Matt and Marc said was true. And if they could tell how sprung I was, there was also a good chance Mama did too. Before I even got my ass on the plane I made up my mind to put it all out there before shit got awkward.

When we got into our apartment, it was late as hell on the day after Easter. Mama and I chilled out, talking about Lima or whatever, then she said goodnight and went to her bathroom for a nice long soak in the tub. About ten minutes after I heard the water shut off, she called my name, and I knew she probably wanted me to bring something to her. That's when I made up my mind that this would be the night.

Usually, when Cedes needs a washcloth or whatever, I just ask her what she wants, get it, shut my eyes, and chuck that shit in Mama's general direction from a narrow-ass slit in the bathroom door. Then I'd run like hell in the other direction so I wouldn't feel tempted to gawk at her sexy self. But this time I came in…BAMF style, and sat on the floor beside her. There was this bearing wall in there, situated along the corner of her bathtub that kept me from getting an eyeful, but also allowed me to hang out with her while she was naked. I felt like it was a good idea for her to see me change tactics and quit running from her like a pussy.

Mama peered around the wall and shot me a cute smile. "I was hoping you'd hang out with me for a minute or two…" she said.

"Oh, yeah?" She wanted me to chill out with her butt ass naked?

"Yep," she answered. "I like talking to you, and my bath was getting kinda lonely. I suppose I'm so used to having you around..."

"I get it," I cut her off. "So what you wanna talk about?"

Mama's tub was huge…real wide, and the sides were high enough to reach almost waist level on her when she stood beside it. So filled to the top with bubbles and shit, her body was pretty much covered the fuck up. But Jones kept shifting while we talked, and I caught a few glimpses of skin. She'd sit up a little, and give me a peek at the top of her tits, then sink back down before I caught any nipple. Or raise a leg enough so that I could see those hot ass thighs, then lower it back in the water all gentle and sexy…it was distracting as all hell to peek around and see all that shit going on, so I was hoping she already had a topic she wanted to discuss before I broke my big news.

"You…" Mama answered.

I chuckled. "Me? What about me?"

'Cedes jerked her head to the side and silently requested that I shift a little so I could look her in the eye. Once I did, she stared me right in the face. "I was wondering when you were planning to make a move on me…"

I was shocked into fucking speechlessness.

"I mean…" she continued. "…you're my best friend, and we're always together. So I get why you'd be a little slow to act on how we feel about each other. Who wants things to get awkward?"

I bit my lip to make sure didn't blurt anything out.

"So I figured it was probably going to be up to me to put it out there…" she went on. "But I'm tired of being coy, because subtlety isn't working. I've been going out of my way to flirt with you for months now, and you're still not taking the hint. So I just decided to bite the bullet tonight."

Still shocked-the-hell silent.

"I know my brothers already got in your ass and made you admit you want to get with me. So how many times do I have to molest and entice your ass before you'll get with the program?"

"I…we…but…"

"I'm not really good at hitting on guys, Puck. It's not something I have a lot of practice in," she kept going. "Luckily for me, the only two real boyfriends I ever had, hit on me first; and even you did all the wooing when we fake dated. I don't have any frame of reference for how much innuendo and flirtation to use in order to get you to notice me. So there's definitely a chance I was being too subtle about things."

Jones pointed to her shower caddy sitting on the vanity and "That's what I wanted you to bring me."

I crawled across the floor speechlessly and brought it back and handed it off.

"Thanks," she offered. "But seriously? In a lot of ways I can tell why you and Satan were always so graphic whenever you hit on people…being sly takes way too damn long." Mama rolled her eyes and grinned. "Were you ever gonna ask me out? I'm curious…"

I nodded without speaking.

"…Good! Because honestly I was about a week away from coming in your room butt naked and jumping on you to get you to take the hint!"

"I...you…wait, huh?"

"And I'll do it, if that's what it'll take, Puck." She raised her leg and started smoothing shave lotion on it. "I mean, I've already paraded around here half naked and asked you to feel me up; at this point shyness isn't even a factor."

"The hell?" I asked Mama, watching her run this pink razor over her pretty calves. "So you like me that way?" It was a fucking literal dream come true. "Since when?"

Mama smiled, and kept shaving her legs. It was kinda hot, actually. "You were worried about being a rebound?"

I nodded. "Yeah…and whether or not you were ready to date again," I admitted.

Mama giggled, "I figured." Then she rinsed her legs and started bathing with this sweet smelling body wash shit poured onto a loofah. "So in answer to your question; yes…I like you. I like you a whole lot. How could I not? You're like, my rock… Think about it: You and Lauren had my back Junior Year during that whole Night of Neglect fiasco. You were the only one in New Directions that stayed in my corner last year. You consoled me during the whole Karofsky bullshit…"

I bit my lip and probably turned a little red.

"… You're all supportive, and sweet to me, especially when I was so sad after New Years…you're so careful not to take advantage of me, and try so hard to hide your boner in bed…"

I laughed and covered my face.

"…you hang out with me and all my new friends, even though you have very little in common with them. You massage my shoulders and play in my hair until I relax enough to go to sleep. You bring me matzo ball soup when I'm cranky and make me garlic and cheddar mashed potatoes when I'm craving starch but trying to rebuke the tots…"

I nodded and got closer. She was counting off on her fingers.

"You came to church with me on Easter Sunday; looking all respectable and hot." Mama kept going. "You included me in your Passover plans, and trusted me to help you do it right. And on top of all that…you, Noah Puckerman, are my favorite person in the whole entire world… I love you."

I'm a little bit ashamed to admit to this, but hearing Jones speak to me this way kinda made my insides flutter. I was so damn gleeful that I didn't even think to ask if she meant she "loved me" or if she was "in love with me." Truthfully, as I knelt and rested my elbows on the rim of the tub and looked into Mama's pretty eyes, I decided that I honestly didn't care about that shit, anyway. The fact was, as long as Mama was feeling my ass some kind of way, I was okay with ironing out all that shit later on.

"You know I do all that shit because I care about you and dig spending time with you, 'Cedes…right? You know I love you too, don't you?" I rushed to say the next part. "And I'll wait if you need more time…"

"I don't," she said simply. "I'm ready now…"

"And, Sam?" I asked, scared as hell of what her answer would be.

"I still care about Sam. You know that…" I nodded, while she continued. "…But I think we've hurt each other too much at this point. And he's not who I need right now…you are!" Jones took a deep breath. "And then when you consider how much of a roadblock he's been towards us getting together, Sam's pretty much lucky I don't go to Lima and cut his ass…"

I found what she said kinda confusing so I asked, "Huh?"

Mama rolled her eyes and rinsed her chest by squeezing the loofah one more time. "Think about it, Puck…Sam's one of your best friends, and probably the biggest reason you and I have managed to stay so platonic all this time."

"You ain't wrong, Mama…" I admitted. "…But I didn't wanna be that same asshole I used to be, stealing my friend's girl again…"

"I understand…" Jones straightened up in the tub and smirked when I shifted a little. All I saw for two or three seconds were titties. Then she bunched her hair into a curly ponytail so she could wash the back of her neck and shoulders. I had to bite my tongue to keep from offering my services as back-scrubber. "…but what I don't understand is why you kept pushing me and him back together!"

"I did that?" I was surprised.

"You told me to forgive myself for cheating last year; you helped Sam serenade me during Spanish Week…" Mama was counting on her fingers again. "…you told me to make up with Sam when we were fighting about Britt. Sam even told me you were the one who encouraged him to get in my panties!" Mama punctuated all her examples by pulling her legs up and curling her whole body around them. I caught a glimpse of sexy thigh and wondered for the first time if maybe she was trying to seduce me.

"You knew about that?" I asked, trying to ignore all the sexy skin.

"I did…so why?"

"Okay, Mama I'm gonna go in order…" I started. I needed her to understand this shit so I talked slow. "…First of all, when Evans came by my house all sad about you guys being a secret, I could tell how fucked up he was over the shit. And also how crazy he was about you… Yeah, at the time I liked you too; but I was with Zizes and I wanted you guys to get along. Shit, the guy was my boy! I could see plain as day that you were just insecure…so I told him how to make you a little more comfortable."

"And it worked," she admitted. "But go on…"

"And during Spanish Week senior year, I knew how into you I still was, but you already had a man. I already told you I'm not about any more cheating bullshit. The serenade is something I just did because I was jealous. Don't you remember? You were going through all that Twilight bullshit with Evans and Tinsley, even singing about it in Glee…" I reminded her, and she seemed to remember all of a sudden. "I was sitting right under you when you sang that song for Evans. I guess helping him sing too was my way of trying to get you out of my mind. Plus those ugly-ass boots were kinda fun to wear."

"I guess that makes sense…" Mama laughed. By this time she'd laid back down in the tub on this bath pillow thing and her nipples were screaming my fucking name. Yeah; she was trying to seduce me.

"And you completely misread that shit after Karofsky fucked himself up." I went on. "I wasn't trying to convince you to take Evans back; I just wanted you to stop beating yourself up! Shit, I was surprised as hell when you two got back together…"

"Okay….so how do you feel now?"

"I feel like it's finally the right time for us," I let Mama know. "And I want to make it work…" I lowered my eyes, still kicking myself for being such a bitch-ass for so long. "I'm sorry if I've been sending you mixed signals, Mama…but you gotta know: I been in love with you for awhile now and it's been killing me to keep it quiet. I guess I just wanted to make sure that if we ever got together, that we'd do it the right way."

"Well, Noah I can promise you that you're different now," Mama told me kindly. "You and Satan got together as kids…and you've grown up now. You and Quinn hooked up to use one another. But what we have is real. You're not being a bad friend this time; and I trust you."

"For real?" Puckasaurus was still having trouble understanding and comprehending the English language, apparently.

"Absolutely, so…" Mama winked and held her arms out to me. "…what's taking you so long? Get in here, Baby…"

So I stripped down to my boxers, stepped into the tub and lay on top of Mama. I aligned my hips with hers, pressed my chest against her body, and looked deep into her eyes. Right before bending my face to kiss Jones, I whispered, "You're mine?"

She answered, "I'm yours…" then we kissed.

The kiss was the sexiest, most loving thing I could ever remember happening to my mouth. Her lips were soft, her tongue was warm, I felt her cheeks press lightly against mine. I cupped her cheek lovingly and she lightly stroked my chin. She raked her fingers through my shaved head and I bunched a handful of her slightly dampened curls. I trailed my hands along her soft neck, down her slick shoulders, and over the side of her full tits, kneading and squeezing lightly as her nipples hardened against my chest. Mama caressed my back and ran her hands all over my guns while moaning into my mouth. I slid my hands down her torso and rested them on the not-quite-as-fleshy hip. Then she opened her legs and wrapped them around my waist. There wasn't one thing about this kiss that didn't make my heart fly out of my chest.

Mercedes wrenched her mouth from mine and whispered, "Make love to me?"

"Whoa!" I shook my head and stroked the thighs settled on my hips "No, Mama…not yet."

She whimpered a little. "Well, why the hell not?"

"Because I want to take you out, spend money on you, make you laugh," I explained. "I want you to sit on my lap somewhere. I want to kiss you over the dinner table and hold your hand in the car. I want to show the world we're together before we come home and do our thing in the bed we share every night. Our first time needs to be right!" I wanted my damn fantasy, dammit.

Mama stroked the skin on my forearms before lacing her fingers with mine and bringing them up to cup her tits. Actually, they were now my tits, I chuckled to myself. "But I want you…" my girl begged. Then she reached up and pulled me back down for another kiss.

This kiss was needier, more insistent or whatever. Mama clutched at me, real horny-like, and moaned all sexy into my mouth. She wasn't the only one guilty of having busy hands, though…I gripped her thighs underneath me and spread her legs wider so she'd know I felt the same way.

"I know, Mama." I admitted when we broke apart again. "Me, too. But let me do this one thing…I swear, you can have your way every day for as long as we're together. You run this shit from here on in…Just let me have mine this one time?"

She sighed. "Fine…' then she giggled. "But I'm gonna need for you to get with the program on this whole 'bathing together' thing... I wanna see you naked, Baby; after all, it's the least you can do…"

"Will do, Jones." I stood up, flung that shit across the room and got settled one more time on top of my woman. We made out in that tub until the water ran cold…

A/N: I guess I probably made folks kinda mad with this update, huh?

It was frustrating as hell to write this, so trust me, I totally understand.

All the family stuff was my way of making a situation SOOO very perfect and loving, that Mercedes and Puck couldn't play around anymore.

Matt and Marc are here because I just love them so much…

The cliffhanger is my attempt to make the next two chapters extra satisfying, in a smutty way. I want everyone to go into Chapters 17 and 18 completely itching for it. I want you all to be READY FOR THE SMUT! So there it is…a little bit of sexual frustration that I hope the next installments make up for.

Hope you stay tuned!