Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This story title comes from the song "Let the Reigns Go Loose" by The Get Up Kids.

For the first time in over a week, Finn finally entered the main house while his mother was in it.

He headed towards the kitchen, where he knew that Carole would be making dinner. He had no idea if she was cooking for one, or if she planned on having a guest. Finn wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to actually know, but he did know that it was long past time for him to have a conversation with his mother about what had been happening.

Carole had been acting weird for months, and now that Finn knew it was because she was secretly carrying on an affair with Burt Hummel, it all made sense. Finn had no idea how it had begun, or even when—but looking back, it wasn't hard to realize that Burt had been in love with his mother for years.

How long had Burt actually loved Carole Hudson? Had it been since Carole and Chris started having such obvious problems with their marriage? Or had it started even years before that, when Chris Hudson had knocked up both Carole and Anne Puckerman at the same time?

Finn didn't know, but he was prepared to find out. His parents' dysfunction had affected his life enough, and he was ready for some answers. He was almost eighteen years old; it was time that his mother was honest with him. The lies had gone on long enough.

Just as Finn had suspected, Carole was in the kitchen, chopping up an onion. Her head was bent over the cutting board as she meticulously chopped the onion into even squares. The smell of meatballs roasting in the oven permeated the air, and he could see the tomato sauce for the pasta simmering on the stove. Finn watched his mother for along moment, suddenly longing for the time he had been a young boy. Things had seemed so much easier back then, even if Finn hadn't known the truth between his parents.

Finn had suspected for a long time that Chris and Carole Hudson hadn't even liked one another, much less been in love. It was somewhat depressing to realize that his parents' relationship was being held together by the fact that they were connected through him. It was a lot for one child to have on his shoulders, but Finn was determined not to resent them for it—well, he didn't want to resent his mother for it, at least. Chris Hudson was a different story.

"Mom," Finn said.

That one word held so much meaning. Somehow, Carole knew why Finn was there. Perhaps she had suspected that Finn was going to eventually discover her affair with Burt Hummel, and would confront her about it. Maybe she had been anticipating that this would happen for a long time. Either way, Carole set aside the knife she had been using to chop the onion, and sighed.

"When did you find out?" she asked. She didn't make eye contact with her son. Carole knew that it was cowardly, but the shame of being caught in an affair was just too much. It didn't matter that Chris Hudson had broken her heart time and time again, and it didn't matter that Burt Hummel was quite possibly the man of her dreams. She had been discovered as less than perfect in her child's eyes, and that wasn't something that Carole knew how to handle at the moment.

"About two weeks ago," Finn answered honestly. He crossed his arms over his chest, more than aware of the fact that his mother wasn't looking at him. In this moment, though, he knew that she deserved honesty from him, just as he deserved full honesty from her.

Finally, Carole looked up at him. Her eyes were tired and full of sadness—it was a look that Finn never wanted to see on his mother's face. "Oh, Finn," she said. Her voice was heavy, exhausted. "I'm so sorry."

Finn shook his head and leaned against the kitchen island. "Just tell me the truth," he said. Now, Finn wished that Rachel was with him. She had been the one to encourage this truthful, no holds barred conversation between mother and son, anyway. She should have been here to see how it all went down.

In the end, no matter what Finn had said or done to try and convince her, Rachel had insisted that this was something Finn and Carole needed to work out together, without any outside interference. Finn knew that Rachel was right, despite his reservations about the whole situation. Rachel had lent him all the strength and support he needed outside of actually speaking to his mother, but in that moment, standing there in the kitchen with his distraught mother, Finn wanted nothing more than his wife to be there with him.

There was a quiet strength that Rachel possessed that Finn admired, and he wanted to draw on it. Perhaps it was a little bit selfish. Finn needed to learn how to have that strength on his own, but he wasn't exactly ready for it just yet. That was the amazing thing about Rachel. She knew that, and she had told him that she would only be a phone call away should she need him.

He wouldn't call her, though—yet, anyway. By the end of this confrontation with his mother, Finn had no doubt that he would be calling Rachel, however.

Finn sighed. "You don't need to be sorry," he said. And he meant it. Chris had wreaked havoc on their lives for years. Finn, as young as he had been, hadn't truly realized that there was something wrong with the way that Chris had parented him until he had been thirteen years old. By then, Carole had always been on some kind of business trip, and Finn had never had a way of reaching her. It had hardened Finn to the point that he had turned into the asshole that had challenged Puck to that football game in the first place.

Finn didn't want to imagine what had happened to make Carole disappear the way that she had while Finn had been growing up. That wasn't something that child ever wanted to imagine for his mother, even though Finn had a pretty good idea. He shook his head slightly to rid himself of those dark thoughts, and vaguely wondered if family therapy was something that they should all look into.

Carole opened her mouth—probably to apologize again. Finn didn't want to hear it. Not because he didn't think that it was sincere; he knew it was. He just didn't want to hear his mother apologize for being with someone who finally made her happy. True, that man was Burt Hummel, the cousin to his father. The family dynamics in the Hudson family were turning out to be quite a tangled web. That was something that Finn could handle, however, as long as Carole was happy.

Finn held up one hand. "Don't," he said, and Carole snapped her mouth shut. She probably hadn't imagined that her son would ever have a reaction like the one that he was currently having. Finn stared at his mother with amber eyes that were a curious combination of both Carole and Chris's eyes.

"Are you happy?" Finn finally asked. "I mean, really happy?"

Carole looked back down at the onions she had been chopping. "Yes." Her voice was careful, cautious. It had been years since she had been around to truly parent Finn, but in some ways, he was such a grown up. He deserved the truth. "I never wanted to lie to you, Finn. But Burt… he makes me happy."

Peering at his mother, Finn took his time as he studied her. Several long moments of silence stretched between the mother and son, and Finn finally nodded his head. "Okay," he said. And then he didn't say anything else.

Carole finally looked back up at her son, her eyes wide and glassy. It was taking everything in her to hold back her tears, but she somehow managed to do it anyway. "Okay?" she repeated. "That's it?"

Finn shrugged his shoulders. "That's it. If you're happy, I'm happy. That's all I've ever wanted for you, Mom."

Carole pressed a hand to her mouth and shoved the cutting board and knife aside. She circled the island, and before Finn knew it, he was engulfed in his mother's arms. It was awkward, at first; it had been years since his mother had truly embraced him like this. Slowly, however, Finn relaxed in Carole's arms and returned her embrace.

It was… nice.

"The divorce is almost finalized between me and your father, you know," Carole started saying. She spoke quickly, as if there was a lot she needed to get off of her chest. "And then Burt and I won't have to sneak around so much. Kurt will be able to come over, and we can have dinner together, and—"

"Okay, Mom." Finn patted her back and managed to sound the part of exasperated, slightly embarrassed son, even though he was smiling broadly. He wondered just how long his mother had loved Burt Hummel. "We'll all have dinner. Relax, okay?"

Carole sniffled loudly and squeezed him even more tightly in her arms before she finally pulled away. "My darling boy," she said, blinking back tears. "I love you, you know that?"

Finn didn't even try to hide his grin from his mother, and he no longer pretended to be embarrassed. "I know, Mom. I love you, too."

It had been nice, to have dinner with just his mom and talk about all of things they hadn't discussed over the years—how Finn was doing at the auto shop and how much he enjoyed working on cars, how the off-season training for football was going, the TV shows he watched, what he ate for lunch every day. His mother had an opinion for everything, and gave him suggestions that Finn truly took to heart. It was nice to build the bond with his mother again.

He stepped into the guest house, expecting to find it empty. Rachel had been at a late rehearsal for the musical, and it was barely eight o'clock at night. He didn't expect her home for another hour and half, at least. Apparently, they were all taking this musical very seriously ("It can be counted towards my application for a theater program in college, Finn!"). Finn, having played football for as long as he could remember, understood that practices (or rehearsals, in Rachel's case) often ran late.

He wouldn't lie and say that it hadn't been difficult since Rachel had started attending late-night rehearsals. They weren't quite yet eighteen years old, and they were married and living on their own. That meant that they were very much still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, especially since Rachel was still exploring and discovering her sexuality. Finn loved being the one to teach her, and he missed the nights that they would make love until they both passed out from exhaustion.

Still, his horny teenage tendencies were something that he could live with, as long as Rachel was happy. He was learning how to cook—those instructional videos on Facebook were very informative, and he was having fun experimenting (despite the several burnt dishes he had accidentally ruined. But that was what takeout was for). He was able to catch up on all of the Netflix series that his friends talked about during the off-season.

So, in the end, Finn wasn't terribly bothered by spending so much time away from Rachel. She was making her dream come true, and that was all Finn had ever wanted for her. Rachel had big, bright dreams, and he would sacrifice whatever he needed in order to help her achieve those goals. Perhaps it should have scared him, that he felt so deeply for this young lady so early in his life, but it didn't. He was ready and willing, and he loved Rachel with all his heart.

So he was surprised to step into the house and find that Rachel was sitting on the couch, waiting for him. The takeout container from the leftover Chinese food they had ordered the night before sat in front of her, and she had a blanket pulled around her shoulders. She looked like she was nodding off, and Finn saw that the first episode of Stranger Things was playing on the television.

Finn felt his heart expand in his chest, and, not for the first time, he realized that this was right. No matter what anyone said—the protests of how young they were, of how they had so much to figure out and how they could change as they got older—he knew that he and Rachel would somehow figure it all out and make it work.

Smiling, he reached over and gently shook his wife's shoulder. Rachel jerked and sat up, blinking sleepily as she turned her large, doe eyes on him. It took her a second to realize that he was standing in front of her, and when she did, her eyes widened and she jumped up from the couch.

"Finn!" she exclaimed. "Oh my god, I didn't mean to fall asleep like that. I was just waiting for you, because I wasn't sure how the talk with your mom was going to go tonight, and I didn't want you to be alone, and I…" She trailed off and looked towards the screen, where the episode list for Stranger Things was displayed. "I wanted to watch your favorite show, to make you feel better, too. But I fell asleep."

Finn couldn't help but chuckle at the pout that appeared on her face. Cupping her cheek in one hand, he pulled her forward until he pressed his lips tenderly to hers. She sank into him, molding her body to his. She stretched up on her tiptoes, sliding her arms over his shoulders so she could curl her tiny hands into his shirt.

"It's okay, Rach," he murmured as he pulled away just enough to press his forehead to hers. "We can watch it later, if you want."

Rachel tried to hide a yawn behind her hand. "Okay," she whispered as she pressed her cheek to his chest.

Finn stroked his hand up and down her back and adjusted the blanket she was still holding so that it was draped over her shoulders. "I thought you had rehearsal tonight."

"I did." She tilted her head up so she could look at him. "But I told Mr. Ryan and Jesse that my husband needed me. They could do without me for one night, after all."

That made Finn laugh again, and he hugged his wife tightly to him. "I love you, Rachel Hudson."

"I love you too, Finn Hudson," Rachel said easily. "How did the talk with your mom go?"

"Not the way that I expected," Finn answered honestly. At Rachel's concerned look, he touched her cheek reassuringly. "But she told me the truth, and she said that we could talk about whatever else I want to know whenever I want. We had dinner together. It was nice."

Rachel relaxed fully into his embrace and kissed his chin sweetly. "I'm glad," she said. "After all of this time, you and your mother deserve happiness."

"Rachel." Finn tucked his fingers under her chin and tilted her head up so that he could kiss her again. "Don't you know that I've already found my happiness?"

"Oh, please." Santana rolled her eyes as Rachel ran towards the lunch table and opened the container of soup (that she hadn't even re-heated) that she had brought for lunch. "Don't tell me that you're giving up your lunch breaks for this musical now, are you?"

"We have a very intense rehearsal schedule," Rachel said before she shoved her spoon into her mouth.

Santana shot a pointed look Quinn's way, but the blonde just shrugged her shoulders and took a bite of her sandwich. There was no way that she was going to interject herself into whatever little disagreement was going on between Rachel and Santana.

Seeing that Santana was gearing up to tear into Rachel once again, however, Quinn quickly decided to change the subject. "What if we had a movie night tonight?" she suggested. "We could have lots of popcorn and ice cream and watch all of the Fifty Shades of Grey movies."

Flushes formed on both Santana and Rachel's faces, and of course that immediately piqued Quinn's interest. "Unless, of course, you have other plans."

Rachel swallowed her spoonful of soup. "I do," she revealed. "Finn and I haven't had a night along together since… well, since rehearsals for the musical have started, really. He's been busy with his job at the auto shop and his off-season practices, so we're both asleep as soon as we're in bed. But tonight… we cleared our schedules."

Santana wolf-whistled loudly and clapped her hands together. "Get it, Tutor Berry-Hudson!" she yelled. "Damn, who could believe that you were once the shy virgin?"

"Santana!" Rachel shot a dark glare at her so-called friend, but she was blushing too fiercely for Santana to take it too seriously. "Would you please shut up?"

"No way," Santana said as Quinn cackled. "This is too good to pass up."

"Well, what are you doing tonight, Santana Lopez?" Rachel demanded. She hadn't missed the way that Santana had blushed—it was an altogether irregular reaction for their friend. "Or should I say, who are you doing?"

Rachel had no idea why those words came out of her mouth. She had just picked up on Santana's reaction to Quinn's earlier question, and she had wanted to take the focus off of her own sex life. She hadn't meant to open the can of worms that came with her admittedly crude question. When Santana flushed again, and Quinn's face fell, however, Rachel could have kicked herself.

"Santana, I'm sorry," Rachel began quickly, but Santana held her hand up.

"No, it's okay," she said. She cleared her throat and tried to bring back some of her bravado. "I have a date tonight, if you must know."

"Oh."

There was a long moment of silence, and both Quinn and Rachel were itching to ask the same question. They each wanted to know who Santana was going on a date with—Rachel, because Puck was her best friend, and she didn't want him to get hurt, no matter what had happened between him and Santana in the past. Quinn wanted to know because she was obviously still in love with Puck, though she would likely never admit it out loud to anyone.

"With who?" Quinn finally blurted when she couldn't take the suspense anymore. To her credit, she didn't sound too eager, as if she was trying to dig for information. She just sounded like a friend who was curious about her other friend's life.

Santana's eyes darted away from both Rachel and Quinn, and she stared at a spot on the table. "With Liam Tanner. He's on the baseball team."

"Oh." That time, it came from both Rachel and Quinn. Quinn was relieved; Rachel was apprehensive. There was too much going on in this conversation, too much that they could get into, and Rachel knew that she quickly needed to change the subject before either she or Quinn said something to defend Puck.

"So," Rachel began in an overly conversational tone. "I want to surprise Finn with something really sexy tonight, and I need to go shopping. Do you guys want to come with me?"

Santana and Quinn immediately brightened. Rachel frowned at the identical maniacal glints they got in their eyes. They shared a look that Rachel didn't even want to decipher.

"Do we ever," Quinn said.

"Holy shit, this is going to be amazing," Santana added.

Rachel sighed heavily. Well, at least she was sacrificing herself for a good cause.

Rachel sighed in contentment as she cuddled herself against Finn's side. Despite the fact that the shopping trip with Santana and Quinn had been quite the headache, they had actually ended up helping her pick out something kick-ass and sexy to wear for her date night with Finn. In fact, it had been so successful that Finn had actually ended up ripping the purple lace teddy from Rachel's body. It now lay in pieces by the side of their bed, but Rachel didn't mind.

It was fifty dollars worth of tip money well-spent, in her opinion.

Finn traced his hand up and down her back, and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She closed her eyes and relished the feeling of just being able to relax in his arms. For the first time in weeks, they were finally able to be together without having to worry about one another's schedules.

The anticipation had been so great that they had torn each other's clothes off before they had even had dinner. Rachel was just glad that she had taken the chicken parmesan out of the oven before she and Finn had mutually decided they couldn't wait any longer and had jumped one another. By now, the chicken and the pasta she had cooked were probably cold in the kitchen, but it would be easy to reheat it. She had a feeling that they were going to need some sustenance, and soon.

"What are you thinking about?" Finn asked.

"Nothing," Rachel said. She sighed happily and pressed her cheek to his chest. "For once, I'm not thinking about anything at all. I'm not thinking about work, or school, or rehearsals…" She began to trail her fingers up and down his stomach, stopping where the sheet was draped over his hips before her fingers traveled back up.

"Huh." Finn made a noise in the back of his throat and shifted slightly on the bed. Rachel tilted her head a little against his chest and looked up into his face. His eyes were closed, his brow furrowed as he bit down on his lower lip. Wondering what was causing such a look on her husband's face, Rachel glanced down at where her fingers were trailing back by his hips and saw that there was quite a prominent tent being formed under the sheet.

Smirking, Rachel followed the ridges of his abdomen with on finger. Every now and then, she would let her fingers dip down under the sheet, just barely. She heard Finn's breath catch ever so slightly, and it made the smirk on her lips broaden. All thoughts of the dinner left on the stove flew from her mind.

"Well…" Rachel flipped her hair over her shoulder and sat up slightly, allowing the sheet to slip from her body. "I am thinking about a few things, now."

Finn still didn't open his eyes. "Are you?"

"Mm-hmm." She reached under the sheet, then. With one hand, she pushed the light fabric aside as her other hand wrapped around his hard length. Finn groaned, and Rachel was glad that his eyes were closed so he couldn't see the look of satisfaction on her face.

Several beats of silence passed as Rachel pumped her hand up and down Finn's length. Finally, Finn opened his eyes and looked at his wife. They were dark, almost black with passion and desire. Rachel's breath caught on a gasp in her throat, and she licked her lips. How was it that just a look from him could turn her on so much?

"Care to share what you're thinking about?" Finn managed to say.

"Hmm…" Rachel's hand tightened briefly around his length, and she let her thumb pass over the tip. "Well, I wanted to try something."

"Rach." Finn's head fell back against the pillow. "Do whatever you want."

That was all the encouragement Rachel needed before she ducked down and slipped her mouth around Finn's cock.

"Holy shit!"

Finn's body shot up in the bed, and his fingers immediately sank into Rachel's hair. She worked her mouth up and down his length, alternately sucking and using her tongue as her hand twisted around the base. The intense, mind-blowing pleasure coursing through Finn's body seemed to last for an eternity before he tugged on Rachel's shoulders and pulled her up. Dragging her towards him, he kissed her deeply.

"That was amazing, Rach," he said against her lips. His hands were everywhere on her body: stroking down her back, palming her bottom, sliding along the inside of her thigh, tracing the curve of her breast.

Rachel arched against him and moaned. "Was it?"

"Fuck yeah it was, babe," he said. "But I can't wait anymore." Finn tugged Rachel into his lap, so that she was straddling his hips. "I need you."

"Like this?" Rachel placed the palms of her hands against his abdomen and lifted herself, parting her legs so that she could slide down onto him. They both groaned, and Rachel's teeth sank into her lower lip as she slowly settled onto Finn so that their hips were pressed flush together.

"Just like this," Finn panted as his hands went to her hips. He didn't try and guide her movements, and Rachel took his cue to take control.

"I can…" she began, but she cut herself off with a gasp as she began to swivel her hips against his.

"You can do whatever you want to me, Rach," Finn told her. "I'm yours."

That was all the encouragement that Rachel needed. She drove them both to the point of insanity with the slow grind of her hips. Finn's large hands were like brands against the naked skin of her hips, and after minutes and minutes of prolonged torture that had them both desperately grappling for completion, Rachel could take it no longer.

"Finn, please," she gasped. There was sweat along her brow, and Finn thought she was the sexiest thing he had ever seen.

Tightening his hands around her hips, he thrust up into her sharply. Rachel cried out, and her head fell back. It didn't take much longer after that for her to start tightening around him. The feeling of her warm slick walls gripping him caused Finn to completely lose it. His hips jerked up into hers once more before he followed her over the edge.

Rachel collapsed against his chest, panting hard. Finn lay sprawled beneath her, his chest rising and falling rapidly as his breath escaped him in harsh puffs. Rachel's hair stuck to his chest, and her legs were still settled on either side of hips, but there was no way he wanted her to move.

"Rachel Hudson, I think you might have just killed me."

"Are you kidding me?" Rachel demanded weakly against his chest. "I'd beg to differ."

Finn chuckled and finally managed to wrap his arms around his wife. "Let's call it a tie, then."

"Mkay."

A few beats of silence passed. And then: "I'm not sure if I want to take a shower, or if I want to eat."

Rachel immediately burst into laughter. "Really? That's what you're thinking about right now?"

"Hey!" Finn playfully smacked her behind, causing Rachel to yelp. "You can't demand that level of performance from me and not feed me. I'm a growing boy. I need three full meals every day, you know."

Rachel snorted, but she sat up and fished around for one of Finn's shirts. She pulled it over her head and didn't bother with anything else, as the shirt fell to her knees. "You know, we could shower together."

Finn arched a brow at her. "Then we'd never get cleaned."

"That's the idea."

Finn seriously considered that suggestion for a long moment, but the growling in his stomach demanded his attention. "Can we eat first, please?"

Smiling affectionately at him, Rachel leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Of course we can."

Finn grinned at her as he found a pair of boxers and pulled them on. "Rachel Hudson, I love you."

Puck had been over to Santana's house plenty of times. Of course, he had been there more when they were dating—Anne Puckerman was no dummy, and there was no way that Puck was going to have sex with Santana while under his mother's roof (while she was there, anyway). So, more often than not, Puck went to Santana's house.

The best part was that Santana's parents were hardly ever at home, so Puck was accustomed to just strolling right into the large, white house. The door was never locked (despite Puck repeatedly telling Santana that that was stupid and incredibly dangerous), so Puck would just open the door and walk in.

He knew that he didn't have a date with Santana that particular night, but he had wanted to see her. She had insisted on scheduling every date with him, despite the fact that their relationship was supposed to remain "casual." Despite Santana's assurance that he could see other people while they were dating, Puck hadn't been out with anyone else.

Truthfully, he was hoping that he could convince Santana to turn their casual dating back into a real relationship once again. He knew it had only been a few months since his affair with Quinn, but he truly believed that he would never go behind Santana's back again. There was too much at stake now, too many feelings that could get hurt. Puck would never put Quinn and Santana through something like that ever again.

So, just like he always had in the past, Puck walked right into Santana's house…

…and came upon what could only be described as a romantic dinner.

Candles were lit, and there was soft, classical music playing the background (seriously, classical music? Since when had Santana ever liked classical music?). A vase of red roses sat in the middle of table where two plates were set, and the delicious aroma of Italian food wafted towards him.

Sitting at the table was Santana Lopez. And she was with Liam Tanner.

"Puck!" For one moment, Santana looked truly surprised to see him. Then her usual, impassive mask settled back over her face. "What the hell are you doing here? Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

Puck didn't bother to point out that he had never knocked before. Instead, his mind quickly scrambled for a proper reason for being at Santana's house. "I was in the neighborhood. Thought I'd stop by and see if you wanted to watch a movie. But I didn't realize that you had company, so…"

"Well, as you can see, I'm busy." Santana gestured towards Liam, who smiled and waved at Puck. Puck just barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "So you can leave, now."

Puck could take a hint. Without saying goodbye, he turned on his heel and left the Lopez house. He stalked to his car and climbed into it, driving with no real destination in mind. In fact, he hadn't realized where he had stopped until he took a moment to look around and saw that he was parked in front of Quinn's house.

"Shit," Puck muttered under his breath. He hit the steering wheel with the side of his face. "Fuck."

A voice in the back of his head was telling him not to get in the car—it would just be better if he turned his car around and drove away.

Puck ignored that voice.

He cursed again as he climbed from his car and stalked to the front door. It opened before he could reach it, and Puck honestly wasn't surprised that Quinn was standing in the doorway. She watched him with a sadly knowing look on her face, and Puck cursed once more. Of course she knew that Santana had a date tonight, and of course she felt sorry for him. Why wouldn't she? She was Quinn Fabray, and she was perfect, and she always felt sorry for him when he didn't deserve it.

"I shouldn't be here," Puck said by way of greeting.

"Maybe not," Quinn agreed. She stared at him for a long moment before she stepped aside. "Do you want to come in anyway?"

Puck shuffled past her and into the living room. It was clear that she had been watching a movie of some sort, even though Puck didn't recognize the scene that was frozen on the screen. How ironic was it that Quinn was doing the exact thing he had wanted to do that night?

Something twisted in his gut, but Puck didn't know what to make of the feeling. Wherever Santana and Quinn were concerned, Puck tended to ignore those feelings.

"So I guess you saw…" Quinn began awkwardly, but she was unable to finish her sentence.

Puck snorted. "That Santana was on a date with fucking Liam Tanner? Yeah, I did see." He flopped back against the couch and crossed his arms against his chest. "Why the hell would she go out with that baseball team douchebag?"

Quinn had nothing to say to that. She sat next to him on the couch, with a whole cushion's worth of space between them. The distance was telling, and it only served to remind Puck how stupid he was for going to Quinn in the first place.

Covering his face with his hands, Puck sighed heavily. "I know she said that she wanted to be casual, and I know she said that she was going to be dating other people, but I… I wasn't sure that she was actually going to do it."

"Because you haven't dated anyone else," Quinn said knowingly. "Have you?"

"No," Puck admitted. "I haven't. I guess I deserve it, don't I?" He peered at her from between his fingers. "The only time I ever tried to date someone else was…" He trailed off without finishing his statement. But that was okay, because Quinn knew exactly what he was talking about. The only time Puck had ever seen two girls at once was when he had gone behind Santana's back with her.

"Puck…"

"This was stupid." Puck shot up from the couch and began to pace in front of Quinn's television. "I shouldn't have come here. You know that Santana would be pissed if she found out that I was here."

Quinn seemed to consider his words for a moment. "Would she?" she finally said. "I mean, you and I are friends." At Puck's silence, Quinn added, "Right?"

"Of course we are," Puck said quickly. "But I just found Santana on a date with some ass wipe, and the first thing I did was go over to your house. I doubt Santana would see it for what it was."

"So don't tell her."

The words were out of Quinn's mouth before she could stop herself. Now it was her turn to curse under her breath as Puck stared at her with wide eyes. She hadn't meant for it to sound the way that it came out. She simply meant that if Santana insisted on toying with Puck's emotions because she was trying to test his loyalty to her, he didn't owe her every single detail of his life. It wasn't fair to him, for her to say that he could do whatever he wanted while he and Santana were dating, and then get mad if he hung out with Quinn.

Of course, this was all hypothetical. They had no way of knowing if Santana would actually be angry if she found Puck and Quinn together at that very moment. But Quinn had known Santana for over ten years, and she was fairly certain that Santana would not be pleased.

Backtracking, Quinn quickly said, "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know you didn't."

"I don't want you to lie to Santana."

"I know you don't."

"But you should be able to do whatever you want… especially since you guys aren't in a serious relationship."

"…I guess so."

"And I just want you to know… it's okay if you want to be here. You can finish this movie with me, if you want."

That finally got Puck to smile. "Thanks."

He settled back into the couch and snagged the bowl of popcorn that Quinn had been munching on as she started the movie up once again. He tried to ignore how weird this whole situation was, just as he tried to push that most recent conversation with Quinn from his mind.

Maybe he wasn't ready to be back in a serious relationship with Santana again, after all.

"Here, take these."

Rachel, having just put her books into her locker, turned to find a handful of flyers being shoved into her face. Spluttering, she pushed them away and only just managed to catch them as Santana let them go anyway.

"What are these?" Rachel demanded as she shuffled them into a neat pile.

"Flyers for my campaign for student council president, duh," Santana said. "I already gave some to your husband, Puck, and Quinn. They're covering the other parts of the school, and you get to cover this wing. So chop chop." She clapped her hands, indicating that Rachel should get a move on.

Rachel groaned, even as she tacked up the first flyer. "I planned on actually having lunch during my lunch period, you know."

Santana waved her hand dismissively as she walked away. "I already cleared it with our teachers. You can have this period to help me put up flyers, and then the next for your own lunch. See you later, Tutor Berry-Hudson! We'll be discussing campaign strategies over lunch!"

Mumbling under her breath, Rachel dutifully began tacking up the rest of the flyers and sliding them into the slots of other students' lockers. She was glad that Santana was so passionate about something other than cheerleading and partying, but Rachel never recalled signing up to be part of the campaign team.

It wasn't long before she ran into Quinn. Rachel was just posting her last flyer in the library when she saw Quinn walking towards her. The blonde smiled at her, amusement clear on her face as she watched Rachel sigh and gesture to the flyer.

"She must have given me one hundred flyers, and I posted all of them or passed them out to students," Rachel said. "Santana so owes me for this."

"I can't believe that you actually passed them out yourself," Quinn said. "I just gave mine to the freshmen cheerleaders and made them do it."

Rachel opened her mouth to protest, but she realized that Quinn's tactic was actually genius. She could only imagine that Finn and Puck had gotten the freshmen football players to do the same. Rachel could have at least tapped into the freshmen in the theater department to do the same.

"I'm totally doing that next time Santana makes us do something for our campaign," Rachel declared.

Laughing, Quinn linked her arm with Rachel's and steered her towards the parking lot. "Come on. Since we have an extra free period, let's go to Starbucks and get some coffee. We totally deserve it after all of that hard work."

Casting a nervous glance around the hallways, Rachel said, "I thought only seniors were allowed to go off campus for breaks."

"They are. But I've never been stopped before."

True to Quinn's word, no one bothered to stop them as they left the school and climbed into Quinn's Mercedes. Quinn drove them to the nearest Starbucks, where Rachel ordered a venti soy chai latte with three shots of espresso, and Quinn ordered a venti vanilla bean frappuccino. They both picked up some sandwiches, as well, and they picked a table outside to eat at.

Rachel wrinkled her nose at Quinn's drink. "How can you drink that? It's not even coffee."

Quinn slurped at the whipped cream on top. "Of course it's not coffee. But it pure sugar and deliciousness, so I drink one of these whenever I get the chance. You should totally try it with a couple of pumps of raspberry syrup, too."

"No thanks. That's entirely too sweet for me."

Quinn laughed at her and flicked the wrapper from her straw across the table at her. Laughing, Rachel flicked it back, letting out a whoop of victory when it hit Quinn square between the eyes. For her lack of athletic ability, Rachel had always had excellent aim.

"This is fun," Quinn suddenly said. "Why don't we hang out more often?"

"Well, you've been busy with helping Santana with her student council campaign, and I've been at rehearsal for the musical almost every night, so…" At Quinn's pointed look, Rachel sighed and relented. "And Noah is always around, so I was never quite sure if you'd want to hang out with us."

Quinn dragged a hand through her blonde curls and took another sip of her frappuccino as she tried to think of a counter-argument to Rachel's statement. "So this thing with Puck is always going to be hanging over my head, isn't it?"

"Since he and Santana are dating again, it does make it a bit more… awkward."

"Yeah." Quinn fiddled with the straw wrapper that Rachel had launched back at her. "I actually… well, there's something that I wanted to tell you. But I don't know how you're going to react, because I remember what happened last time, and—"

"Quinn." Rachel reached across the table and grabbed Quinn's hand in hers. It was a testament to how off-balance she was, since Quinn was never normally one to ramble. "Relax. You can tell me anything."

"Right." Quinn took a deep breath and finally looked back up at Rachel. "We all know that Santana agreed to go out with Puck again, but only if they kept it casual."

"I know," Rachel confirmed. She pressed her lips together and didn't comment any further. Santana was one of her closest friends, but Puck had been her best friend for as long as she could remember. She wanted to protect him, but Puck was a big boy. He could make his own decisions. If he knowingly entered into a causal relationship with Santana, then there was nothing she could do about it.

"I guess Puck went over to Santana's house yesterday... while she was on her date with Liam."

Rachel cursed under her breath. "Well. That's not good."

Quinn nodded her head in agreement. "And you know how Puck is. He got pissed off and he kind of… ended up at my house."

"Oh." Rachel looked up at Quinn and saw the meaningful look on the blonde's face. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

"So…" Rachel didn't really want to ask the question, given the fact that the last time Quinn and Puck had an affair, it had ended with the worst fight of Rachel and Puck's friendship. The question had to be asked, however, and it was better that she asked Quinn rather than Puck. "Did anything happen?"

"No," Quinn said quickly. "Nothing… nothing like that happened, anyway."

"But…?" Rachel prompted.

"But… he was just so upset, Rachel! It really bothered him to find Santana on another date, because I don't think he thought she was being serious about it. But she was, and… I just really didn't like seeing him like that. He was hurt, and I just wanted to make him feel better."

"Oh my god." Rachel blinked at Quinn as her hands tightened around her coffee cup. "You're in love with Noah."

Quinn stared at Rachel, and the look in her eyes was all that she needed for confirmation.

Without another word, Rachel began to drink her latte as fast as she could. She had a feeling she was going to need the extra caffeine boost.

In the end, she and Quinn had decided to just keep the whole situation quiet for now. Puck and Santana were still seeing each other, Quinn was still both of their friends, and Rachel was going to pretend that she didn't know anything about what was going on. They had the Spring Fling that very night, and they were all going together. It would be best if they just kept the peace.

"Come on, Finn," Rachel said as she batted her husband's hands away from her ass once again. "Everyone will be over here in half an hour. You know you and Noah and Kurt have to go get ready up at the main house." Despite the fact that Kurt went to a different school, they had gotten permission to bring him along to the Spring Fling. Quinn and Kurt got along surprisingly well, and they hadn't wanted Quinn to feel left out with one could and one sort-of couple.

Undeterred, Finn slid his hands back around Rachel's waist and pulled her against him. Ducking down, he pressed his lips to the side of her neck. "Remind me why we're getting ready separately again? Oh, right. It's because Santana is crazy."

"Well… you are right about that." Inevitably, Rachel's thoughts strayed towards the complicated love triangle between her three friends. For once, the drama wasn't about her and Finn, which was nice. The residual stress from knowing about Noah's drama with Santana and Quinn was starting to get to her once again, however.

Feeling Rachel tense up against him, Finn frowned. "Rach, what's wrong?" he murmured against her neck.

"Nothing," Rachel said quickly.

"Hmm, nothing?" He stroked his hands up and down her sides soothingly. "Then what's got you so worked up? And not in a good way, by the way."

"It's nothing, really."

"Okay, sure." Finn was quiet for a moment before he let his little bomb drop. "It wouldn't have anything to do with Puck finding out about Santana's date and going to see Quinn instead, would it?"

"Oh my god!" Rachel looked at her husband over her shoulder, her eyes wide. "How did you know about that?"

"Because Puck told me," Finn revealed. "And I'm assuming you know because Quinn told you?" When Rachel nodded her head, Finn continued, "And I'm just going to go ahead and guess that Quinn and Puck don't know that they both shared this with us."

"I think that you've guessed right," Rachel said. Finally relaxing, she sank back against him. "Finn, what are we going to do? Are we really going to let them do this to each other again?"

"Babe, we're not going to do anything," Finn said.

"Why not?"

Finn couldn't help but chuckle at Rachel's dramatic gasp. "Because, nothing has actually happened yet. And in the mean time, we're not going to get involved in their drama."

"But what if—"

"Rach." Finn bit down lightly on her pulse point as he slid his hands up until they were cupping her breasts. Rachel was only wearing a thin tank top, sans bra, so it was easy for Finn to feel her nipples instantly pucker against his hands. "Stop worrying about it. I'm not above distracting you, you know."

"Oh?" Rachel sucked in sharp breath as Finn pinched one of her nipples between his fingers through her shirt. "Is that so?"

"Hell yeah. And you can bet that I'm going to have a lot of fun doing it."

Before Rachel realized what had happened, Finn had spun her around and laid her out on the bed. He stripped her underwear off in one, smooth motion before he covered her body with his and kissed her deeply. Their hands were everywhere at once; Finn was only wearing a pair of boxer shorts, so they were pressed skin to skin as Finn pushed her tank top over her breasts.

Finn moved his lips from Rachel's and down to her chest, where he wasted no time in wrapping his lips around one of her nipples. Rachel cried out and threw her head back, arching up against her husband. Finn paid the same amount of attention to her other breast as his hand snaked between her legs, stroking her slowly.

His lips moved down, then, kissing around her belly and along her hip. Rachel opened her eyes when she felt him spread her legs and settle between them. Her head shot up when she saw Finn move his own head between her legs, his hot breath blowing across the most sensitive part of her.

"Finn," she gasped. "What are you doing?"

She saw his smirk before he ducked his head down to kiss the inside of her thigh. "I'm returning the favor."

And with that, his tongue was on her.

Finn had only done this a few times before, but based on the gasp that flew from Rachel's lips as her head fell back, she seemed to like it. He lapped at her core, getting used to the taste of her and deciding that he really did like. With his fingers, he spread her apart further and then pressed his tongue to her clit, moving it around in quick circles.

Rachel's fingers flew to his hair as she cried out, arching her hips against his face. More wetness coated his fingers as he moved two to her opening and slid them in, slowly pumping them in and out. Rachel was shaking above him with the pleasure, panting his name as he flattened his tongue against her.

When he wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked, Rachel screamed and came hard. Allowing her to come down from her pleasure high, Finn leisurely continued to lick at her until her fingers tugged at his hair, pulling him back up her body.

"Oh my god," Rachel panted. "Oh my god. That was amazing."

Finn grinned. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Dragging his head down to hers, Rachel kissed him deeply. "Holy shit, Finn."

Finn's grin only broadened. He loved it when he reduced Rachel to cursing.

Rachel had to hand it to Lima High School. Since the prom was only for seniors, they went all-out for the Spring Fling, as well. Instead of having it in the school gym, it took place in a banquet hall in town. They had done well with the decorations, going with the typical Spring Fling theme: lots of flowers and pastel colors.

There was some lingering tension between both Santana and Puck, and it was translating towards Puck and Quinn being awkward towards each other, as well. Thankfully, Kurt was there to carry the conversation, because Finn and Rachel were still stuck in their own little world.

Finn's hands hadn't left the exposed skin that Rachel's dress revealed all night. He was fascinated by the open back of her dress. His eyes kept straying towards the small of her back, where the dress covered her tattoo bearing his number. Still, he knew it was there, and that was more than enough to entice him.

Finn's heated looks and lingering touches were working Rachel up to the point that she wanted to drag him to the nearest bathroom and have her wicked way with him. There was no way that she was going to have sex with him a school-sanctioned event, however. They just had to hold out for a little longer before they could head back home

Santana left the table, then, crossing over to the captain of the basketball team. They exchanged a few words before he pulled her out onto the dance floor, leaving Puck scowling at the table. Rachel and Finn both opened their mouths to say something, while Quinn just stared at her hands (Kurt, for his part, just sighed knowingly).

Puck directed his scowl towards Finn and Rachel. "Why don't the two of you just leave already?" he demanded. "We all know that you want to."

"Dude," Finn said mildly. Just because Puck was pissed about Santana, didn't mean he could take it out on them.

Puck rolled his eyes. "Sorry," he mumbled under his breath.

Rachel kissed Finn's cheek before she stood up and took Puck's hand. "Come on, Noah. Let's go get some punch."

"I don't want punch," Puck stated petulantly. "Unless it's spiked."

Rachel rolled her eyes as she tugged him from his chair anyway and began to tow him along. "We're getting punch."

Puck needed to cool down a little. He accepted the punch glass that Rachel handed to him and drank it slowly, all the while trying to keep his gaze from the dance floor. That didn't help, because if he wasn't glaring at Santana, his gaze was straying towards Quinn. So Puck tried to keep his gaze on the floor, because that seemed to be the safest option.

"Well, I can't say that I'm surprised to see you here," a familiar voice said behind Rachel. "But do married couples often go to high school dances for date night?"

Rachel rolled her eyes once again, but it was less affectionate than she had at Puck earlier. "Jesse. Aren't you a little old to be at a high school dance?"

Jesse shrugged his shoulders as he reached around Rachel and picked up a punch glass of his own. "My uncle said that they need extra chaperones, so here I am."

"And they decided to let you chaperone?" Rachel snorted out a laugh. "That seems a little counter-productive."

"Who the hell are you?" Puck demanded grumpily.

"This is Jesse St. James," Rachel quickly introduced before Jesse could say anything embarrassing or stupid. "He's the college student helping Mr. Ryan with the spring musical, remember?"

"Oh, right," Puck mumbled.

"You're not the husband, are you?" Jesse asked.

Puck wrinkled his nose, and Rachel was wearing a matching look of disgust on her face. "What? Fuck no. I'm the best friend."

"Right." Looking entirely uninterested by that piece of information, Jesse waved his hand. "Anyway, Rachel, I just wanted to let you know that I sent the video of our duet to some contacts I have off-Broadway."

"Really?" Rachel hadn't expected to receive that piece of information. "Why?"

"Because it's good. You're talented, I'm talented, and I thought it would be fun to send it out and get some feedback." He grinned at her. "You never know what might happen."

With that, Jesse turned on his heel and crossed the gym. Puck stared after him, his brow furrowed in glare.

"I don't like him," Puck declared. "He seems like a douchebag."

Rachel sighed. "He kind of is," she agreed.

They both drained their punch cups, and then Rachel hugged Puck tightly. He rolled his eyes and patted her shoulder, but he did relax a little bit. They made their way back to the table where Finn, Quinn, and Kurt were still sitting.

Seeing Finn in his suit made Rachel's body heat up all over again. And when he slid his hand across the exposed skin of her back, his fingers dipping under the material to stroke where her tattoo was, Rachel almost couldn't take it anymore.

"Well, we should get going," Rachel said as she tugged Finn from his chair. "We want to call it an early night."

Puck snorted. "Yeah, I'll bet you do."

"Well, Kurt and I were talking, and we think that ordering some Chinese food and watching some movies would be way better than hanging out here," Quinn said while Kurt nodded his head in agreement. "Are you in, Puck?"

Puck stared at Quinn for a moment before his gaze darted across the dance floor, where Santana was still dancing with the captain of the basketball team. "What about Santana?"

"I talked to her between dances," Quinn said quietly. "She said she's going to hang out here."

"Come on, Puckerman," Kurt said as he patted Puck's arm. "Let's get out of here. There's nothing for you here."

Puck had no idea if Kurt meant for his words to sound the way that he did, but he found himself agreeing with him. "That's the best idea you've had all night, Petunia."

The group of five left the dance. Rachel watched with worried eyes as Puck climbed into the passenger seat of Quinn's car, with Kurt joining them in the backseat.

"I'm worried about him," she said.

Finn slipped his arm around Rachel's shoulders and kissed her temple. "I know," he said. "Me too."

"Are you sure we shouldn't do something?"

"Rach." Finn took his wife's face between his hands. "I love you for caring so much, but we need to let them figure this out on their own." He kissed her tenderly. "Now can we please go home?"

Smiling, Rachel reached up and kissed him again. "Yeah. Let's go home."

I'm always pleasantly surprised when I still receive reviews for this story, even though it's been almost a year since I updated. It gave me the inspiration to write this chapter, so thank you!