My heart's on fire.

[ineedapplause]

There had been a two hour layover in Boston when she had thought about calling her dads, Kurt or maybe even Finn. Not that Finn would've picked up. It'd been two months since she'd talked to her estranged boyfriend, or fiance, depending on how you interpreted two months of radio silence while you were dealing with Cassandra July, the biggest bitch that ever debuted on Broadway. She knew that he was going through basic training and understood that contact was limited, but it was becoming more and more obvious with every passing day that long distance was the death sentence that everyone had told them that it would be.

Still, she missed him. She missed Lima and she missed her friends. She missed being the most talented person in the room, or at least in the top five. She hadn't been picked to perform once yet at NAYADA, despite the fact that she practiced more than she ever had in high school. The only times she'd actually been able to sing had been five second snippets here or there or as backup to the sophomores. She needed a break. She needed to go somewhere where she wouldn't be told on a daily basis that she sucked.

Which is why it was such a relief when she stepped off the plane at LAX. She was a stranger here. She could stand out or blend in just as much as she wanted to and not one person would call her David Schwimmer or Schwimmer or any combination thereof. She stopped briefly to buy some flowers at a little shop in the airport, because it felt like a grown up thing to do and Rachel forgot far too often that she was a grown up now. Then she'd gotten a cab and given him the address that she'd seen in one of Finn's emails. What? They had almost been practically married, she was allowed to read his emails.


Thirty minutes later the cab pulled up in front of a run down apartment building. Rachel looked at it speculatively for a long moment before the cabbie asked her if she was going to get out. She tipped him as he got out her bags and made her way up the crumbling sidewalk, her flats clicking purposefully. She stopped in front of 1211B, smoothing down her hair with one hand and plastering on a big smile as she rang the doorbell. The moment the door opened she shoved the flowers in the face of the occupant.

"For you," she said, matter-of-factly with a touch of maniac cheer. She gestured Puck forward, even as she stepped onto the threshold. "Don't just stand there, give me a hug."

Comments

[countpuckula]

The thing about dreams is that they don’t always turned out how we hope they will. Almost all the other Glee kids were off pursuing careers in show business, but Puck had taken what he thought was a more practical approach: he had moved to Los Angeles to start his own pool cleaning business.

In retrospect that hadn’t been very practical at all.

Lima didn’t have a lot of pools, no, but that meant one very important thing that he had overlooked: the less pools there were, the less people needed to clean them. Puck had figured that with swimming pools in the backyard of pretty much every house, he would be up to his ears in money, customers, and hot, lonely cougars. he hadn’t counted on the competition, more pools meant more cleaners and while everyone had known who he was back home and were glad to give their business to a kid with no degree or credentials, here he was nobody.

After blowing through the majority of his savings he had eventually sold off his equipment and managed to get a job with one of the cleaning companies that should have been his competition. It was barely enough to cover his rent. He didn’t even get the hot movie stars’ houses since it was one of the smaller companies around that had hired him. All in all his dream had pretty much gone to crap, though he hid this fact from everyone who knew him. Everyone in Lima thought he was a success; he wouldn’t let them know he was a failure, just like his dad.

At least as far away as he was he didn’t have to worry about too many visitors... or so he had thought. When his doorbell rang that fateful day, the last person Puck expected to see on his doorstep was Rachel Berry.

“What the...” he had started to say before being shut up by a face full of flowers. Taking them just so he could move them out of his face, he could only stare wide-eyed and open mouthed as she stepped inside uninvited. “Rachel? What...?” Yes, that was about as articulate as he could get right now, though an overall ‘what’ probably covered every question he had.

[ineedapplause]

When he didn't immediately step into her arms she moved forward and wrapped them around him independently, hugging him tightly.

"It's so good to see you," she said, and this time she didn't have to force the cheerfulness into her voice. It was good to see Puck looking just like, well, Puck. He was still the solid, strong wall of rebellion he'd always been.

She swallowed down the tiny lump in her throat and smiled widely before she pulled back. "You look great!" She said, patting his chest before angling around him into the hallway. "And your place is so..." She looked around the house. Clearly a place where many different people lived, none of them particularly particular about cleaning regimes. "Colorful."

A fair statement, considering someone was either int he process of repainting or had an interesting idea of what an accent wall was supposed to be.

She looked back at Puck. "I had some time off, so I thought I'd come see you and get the West Coast experience. New York is amazing. It's fall. The leaves are..." She gestured wildly with her hands and turned away from him to move further into the house. "How have you been?"

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Seen any movie stars?"

[countpuckula]

Before he knew what was happening, Rachel Berry was hugging him and he could only stand there limply and let it happen. Okay, he had to admit that it felt good, he couldn’t remember the last time someone had held him in a completely non-sexual way, and she had always been good at it with her freakishly deceptive strength and all. She had this way of holding him so tight it was like he was the only thing that mattered in the whole world. Considering he knew he didn’t actually matter at all to the world it was nice, if only for a minute. She also looked and sounded genuinely happy to see him, something else that had become foreign to Puck.

“Yeah, uh, you too,” he manages when she said he looked great, but she was already slipping past him into the house. Blinking and shaking his head, he closed teh door and followed her. “It’s not my place,” he felt the need to clarify in case she thought he had chosen any of the ugly paint or furniture or decorations. “I’m just staying here for a while.”

Mandy, one half of the couple that owned this house, liked to fancy herself a whiz with interior design; unfortunately anyone that looked around the house as she told them this decided quickly that she was delusional and that her fiancé was either the same, scared of her, or blind. Maybe a combination of all three.

So Rachel had some time off and just happened to track him down and spent it here instead of home with her Dads? Though Puck supposed they probably visited her in New York all the time so maybe she needed to escape them for a while.

“Oh, yeah, almost every day. They’re everywhere,” he lied about the celebrities. “I”m great, it’s awesome here. Every day is like a party.” More lies. He followed her as she moved, unasked, further into the house. “So how’d you find me? I be your dads were happy when you told them you wanted to spend vacation here instead of Lima.” Or wherever their fat paycheques could take them on family vacation.

[ineedapplause]

"Oh?" She asked as she moved further into the house. If this wasn't actually his place, things might be more complicated than she had originally thought, but she was still positive that she could make them work to her advantage.

She turned back towards him when he started talking about the celebrities, a small smile crossing her face. Leave it to Puck to make life a party. He'd always been good at avoiding responsibility. Actually, if she was honest with herself that was part of the reason she was here. She was taking a page out of Noah's book.

"Am I invited?" She asked, raising her eyebrows slightly. "To the party?"

Her smile faded the tiniest bit at the mention of her parents, but she shrugged. "They're on a cruise," she said quickly. "Carribean. I didn't want to spend all that time at home alone. Besides, I've never been to L.A. I thought it would be the perfect time to visit."

She sat down the edge of a worn chair. "I hope you don't mind."

[countpuckula]

“What?” Puck questioned, unsure for a moment what Rachel wanted an invitation to. Realizing she meant the party he claimed was his life, he plastered a smile on his face. “Oh yeah, everyone’s invited, but there’s only one rule,” he said, holding one finger up in front of her face. “You gotta loosen up! There’s no sissy wine coolers at this party.”

It was actually a bit of a relief how easily he could fall back into old habits and become good ol’ Puck again, party animal and bad boy extraordinaire.

Not being the most observant person, nor the sharpest tack in the wall, Puck accepted her answer easy enough, assuming the cruise was much longer than she had vacation for which was why she hadn’t gone with her dads. Besides, whoe the hell wanted to go on a cruise with their parents at their age?

“Nah, it’s cool. I’m sure we can find you a couch to sleep on, or you can just crash in my room,” he played it cool. He could do this. He could just go to work as normal and she would be so distracted by all the sights and attractions of LA that she never had to know that he didn’t actually own the pool company he worked for.

[ineedapplause]

She laughed when he told her to loosen up. Though she took some offense to the wine cooler comment. She liked wine coolers. A little too much, actually.

She looked back up at him sharply when he said she could stay in his room. Wondering if this was some kind of attempt at seduction. He wasn't leering at her the way he used to though, so she assumed he was just being polite. She relaxed a little. Finn probably wouldn't like the idea of her staying in Noah's room on her visit. Then again, she wasn't sure Finn would care at all anymore.

"Your room is fine," she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I wouldn't want to get in the way of any of your roommates."

She took a deep breath and smiled again. "So how's the pool cleaning business? Have you met anyone new? Do you still sing?"

[countpuckula]

In all honesty, for once Puck wasn’t thinking about sex. He was too busy trying to figure out how to play off this whole plan without Rachel realising that it was all a sham to notice that he had just asked her to stay in his room with him. He didn’t even think about it when she gave him that look. No, it wasn’t until she reiterated that she would be staying with him, in his room, that it clicked in, then sex was all he could think about.

“Yeah?” he blurted out in surprise. Had she been thinking about it that way when she agreed? Maybe that’s what this entire trip was really about, she realised how badly she wanted him when he wasn’t around anymore and just had to fly out here to seduce him. “I mean yeah, that’s probably the best way. The woman that owns this place? She’s a real piece of work. Better to avoid her.”

He didn’t mention that his room was rather small, much smaller than any bedroom she was probably used to. He could probably fit three of them in the one she had in her house back in Lima.

Now that his mind was off imagining all the fun they would get up to in his room at night, it took him a moment to register all the questions she’d just asked him, and then it was back to crappy old reality.

“Oh, you know, bit of a slow start but it’s really taking off now,” he said, trying to downplay slightly while still maintaining his success. “Man, I meet new people every day here, but... well, I haven’t really sang much.” He shrugged his shoulders. His guitar sat in the back of his closet gathering dust. Not really a lot to sing about lately.

[ineedapplause]

The look of surprise was enough to make her smile. That was the Puck she remembered and she couldn't help but feel a little warm at the thought that at least someone still thought she was attractive. She bit back her smile and nodded. "Yes, well, I'd hate to get you in trouble with your landlord. Does she have a limit of people who can live here? Like what? Half a dozen?"

She grinned at him, reaching out to pat his shoulder to make it clear she was teasing him. Her eyes narrowed when he said he wasn't really singing. "Why not?" She asked, furrowing her brow. "I thought you'd have joined a band by now, or set up shop on some corner with your guitar."

She raised her eyebrows and gave a small shrug. "There's only one thing to do then. Me and you have to sing at the first opportunity. Tonight?" She smiled, tilting her head at him. "Unless you have a hot date or something."

She was teasing of course. If he did have a hot date, she fully intended on tagging along. She didn't come out here to be alone, after all.

[countpuckula]

“I dunno,” Puck replied, his brow creasing. “I can’t keep track of the people in the basement, I swear they change every week.” For all he knew they all still lived there and were crammed in like sardines in a tin, but it was more likely that they were just all terrible tenants and got evicted and replaced monthly.

Realising that Rachel had only been teasing him, Puck grinned at her because this was Rachel Berry and she had totally just agreed to sleep with him which he would be lying if he said he hadn’t fantasised about many times over the years since they’d first dated.

Of course, though, this was Rachel Berry, and music always trumped everything. He should have just lied and said he still sang because now she was giving him that look like she was trying to figure out how he could have given up something he had loved so much and he just didn’t have an answer for her, at least not one that he wanted to give. Either way he sliced it, though, whether he lied or not, of course she was going to suggest going out to sing somewhere. At least by being honest he didn’t have to pretend he did this all the time; he had a big enough lie to worry about as it was.

“Gotta hand it to you, you made it longer than I thought you would before suggesting a duet,” Puck replied, looking down at his watch with a grin. “Come on, Rach, you know me. I always have a hot date,” well, it was more like a booty call than a date, “but nothing I can’t cancel for an old friend.”

[ineedapplause]

"Lucky me, then," she said with a small laugh and a roll of her eyes. Though the truth was, she was actually happy that she'd have his full attention tonight. If she was honest for herself, a little attention and maybe relaxation was why she was here.

That and she was afraid she didn't have what it took to make it in New York. If she couldn't complete her dream of being a Broadway Star what did it matter what she did? Her life was practically over anyway.

She started moving through the house back to where she'd left her luggage just inside the door.

"Just let me get ready," she calls out over her shoulder. "I can't spend my first night in L.A. in this."

She looked at him over her shoulder. "You're not going to wear that are you?"

[countpuckula]

When Rachel moved back toward the door to get her luggage, it didn’t cross Puck’s mind to offer to get it for her. Instead he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and quickly sent off a text to Mindy, whom he was supposed to be meeting up with tonight.

Sorry babe, something came up. Raincheck, he wrote. Hitting send, he looked up to see Rachel looking at him and took a moment to register what she had asked. Brow furrowing, he looked down at his dark blue t-shirt and cargo shorts.

“Yeah, what’s wrong with it?” he asked. He was in California now, and this was pretty much the kind of outfit he always wore.

[ineedapplause]

"Well, it's just that you look like a..." She trailed off, just stopping herself short of saying that he looked like a pool cleaner. He was a pool cleaner. She flashed him a small smile. "A very relaxed individual."

She reached up and ran a hand through her hair. "I just thought since it was my first night, maybe we could glam it up a little? If it's not too much trouble."

[countpuckula]

“A what?” Puck challenged, ready to get offended, but sometime since high school Rachel had managed to learn how to take a moment to think and stop herself for putting her foot in her mouth. New York had probably helped, as that’s a scary place to accidentally insult someone. “Sure I do, what’s not to be relaxed about?”

He had only blown all the cash he hadn’t given his dad to come here and start a business that had failed miserably. He lived in a house owned by an annoying, crazy woman and her drip of a husband as well as a handful of misfits and his wages were barely covering the cost of his room since he was the only one who had to pay double since he was alone. All in all his life was pretty terrible and he was a complete failure, so what was there to not be relaxed about besides everything?

But of course Rachel Berry, who was living in New York, would want to dress up to go to a karaoke bar. Of course Puck’s first instinct was to refuse, but if he wanted to keep her happy and not suspicious at all then he should probably just give her what she wanted until she went back home and left him in his misery again. Besides, he was less likely to get laid later if he refused.

“Sure, whatever,” Puck shrugged as if he didn’t care a lick. “But only because it’s your first night.” He still had a suit somewhere in the back of his closet, he was sure.

[ineedapplause]

She smiled and fought the urge to roll her eyes. If she knew Puck at all, she knew he couldn't wait to show off the city to her. He had always worried about looking cool, even though he sometimes managed to surprise her with the lines that he drew in the sand.

"Thank you," she said, giving him a little dip at the knees. It wasn't quite a curtsey, but it wasn't not one. She straightened up and went into planning mode. "I'll get dressed and touch up my make up, you go put on your suit and we'll meet back here in twenty minutes. Then maybe we can grab something to eat and head out?"

It sounded like a good plan to her, but maybe she was overstepping her bounds a little bit. She was his guest. "If that sounds good to you."

[countpuckula]

In typical Rachel Berry style, no sooner did he agree when she was laying out a full fledged plan. Puck stared at her for a long moment before a slow smile spread across his lips. Of everyone he had left behind from McKinley, besides Finn he had probably missed Rachel the most.

Finn. Damn.

He had almost forgotten about his best friend and the fact that, in the end, Rachel would always be Finn’s girl. Okay, so maybe he wouldn’t be getting laid tonight, but they could still have a little fun, right?

“There’s a bathroom upstairs you can use, and you can just throw your bag in my room,” Puck said, leading the way up the stairs.

[ineedapplause]

"Bags," Rachel reminded him as she followed him up the stairs. But she grabbed the most important one as they moved past them and followed him up the stairs.

He hadn't actually given her the go ahead on her plans, but he wasn't wasting time arguing with her either, so she had to take that as a wordless agreement.

She wondered if he'd let her pay for the outing. Even if he was doing well with his service, she could tell that money might have been a little tight. Something told her that he'd argue with her just for the sake of arguing.

But maybe if she let him talk her into it...

She peered into the communal bathroom. She supposed sharing it wasn't really that different than the co-ed bathrooms at school. She smiled at him. "Give me forty minutes and I'll be ready to go."

She handed him her phone. "I have the directions to the karaoke place I looked up bookmarked. You might want to print them out. I think we have to walk some of the way because of the location."