Partners in Crime

Author: L

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters.

Author's Note: I love Glee and I absolutely love reading its fanfics but I have always been hesitant about writing it. It's such an amazing show and the characters are brilliant so I always worry about them being out-of-character. I couldn't get this out of mind though and just had to write something to pass the time until I get more Puck/Quinn scenes. It's a little Puck-centric to begin with. Oh, and please excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes. It's 3 in the morning here.

Dragging his feet through the entrance of McKinley High, Puck suppressed a yawn and rubbed his eyes wearily with the back of his hand. He stopped at his locker and started to throw his books in, almost certain that he wasn't going to be attending most of his lessons today. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Dave Karofsky armed with a slushie and making his way over to Jacob Ben Israel. Puck shook his head half in disbelief and half in amusement. Less than five minutes into the new school year and slushies were already being thrown. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't the culprit.

He slammed his locker shut loudly, startling the nearby freshmen, and began to walk away when he caught sight of something that made him do a double-take. Damn, he must have been more tired than he thought because there was no way that Karofsky was still holding that slushie. With a quick scan of the hallway – and Puck had to use every ounce of strength he had to look away from the beautiful blonde who he had barely seen all summer. The few times they had bumped into each other was awkward and formal and not them – he could see a number of potential targets, all of whom were in Glee club.

Yes, Karofsky was stupid but not stupid enough to throw a slushie at the head cheerleader. Santana would rip him apart right there and then. Puck smirked at the thought of his nemesis being on the receiving end of her wrath. If he knew not to throw one at her then he definitely wouldn't be targeting Brittany. Even Puck, in the height of his slushie-throwing days, never entertained the thought. It was mainly because he didn't have a death wish which is precisely what Santana would do to anyone who even looked at her best friend in the wrong way. Plus, it would be like kicking a puppy.

Despite everything that had happened last year, Finn had managed to earn back his status as a popular kid so it was highly unlikely that it would be him either. As the quarterback of the football team, he could have Karofsky landing face-first in garbage every day although Puck was sure that Finn hadn't been made aware of this. Berry would have been the obvious candidate but he quickly crossed her off the list as the PDA started up between her and Finn – saved by association.

This meant that it had to be Mercedes, Kurt or Artie. Puck found himself heading towards them, ready to come to their defence. They were his friends and judging by the shade of red tainting Kurt's clothes, he had probably reached his slushie-quota for the day. And who in their right mind would ever slushie a kid in a wheelchair? That had always been against Puck's religion. However, when Karofsky completely bypassed the cowering trio, Puck was at a complete loss. Mike and Tina were nowhere to be seen (ten dollars says they're making out in an empty classroom somewhere) so that only left...

With a furious growl that sent the same freshmen from earlier scurrying for cover, Puck sprinted across the hallway. He noticed Jacob trailing behind Karofsky with his video camera set on record and his anger elevated. After watching Quinn struggle with her demotion last year, he was not going to let her be humiliated on the first day back. As Karofsky dangerously raised the slushie in his hand, Puck lunged towards him and slammed him against the lockers. Quinn jumped in surprise at the noise coupled with the violent shudder that ran through the lockers, and turned in time to see the slushie fall to the ground.

"Quinn Fabray is off-limits," snarled Puck. His hands clenched the front of Karofsky's letterman jacket as he spoke again in a low menacing whisper. "Nobody slushies her – do you understand me?" Karofsky gulped at the sound of his threatening tone but managed to nod. "Good, then you can pass that message along to the rest of the hockey team."

As soon as Puck had loosened his grip on him, he bolted into the crowd of stunned students that had gathered around them. Standing alone in the centre of the crowd, Puck was suddenly self-conscious of the hazel-green eyes he could feel staring at him. He glanced quickly in her direction and saw Quinn with a shocked expression. Her mouth hung open slightly, looking lost for words. With a sinking heart, he realised how crazy he must have seemed, attacking Karofsky like that. Certain that he had blown what little chance he had of being with Quinn, Puck hung his head dejectedly and walked away from her.

If he had given in to temptation and looked back then he would have seen Quinn's hand reach out towards him with tears in her eyes, not wanting him to leave.

Having spent most of the day in his truck dwelling on his thoughts, Puck only resurfaced for the occasional lesson, none of which were shared with Quinn. He couldn't stop thinking about his daughter. He was scared that he would forget about her – the way she looked; her beautiful striking resemblance to her mom; the adorable smile that broke his heart when he realised it was the first and last time he would ever see it – and lose the only connection he had to Quinn. Every time he closed his eyes, he would conjure up the image of Beth and smile softly to himself as he absently traced her features in the air.

At the end of the school day, Puck had an internal debate with himself before eventually deciding to go to Glee practice. When he entered the auditorium, the chatter died down almost instantly and he ignored the concerned looks from his classmates. His gaze fell upon Quinn who was dressed in her trademark Cheerios uniform for the first time in a long time. He was happy for her but he couldn't stop the flash of surprise on his face. It had been a while since Puck had seen her in the red and white of McKinley High. He always saw past the uniform though. To him, she was so much more than the head cheerleader.

Puck had heard about Quinn and Santana's fight in between lessons and while his initial reaction was to be annoyed that he had missed it, he became worried about her. Santana could really kick ass when she wanted to but Quinn didn't appear to have any trouble holding her own. Now that she was the head of the Cheerios again, she would obviously have no more slushie-related problems. It tore him apart to admit that Beth didn't need him and neither did Quinn. When Puck realised that he had been staring at her for way too long, he instantly diverted his gaze and took a seat between Santana and Tina.

Quinn silently moved to stand next to Puck, disregarding any need to be subtle. She fiddled with her hands and thought back over her day. When she woke up this morning, she knew it was going to be hard to see him and talk to him but she thought that at the very least, she would have the chance. Brittany, Mercedes, Kurt, Finn and even Rachel had seen him in their classes yet he seemed to be conveniently missing from all of hers. It hurt to know that he was avoiding her.

Throughout the summer, she could only think about two people: Puck and... Beth. As she stood with Puck in the maternity ward, staring through the window of the nursery – just another barrier that separated their daughter from her parents – Quinn doubted she would have the strength to give her up. She had only just met her little girl but loved her more than she could ever bring herself to admit. There was half of Puck in Beth and on the rare occasion that she had seen him after the birth, she saw her daughter too. And it broke her heart.

The awkwardness that had swept through the auditorium relaxed into a welcoming atmosphere as Sunshine Corazon stepped onto the stage and began her audition for New Directions. Quinn stole a look at Puck just as he did with her and when their eyes locked, they both blushed and smiled shyly. It was reminiscent of that day at the hospital when he confessed his love for her.

It was then that Quinn knew as much as it hurt to think about Beth, it would shatter her heart if she didn't have Puck.

To say that they were all impressed with Sunshine's performance would be an understatement. Puck offered her a sincere compliment ("You're a badass.") before excusing himself. Mr Schuester seemed worried but didn't object to him leaving early. He was grateful for the distraction that the audition had provided although it was only short-lived. When he lifted his hands to applaud at the end, he accidently brushed against Quinn's and one touch was all it took to send his heart racing.

Turning another corner, he noticed Karofsky heading in his direction with Azimio. They glared at each other but left it at that despite Puck's desire to put a fist in both of their faces. He wasn't stupid though; one of him against two jocks wouldn't be a fair fight.

A lighter set of footsteps caught his attention and he drew to an abrupt stop when he heard Karofsky curse from a few feet away. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Quinn striding confidently down the hallway with a smirk on her face and a grape slushie in each hand. He watched with a silent admiration at the way she could strike fear into a hockey player who was over twice her size. Her hand was outstretched, the slushie inching closer to Karofsky's face but to Puck's surprise, she pulled it back towards her body and made her way over to him instead.

"You should have slushied him," Puck told her with an amused laugh. He glanced over at the two guys, laughing again when he heard Azimio tell Karofsky that they needed to haul their asses out of there before Quinn changed her mind.

"I know," shrugged Quinn, shooting him a breathtaking smile. She held out one of the slushies and Puck took it from her with a raised eyebrow. "I thought that maybe... we could do it together." A pink tinge flooded her cheeks and Puck dropped his gaze down to his feet so she couldn't see the stupid smile that had spread across his face. "I never got the chance to thank you for saving me this morning so I thought that this would be a good way to do it."

"It's a brilliant way," Puck smirked. His eyes twinkled with anticipation and noticing that the two jocks were already at the other end of the hallway, started to jog after them. When he realised that Quinn hadn't followed him, he turned around and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Aren't you coming?" There was a brief moment of hesitation from Quinn which Puck misinterpreted. "I know you haven't slushied anyone in a while so I don't mind doing it for you, if you–"

Quinn had caught up with him while he was rambling and smirked at his enthusiasm. "Dream on, Puckerman. I already gave up a slushie to you," she grinned. The hesitation returned as she bit down softly on her bottom lip before looking up to meet his soft hazel eyes. "You can't do this without me. I mean, after all, I am your partner in crime."

Her free hand slipped shyly into his, almost as if she were testing the waters. It took a few seconds for Puck to register what had happened and his eyes widened in surprise as a smile tugged at his lips again. This time, he didn't hide it from her. He wanted her to know how happy she made him. His fingers intertwined with Quinn's and he brought her hand up to his lips, placing a gentle reassuring kiss on it.

With a mischievous smirk, Puck looked up and yelled, "Hey Karofsky!"

Finished