A/N: Okay! So, this takes place in an AU, 10 years after everyone graduated from McKinley. Finn and Rachel never dated, instead she and Noah Puckerman were high school sweethearts, and are now married. Quinn never dated Finn or Puck. Finn, Puck, and Rachel are all best friends; Finn is in love with Rachel. Yippee, let's go!
Oh and this first chapter is probably going to be super dialogue heavy because in my Creative Writing class at school, we're working on play writing so I haven't written body text in quite a while. Oh and I use flashbacks a lot. Okay this is long enough. Read on!
Song: youtube[dot]com/ /watch?v=hK-2Kf22MTk

Finn Hudson knew he was being stupid. He knew it every time he went over to the Puckerman house. But did that stop him? Nope. Didn't even come close. He was silently cussing himself out as he waited for Rachel or Puck to answer the door.

"Finny!" the voice of the perky brunette carried through the door. A few seconds later it opened and Rachel bounced into Finn's arms. He gently hugged her, cautious as he always was around her.

"Rach! Where's Puck?" Finn asked, pulling away slightly. Rachel's grip didn't loosen. She was surprisingly strong for her tiny size.

"Noah," Rachel corrected. "He's upstairs. His mom called this morning."

Rachel's voice dropped causing Finn to pull her back into his arms. He hated when she was upset, especially when it was about Puck. Puck and his mom hadn't talked in six years, and it always made Rachel tense up. Rachel's mom had put her up for adoption, and though she loved her two dads, she missed the presence of a mother figure. She couldn't believe Puck was so willing to give it up.

"Hey man," Puck called from the window. He was in his office, which was located directly above the front door. "I'll be right down."

"Don't bring it up. He may not show it, but I know he misses his mom and this is upsetting him," Rachel said, it sounded more like she was trying to reassure herself than inform Finn. He promised not to bring it up anyways.

"So dude, don't be peeved, but I set you up with a date for tonight," Puck confessed when he reached the bottom of the stairs. Rachel ushered them both into the living room, not noticing how awkward Finn was acting. She went to the kitchen to get them all drinks.

"You what? I wondered why Rachel was so obsessed with tonight's dinner plans!" Finn exploded. He couldn't exactly say 'I don't want to go on a blind date because I'm in love with your wife and have been for 13 years.'

"Yeah…but it's not a stranger…" Puck mumbled. He had been hoping Finn hadn't heard him. No such luck.

"I know her? Puck, who is it?" Finn asked. Who in the world was he about to have dinner with? And would she know how in love he was with Rachel? A surprising amount of people did.

"NOAH!" Rachel screeched from the kitchen. Both Puck and Finn laughed; Rachel kept trying to kill Puck's high school nickname, but it was impossible. She was the only one who called him Noah.

"Well, um…Do you remember Quinn Fabray?" Puck choked out. Quinn Fabray? How could Finn forget, she was his first high school crush; he liked her all of freshman year, as did the rest of the freshman class. He had almost asked her out, and then he met Rachel.

"You set me up on a date with Quinn Fabray? The Quinn Fabray? The most popular girl at McKinley? How in the world do you know her?" Finn was flustered and overwhelmed. He did not want to go on a date with Quinn Fabray.

"Well about a week ago she came into my shop to get her car fixed, and recognized me from high school. We started talking, and she asked about you. Apparently, she had been waiting for you to ask her out all of high school, crazy right?"

"Yeah, crazy…" Finn whispered. Rachel sauntered back into the room and set down a tray of, undoubtedly spiked, lemonade. She had a glass of water for herself. Puck pulled her onto his lap and she giggled; Finn wanted to throw up.

Finn looked away, and then excused himself to go to the bathroom. He sat on the side of the bathtub and closed his eyes, remembering a time far away, when he almost had a chance Rachel.

-10 years earlier-

It was a week before graduation. Rachel and Puck were broken up and Finn knew after graduation he'd be completely out of chances. Rachel was going to New York, and Puck was following her. Rachel had told Finn she thought that since they broke up, he'd stay in Ohio, but Finn knew better.

He wanted to tell Rachel to forget about Puck. That he was a better man, and if it meant they could be together he'd tell Ohio State he didn't care about the scholarship, he was going to New York. He would throw away his chance to play pro football and follow her to the ends of the earth, if only she'd let him.

The only thing stopping him from telling her all that was Puck. Puck, his best friend, the guy he'd grown up with, who had been there for him through his dad's death, through his mom's second marriage, through everything. Puck, who loved Rachel almost as much as Finn did. Puck, who was throwing away his Ohio life to follow Rachel to New York, because she would let him.

Finn was sitting in the choir room alone. Glee had ended half an hour ago, but he couldn't seem to make his legs work. His brain seemed to be using every ounce of energy he had to think about Rachel, and the 7 days he had left with her. He knew she'd still be in Ohio during the summer, at least physically. Her mind and heart would already be in New York though; and he was sure this break-up with Puck wouldn't last long. Just the other day Puck had been talking about ways to win her back.

"Finny?" Rachel's voice was permanently stuck in his mind. Wait, that wasn't in his head. Finn looked up to see her standing in the doorway. He tried to ask why she had come back but he couldn't seem to form the words.

She walked over and sat in the hard, plastic chair next to him. He was rendered utterly breathless when she placed a delicate hand on his knee. She began to hum the opening notes of All of You by Colbie Caillat. It was Finn's favorite song, as dorky as that was. He imagined himself singing it to Rachel if she ever left Puck for him.

So tell me everything
Tell me every little thing
And I won't run away
No matter what you say
I wanna hear your heart
Every single beating part
The good and the bad
I swear I won't be mad
It's you I want
All of you

Rachel's voice carried through the choir room. Normally when she sang it relaxed him; not today. He tensed at the lyrics; he tensed because of how close she was, and how good she smelled. For a second he closed his eyes and let himself imagine what would happen if he kissed her right then.

"You don't really have to tell me if you don't want to. I was just trying to cheer you up," Rachel said. She had finished the song and they had been sitting silently, Rachel scratching Finn's back. "I can leave if you want me to."

"N-no, don't leave. I just, I don't know how to start," Finn stammered lamely. And it was true; he had no idea what to say. "Rach, do you remember when we met?"

"Of course! That stupid play in English, when we had to play awkward high schoolers. Didn't I have to say something like "You can kiss me if you want to?" on the first day we met?" Rachel laughed. Finn loved her laugh; it was loud and sudden, quite similar to Rachel herself.

"Y-yeah, and then I said I wanted to, even though I was supposed to push you away disgusted," Finn remembered. He remembered perfectly.

"And then from the back of the auditorium Mr. Schuester yelled to keep going with it and kiss me. And then you kissed me, and then you ran away. I still don't understand why you did that," suddenly Rachel's voice was quiet, she was upset. Tears were forming in her eyes and she was gripping Finn's hand so tightly, as if she could squeeze the answers out of it.

"I-I'm s-so sorry Rach…I was…I –" Finn stopped when Puck burst into the room with pink roses. Pink, not white and red. Finn had told him a million times to get Rachel 6 white and 6 red roses. Instead, the buffoon had gotten 12 pink.

"Noah?" Rachel jumped out of her seat and ran to Puck, smashing the flowers in an effort to kiss him. That was how Finn lost his chance.

-x-

He looked around the bathroom. There was a vase of pink roses on the counter. After 10 years, the buffoon still didn't know what flowers to get. Finn laughed to himself, and then stood up. He didn't want to spend too much time hidden in their bathroom; they might think he was pooping.

Finn walked back to the living room, where Rachel and Puck had been five minutes ago. The lemonade was abandoned on the table, he could hear Rachel's laugh upstairs. That laugh still filled his dreams at night, and he started to follow the sound. It was coming from behind their closed bedroom door. Finn turned on his heals and went back to the couch. He downed half the very hard lemonade in one drink, making his head spin.

Not even ten minutes later, Rachel came down stairs glowing and fixing her hair. She cleared the now empty lemonade pitcher and glasses from the table, smiling at Finn and humming. He recognized the tune, All of You. That sobered him up quickly. He bit his lip to hold back the words he wanted to say. Rachel came back and sat next to Finn on the sofa, still humming. It seemed like forever before Puck came downstairs.

"Well, alright! Babe, what time do we gotta meet Quinn at Breadstix?" Puck asked. He shuffled into the kitchen, wearing nothing but a wife beater, boxers, and socks. He retrieved a beer from the fridge and gulped some of it down before continuing. "Cuz after that 'm gonna need a shower."

Rachel burst out laughing, telling Puck he was gross. They had an hour so she sent him to the shower, and then turned to look at Finn. Her mind was racing. She leaned into Finn's side and he instinctively wrapped his arm around her. When they were in high school, they used to cuddle up and watch movies, much to Puck's disapproval. It had been 8 years since they'd done this.

-8 years earlier-

Rachel knew there was a large possibility it wouldn't work out. In fact, she had predicted it would happen just like this. Two years after high school and she'd be boarding a plane to Ohio, with some of her belongings in a suitcase and the others in boxes on their way.

Puck had gotten fed up with her crazy audition schedule six months ago and moved back to Ohio. She kept trying to make everything work for herself in New York. She kept going to auditions, even when she couldn't come home and cry into her boyfriend's arms when they didn't go well. Soon enough, the pay from waitressing wouldn't cover her rent. Without Puck as a roommate, the place was way out of her budget. She had known that, but didn't want to move.

She boarded her plane, sending her dads a quick text to let them know she was on her way home. For the millionth time, she thought about calling Puck; instead, she turned off her phone and put it in her purse. When she fell asleep on the plane, she expected to dream she was in Puck's arms. She didn't; she dreamed she was in Finn's.

The passenger next to her, a fanatic mother with her three year old daughter, woke her when the plane landed. Rachel ran her hand through her hair and over her face, only to realize she'd been crying in her sleep. The mom handed her a tissue, Rachel accepted it gratefully and then grabbed her purse and her carry on and headed to the baggage claim. By the time she got there, she was sobbing.

It only figured that the carousel her bags were supposed to come through would break. She heard the announcement and then went to find Baggage Claim 13C. As she started walking she felt a little hand tug her skirt; she looked down and saw the kid from the airplane.

"Missy, is you 'kay-kay?" The girl asked. Despite how upset she felt, Rachel laughed. The little girl's face was sticky and covered with blue candy. She had mismatched socks and her shirt was inside out. Her mom was standing a few steps behind, holding a pink Barbie back-pack and a black suitcase.

"I'm okay sweetie. Hi, I'm Rachel, what's your name?" Rachel couldn't help it. She loved kids.

She took the little girl's hand, and they walked towards the girl's mother. She learned that the girl's name was Elizabeth and she was three but only for four more weeks because then she was going to be a big girl and be four and do four year old stuff. Elizabeth's mom supplied her with an endless supply of tissues while Elizabeth told her stories. They sat like that for a half hour, Rachel didn't even notice when Elizabeth's mom got Rachel's suitcases off the carousel.

"Two years and you still act the same when a kid's involved." The voice was familiar; it was a voice that came to her when she was depressed. It haunted her favorite dreams and her favorite memories. She looked up to see the person the voice belonged to, a very tired looking and rugged Finn Hudson. She dropped the piece of candy Elizabeth had handed her and ran into Finn's arms.

He told her that Leroy and Hiram had called him and asked him to pick her up. They went back to his place and she curled up in his arms while they watched The Sound of Music. She told him about all her failed auditions; he told her about his knee injury and losing his scholarship. Finally, she told him about how Puck had walked out and they hadn't talked in six months.

"Rach, I know. Did you forget that Puck's my best friend? Six months ago he showed up on my door step, crying. He's called me crying every single night since. The real question is: are you going to tell him you're back?" Finn asked. She didn't know what to say. "Y-you sh-should. You still love him; I can see it on your face."

She promised she'd call Puck in the morning. They finished watching the movie and Rachel asked Finn if she could spend the night. He of course agreed and started to get up to retrieve his air mattress. Rachel pulled him back. She muffled her sobs in his chest and he rocked her to sleep. He sang to her; All of You by Colbie Caillat.

When she woke up, Finn wasn't there. There was a note on his night stand, with her cell phone sitting on top of it. She struggled to read Finn's chicken scratch handwriting. 'Went for a run, call your dads and then call Puck' that's all it said. She thought she had felt something change between them the night before, but she must have been wrong.

-x-

After Puck showered, Rachel changed into her favorite dress and the three of them left for the restaurant. Finn was nervous; Quinn knew. She had to know, she had to remember him following Rachel around like a lost puppy in high school. Senior year she had made advances at him and he had run away, terrified.

When they got to Breadstix, Quinn was already there. She was sitting at a table sipping a martini. She had on a sleek black dress that complimented her still phenomenal figure; her blonde hair was curled and swooped to one side. She looked entirely too dressed up for Breadstix; she looked too dressed up for anything in Lima, Ohio.

Dinner was awkward. Quinn alternated between slightly scowling at Puck and Rachel and ogling Finn. She didn't talk, and neither did Finn. Puck and Rachel were too busy feeding each other to notice. After dinner, Puck and Rachel announced they were gonna walk home and tossed Finn the car keys. He was left alone at the table with Quinn.

"Does he know?" Quinn asked. They ordered a piece of chocolate cake to share. Quinn was finally talking, between chocolaty bites.

"Does who know what?" Finn knew what Quinn was asking but he wouldn't admit it. She gave him her signature bitch look, the same one she had back in high school, and he shoved a huge bite of cake into his mouth. "Fine. No, he doesn't know. Neither does she. I'd like to keep it that way."

"Back in high school, she knew. Senior year, she came to me. I don't know if you remember, you seemed kind of oblivious back then, but I tried to kiss you after our duet in Glee. You ran away, and she dragged me to the girl's room. She knew you loved her, she was going to break up with Puck for you." Quinn stopped talking when she saw the look on Finn's face.

The incident mentioned had happened a month before graduation. Puck had broken up with Rachel the next day, with no explanation at all. Rachel had been heartbroken, or so Finn thought. She had slept over that night, curled up in his arms, All of You on repeat playing through Finn's speakers.

"She was going to – and then he – but, what?" Finn stammered out.

"She wanted to be with you Finn. She came to me right after the break up and asked me what she should do, I told her to go after you. She did, but you were oblivious. And eventually, she gave up."

Finn thought back to that night. At around 4am he had heard her voice in his dreams. She had said "if we got together, do you think Puck would be mad?" Now he realized, that wasn't his dreams. She had actually said that. And when he woke up, he had gone for a run to clear his head. He had simply left a note saying maybe she should try calling Puck. He was an idiot. He wondered if he was too late…