Tonight was the night. As Sam made his way back into his 2nd floor apartment, he couldn't help the feeling of nervousness that suddenly came over him. What if she wants nothing to do with me? No. He refused to believe that. They had loved each other, been each other's backbone. She had been his everything and to be quite honest, she still was. That's why he had to try. He owed it to himself to try to get back the only woman he would ever love. He owed it to her to be the man that she deserved – one who would love and support her unconditionally. He owed it to them to give her the life that they used to pretend they were living as they sat cuddled on her parents couch, or the future they planned out in whispers as they lay in her bed after making love. God bless her ever busy parents.

It had been a little over four years since he'd held her that way, hair sticking to the sides of her face while he ran his hands up and down her back, still damp from the sweat of their previous activities, her head lying on his bare chest. He closed his eyes and lost himself in the memories for a moment before walking down the hall to his bedroom to get everything laid out before he showered. After all, when you want to seduce the love of your life, you have to make sure you look your best.

As he stood under the spray of the shower, he thought back to the last time he'd seen her, the day after New Year's. They'd run into each other at the supermarket, both picking up some items for their respective homes. He was doing it as a favor for his mother; she was doing it to sustain herself because her parents had once again flitted off to another conference and left her alone. She had been absolutely adorable in her oversized knit cap and winter coat – New York was frigid in January. He'd asked her if she wanted him to keep her company. After all, no one should spend New Year's Day by themselves. After a brief hesitation, she had agreed and after dropping his purchase off at his parent's house, he had driven to hers.

They had spent the afternoon laughing and joking, watching movies that neither one was really interested in. They hadn't spent this much time together since the break up. 'Why did we break up?' he had wondered. Oh right, because she was going to stay in NY for college and he was going to Tennessee on a sports scholarship. He had gone to the University of Memphis and studied Architecture with a concentration in Construction Engineering. The perfect combination of studies, not only for his love of design, but it would help greatly when his father put him in charge of the family construction company. She had gone to NYU and studied Education with a minor in English Literature. She had always wanted to be a teacher.

She reasoned that she didn't want the distance to destroy their relationship and he had agreed. After all, it was 950 miles between them. They promised to stay friends, but they didn't speak too often. Neither would admit how much it hurt to be apart. He had tried dating a few different girls, but none of them compared to her. He knew that he would never want anyone else so in his junior year he just decided to wait and see what would happen after college. Then they spent that New Year's together in his senior year and he knew without a doubt that somewhere inside her she felt the same. They fell so easily back into old patterns, cuddled on the couch, teasing, laughing and flirting, but she had had a boyfriend then. Some guys she had started dating year before. That was the only reason he had decided to wait.

As he dried off and began to dress in his costume for Puck's Halloween party, he went over in his head all of the different ways that he could approach her tonight. Puck was well aware of his plan to get Mercedes back and was more than willing to help, even going so far as to find out her costume so that Sam could find one that was complimentary. That is what led to him standing in front of the full length mirror in his room dressed as a Gladiator. The only difference is that he opted for his Converse instead of the traditional sandals.

He's been there at the party for about a half an hour when he first saw her. She walked in and stopped to greet some friends near the entrance of the living room. She was breathtaking. She wore a flowing white goddess gown with an empire waist. Her hair was pulled into a large bun at the back of her head with just a few wisps framing her face. She was beautiful and perfect and she was his, at least she would be again by the end of the night. He looked over to Puck and nodded towards the kitchen. With a wink and a smile to Sam, Puck gently pulled Mercedes away from the small group and led her towards the kitchen under the guise of making her a drink. Once they had passed the spot where he stood, he walked quickly after Puck and stopped him just before he entered the kitchen behind Mercedes. With a nod, Puck stepped aside and let Sam enter in his place.

"So what do you recommend Puckerman?" she asked turning to her host. She froze and her eyes widened impossibly large at the man before her. "Sam…" she said breathlessly. "I… I thought… I didn't know…" she lowered her eyes trying to form a coherent sentence. The case was not being helped by the fact that his bare-chested Gladiator costume was incredibly distracting. "I didn't know you were in town."

"I moved back about two weeks ago" he said with a slight grin at the corner of his lips. " I didn't really want anyone to know until I was settled."

"You didn't want me to know?" she asked, her eyes quickly snapping up to meet his.

"No, no. That's not what I meant. I wanted to get settled first, but of course I wanted you to know. I just wanted it to be a surprise when you found out. Are you surprised Mercy?" his eyes twinkling mischievously. Of course she was surprised. He knew that she had no idea that he had decided to move back to NY. She was under the assumption that he had accepted a job offer in Tennessee and he had let her believe as much. No need for her to know that it was only a summer internship. He took note of the fact that she hadn't moved away from the counter she was leaning against, gripping the edges for dear life.

"Yeah, I'm surprised."

"Are you afraid of me Mercy?"

"What? Why would you think that?"

He smirked again. "Well for starters, you haven't let go of that damn counter since you turned and saw me standing here, and second, you haven't made a single attempt to properly greet me." He slowly walked over to stand in front of her and that's when he noticed the faint blush on her cheeks.

She released he hold on the counter edge and quickly stepped forward to throw her arms around his neck. "I missed you, Sammy." she sighed into his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly against him. God, he'd missed this. He slowly pulled back and looked into her eyes. "Much better. I missed you Jones." he said, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled down at her.

"I missed you too Evans." She ran her hands up an over his closely cropped hair. "I's so much shorter now…" she murmured, almost to herself.

"Yeah, I know. I kinda had to start to look like a grownup." They both burst out laughing. "Hey, let me fix you a drink and then we can catch up?" He loosened his arms and stepped back towards the assortment of liquor bottles. "What do you want?"

"I want whatever you're willing to give me, Evans."

He cocked an eyebrow at her and answered "You should choose your words carefully, Jones."

An hour and three Jack and Cokes later, and Sam was leaning against the wall next to Mercedes listening as she told him about her position at their old high school as an English teacher. She loved her students and it was evident in her eyes. He had been questioning her relentlessly, shamelessly asking if she was seeing anyone and when she said no, he smiled and kissed her cheek before walking away, leaving her slightly puzzled. He walked towards the front of the living room and picked up a guitar before turning down volume on the stereo. "I know, I know," he yelled out above the disgruntled protests of the guests. "I'll turn it back on, but first, I have a song that I really want to play for a very beautiful woman." The crowd started to clap and whoop and Sam smiled and gestured for them to settle down. He looked straight to where she stood in the back of the room and began to strum out a soothing melody.

When I look into your eyes
It's like watching the night sky
Or a beautiful sunrise
Well there's so much they hold
And just like them old stars
I see that you've come so far
To be right where you are
How old is your soul?

Well I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up

And when you're needing your space
To do some navigating
I'll be here patiently waiting
To see what you find

Cause even the stars they burn
Some even fall to the earth

We've got a lot to learn
God knows we're worth it
No, I won't give up

I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use the tools and gifts
We got yeah we got a lot at stake
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we didn't tend
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn
We had to learn, how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I got, and what I'm not
And who I am

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
I'm still looking up

I won't give up on us
God knows I'm tough

We got a lot to learn
God knows we're worth it

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up

As the last strains of the guitar faded, the room broke out into thunderous applause. Sam shyly ducked his head and handed the guitar off to Puck before walking back to where Mercedes still stood at the back of the room. When he was in front of her, he noticed that her eyes were filled with tears. "I didn't mean to make you cry…" he started, but she placed a finger against his lips.

"Can we leave?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, whatever you want. Did you drive here?" he asked. He watched as she shook her head no. She had taken a cab. When they were settled in her car she turned and asked, "Can we just go back to your place? I really think that we should talk and since you live alone we won't get interrupted." He nodded and started the car, heading back towards his building. Once he opened the door to her apartment, he moved to let her enter first and for a moment had a flashback of the first time she had ever come to his house when they were in high school. He left her looking around as he went to change into sweatpants and a t-shirt.

She looked around with the same curiosity as she had back then, turning in place and finally walking up to the furthest wall to inspect his pictures. He watched her for a moment and smiled at the memory before walking into the kitchen to get a couple of beers. When he came back out she was sitting on the couch undoing her sandals so that she could tuck her feet underneath her. He took a seat next to her and waited until she was finished before handing her a Corona. She accepted it gratefully and took a sip. They started up an easy conversation again and before long, there joking had become quite flirty. Extremely flirty.

When she started to mess with the bun at the back of her head, he tentatively asked, "Do you need help?" When she nodded he stood and walked around the back of the couch before reaching down and beginning to remove the hairpins holding it in place. When he had taken them all out, he gently ran his fingers through her curls, separating them and watching them fall down across her shoulders.

"Did you mean it?" she asked. "The song. Did you mean it?"

"Every word." He said. She tilted her back against the couch and looked up at him. "I never stopped loving you Mercedes. I couldn't even if I tried." He watched as her eyes slid closed. She had wanted to hear those words from the moment that she had realized their break-up was real. Placing her beer on the coffee table, she stood and walked to the edge of the couch as he came out from behind it to meet her. He held out his hand silently and with her heart pounding, she took it and let him lead her to his bedroom. When she heard him close the door, she turned and watched as he walked up to her.

"I never stopped loving you either, Sam. You're my whole heart. I love you and I want to be with you. If you want me, I'm yours."

He wraps one arm around her waist as he brings the other up to massage the back of her neck. "I want you. I always have and I'm going to show you just how much." And with that he bent his head and crushed his lips against hers. She held on to his upper arms for balance and when he ran his tongue across her lips, she couldn't stop the moan that escaped her. He turned her back to him and reached up and undid the hook at the top of her dress before slowly pulling the zipper down and pushing the fabric over her shoulders, down her arms and watching as it fell in a pool at her feet. She turned to face him again and his breath caught as he took in the sight of her black strapless bra and panties.

"You're so beautiful" he whispered. "Not even my memories can do you justice."

She smiled and reached down to grab the hem of his shirt before pulling it off. Slowly, she slid her hands down chest to his stomach before replying, "My memories don't do you justice either." He gave her a lopsided grin before lowering his lips to hers again. He pushed her back on the bed and slipped his hands underneath her, unclasping her bra before throwing it across the room. He took a nipple in his mouth as his hands moved his hands further down to caress the now soaked crotch of her panties. When she ground her hips up towards his hand, he slid to the edge of bed pulling her panties down her legs so slowly that she whimpered at his teasing.

He smirked at the sound and without warning, yanked her by her calves down to the edge of the mattress before spreading her legs and placing one over each of his broad shoulders. As he placed slow sensual kisses on the inside of her thighs, he slowly slid a finger inside her causing a low moan to leave her. When he added a second finger and wrapped his full lips around her clit, she arched of the bed. " Oh God… Sam….oh fuck!" As he sucked and licked her clit, he gently twisted moved his fingers until they found her g-spot and he pushed against and stroked it a few times making her cry out and grip the sheets as she came. He felt her muscles clench around his fingers as he stilled them inside her as he returned to kissing her thighs before disentangling himself from her completely.

He stood, pulling off his sweats before grabbing a condom out of the nightstand and climbing onto the mattress. He pulled her up and against him and kissed her wildly, hotly. He scooted back until he reached the headboard and she went with him willingly, straddling his thighs and grinding down into his lap. When she started to slide her wet heat against his rigid cock, he broke the kiss. "Baby, I need to be inside you." She gazed at him with hooded lids before moving back a bit so that he could slide the condom on. Once he was fully sheathed, he once again grabbed her hips and pulled her forward. She locks eyes with him and slowly lowers herself onto him.

His breath catches she slides lower and lower and he watches as she closes her eyes at the feel of him and she is so hot and tight and wet around him and it takes everything in him to remain in control. When she opens her eyes again, he brushes her hair back and tell her again how much he loves he and he kisses her as she starts to move. Up and down. Up and down. Slowly at first. When he bites he neck she starts to move faster and when she dig her nails into his shoulders, he thrusts up harder. She's moaning and panting and he can't believe how good she feels and he tells her as much.

He pulls her lips back to his and kisses her hungrily. He can feel her tightening around him and he knows that she's so close because so is he. He lowers his mouth to her breasts again, capturing a nipple in his mouth as he gently strokes her clit and she screams his name as she comes undone in his arms her whole body convulsing around him. Her orgasm triggers his and groans her name into her mouth.

When they're breathing has returned to normal he holds her, hair sticking to the sides of her face, his hands running up and down her back, still damp with sweat, her head lying on his bare chest. He tilts her face up to his and kisses her. Smiling against his lips, she tells him that how happy she is. As it turns out, she had been trying to figure out a way to get him back. After all, he was the only man she would ever love. He smiled at her confession and kissed her forehead before drifting of too sleep finally whole again.