This was slightly inspired by my boyfriend's six-months gift to me tonight, but we are nowhere near as adorable as Puckleberry. Also, if you're curious what "a Facebook mishap" means in the first sentence, it's in my one-shot called "Facebook Matchmaking". Feedback is always appreciated.
Six months ago, when they had started going out due to a Facebook mishap, no one thought they would last longer than the week that they had the first time, but here they were. Well, actually, they hadn't lasted that first week. They broke up twice the first three days that they were together, but the difference this time was they didn't last more than an hour before passionately making up wherever semi-private place they could find.
They had since broken up a total of sixteen times, (they were both slightly obsessed with being right…which tended to escalate arguments), but since all of those incidents hadn't even lasted a full school day, Rachel had informed Puck that they should still celebrate every monthiversery as if they had never called it quits. At first, it had been really hard for Puck not to laugh in her face.
"I don't do that gushy relationship crap, Rach." He had informed her on their first "monthiversy".
"Well," Rachel had smirked. "Don't you think getting the pleasure of being my boyfriend for a month is worth a celebration?" She had then handed him a delicious batch of her homemade cookies that she had made for the occasion, and as he was devouring them, he realized she was kind of right. The fact that it had been a month and Rachel still hadn't realized she was way too good for a Lima Loser like him was something spec-fucking-tacular.
So now, here he was, five months after that, on their biggest "monthiversy" yet, six months. He wasn't that clueless when it came to relationships. He knew half a year was a big fucking deal, and he had honestly enjoyed every single minute of it. He couldn't even imagine going back to a life of screwing cougars and slutty cheerleaders. (He and his appropriately aged girlfriend had been doing the deed since their fourth "monthiversy", and yeah, so far, that one had been his favorite.)
They were sitting in his room after a romantic dinner that rivaled those in all of those stupid romantic comedies she made him watch, and he was kind of proud of himself for pulling it off and the big smile that had graced her face all night. He loved that about her. She could always make him feel like he had done something right with just that beautiful smile. (He had given up trying to control those pansy thoughts about the same time he accepted "monthiverseries".)
"Ready for my present?" She squealed, literally bouncing a little bit off the floor in anticipation.
"Calm that sexy ass of yours." He chuckled, but reached under his bed for the box containing his gift for her.
"Me first!" She beamed, reaching into her exceptionally large pocketbook to pull out a box that was much smaller than his and thrusting it into his lap. He pulled apart the intricately taped-on wrapping paper and opened the box to find a black, manly-looking watch. "Because you always complain you never know what time it is at work since you are not allowed to have your phone on you, and I took Mike and Artie with me to pick out, so it would be ermm 'badass' enough for you and oh! Look on the back!" She rushed out all in one breath. She was obviously pleased with herself, and Puck thought she had every right to be. It was an awesome gift. When he flipped it over, he saw that engraved on the back was "To: the am-bad-ass-er of my heart…Love: RBB" and he honestly thought that if he were a girl, he might have teared up or something. He wasted no time in pulling her in so he could devour her lips with his. He fucking loved this girl.
"Your turn!" She giggled, happy he liked her gift. He handed her his box, kind of feeling like his gift would be lame in comparison. She lifted her gift out of the box and examined it carefully.
"It's…a sweatshirt." She said, and he could hear the disappointment in her voice.
"Yeah, from Columbus, ya know the state capital, 'cause see-" He was trying to explain…
"Wait is this…this feels worn…is this a used sweatshirt?" Shit. Now she sounded angry.
"Well yeah," He said sheepishly. "Used by me, because-" He was interrupted by the sound of her angrily getting up and storming towards the door.
"Noah Puckerman!" She practically spat at him. "Do you know how long I spent going over our conversations and your interests in an attempt to decide on the perfect gift or how much time and money I spent on following through with my decision?" She was going from angry to sad now. "And you care about me so little that you threw one of your old sweatshirts in a box…" She shook her head and walked out the door without another word.
What? No! She didn't understand. He bounded down the steps after her, but her little dancer feet were too fast for him, and before he knew it, she was out his front door. Once there, she seemed to realize that Puck was her way home, and turned towards him, sniffling. "Noah, please take me home."
"I won't let you leave until you hear me out." Puck stated simply. She had to understand. He couldn't lose her over one stupid present idea. He hated the feeling that he was trapping her there, and he could see the resolve that she was caged in the slumping of her shoulders, but she had to hear him out.
"So…about the gift." He began, looking straight down into her eyes to make sure she heard every word. "I listen when you talk, and I remember you kept telling me you loved wearing my clothes after I've worn them because they smell of me and feel more comfortable, so that's why I wore the sweatshirt to bed every night for the past two weeks." He saw Rachel's eyes widen. "…but it wasn't really used. I bought it new, online, from a special "Ohio Pride" store, which is a really lame use of a store by the way, but anyway, I bought a Columbus sweatshirt, because of the stars." She looked confused again. "We were learning about the geography of Ohio in class a few months ago and our teacher showed us this map of Ohio and Columbus, because it's the capital, had a giant star next to it's name. I thought of you. That is the moment I realized that no matter how unrelated the star is to my hot little star, every single time I see a star, I will think of you for the rest of my life. That thought kind of scared the fucking hell out of me, but then I realized, I kind of liked it, because, thoughts of you aren't quite as good as the real thing, but they're pretty damn close, and if I do something really stupid and lose you and don't get to have the real you in my life, at least every time I see a star, I'll be lucky enough to see your face in my mind."
He took a deep breath as he finished and began to hold another as he waited for her reply. She simply stared at him for a moment until her face broke out into one of her signature, blinding smiles.
"Don't worry, Noah Puckerman." She sighed, her hands looping themselves around his neck. "You're going to be stuck with me for a very long time."