Summary: Ten years have passed since Finn Hudson died. His funeral marked the last time all of New Directions (past and present) were in the same room at the same time. Now the gang is getting back together to celebrate Artie's film directing debut. But years old tension and drama threatens to ruin a lot more than the evening.

Pairings: Blam, Pucktana, Jarley, mentioned Finnchel, Puckleberry, Tike, Bartie, Samtana, and Klaine

Warnings: No real spoilers other than the obvious. Not really canon compliant.

Disclaimer: I don't own this show or anything related to this show.

Author's Note: So it's been awhile. A lot of things have happened this summer that really made me question first writing for Glee and then just writing in general. Full disclosure, my mom passed away this August and it's left me a little adrift. But I've managed to find some solace in writing and I'm back with yet another story. This one isn't like my usual ones. It's my way of dealing with Finn's death. Obviously it will be very different from the show. But I needed a way to write through my feelings. Hopefully I'll have the first chapter of the sequel to Living For the First Time soon. But in the meantime I hope you enjoy this one.


At The End Is Where We Begin

2023 (Present)

"San? You plan on coming out of there any time this century?"

Blaine winced at the very loud crash against the bathroom door that pretty much answered that question. He exchanged worried glances with Sam as Puck continued to talk to the obviously overly agitated Santana through the locked bathroom door. He could hear the concern in the older man's voice but he could also hear the strain and annoyance starting to come through. And if he could hear it, there was no doubt that Santana heard it too. Clearly this was not going to end well if someone didn't intervene. Blaine didn't even need to look at Sam to know that he was giving him a look, pretty much begging him to fix this. He nodded.

"Hey, bro," Sam started, cautiously stepping towards Puck. His approach was cautious as if he were approaching a rabid animal. Given the growing tension in Puck's spine, Blaine didn't think Sam's way of thought was too far from reality. "Why don't you let Blaine try for a little while?" The look he received at that suggestion was enough to make them all happy that Puck hadn't developed the ability to shoot laser beams out of his eyes. The look alone was still enough to make most grown men cry. But Sam was Sam and he only smiled brightly in the face of Puck's wrath, holding out a hand to help him to his feet. After a few tense moments, Puck took his hand and allowed Sam to pull him to his feet.

Blaine took this as his cue to take Puck's place by the door. He opted to stand but he was pretty sure that Puck wouldn't have cared if he stood or sat. Blaine watched worriedly as Puck quietly allowed Sam to lead him out of the bedroom and out to the living room where the others were waiting. Once he heard Jake's voice asking about his brother, Blaine knocked on the bathroom door.

"San, it's just me. Let me in, please?"

There was a pause and then a click. He smiled faintly and let himself into the bathroom. His worry reached new heights when he spotted the red eyed splotchy faced young woman he called a best friend for the better part of ten years sitting hunched over on the closed toilet seat.

"Oh, honey" he kneeled in front of her and gently tilted her head up so he could see her face better. "What's wrong?"

"Everything," she whimpered. "Everything I want to wear makes me look fatter than I already am. And I…. and I….. I'm hideous! My face feels like it's swollen. My feet are definitely swollen. I don't even know what's going on with my hair but it's gross. My stomach feels like it's in knots. I have to pee like all the time. Now Puck is mad at me. And we're going to be so late and Artie will hate me too. Everything is wrong!"

"Right, but why are you crying?"

"I," Santana started before closing her mouth just as quickly. Her face fell and she looked even sadder than before. "She's going to be there tonight."

"Ah," Blaine hummed, brushing away a few of her tears absently. "So what, San? I thought you were passed all the drama between you two."

"I am, or I thought I we were… but…. It's just that…. ever since Artie told us that Rachel was coming tonight, Puck has been distant. He barely looks at me. Then I started thinking about high school today. I remembered that when he was around her, he always got this goofy look on his face. That girl could talk him into just about anything and he would do it happily. Not even Quinn could do that. Rachel has always been this huge part of his world and it's the same for her. They always revolved around each other. They have that weird Jew connection…. what if she decides that she wants that back.. that she wants him back? I'm fat! She's pretty and thin. He's always loved her on some level. She's going to win."

Blaine raised an eyebrow but let her continue to rant. It was always best to let her get it out of her system, no matter how completely insane it all sounded. And the idea of Puck and Rachel getting back together was completely insane. While he didn't know the exact details, Blaine was all too aware that some seriously deep crap happened between the pair the last time they were together and they hadn't spoken to each other since then. So the idea of them suddenly deciding to throw everything they may (in Rachel's case) or definitely (in Puck's case) have away was completely ridiculous. But then again… this was Santana. A touch of crazy was her MO since high school.

"You saw her at the Tony's last month. She's like a friggin twig! She was all legs in that really super short dress that my fat ass couldn't hope to get in. And she was wearing the new Jimmy Choos that I can't afford right now much less actually fit. I'm going to lose him, Blaine."

"San, there is one very important thing that you seem to be overlooking at the moment."

"What?" she asked, pouting. Her watery brown eyes adding to the lost and hopelessly devastated effect she had going on at the moment. It made Blaine angry that somehow this woman got so damaged along the way that she thought there was even a remote chance she was going to lose in a fight against Rachel. But they were putting her together slowly, one piece at a time. And he had a feeling a very large piece of the puzzle would slot into place very, very soon.

"You're not fat," Blaine said, sliding the hand that was resting on her cheek down to the very swollen curve of her stomach. "You're pregnant, Santana. Seven months to be precise. Before that you were every bit as twiggy as Rachel and I believe that you have several pairs of Jimmy Choos and other choice heels waiting for your non pregnant feet in less than two months. Also you're trying to buy a house so that you can raise that baby of yours with your wonderful, loving and still gorgeous husband. So understandably money is a little tight at the moment. But remember that you also have several friends that are more than willing to buy you a closet full of heels if that's what it'll take to keep you happy. Because we love you. Fat ass and all."

Santana sniffled, raking a hand through her hair roughly. "God, I must look like a hot mess."

Blaine grinned. "Kind of, but you're still gorgeous. And your husband knows that. He loves you and the mini Pucktana."

Santana let out a breathy laugh, placing her own hand on her stomach. A small smile lit up her face as they both felt the baby move, responding to her mother's familiar touch. "I thought I told you to stop calling her that, Hogwarts. Her name is Maya."

"Maya what?"

"Maya Elizabeth Lopez-Puckerman."

"Damn right. The way I see it, there is currently only one Mrs. Puckerman. I don't think the good Mr. Puckerman has any intentions on changing that. If he was going to divorce you, I think he would've done it four years ago after the year was up."

"Yeah," Santana nodded. She closed her eyes and when they reopened a moment later, the desperate sadness was gone. In its place was the strong, confidant woman he adored above all others. He pressed a kiss against her forehead.

"That's my girl. Now let's fix your makeup, find something to show off that beautiful baby bump and go reassure your husband that you haven't gone completely insane."

Santana laughed allowing Blaine to help her up. "I love you, Hogwarts."

"Love you more, Satan." He tapped her on the nose in a gesture that never failed to make her giggle. He wasn't disappointed tonight either. He wasn't lying when he said the woman was gorgeous. And she seemingly got better looking with age. Even her imaginary pregnancy woes weren't affecting her looks. She just got even more curves and more swag in her walk. No, she definitely had nothing to worry about when it came to keeping her husband. Puck hadn't so much as looked at another woman in the four years since they'd both been actually committed to their marriage. Blaine was willing to bet that Puck wasn't exactly looking in that first year either.

Forty minutes later, they finally made their way downstairs. Blaine hid a smile at the strangely adorable sight of Jake and Puck pacing in unison. He knew the pacing was more for the older Puckerman's benefit this time but it was a gesture the brothers both used when it felt like they were going to climb out of their skin. Santana stopped on the bottom step and cleared her throat gently. Puck's pacing grinded to an immediate stop.

"San?"

"Hi," she mumbled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "You ready to go?"

Puck gave her a weak smile. "We don't have to go tonight. I'm sure Artie will understand."

"Yeah, he probably would," Santana conceded. "But that doesn't make it right. We need to go. Blaine and I spent the better part of an hour trying to make sure everything fit in this dress while your offspring felt the need to kick me repeatedly in the kidney. We're going. We need to have one last night of socializing before Maya turns us into reclusive weirdoes."

Puck's smile grew as he crossed the floor to stand in front of her. He cupped her face gently and Blaine knew that she wasn't missing the love in his eyes. Hell he could see it and it wasn't even directed at him!

"I love you so much, Santana. I need you to know that. I've never regretted a single part of us. Ever."

"Not even the morning after our wedding when the hangover set in?"

"Ok, so maybe that was the one thing I regretted," Puck admitted with a smile to match Santana's. "That was a hell of a hangover. But it was worth it for the last five years."

Jake snorted with a fond smile. "Only you two could get drunk in Vegas, get married on a dare, stay married on a dare and actually end up with a functionally adorable marriage."

"Don't be jealous, little brother. You and Marley are kind of cute together," Puck teased, easing Santana into his arms. Santana hit him on the arm but didn't seem to be struggling away from the embrace. Blaine watched as the last of the lingering doubts and fears bled out, replaced by the love and affection that kept the Lopez-Puckerman union going strong four years after everyone was sure they were going to call it quits. But they were still going strong…. And they weren't the only ones.

"You did good," a voice whispered against the shell of his ear. Blaine leaned back into the arms wound tightly around his waist. Six years together and Sam's voice still gave him chills. "You think Artie would be really mad if we were late?'

Blaine smiled lazily even as Sam continued to brush his lips against his ear. "Mmm, we're already late."

"Later," Sam chuckled.

"Dammit, this is why I should've rode ahead with Marley, Ryder and the others. The old people are coupling up on me. Again!" Jake griped. The two couples shared a laugh at his mock outrage before finally mobilizing towards the front door. The tears and fears of earlier were gone, replaced with laughter and the love of family and friends…. Just as it was always meant to be.


November 2013

"I don't know why I keep letting you talk me into this!" Puck muttered as he tuned his guitar. He paused in his task to throw wary looks in the direction of the stage. Blaine didn't blame him. He wasn't sure what to call the sounds coming out of the throat of the woman on stage but it sure as hell wasn't singing. Some people really should keep that to their showers where they were least likely to offend actual singer's ears.

But that's what happened when you combined alcohol and a microphone. Everyone thought they were the next American Idol when they had a few drinks in them. The Moonlight Sonata Bar offered free drinks to anyone brave enough to step up to the mic. Blaine just wished the policy would restrict that until AFTER they performed. Otherwise, you got well… this.

"I don't know," Sam murmured, resting his chin on his hands. "It's almost like she's doing a mash up. It's like a mix between Britney Spears and the voices inside her drunken head. It's interesting." He tilted his head towards Puck. "It's going to be hard following a class act like that, bro."

"I hate you, Sammy."

"I know you think you do," Sam grinned. "Admit it. You enjoy it. If you didn't, you wouldn't agree to these stupid bets. Especially the ones where you know you were going to lose anyway. You like losing because it gives you an excuse to do the Open Mic thing and pretend that you don't like it."

Puck's only answer to Sam's very accurate assessment was to fling his guitar pick at the blonde. Blaine smirked. "He's right," the former Warbler pointed out. "You know you like this as much as you complain. I don't know why you don't just take Derek's offer to make this a permanent thing."

"Because it's weird," Puck replied, not denying that he in fact did enjoy performing. "I bartend three nights out of the week and then I'm supposed to perform too? I'd be the singing bartender. How gimmicky is that?"

"Dude, you already are the singing bartender," Sam retorted. "You sing pretty much every Open Mic night when I manage to 'trick you' into making a stupid bet with me where the loser has to perform."

Puck rolled his eyes but made no further comment. He instead threw himself into further maintenance of his guitar. The guitar that Blaine and Sam both knew was perfectly tuned. The guitar they all knew was perfectly tuned but Puck needed the distraction. And they allowed him to take it. That was the nature of their friendship now. They knew Puck wasn't as tough as he tried to be. And they let him know that he didn't need to try to be tough. It was still a work in progress.

"Well, well, if it's not my favorite bartender!"

"Hey, Derek," Puck greeted, not turning away from his guitar even at the feel of Derek's hand on his shoulder. Blaine marveled at how easily Derek got past the barriers that Puck built to keep everyone out. Or maybe it was just that barriers were gone. A lot changed since… Finn. Puck was just one of the many changes.

"You look tired, kid," Derek continued, sitting at their table. He nodded in greeting to Sam and Blaine and they nodded in return. "You sleeping ok?"

"Yeah," Puck sighed, finally looking away from his guitar. "Just been thinking about this trip back home. It's going to be weird."

"Yeah, I know. But you're strong, no matter what you think. You've been through some really rough stuff and you're still here. I know you can do this. It's just one little holiday. Less than a week back there and then boom you're back in civilization again. And you tell that brother of yours he better be spending his winter break up here."

Puck grinned. "Trust me, Jake already has his bags packed. He's beyond looking forward to this."

"Excellent. If he's half as good as you all say he is, then he better be performing Open Mic night too. We might even manage to persuade your buddies over here. We could bill it as Lima, Ohio Night."

"Aw, you going to give us our own night," Sam cooed. Derek stretched a long arm across the table to ruffle Sam's hair, earning an indignant squeal of protest and a grin

"Not just you three anymore. I have a new waitress. Just started today actually. She's one of the students from my continuing education program. I keep trying to tell her to matriculate into the fulltime program. She's better than some of my regular students."

"Hey," Blaine protested.

"I said some, not all. You know you're one of the special ones, stop fishing for praise. All three of you are even though Sammy here would rather waste that natural talent he has on working with children." Sam stuck out his tongue. "Why I bother with you, I'll never know."

"Because we're a package deal," Sam countered with a grin. "You take Puck, you take all of us."

Blaine nodded in agreement. It was the same tired argument that Sam and Derek had every single time they were together (which was more often than pretty much five nights out of the week). Blaine knew that Derek adored all of them (even if Puck was clearly his favorite). Blaine appreciated that the man took an interest in them. Truthfully, the move to New York was hard. As if being independent and on their own in a huge city like New York wasn't intimidating enough, there was still the raw, still healing wound left behind by the loss of one of their own just two months before they made the move. And despite appearances, Blaine knew that both he and Sam were all too aware of how close they came to losing another. Unconsciously his eyes darted back to Puck again. The older teen was once again lost in the world of his guitar, tuning out Derek and Sam's bickering.

Blaine listened to them for a few more minutes before letting his thoughts wander again. When he first met Derek DeLaurentis, he was only his slightly insane but interesting professor. He didn't know what Derek saw in him during that first meeting but he invited Blaine to his club that evening. Blaine took Sam and Puck along with him. Whatever Derek saw in Blaine, he found in the other two and he hadn't let them too far out of his sight since then. It was… comforting honestly.

"So where's the latest stray anyway?" Sam asked, twirling the straw in his soda. The downside of being friends with the bar's owner and the bartender is that they both wanted to keep their jobs. That meant that the grossly underage Sam and Blaine, who couldn't pass for anything other than their actual ages, were often drinking rum and coke…without the rum.

"She's around," Derek waved a vague hand in the direction of the crowded lounge. "She's getting the tutorial from Ali."

Blaine grimaced. He wasn't surprised to see similar looks from Puck and Sam, though Puck's expression was mixed with disbelief. "You trying to get rid of the new girl already? I thought you were trying to adopt her."

"I am," Derek replied. "Ali has seniority around here. She's in charge of training all new staff that come through here."

"Except the ones that you actually want to keep," Blaine countered. The fact that Ali didn't train Puck and wasn't allowed to really interact with him much during the times that they were both working remained unspoken. Allison "Ali" Young was, putting it mildly, a nightmare inducing shrew from Hell. Blaine had a theory that Ali wasn't truly happy unless she was causing someone horrible mental pain and anguish. Apparently she wasn't always that way but a nasty breakup with Derek's younger brother apparently sparked a change she had yet to come back from... five years later.

"I thought about it," Derek admitted. "But I've got a good feeling about this new girl. She reminds me of you, Puckerman. She's got a spark about her. Hard to tell under all the damage but she's a bright one. If anyone can survive Ali, it's this one."

The three Lima transplants exchanged glances before shrugging. Derek was constantly coming up with crazy schemes (acting as the unofficial den mother to a bunch of lost, struggling teenagers and young adults somehow being the least insane) and they had yet to backfire. Besides if someone could tame the shrew, well then they would be well accepted by not only Blaine, Sam and Puck but pretty much all of the staff and patrons of the Moonlit Sonata.

A comfortable silence fell over the table as they settled in and listened to the next act. At least this one was slightly better than the last act. Seriously, this was way different than karaoke. Why did everyone and their mother think they could perform in front of a crowd? Actually better question, why did everyone and their mother think they should perform in front of a crowd. Blaine seriously couldn't wait until Puck got through the petulant brooding part of the evening and went up there and showed everyone how it was supposed to be done. He also held out the hope that Derek would keep working his magic and convince Puck to join NYADA too.

"Boss, we got a little bit of a situation." Blaine turned his attention away from the stage to Isaac Reed, the other bartender. He was only a few years older than them. He was also one of Derek's strays. The man specialized in collecting the broken and the damaged. And somehow he fixed them. He made them somewhat better. Isaac went from being an aggressive, self-destructing, painfully insecure teenager with a history of abuse to a smiling, confident young adult in a committed and sickeningly healthy relationship (with Derek's little brother) who was also working on his masters in psychology. Blaine had hope for Puck when he looked at Isaac.

Right now, said source of hope was draped over the back of the chair he dragged up between Derek and Puck. To say that there was supposedly a problem, he was the epitome of calm. Even as he studied the older man, there was a smirk pulling at his lips.

"Your words say there's a problem but your mouth is saying there isn't," Derek pointed out, smiling at the very first of his lost children.

"I guess it depends on your definition of a situation," Isaac clarified with a wider smirk. "You know how you got the newbie training with Ali, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, let's just say it's ended in tears way earlier than expected. Dylan is currently trying to talk her out of the women's bathroom. There's a line forming outside and I think it's going to be awhile before Dylan gets her out of there. It doesn't help that Erica and Lydia are taking bets on how long she's going to be hiding out versus how long it takes for Scott to lose his patience and just break down the damn door."

"Ali's already scared the new girl?" Puck gaped. "It's been like an hour. That's a new record." He turned an accusing look on Derek. "And she reminds you of me?!"

Isaac swatted Puck on the shoulder. "I didn't say that Ali scared the new girl. The new girl scared Ali. Dylan is currently trying, and failing, to talk Ali out the bathroom. I don't think she'll be out any time soon though. New girl ripped her a new one. It was kind of awesome. Don't worry, Scott took video." Puck looked relieved while Derek smiled thoughtfully. "So just wondering, boss man, what are we supposed to do?"

Derek craned his neck to assess the length of the line outside the locked bathroom door. He pursed his lips. "If she's not out by the time the line reaches the stairs, you have my permission to send Scott in there to harass her until she leaves. You can also post the verbal takedown on YouTube. But only after you let us see."

Isaac grinned, blue eyes twinkling. "And what should I do about the newbie? She's a little shaken up right now. Think she's worried about getting fired."

"Hell no, she's getting a raise," Derek grinned. "Anyone that can reduce Ali to sobbing in the bathroom is worth keeping around."

"And this is why I'm so glad your mom totally loves me and you'll be disowned if you fire me," Isaac shook his head. "Anyway, I'm sending New Girl over here. She's not going to believe that she's not getting fired. She keeps babbling about having to move back home because she can't afford to lose the only job she's got since moving here."

"Be nice," Derek warned. "And remember you can only taunt Allison if the line gets too long."

"You kill all my fun."

"I try," Derek admitted. Isaac rolled his eyes before reaching over to pluck Puck on the arm.

"Lydia put you down next. You better bring your A game too. She's bought a few of her Alpha Beta Omega sorority sisters over and she's convinced that's she going to find your future wife out of one of them. She's getting her 'psychic vibes' again. She's convinced that your future wife is here"

Puck pulled a face. "I changed my mind. I'm not going." Isaac grinned before slipping away from the table and back into the crowd. "He's joking, right?"

Blaine and Sam both threw him a pointed look. Lydia was another one of Derek's kids. She was also just as enamored with Puck as Derek was. She took one look at him and decided that it was her life's mission to find the perfect woman for him. Corralling her sorority sisters for Open Mic Night was the least invasive thing she'd done in her pursuit to find Puck's life partner.

"I'm so not going up there," Puck moaned, burying his face in his guitar. Sam reached across the table to pat him on the shoulder with mock sympathy. Almost as if he could see the grin playing across Sam's lips, Puck held up his middle finger. Blaine rolled his eyes at his best friends' antics and started to say something but the words died on his lips as Isaac reappeared with the new Allison shaming waitress in tow.

"In my defense, she started it," the girl said by way of introduction. She paid no attention to the three teenagers at the table, her entire focus on Derek. "She was being a bitch and I couldn't take it. I'm really sorry, Derek. I understand if you have to let me go but I really hope you don't because I can barely afford my really ghetto apartment as it is and everything is really shit right now so please don't fire me. This is probably the only good thing I've got going for me right now."

Blaine blinked, not only at the impressive word vomit but also at the woman standing before them. It was hard to believe that only seven months passed since they last saw her. True, he knew that he, Sam and Puck were not the only Lima, Ohio residents in New York City but the trio had regular meetups with their fellow McKinley alumni. There were only two that dropped off the radar. And one of them was standing in front of them, with her hands on her hips, looking desperate and broken.

The strange tableau of pleading waitress, understanding boss, shocked teenage males and highly amused Isaac was broken by a throat clearing loudly into the microphone on stage. "Alright, ladies and gents, but especially my ladies, it's about that time. What time, you ask?" Lydia Whitmore asked, playing coy. "Time for the Moonlit Sonata's very own Noah Puckerman to grace us with his musical presence. And yes, ladies, he is single and looking."

Puck let out a strangled yelp as two things happened simultaneously. A spotlight (no doubt the handiwork of Scott) was suddenly on him as was the full attention of the newest addition to the Moonlit Sonata staff. Her eyes were wide as she looked between her three former classmates… her three former friends. A shaky hand covered her mouth as she continued to look between them.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you all know each other," Isaac said, tracking their awkward movements.

"Santana?" Sam finally broke the strange silent stare down they had going on. "What are you…?" Sam trailed off as Puck suddenly dropped his guitar and bolted from the table. "Puck?!"

"Uh, it seems as though there will be a slight delay in that musical presence," Lydia stammered, watching Puck disappear up the stairs leading to the exit. She made a complicated gesture with her hand and suddenly music was filling the dead silence left behind. It didn't take longer than that for Lydia to march off the stage and over to their table. "What the hell is going on? Where did Puck just run off to? Better question, why did Puck just run off? And why are both Sam and Blaine staring at the new girl like she's a ghost or something?"

"In what order would you like us to answer those questions" Isaac snarked in her direction.

"In the order that will involve the least amount of pain for everyone here," Lydia replied.

"Right," Blaine said, running a hand over his face. "We, uh, all know each other. We went to high school together."

"I graduated the year before them," Santana added. "I graduated with Puck."

Derek let out a quiet sigh as he started to put the story together based on the information that he no doubt weaseled out of Puck at some point during the four months he was working at the bar. He sat back in his seat, letting out another more audible sigh.

"I see," Derek finally said. "So this is the girl?"

"No," Sam shook his head. His eyes were hard as he looked at Santana. "This is the roommate of the girl."

"Former," Santana corrected. "Former roommate of Rachel Berry. Current roommate of well no one." She gave an awkward looking shrug and a forced smile.

"What happened?" Blaine asked.

"About a month after the funeral, she started getting weird. With Kurt back home, it was up to me to keep her from spiraling out of control. It wasn't enough. She… uh, she left me. She packed up and moved out. Don't ask where because I haven't talked to her since then. And now here we are."

"No, Blaine," Sam blurted out before anyone could say anything further. "I'm going to go find Puck, talk him down and then we're going home. Just the three of us." There was an audible throat clearing behind him. "Ok, just the three of us and the rest of the overprotective crew over here. That's all. Leave the stray collection to Derek. No more roommates."

With that said, Sam was pushing away from the table and stalking away with Lydia and Isaac hard on his heels. Blaine chewed on his lip absently. Sam was quite clear on his feelings on the subject. Then again, Sam was probably the only other person besides Rachel and Puck to know what happened between them the night of Finn's funeral. Whatever it was devastated Puck to the point where they were only now starting to see signs of the friend they used to know. Clearly Puck associated Santana with Rachel and really didn't want to be around her. So really the best thing to do would be to let this go. To push the idea out of his mind and definitely not speak it out loud.

"You know, Santana, we have an extra room at our apartment."

Her brow furrowed as she glanced between Blaine and the last place they saw Sam. "You want me to move in with you? With all three of you?"

"Yeah, it could be good."

"I don't really think Sam or Puck would agree with you on that?"

Blaine shrugged. "Let me talk to them. I promise, it's going to be fine."


"Are you out of your mind?! Like seriously, did you bump your head and just completely lose complete control over your senses? You actually asked Santana to move in with us?"

Blaine shifted in his seat and continued to stare blankly at his best friend. The blonde was furiously pacing back and forth in the spacious confines of their apartment's living room. After the offer was made to Santana, Blaine followed after his friends. After collecting Puck from whatever alley he picked to wallow in his misery, they walked the short distance to their apartment. Isaac and Lydia had left a few minutes ago but only after assuring themselves and the rest of the Sonata staff that Puck was not in danger of doing something stupid like quitting. And that's when Blaine let his offer to Santana slip.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Blaine countered. "It's not like I asked Rachel to move in. Now that would be a problem."

"But Rachel is Santana's best friend. Santana took Rachel's side in this whole thing."

"Yeah, and look where that got her. She's on her own. She's alone."

"Maybe…."

"So help me, Sam Evans, if you say maybe she deserves that," Blaine cut him off, letting the threat hang in the air. He glared at his best friend before continuing. "I also seem to remember when you asked me to let someone move in with us and that hasn't blown up in our face!" Blaine pointed out with a raised eyebrow. Sam's gaze slid guiltily to Puck before returning to Blaine.

"That was different and you know it."

"How, Sam? How is this any different? One of our friends needed help and we gave it," Blaine countered. "Santana needs help and we're going to give it. Besides it's not like I'm not saying she moves in forever. Just let her stay here until she gets back on her feet and can find some place better than the projects in Red Hook."

Sam ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "How long is that supposed to be?"

"As long as it takes," Puck chimed in. Both Blaine and Sam looked to the older boy sprawled across the couch opposite from them. "No matter what happened, she's still family. She's still a gleek."

"But…."

"But nothing, Sammy. You know it's true. She's on her own now too. She's worse than we were. At least we had each other. Also it's not exactly inconveniencing us. We do have a whole extra room that we never use and had no intentions of ever using."

Sam huffed, finally flopping down onto the sofa with Puck. He elbowed the older boy. "You're seriously ok with this? After everything that went down, you're really ok with Santana moving in?"

Puck rolled his eyes. "Yes, dude. I swear. After everything that went down, I'm really ok with Santana moving in. A lot of shitty things have gone down this year. I'm not going to add Santana totally getting murder raped to that list."

Blaine watched as the two people he somehow referred to as best friends engaged in a silent battle of wills. He knew that there was a lot more to the whole Puck suddenly coming with them to New York decision that Sam sprung on him last minute. He knew that something truly life altering and messed up happened between Puck and Rachel after the funeral. But he also knew that was a line he wasn't going to cross. Sam had it handled and it seemed to be holding up… reasonably well. So instead he sat back in the armchair and watched as every single argument Sam could've had against Santana moving in crumbled against Puck's steadfast recommendation in her favor.

"Ugh, I hate you two!" Sam groaned, tilting over so that he was leaning into Puck's side. The older teen grinned slightly and patted the blonde on the head. "I would just like to go on record by saying I told you so. Because there is no way that this is not going to end terribly. Like literally there is no way this won't end in tears."


*The end for now. My plan is to go back and forth between the "present" and the "past" to show how they call came to be the way that they are at the moment. Hope you all enjoyed! Until next time!