It had been a hell of a day. McKinley High's Glee club had been exploring New York City since early that morning. Tomorrow they had practices all day, then National's the next night, but today had been theirs and it had been pretty damn awesome.
Noah Puckerman knew this was the most fun he'd had in a while, though he wouldn't say it aloud, as the girls had roped them into seeing a musical and he couldn't fess up to liking that. It would spoil his cred, and Santana and Lauren (whom he'd had an amicable split from a few weeks earlier) would mock the hell out of him. But really, the city was cool and he was with his friends.
As they exited FAO Schwartz (they wanted to see the giant keyboard), he heard Kurt ask, "You okay, Rachel?"
Turning, Noah looked at the tiny brunette, who had just spent the last 20 minutes hopping around on the keyboard with Kurt, playing an array of tunes) and saw she grimacing.
"My feet hurt a bit," she admitted, looking down at the yellow wedges she'd been wearing all day. "I guess I should have stuck to flats, considering how long a day it's been!"
Most of the girls were in flats or sneakers, Noah noted, and had to ask, "Why're you wearing heels?"
Surprised by his interruption, Rachel looked at him and said, "One never know when they might encounter a casting director in New York."
"But you're going to be hurting tomorrow," Blaine, who had come along to support them, pointed out. "The hotel's…a long walk away."
They hadn't really gotten a handle on the whole 'estimating distances by the number of city blocks' thing.
"I'll be fine," Rachel said, taking a careful step to follow the others.
The way she was moving said her feet weren't just sore, but they were downright painful. Tomorrow, they had to dance and the competition was less than 2 days away.
Clearly, steps had to be taken, or Rachel would be limping through Nationals.
Mind made up, Noah stepped up behind Rachel and swung her up into his arms.
"Noah!" she shouted, grabbing him around the neck for security as he got her into a comfortable position. The rest of the club looked back at them as she said, "Put me down!"
He snorted. "I'll put you down if you can honestly say you aren't about two steps away from massive blisters."
She huffed and pouted, but didn't reply to that comment, only saying, "You can't carry me all the way back to the hotel."
A few of their friends were chuckling and Brit had settled herself onto Artie's lap with a grin. Finn was giving them an odd look, but Quinn rolled her eyes and tugged him along with the group.
"Can't carry you to the hotel…yeah, right. You know I got the guns for that, Rachel," Noah said quietly into her ear and he saw a hint of a smile creep onto her face.
"You have the guns," she said, gently correcting his grammar and settling against his chest with a sigh. "Careful with my skirt."
He'd made sure to catch her crazy short skirt with his arm when he'd picked her up, not wanting to flash her ass at everyone on the street. "I got you," he said quietly.
Patting his arm affectionately, she said, "I know you do, Noah."
"Aw, they're so cute together," Blaine murmured to Kurt. Noah totally pretended he didn't hear that.
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