Author's Note: This is my first Glee fic, so please be kind. This story is kind of a future fic/AU, but we'll see. It's rated T, just because.
I remember Daddy told me: "Fairytales can come true.
You gotta make 'em happen, it all depends on you."
So I work real hard each and every day,
Now things for sure are going my way,
Just doing what I do.
Look out boys I'm coming through
-Almost There in The Princess & The Frog
"Mom, don't worry. I'm coming home tomorrow. Please, stop harping at me," Noah Puckerman groaned. He had hoped that, after graduating college and getting a Master's degree and snagging a job, his mother would finally realize that she didn't need to worry about him. But even at twenty-seven, Noah still got daily calls from his mom with her worrying about whether or not he was taking vitamins and eating properly.
"Well, Noah, I need to know what time your flight comes in so that your sister and I can pick you up on time," his mother said calmly.
He sighed, realizing that there was no way he was going to get out of her interrogation. "I leave L.A. at 9 in the morning, so I should be there by 4 in the afternoon."
"All right then, we'll be there. Noah, dear—"
"Sorry, Mom, I have to go. I have a meeting in five minutes," Noah lied quickly, interrupting his mother before she went off on another one of her tangents. "But I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
After saying his goodbye, Noah placed the phone back in its cradle and sighed.
He leaned back in his oh-so-comfortable office chair and propped his feet on his desk. Looking around at the office, Noah wondered how everything had come to this.
Ten years ago, his seventeen-year-old self was sure that he was going to be a Lima Loser. After pulling his grades up some and improving his football skills in his last couple of years in high school, Noah managed to get a scholarship to Ohio State and get a degree in sports management. He decided against going into the NFL, even though his prospects of being drafted were high. Instead, he chose to go to Columbia in New York to get his MBA. Within two years, he had somehow managed to work his way up, becoming a renowned sports agent in Los Angeles, representing athletes everywhere.
Success had its perks, but Noah didn't really feel complete. Something was missing in his life, something that couldn't be filled with money or success.
The lyrics of a song from one of his sister's favorite Disney movies came to his mind: "I'm almost there…"
He just couldn't figure out what was missing.
Noah looked down to the picture on his desk that showed the McKinley High Glee Club with their humongous trophy from the 2010 Nationals competition. He couldn't help but smile as he remembered how excited everyone was. His eyes traced over everyone and halted on one smiling face: the face of Rachel Berry.
Without thinking, Noah was smiling goofily at the picture. When he caught himself, he sighed. He hadn't spoken to Rachel in years, not since their sophomore year of college when they lost contact.
At the National Glee competition, Noah realized that he was kind of in love with Rachel Berry. However, he knew that there was no point in starting a relationship with her because he would hold her back. A couple of years later, Noah was even more sure that he made the right decision as he stayed in Ohio for college and Rachel left with Finn and Quinn to the University of Southern California so that she could be in their "amazing" theater program. In reality, it was because the school was so close to Hollywood, and Rachel wanted a big break to happen.
Maybe coming home for the holidays would be a good opportunity to catch up with some of his old friends, he thought. After all, Rachel had to be coming home to Lima to celebrate Chanukah with her dads, right?
And maybe, just maybe, coming home for the holidays would help him. He could clear up his past with Rachel and then focus on his future. Maybe then, he'd finally be able to find the missing piece of the puzzle.
He was almost there.
Stepping off the airplane, Noah Puckerman took a deep breath of the cold, December air of Ohio.
In one moment, one breath, everything came rushing back at him. Memories, people, sensations…
As he exhaled, Noah was reminded with the reality of his situation. He was back home.
He exited the terminal with his luggage to find his mother and sister Naomi waiting for him. Both had smiles that widened even more when they saw Noah, and the two Puckerman women outstretched their arms to pull him into a hug.
His mother chattered incessantly, asking Noah about his flight and about why he hadn't brought home a nice Jewish girl for Chanukah. Naomi Puckerman grabbed Noah's carry-on bag in one hand and took his free arm. The two siblings exchanged a look, in which the younger Puckerman conveyed sympathy to her brother by rolling her eyes.
By coming home, Noah realized that he would be subjecting himself to his family's undivided and unwanted attention. But maybe it was a good thing.
Maybe home really is where the heart is, Noah thought. Maybe I'll find my answers here.
Little did he know that his answers were definitely not in Lima, Ohio. No, they were somewhere very, very far away.
Another Note: I just had the Princess & The Frog song stuck in my head since I saw it today, and I thought that it kind of applied. YOU SHOULD SEE IT! But before you do, please review! Yay, nay, eh? All forms of critique would be helpful. Let me know if you guys want to see my Puckleberry continue. It starts out a little bit slow, and we won't see Rachel for another couple chapters, but I promise that there will be some Puckleberry action soon!