A little one-shot full of fluff. Because everyone needs candy to sweeten life.
He fell in love with her thanks to half of a Tootsie Roll. Well, at least a little bit thanks to that. It had been the start of something because she was a girl with no friends, a girl who was wary of everyone's intentions and that sunny day of July, back when they were six, she let him in. Him, the boy with one canine missing and a really outrageous haircut that matched his bad attitude.
Sat in one of the swings, she rocked herself back and forth with her tiny feet; until this day, Noah can remember she was wearing a pair of bright red Mary Janes (like Dorothy, she told him once). He was dirty from head to toe after falling off the slide, when he decided to throw himself head first just because other kids had dared him to.
"Want me to push you?" He mumbled and she crinkled her nose at him in response.
"No!" she shrieked at the mere sight of him standing close.
He sat next to her and they only looked at each other for a while, until she sighed with defeat and tilted her head to the side, distrust written all over her face.
"You won't push me off the swing?"
His eyebrows knitted together and he shook his head in a definitive no.
Then she pouted. "Your hands are dirty. This is a new dress." The little flourish in front of her was almost funny, so he grinned.
Indeed, his hands were disgusting and he would get scrubbed clean once his mom found him. Meanwhile, he rubbed them on his pants and showed them to her. They didn't look much better but she giggled.
"I'm Rachel."
"I'm Puck."
"Puck?" She leaned forward and handed him a paper tissue for him to clean himself off. "Puck what?"
He blinked at her after wiping his face and seeing the tissue full of dirt. "Noah Puckerman."
"Oh." She smiled brightly at him, one of her front teeth missing. "I'm Rachel Berry. I'm new in town. I want to be on Broadway when I'm older and I'll win lots of awards because my voice is incredible."
"I want to go to Disneyworld when I'm older," he muttered. "And I'll play football and tackle kids 'cause I'm strong." He flexed those skinny arms with just the tiny amount of muscle.
Her mouth fell open in astonishment but he did not give her much time to say anything before he helped her.
When she laughed, when her long dark hair tickled his face, he had to join her and laugh too. He did not care about cooties (he had gotten a cootie shot recently that day) and Rachel was really pretty and smelt like a cupcake. He liked cupcakes, especially those ones with frosting on top.
After, she asked lots of questions about school and friends, and was super excited to hear that he was Jewish too. She was happy to make a new friend, but had no idea he was just hiding from his mom and she had become an excuse.
His stomach chose that moment to growl and she stared at him while he rubbed his tummy. "I'm hungry. "I lost the Twinkie my mom gave me."
And then she pulled a Tootsie Roll from the pocket of her dress.
"Want half?"
He nodded and was about to grab it when she stopped him.
"No! Your hands are dirty. Here." She took his half and offered it to him, feeding him.
"Thank you," he muttered around the candy in his mouth.
"No problem." She ate hers in two bites and then blushed when he smiled genuinely at her. The candy was all over his teeth but he couldn't care any less about it. A girl had just given him candy, and that was awesome.
He couldn't help it when she was there looking so pretty in her flowery dress and when she fed him candies and made him laugh when, unlike other girls, she had no problem about watching some ants making a trail around one of her calves. Even the ants knew she was sweet and he wanted to check that, so he pressed his lips to her cheek.
"Noah." Rachel's face colored red and she giggled softly, turning her head away.
"You're yummy." That was his first attempt in flirting with a girl and she seemed to like it since she kissed his cheek as well.
Turned out she was extremely sweet. She proved it again years later when she forgave him for every stupid thing he said or did to her during their teenage years, when she gave him another chance that time they met at a concert in NYC.
"Daddy?" He feels a small hand tugging on the leg of his pant and he looks down to see the small and beautiful girl standing next to him unwrapping a Tootsie Roll. "Want a bit?" She breaks the candy in two and offers him one half.
He crouches to be at her level and opens his mouth, welcoming the piece of candy. His daughter giggles.
"Thank you, baby girl."
"You're welcome, Daddy." And this one is another proof Rachel is the sweetest.
"Noah? What about this one?" Rachel calls, showing him a dark gray onesie.
She looks stunning with her round belly, six months of pregnancy suiting her so well, just like with their previous child. The next one is a boy, so they are enjoying buying new things and dreaming about all the things they will teach him in the future.
"I like it."
"Really?" She's adorable.
He takes one of their daughter's candies and hands it to his wife. "Really."
She grins at him before pecking his lips. "Want to share?" She asks as she unwraps the candy with the same care she did when she was a little girl, not tearing the paper as if it were a precious thing.
"With you?" They lock eyes and smile. "With you I want to share everything."