"You're my best friend," she exhaled softly. "When did that happen?"

Puck looked up from the basketball game playing out on the small television screen. She was standing at the window, her back to him, hands pressed against the cold glass. They had been stuck inside all day, with the blizzard setting into the city and most of public transit completely shut down. Rachel turned to him and smiled sadly. He knew that smile. He wore it himself some days.

"Probably when we both lost our best friend," he answered honestly. He was in love with her. She knew it and he knew that she knew. They both also knew that she wasn't ready to move on. "I told him once that I thought it'd be me. Sometimes I wish I could take it back."

Rachel lifted her right shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "There are a lot of things I'd like to take back."

It was a conversation they'd had dozens of times since he'd come to New York. He had enlisted in the Air Force only to find out that he was colorblind. The minor condition prevented him from being able to be a mechanic (couldn't pass a simple wiring test) or a pilot, so they were kind enough to let him out of his contract so that he could pursue other ventures. He hadn't wanted to go back to Lima, couldn't stand of the place without Finn still, so he'd used every last penny he had on a cheap train ticket to the city. Santana had been there when he turned up, and the two of them ended up smashed on the couch together for three nights before Kurt had turned up with a sofa sleeper he'd found on Craig's List.

Puck knew that the place was realistically too small for four people. Plus, it seemed like there was always a guest in town. Blaine came to see Kurt a lot, and Santana's girl had become a regular fixture in the loft. Puck crashed on Rachel's floor on the nights when Dani was over; they'd kind of worked out a system. Besides, it wasn't like he or Rachel were getting any action. He didn't feel right about bringing a girl back to an apartment that wasn't his and Rachel worried if he was out too late. She obviously wasn't ready for a relationship, and the show kept her too busy to meet anyone anyways.

"It never snows like this in Ohio."

Tossing aside the remote control, Puck came over to stand behind Rachel. He slid his arms around her slender waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. He wondered briefly where the others were but was glad that it was just the two of them. "It snows exactly like this in Lima," he reassured her softly. His breath tickled the shell of her ear, sending the most delicious little shiver down her spine. "Then again, you never watched it snow with me so maybe you're right."

"It's been six months, Noah," she replied. "And I really like having you here."

"Where else I'd be, Berry?" he asked her. Her two thoughts were completely unrelated but he knew the connection. Puck rubbed his hands up her sides to warm up her shaking frame. The tiny girl with the impossibly long legs was always cold. "I belong here with you."

"Yeah," she nodded before burying her face into his chest. She knew that he felt like it was his job to take care of her. She looked up at him seriously. "I think I'd like for you to kiss me now."

Puck wasn't the kind of guy that usually asked for permission. He wasn't really the type that usually needed it. However, he knew how fragile the girl in his arms was, and he knew they wouldn't survive it if she wanted to take it all back. She held his tattered heart, and he was starting to believe that maybe he held hers. They were both still so messed up and it could be a disaster.

"You sure?" he asked gently. "I'm only going to give you this one out, Rach."

Rachel's tongue darted out to wet her lips. "I'm sure."

He didn't ask again as he lunged forward, wrapping one arm firmly around her waist and using the other hand to cradle the back of her head. She moaned into the kiss, her tongue slipping past his lips first. Puck couldn't help but smile as her fingers tangled in the short, dark hairs at the nape of his neck. It was sad in a way that a kiss shouldn't be, but he reveled in her touch nonetheless. She was flushed and breathless when he finally pulled back. Puck searched her eyes for an indication of what she was thinking. When he saw tears twinkling in her dark eyes, he pressed her against his chest and kissed the top of her head gently.

"Oh, babe," he murmured affectionately. He took everything he thought back before. He could handle it if she needed to take it all back. Anything was better than seeing her cry like this. "It's okay, Rach."

"No, no," she shook her head. "It's not that. It's just that…it was really nice, Noah."

He smirked down at her uncertainly. "And that made you cry?"

"The thought that I might feel like this again made me cry."

Puck could make grand declarations of love or promises that he would wait for as long as it took. Both of those things were true, but it wasn't what Rachel needed to hear. Instead, he took her hand and led her back to the window. "It's really coming down out there, huh?" he asked rhetorically. "We should go to the park. I'll teach you how to make the perfect snowball."

"That'd be nice."

He waited until she had changed into some warmer clothes before he pulled on his own boots. She packed a little thermos filled with hot cocoa and he shoved a few of her sugar cookies in his oversized coat pocket. Rachel waited obediently as he wrapped her scarf around her neck so that she was all bundled up. Puck kissed the tip of her nose; she was too damn cute for her own good.

And as she reached for his hand so that they could traverse the icy sidewalk together, Puck said the one thing that he knew she had been waiting for, "You're my best friend too."

For all the Puckleberry fans who've been asking, here's a little one shot for you.