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Disclaimer: I do not own the characters.

Everyone had teased Noah Puckerman that he was never going to settle down. He was always going to be a man on the prowl, running from one skirt to the next. No one was more surprised than his best friend, Rachel Berry, when he hooked up with a girl from his class at University, and began speaking about moving in with her only a couple weeks later. No one had even met this girl who had mysteriously came along and stolen Puck's heart. Finn Hudson joked that she was a myth, because the only girl who had a place in Puck's heart was Rachel. Puck had rolled his eyes and said that Rachel would love his girl, kissing her quickly on the head before disappearing from the room. Finally, they set up a meet, and Rachel was more than a little apprehensive.

"If she's a bitch, I'll cut her," Santana Lopez shrugged as she threw back a chip. She picked up another one and examined it. "I mean, we don't just let anyone into our circle."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Finn rolled his eyes at the catty look in the two girls eyes. "You really think Puck would get with just anyone? I mean, took him long enough to actually find a girlfriend." He pursed his lips as he stole the bag of chips away from Santana and nodded in Rachel's direction. "To be honest, I always thought you two were going to get together." Rachel didn't say anything, just pretended to be very interested in the alcohol at the bottom of her glass.

"Oh come on, Rach," Santana nudged the brunette. "We all thought you two were going to get over this 'best friends' things and actually fuck!"

"Who's fucking?" Came a voice from the doorway and the trio's head snapped up to where Puck came through the door, a petite blonde behind him.

"No one," Santana quickly said and raised her eyebrows. Puck pulled the girl forward and Rachel tried not to feel a rush of frustration as she saw their hands linked together. "So, you must be Puck's new screwing buddy!" The Latina announced and Finn let out a snort, trying to smother it with a mouthful of chips. The blonde narrowed her eyes and Puck just shook his head slightly.

"You're a bitch, Santana," he said, rolling his eyes. "Guys, this is Quinn. Quinn, these are my best friends—sometimes," he added, throwing a glare in Santana's direction who just shrugged and smirked. Rachel looked from Finn and then to Santana and realized that they weren't going to say anything to she quickly stepped forward.

"I'm Rachel," she said, smiling and hoping that it seemed real enough.

"Hi," the girl's voice was soft and short, glancing at Rachel for a moment before going back to staring at the floor. Rachel frowned and raised her eyebrows at Puck who just shrugged.

"Dinner ready?" He asked with a grin.

"I swear that's the only reason you keep coming around," Rachel teased, turning to the stove where the bolognese was bubbling. Santana and Finn began fighting over the bag of chips as Puck left Quinn by the door and came over to where Rachel was standing in front of their dinner. "I'd never see you if I didn't feed ya!"

"Oh, but you love me," Puck teased, reaching around and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "And thanks for saying something to Q." Rachel felt the smile drop from her face and was glad she was facing away from him so that he couldn't see the stiff line her lips were now pressed in. Puck turned around and Rachel stiffened as she heard him murmuring to the gorgeous blonde. Santana came over to her friend and leaned in close.

"She seems like a prissy bitch," she muttered. "How the hell did Puck go from sleeping around with every chick imaginable to hooking up with one that looks like she has a stick up her ass?"

"Be nice," Rachel murmured, although the slight smile on her face showed she agreed.

As the months wore on, Puck became less and less permanent in Rachel's life. Not that they weren't trying, it was just things always seemed to come up—always something to do with Quinn. Santana made her dislike for the girl clear, but then again, Santana didn't like many people. Finn didn't really comment about her, only that she was hot, but that she never let Puck hang out anymore. Rachel tried to be supportive. It had taken them years to get Puck to commit to someone, and she couldn't exactly criticise him the first time he was serious. But there was just something about Quinn that made her fingers curl in anger. Something about that prissy way she looked down her nose at everyone and wouldn't talk to them unless directly spoken too. Whenever Puck brought her up, which was often, she would just plaster a smile on her face and nod, making noises under her breath in acknowledgement. Maybe Quinn was just shy, and would eventually open up. That was the only thing Rachel could put it down to, because Puck wasn't a bad judge in character.

But secretly, Rachel agreed with Santana and Finn. As much as she made out that she was happy being just his friend, she had always liked Puck—ever since they were little kids. Somewhere in the middle of high school she realized that she loved him, and had even told him one night when they were drunk. Puck had kissed her, and it had been the kiss that every other kiss was compared to. He had kissed her until they were out of breath and then he had pulled away and told her that she was too good for him. He had told her that she was the one girl he would always aspire for, but until he knew that he could make her the happiest she could be, they couldn't be together. They had never talked about that night, just pretended that it hadn't happened.

But that never stopped her from hoping that one day he would come back to her.

When it hit the six month mark of Puck and Quinn's relationship, though, the hope was definitely more than a little faded.

Despite how she felt about Quinn, she saw how happy Puck was, and that was what she wanted for him. So instead of moping around and bitching to Santana about how much she hated her life, she got on with it. She went out and got drunk in the weekends, she brought guys back to her house and let them distract her. She threw herself into her work and into studies. While Santana was more than happy to have a drinking partner, the new Rachel worried her a bit. She tried to talk to Finn, and Puck, but both boys just said that Rachel was finally letting go of that uptight high school self. Although, Santana had a feeling that neither of the boys really believed that their little brunette was really hooking up with anyone until they were there one night.

Santana wasn't interested in hooking up with anyone that night and sat on the edge of her seat, glowering at her friend and the blonde she was currently wrapped around. Rachel's short dress was already pushed all the way up her tanned thighs and the guy was running a hand up and down the smooth skin of her legs. The cab finally pulled over and Santana practically fell out in her eagerness to get away. She was so busy opening the door to their apartment and trying to get away from Rachel and the blonde that she didn't notice she had company. She stopped short when she saw Finn and Puck on the couch, laughing and watching TV, and her eyes widened.

"Hey, guys, uh, what are you doing here?" She tried to act nonchalant but any second now Rachel was going to stumble through the door with the guy and she wasn't entirely certain how the two boys were going to react.

"Oh, that hurts, San," Puck joked. "We just came over to hang out."

"It's like one thirty," Santana replied with raised eyebrows and Puck twisted his mouth, giving a one shouldered shrug.

"Had to wait for Q to fall asleep. She doesn't really like going out, but I haven't hung with you guys in ages," he shrugged again and stood up, looking over Santana's shoulder. "Where's Rach?"

"She's, uh...Here," Santana could have closed her eyes and smacked her head against the wall when Rachel came through the door, so caught up in her tongue being in the blonde guys mouth that she didn't realize she had an audience. They had almost made it to the hallway before they pulled apart and Rachel saw the two boys standing in their lounge, and Santana resting against the closed front door. Rachel quickly swiped at her mouth with the back of her hand, removing the smeared lipgloss. The blonde guy looked at the two guys and the way they were staring at Rachel.

"Is this, um...Are one of them your boyfriend?" He stuttered out. Puck's eyes narrowed and he crossed the room, grasping the guy and leading him to the door. Santana scuttled aside quickly as he threw open the door and pushed the guy out roughly.

"What the fuck, Noah?" Rachel hissed out. "God, I don't see you for a month and a half and then you show up and try to control me?" Santana and Finn exchanged looks as Puck's breathing came out heavily, his face a thunder cloud.

"Okay guys—take it to the room!" Finn quickly interjected. Rachel glared at him momentarily before spinning on her heel and storming to her room, Puck close behind her. He slammed the door shut and turned around to glare at Rachel.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Rachel yelled.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Puck snapped back. "You're not like this! You don't just screw around! God, you're better than that Rachel!"

"You're in no position to judge, Noah!" She narrowed her eyes at him. "You did this for years!"

"And you were the one who pulled me out of it! You were always above acting like this!"

"Yeah, and now here you are; ignoring your friends for weeks on end and sneaking out in the middle of the night because it's the only way you're allowed to see us! You just jumped from one extreme to another. Sleeping around with a hundred girls to getting the most anal girlfriend in the world!" Rachel shook her head and took in a couple breaths. She put a hand to her head, feeling the alcohol throbbing. "You need to leave, Noah. I just...I need to sleep right now."

The next time Rachel saw Quinn, it wasn't when Puck was around. She was walking through a mall, a bag of clothes in her hand from her latest retail therapy. She brought herself a frozen yoghurt with passionfruit topping and sat down heavily, twisting the plastic spoon through the yoghurt and staring blankly ahead. She heard an annoying familiar laugh and looked up to where Quinn was standing with a dark haired guy. Rachel frowned, putting the little tub of yoghurt down on the table and leaned forward. At first it seemed innocent, they were standing a good few feet apart and just laughing—like friends. But then he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips and she reciprocated, linking her arms behind his neck and deepening the kiss.

"...And they were laughing and kissing and shit," Rachel dropped her head in her hands and Santana pursed her lips. Finn was regarding the two girls uncomfortably.

"Well, you know what I find the most surprising out of that story?" Santana finally said.

"What?"

"Blondie was laughing? Didn't know the bitch knew how!" She let out a short laugh but stopped when Rachel lifted her head and glared at her. She shrugged. "Okay, well...You're Puck's bestfriend. You need to tell him." The girls eyes widened.

"I can't tell him! We haven't talked since that night he was here and I just...I don't think it'd go down well," Rachel let out a heavy sigh. "But we can't let him keep dating her! She's obviously cheating on him, and she makes him miserable—I mean, he had to sneak out that other night just to see us—"

"Coz she's a bitch," Santana interjected.

"Maybe Puck knows," Finn mumbled. The two girls turned to stare at him. He looked up from the magazine he was reading and met their eyes, a trapped look on his face. "What?"

"Why would Puck know? Why would Puck still be with her if she was cheating on him?"

"Maybe...Be-cause..." Finn pressed his lips together. "Okay, look. He's with Quinn because he really liked her to begin with. I mean, she's hot and shit, right? But he said that things weren't going so well and he was getting really annoyed with the way she tried to control everything he did. When he came over here that night Rachel was with that guy, he was talking about breaking up with her." The two girls were still staring at him, and he realized the information he had was pretty vital.

"And you didn't think about telling us this earlier?" Santana snapped. "God, you're stupider than you look, Hudson!"

"Okay, that was uncalled for," Finn glared at her.

"Guys, shut it," Rachel finally announced. "I'll find out what's going on. I'll go talk to him."

From the minute Rachel stepped into Puck's apartment, she knew that him and Quinn were no longer together. Or she at least knew that they weren't living together anymore. There were dirty dishes overflowing the sink and over the bench, two or three empty pizza boxes on the kitchen table and some cloths that looked like they had tried to wipe up some brown liquid. She screwed up her nose and looked up at Puck. He didn't meet her gaze, just went through the kitchen area into the lounge and slumped down on the couch.

"What ya want, Rach?" He murmured. She stood there for a moment, shifting from foot to foot before finally deciding to sit down on the couch, although at the opposite end.

"Where's Quinn?" She asked softly.

"I kicked her out," Puck replied, his eyes never moving away from the TV. Rachel waited him out, knowing that pushing Puck would never get her anywhere. Instead, she tried to relax into the moment. Her and Puck had been watching TV together for years, and the re-runs of Friends never got old. But as much as she wanted to act like things were normal between them, she knew they weren't. Not until they got everything out and in the open between them.

"I'm glad you kicked her out," Rachel suddenly burst out. "She didn't deserve you." Puck raised an eyebrow at her. "She was a bitch, and she always looked like she was sucking on a lemon. And she barely ate any of my bolognese, and everyone loves my bolognese!" She got a small smile for that comment. "And the other day I was in the mall and she was kissing this guy..."

"It's okay, Rach," Puck's voice was quiet. "We broke up about three weeks ago. I don't actually think she was cheating on me, but I don't think I'd care if she was. To be fair, she was nice at first."

"Why'd you stay with her?" Rachel asked. Puck pinched his lips together and Rachel watched him carefully. Finally, he reached forward and grasped the remote from the low table in the centre of the room and muted the TV. He twisted around on the couch, folding one of his legs underneath her and slinging one arm over the back of his couch.

"Do you remember, about three years ago...You were really drunk...You told me you loved me?" Rachel felt her cheeks heat up and fiddled with a loose thread on the couch, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"Ye," she muttered.

"Do you remember what I said to you?"

"Ye," she repeated.

"What did I say, Rach?" Puck pressed, leaning forward, invading her personal space.

"You said that I was too good for you, and that you wouldn't be with me until you could make me as happy as I could be," Rachel's voice was almost inaudible. He nodded.

"I was never the guy for you, Rach," Puck shuffled even further forward on the couch, their knees now touching. "When I was going out and sleeping around, I wasn't enough for you. And so I stopped. I found Quinn, and she was nice. I know she came off real shitty to you guys but I actually didn't see that at first. To be honest, other than the whole controlling side of her, I kinda liked being in a relationship." Rachel felt sick hearing Puck talk about another girl like that. She physically felt her stomach turn over. It didn't matter that they weren't together anymore, all that mattered was that Puck had enjoyed with in a relationship with someone who wasn't her.

"I'm glad you grew up, Noah," Rachel murmured, still not meeting his eyes.

"I did it for you, Rachel," Puck's voice was soft as he reached out with one hand and gripped hers. He turned her smaller hand over in his bigger one, his thumb running over the soft skin. "I needed to be with someone, I needed to learn—and it couldn't be with you." He chewed down on his lower lip. "But at the end of the day, it's always been you, Rach. Always."

"I couldn't stand seeing you two together," Rachel said truthfully.

"Yeah, I think I finally realized that when I saw you with that guy," Puck let out a short laugh. "I couldn't believe you were actually going out and hooking up with guys." Rachel rolled her eyes and shrugged. They both fell quiet.

"I'm gonna be that guy for you, Rach," Puck finally said. Rachel's eyes widened.

"What are you saying, Noah?" She asked, her voice soft.

"Neither of our love is gonna get wasted, Rach."

Cheesy ass last line, I know!

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