A/N: This is an AU and future fic, so their characterizations might differ from those on the show. I try very hard to keep the characters IN character, but since they are older in this fic, I like to imagine that these are the people they'd grow up to be. :) Feedback=love, so please let me know what you think.
If you were to ask Noah Puckerman to describe himself in one word, coward wasn't the one he'd choose. In fact, coward didn't even crack the top ten. As a Petty Officer in the United States Navy, he'd faced the unknown on a daily basis for the last four years, two of which had been spent deployed overseas defending his country. Cowards didn't do such things. Looking back though, it had probably been a cowardly move to leave that little cow town behind without saying goodbye. But in his eighteen year old mind, it had been the bravest and most selfless decision he'd ever made.
However, tonight was different. Tonight, as he shifted uncomfortably on the sidewalk outside the Palace Theater with his hat literally in his hands, the past and present collided together, leaving a vortex of unknown in its wake. What would she do when she laid eyes on him again? He hadn't a clue and it terrified the shit out of him. Tonight, he wanted to turn and hightail it the hell out of there.
He hadn't seen her in four years—not since the night of their high school graduation that they spent tangled in his sheets. She'd slipped into her shoes and kissed him goodbye, laughed at his attempt to pull her in for another round and wriggled free from his embrace. "I love you, Noah Puckerman," she'd said happily, fixing him with her bright, dimpled smile before fleeing into the night in order to make it home in time for curfew.
When he found out he would be in New York City for Fleet Week, he hadn't intended to go looking for her. Or at least that's what he told himself to seem less pathetic. He thought it best to leave her the hell alone, but after the twentieth poster he had seen for West Side Story with her name attached, he knew if he didn't grab this opportunity now, he'd kick himself for the rest of his life. So he'd stood in line at TKTS Time Square and secured a seat to watch Rachel Berry perform.
She was magnificent as Maria—a true star, just the kind she'd always dreamed of being. Watching her shine on stage, beaming as she took a bow before the crowd of people on their feet all cheering for her, only reinforced that the decision he'd made years ago had been the right one. He just wished he didn't feel as though a vise had been strapped to his chest trying to squeeze the life out of him.
The door opened and he held his breath, letting it out again with a whoosh when she wasn't in the group of people leaving the theater. His heart raced as another group of people came and went without her. He scolded himself for being such a goddamn pussy. He was in the Navy for fuck's sake—he shouldn't be intimidated by a five-foot-two, hundred pound spitfire.
Laughter filled the air as another group exited the theater and Puck looked up, spotted her. She had a big smile on her face and laughed heartily at something one of the other girls said as they strode down the sidewalk. He swallowed thickly and called out her name.
"Rachel Berry," he called, stopping her in her tracks as the smile fell away from her face. That voice. She'd know it anywhere. Knots formed in her stomach, breath hitched in her throat. Turning slowly, she came face to face with the boy from her past. The cute boy she'd shared so many firsts with stood before her now a wickedly handsome man, clad in his dress whites with a playful smirk twisting his lips. Damn him. "Noah," she said flatly, shoving down every ounce of surprise she felt from seeing him after all this time. She ignored the hot sailor comments from her friends and told them she'd catch up in a bit.
She was different; he'd noticed that the moment she stepped outside. The beautiful girl he'd loved in high school had blossomed into a strikingly gorgeous woman. The short black dress she wore showcased her amazing legs, made even more amazing by the high heels encasing her tiny feet. The urge to bury himself deep between those legs while she wore nothing but those heels struck him like a bolt of lightning. His fantasy was cut short when her palm connected with the side of his face, slapping him soundly. He resisted the urge to rub his face. She was tiny, but there'd been a lot of force and four years of pent up anger behind that slap.
"I guess I deserved that," he offered lamely, looking down and meeting her heated glare.
"This, too," she retorted acidly, slapping him again. She tried for a third, but his hand stopped her this time, grabbing hold of her wrist.
"That's enough, Rachel," he grumbled.
She jerked her arm free from his grasp and turned to stalk away, only to bump solidly into the muscled wall of his chest as he'd moved faster than she had. His hands came around to steady her at the elbows. The familiar scent of his cologne invaded her senses and sent her head spinning. "Let me go. I have nothing to say to you, Noah Puckerman."
"Rachel Berry has nothing to say?" he inquired, aghast. "That's a first." He offered her a half smile and tightened his grip when she tried to wiggle free, fearing she would run. The look in her coffee colored eyes could only be termed murderous. He held her stare, determined to see past this wall she'd put up, catching a flicker of sadness before she caved first and averted her eyes.
"Let go of me," she whispered sadly. She couldn't think while he was touching her and she mulled over the fact that she never had been, nor would she probably ever be, able to think while he was touching her. "Please," she all but begged.
"Do you promise not to run?"
Rachel straightened her spine and met his hazel gaze. "Running is your modus operandi, Puck, not mine."
He flinched at her use of his nickname, his hands dropped away from her. She only used that when she was pissed off, or he was being an ass. He guessed both were applicable now. "I'm sorry, Rach," he murmured.
"Yes, you said as much in your Dear John letter to me. Now, if you will please excuse me, I have a cast party to attend. Goodbye, Noah." With a curt nod, she skirted around him and stomped as fast as her heels would allow, blinking back the tears that blurred her sight. Her heart ached and she knew if she didn't get away and get away fast, she'd end up a sniveling mess crumpled on the sidewalk about how much she'd missed him.
Puck stood there and stared after her, flabbergasted. He didn't know who he'd just encountered, but it wasn't the Rachel Berry he knew. Maybe that was the problem. He didn't know her anymore. A lot could happen in four years. But, he thought bitterly, if she wanted nothing to do with him, then he wanted nothing to do with her. You are a cowardly pussy, Puck. Sighing, he jogged after her, caught up to her at the end of the block. "Look, Berry, I came here to talk to you and I'm not leaving until I do." She was staring down at the sidewalk and he heard her sniffle. "Fuck," he muttered sharply. He never did learn how to handle teary women, the one before him included. "Don't cry, Dimples," he said softly, tipping her chin up with his index finger. Her watery gaze met his and something fluttered in his stomach. He was sunk.
Her heart ached at his use of the nickname he'd given her years before when they were happy and in love. A sad, half smile tugged at her lips as she looked at him. He reached out and gently brushed away the tears with the pads of his thumbs, lingering on her face. "Noah, don't," she pleaded.
"Ten minutes, Rachel. Please. I just want to talk to you."
Rachel sighed. He looked almost as sad as she felt. A big part of her was curious as to what he had to say, so for the memory of what they once had, she decided she'd give him ten minutes. "Okay," she shrugged. "But let's go somewhere else. I'd rather not have this conversation here."
"My hotel is only a few blocks from here," he suggested. "We could get—"
Affronted, she crossed her arms over her chest. "That is not even remotely funny, Noah Puckerman" she huffed, cutting him off.
His lips twitched into a full blown grin. "I meant the bar, Rach, but if you've got other things in mind…"
"Do you want me to slap you again?" she asked through gritted teeth.
Puck laughed. He had no doubt that she absolutely would slap him again. "Not really."
"Then I suggest you keep your lewd innuendo to yourself," she said haughtily flouncing down the street.
He grinned again, glad to know that his Rachel Berry was still in there somewhere, and hurried after her.