Songs Bring Us Together Chapter 2: For the First Time, a glee fanfic

A/N: I was planning to use this song for a different story, but after I heard it, I couldn't stop thinking about the first chapter to this, and how perfectly it could work together. Hope you guys enjoy this squeal.

Noah Puckerman was sitting in his living room, lazily stroking his guitar when the last chords he needed to finish his song suddenly popped into his head. He ran to his bedroom to get the music sheet where he was working and adding the finishing details to his song. Once he was done, he looked it over and was amazed at what he saw on the paper. He had finished writing his first song. He was not only amazed at the fact that he had actually created a song from scratch, putting together the melody and the lyrics, but that it had been done so easily. If someone had told him two months ago that he would be sitting here in this apartment looking at his finished song, he would have probably punched them in the face and told them to stop fucking around and leave him alone. Now, he was finished, and he was so damn happy that he was sitting in a small New York apartment.

"Noah, baby? Where are you?" An angelical voice called for him from behind the door to the bedroom.

"I'm in the bedroom," he replied while walking to his dresser and placing there the leather-bound notebook which housed his recently finished song.

He heard the shuffling of feet as the love of his life made his way to the bedroom where he was in. He could not help but smile, knowing that he was once again with the woman who made his days better with just one smile. He heard the door opening behind him, and finished arranging his things to turn and look at the beauty that had interrupted him. She had barely gotten her head in the door when she saw him looking at her and offered him one of her amazing smiles. He saw as she walked into the room and walked to him. As she came to a stop in front of him, he placed his hands on her waist and leaned down to peck her lips. Her smile grew even more as she looked up at him adoringly.

"Hi," she breathed out.

"Hello gorgeous," he chuckled as he replied.

"How was your day?" She asked as she began to gather her clothes to change.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? You know, since your rehearsals for Wicked started today."

"Yeah, but it was boring. It mostly was meetings and scheduling and all that. I would much rather know what you did today." Rachel smiled at him as she made her way out of the bathroom to deposit her dirty clothes on the bin.

"Well, if you must know, I mostly sat around, watched TV, put up an ad for my guitar lessons," he offered and smiled when she broke out on a radiating smile. He stood straighter and nervously ran a hand over his neck as he quietly added, "and I finished my song."

Rachel was halfway to the door when she heard his last comment and abruptly stopped and turned to him with her brows furrowed. Upon seeing the tiny smile on Noah's lips, she smiled and ran to him. He caught her in a hug as he lifted her of the ground while she kissed his lips.

"You finished your song baby? I'm so happy for you!" She cried out as he set her down on the floor. He smiled even brighter than before.

"Yeah, the final chords just kind of came to me." He told her as he relaxed and leaned against the dresser.

"Can I hear it?" She excitedly asked while rocking on her feet. Noah marveled at how adorable she looked with her hands clasped together under her chin and her big brown eyes looking pleadingly at him. Just that was enough to make him grant her request, but he was a bit skeptical.

"I don't know Rachel. What if you don't like it? I mean, I just got to writing, I can't be that good." He offered to her.

"Oh Noah, you have been writing for years, don't try to fool me. I know that you wrote Pretending senior year. Come on baby. Let me hear it. You haven't even told me what it is about." She told him, adding a pout for extra effect.

Noah looked at her and knew that he just had to tell her what the song was about, and he should show her. His mind was made up from the second she started talking, but he wanted to make her wait. He absolutely adored the way her pout made her lips look fuller, and loved making her get frustrated. He finally relented and leant down to kiss her pout away, and began leading her to the bed as he grabbed his guitar.

"Fine Rachel, but you have to be completely honest and tell me what you really thing. I don't want you to let the story get in the way of your judgment." He sat down and adjusted his guitar as Rachel nodded excitedly as she sat down.

"Ok, but can I know what the song is about before you start?" Rachel asked. Noah took a deep breath and looked her deep in the eyes before he whispered.

"Us."

He didn't give her time to reply as he began playing and singing the song he had spent days working on.

She's all laid up in bed with a broken heart,
While I'm drinking jack all alone in my local bar,

After singing these lyrics, Noah thought back two months ago when he had heard Rachel singing that haunting song on the talk show. He was sitting in Sam's apartment, looking through the newspaper trying to find an apartment for rent. Sam's little sister who was in town visiting tuned in to the talk show. He wasn't paying much attention until he heard Helen say "'So Rachel, I heard that you are releasing a single, am I right?'" From that moment on, he glued his eyes to the television. He couldn't help but notice how gorgeous she looked in her dress. He knew that she had been planning this album, and writing lots of songs, but he didn't know which one she had chosen for her single. When he heard Rachel say that her song was about a break-up, he couldn't help but sit straighter, wanting to hear everything. Part of him wanted to leave the room, not have anything to do with this song, which he was hoping and dreading, was about him. When she whispered "'This is for you'" he had to stay and listen. He couldn't help but notice the far-off look on Rachel's face as she sang, which meant that she, like him, was thinking of all the moments they shared together. When she was done singing, he got up and walked down to the bar. He sat there for hours, drinking away the hollow feeling that had been eating him up since he walked out on her. He couldn't help but wonder if she was laying down, crying, and feeling half as miserable as him.

And we don't know how,
How we got into this mad situation,

These lines where a complete lie. Noah knew exactly what drove him to make the choice of walking out of Rachel's life.

Only doing things out of frustration

Trying to make it work but man these times are hard,

She needs me now but I can't seem to find the time,
I've got a new job now on the unemployment line,

When Rachel began to talk about wanting to form a family with him, he just couldn't bring himself to agree. He had a bartending job that offered him a meager salary that wouldn't even be enough to make ends meet if it wasn't for Rachel's paycheck. He knew that if he wanted to bring kids into this world, he had to have a more stable environment for them. Also, he didn't want to bring Rachel's career to a stall. She had been doing great so far. She had participated in two Broadway shows, and was nominated for the Tony she so desperately wanted through high school. However, what he feared the most, was not being good enough for Rachel and not being a good father. He just had too many insecurities, with his father walking out, everyone comparing Noah to his deadbeat dad, giving up Beth, and not being good enough for Quinn. He, however, did not tell Rachel any of this, only giving her vague refusals, and then walking out on her when she refused to accept his refusal.

And we don't know how,
How we got into this mess
Is it god's test?
Someone help us 'cause we're doing our best,

He doesn't even know why he decided to walk out on her the way he did, without explaining anything to her. He irrationally thought at the moment that by doing so, he would show her that she could live better without him, and at the same time prove to himself that he was not good enough for her. He put himself through a self-made test that was ultimately designed to prove all of his insecurities.

Trying to make it work but man these times are hard

But we're gonna start by
Drinking old cheap bottles of wine,
Sit talking up all night,
Saying things we haven't for a while
A while, yeah
We're smiling but we're close to tears,
Even after all these years,
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time

Noah couldn't stop the smile that made its appearance with this verse. He knew that this was the one thing that he would be writing about when he decided to write his first song. He remembers it as if it was yesterday. The day after he heard Rachel singing her song, he made up his mind to go talk to her. He remember how broken she looked as she sang her song. It was clear to him that she was not doing better without him. He got up, got dressed and went out in search of the happy life he had given up on. As he was walking down the sidewalk, he had to stop and clear his thoughts. He didn't know what he was going to tell Rachel. He knew that the song was really personal to her and that the feelings were real, but he didn't know if her song was a way of telling him that she was done with him, done with waiting. After many hours of thinking, he decided that he would still go and talk to her. As the sun was beginning to set, he walked into her apartment building with a bottle of her favorite wine. When she opened the door, she was shocked to see him there, and immediately started crying. Noah rushed inside and held her as she broke down right in front of him. After many minutes of her crying and Noah consoling her, she was able to calm down and they began to talk. He told her all of his fears, and she told him her reasons for her argument. They sat up all night talking, laughing, crying, kissing, and whispering I love you back and forth, reassuring each other that everything would be fine. It wasn't until that night that they finally felt like they completely knew each other.Oooooo

Oooooo
Oooooo

She's in line at the dole
With her head held high (high)
While I just lost my job but
Didn't lose my pride

But we both know how,
How we're gonna make it work when it hurts,
When you pick yourself up,
You get kicked to the dirt,

Noah reflected back on the last two months. Getting back on track with Rachel was easier than he thought, but getting rid of the past was not. It was hard trying to forget what had led them to their fight, what had caused his insecurities to rise. However, Rachel was not known for giving up, and she worked hard to keep their relationship going. It was after seeing her so invested in their relationship and seeing how much she loved him, that Noah began to lose his insecurities and began to dwell in the fact that this was it for him, that this was his forever and that it would last this time around.

Trying to make it work but,
Man these times are hard,

But we're gonna start by,
Drinking old cheap bottles of wine,
Sit talking up all night,

Doing things we haven't for a while,
A while yeah,
We're smiling but we're close to tears,
Even after all these years,
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time.

Ooooo

Yeah...
Drinking old cheap bottles of wine,
Sit talking up all night,
Saying things we haven't for a while,
We're smiling but we're close to tears,
Even after all these years,
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting, for the first time

Oooooo..., yeah for the first time
(ooooo...), oh for the first time,
Yeah for the first time,
(just now got the feeling that we're meeting...
For the first time)

Oh these times are hard,
Yeah they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me baby

Oh these times are hard,
Yeah they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me baby

Noah ended the song looking at his lap. He couldn't dare to look up at Rachel. When she had been quiet for a long time, he managed the courage to look, and what he saw left him breathless. Her eyes were full of tears, some even cascading down her cheeks. However, what he saw that amazed him the most was the complete adoration and love she showed. One of her hands was clasped tightly over her mouth but he could tell she was smiling. Before he could sense it, she jumped forward and hugged him to her with a crushing force. He sat there hugging her back and realized that he wanted to do this for the rest of his life, and like his song stated, they were gonna make it work. He gently undid her arms from around him, and stood up. When he saw her questioning glance and her posture ready to get up, he leant down and gave her a long passionate kiss reassuring her of his deep love. When she sat back down, he walked over to his dresser and searched through one of his drawers until he found what he was looking for. He placed it in his pocket and walked back to the bed. He sat next to her and took her hands in his and kissed her tenderly, before whispering,

"You don't have to say anything baby. I can tell by your look that you liked my song." He smiled as Rachel scoffed at his understatement. He saw her attempt to speak, but he used one of his hands to stop her.

"No, let me talk." When she nodded her understanding, he took her hands back in his and began talking again. "I know that I have fucked up a lot in the last couple of months. You have been with me through it all, and you have given me so much love. You have helped me through my darkest moments, and have given me the most valuable thing in my life, my happiness. You are the reason why that song was written baby. It is about you. You pushed me to do something that I enjoyed and made me write that song, you even bought me music sheet. But the thing that I value the most, is the love that you have given me. It fuels me on every day. I know that I once doubted that it would last. I was afraid that you would realize that you deserve better, that you could do better. Now, I still think you deserve better, but I am working damn hard to be better for you, to be worthy of you. I know we both have our insecurities, that we both need reassurance that we are loved. We will work through that together because I am now sure that we will make it work. So Rachel, I wanted to ask you one thing," He let go of her hands and knelt down in front of her as he reached into his pocket and took out the black little box that contained a promise for his future happiness. He looked up at Rachel who was crying again and had her hand covering her mouth. He opened the box to reveal a simple yet elegant diamond ring.

"Would you marry me?"

Rachel began nodding her head erratically as she took her hand off her mouth. She smiled as she looked into his eyes and whispered,

"Yes!"

Once Noah placed the ring on her finger, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him hard on the lips, enjoying his arms around her.

Later that night, while they laid in bed Rachel looked at her ring and smiled. She was content in lying down with her head on Noah's chest as he ran his fingers through her hair. She shifted her head to look up at him and placed a small kiss on his lips. She looked at her ring again and couldn't help herself when she asked him,

"Noah, did you plan on proposing to me with that song all along?"

He smiled and kissed her once more on the lips while he ran his thumb over the diamond on her finger. He contemplated her question and how to answer it before he said,

"Actually, no, but I did plan to propose with music."

She smiled and laid back down on his chest. She looked at her ring one final time, before falling asleep and dreaming of the rest of her life with the man she loved.

Song: For the First Time by The Script