I own nothing. Enjoy!

One year later

Blaine groaned under the weight of the box he was carrying out to the moving truck that Puck had rented. He hoisted the box into the back of the truck and wiped his brow.

"Why the hell are you guys doing this in July?" Sam asked as he dropped another box onto the truck bed.

Blaine ogled his shirtless friend for a moment with a salacious grin as Sam blushed and flipped him off.

"Don't worry about it Sammy boy. I'm as straight as they come and even I fly at half mast for your body." Puck joked as he tossed them each a bottle of water.

Sam huffed with a barely concealed grin.

"Yeah yeah, we all know you're gay for each other. Can somebody help me with this shit?" Santana shouted as she walked towards them, carrying a rather heavy box.

Puck stepped forward and took the box from her and she moved to lean against the truck with Blaine.

"I'm with Sammy. Couldn't you have done this in October or March or something? It's fucking hot." Santana grumbled before swiping the water bottle out of Blaine's hand and draining it.

"San, it's always hot where we're going." Blaine told her.

"I don't know what you're bitching about Satan," Puck interjected with a wicked grin. "Ohio in July can't be hotter than your home in Hell, can it Lucifer?"

Blaine laughed as Santana ran at him. She chased him around the lawn for a few minutes before they both collapsed on the ground in laughter and heat exhaustion.

Brittany and Quinn joined the four of them as they carried some more boxes out of Blaine's house. They both smiled in amusement as Santana and Puck wrestled on the grass.

"When do you leave?" Quinn asked later as they loaded the last of Blaine's stuff into the truck.

"Tomorrow morning."

"I can't believe you assholes aren't staying around for the summer." Santana growled with a pout.

"You could always head out to LA and crash at our place." Blaine countered with a smile.

The plans were already forming behind the Latina's eyes as she smirked back at him.

Blaine flattened the last box and carried it out to the dumpster behind their condo. He smiled at his elderly neighbour on the way back up and winked at the cute guy down the hall.

The last year hadn't been easy but he'd survived it. They'd taken Nationals again and he'd been named valedictorian. His parents had been in the crowd with Santana and Puck who screamed the loudest. He was happy to leave high school behind to begin his new life in LA with Puck.

Puck headed back out to LA after their road trip the summer before. He'd been there for a few months when he'd caught the eye of a record executive while playing at an open mic night. He'd been given a job as a studio musician for the label with the promise of stardom if he was interested. He'd spent much of the last nine months providing guitar and backup vocals for the hottest musicians of the moment. The pay was excellent and he had announced his intention of finally putting down roots when he'd visited Blaine for spring break. The condo he chose to rent had three bedrooms and he'd promised Blaine one of the bedrooms once he was done with school.

Life in LA was better than Puck had promised. He'd loved his time here the summer before. But there was something about actually living here that he loved. He and Puck had moved effortlessly from best friends to roommates who were best friends. Blaine had discovered Puck's cooking skills quickly and the two of them lived well considering their age.

"I've got a gig for you tomorrow." Puck announced, stirring Blaine from his thoughts.

Blaine turned to face his friend as Puck handed him a beer.

"You and I are playing at that bar downtown I love so much. My boss is gonna be there." Puck told him as he began moving around their kitchen, making dinner.

"That's sick. I don't mind working in a cafe you know." Blaine told him half-honestly. "You don't have to pull strings for me."

Puck snorted and dumped the pasta into the boiling water.

"Whatever Dude. I have a gig. He's gonna be there. You're going to sing. Three separate events."

Blaine laughed and shook his head as he set the table.

"Santana and Brit are heading to New York this week. Neither one of them were totally convinced when they were here for the summer." Blaine told him.

Puck shrugged as he dished out the pasta.

"LA isn't for everyone."

"You have an extraordinary talent Blaine."

Blaine stood slack-jawed as Puck's boss complimented him. Puck was grinning beside him, nursing a beer.

"Thanks, sir."

Adam Robson threw back his head and laughed.

"Polite, I respect that. But it's just Adam please." Adam reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. "Call my secretary, set up an appointment. I have a few tracks I'd like to hear you sing." He grinned at Puck before winking at Blaine conspiratorially. "Maybe when we sign you, you can convince your friend here to do more than perform backup."

"We'll see." Puck replied with a laugh as Blaine mouthed the word 'when' in shock.

"See you soon Blaine." Adam said before turning and walking out of the bar.

Blaine watched him go, staring at the door for several moments before Puck's laughter roused him.

"What the fuck just happened?" Blaine breathed out.

Puck threw an arm around his shoulder and signalled for more drinks.

"You just got discovered Anderson. Congratu-fucking-lations man. Now! We drink!" Puck bellowed.

Blaine accepted the shot that was shoved in hand and grinned happily.

"Can we play that back one more time?" Blaine requested into the microphone in front of him.

He glanced at Puck who nodded in agreement. He still couldn't believe that he was working on his first solo album. As if life wasn't good enough; Puck was co-writing and providing the guitar and backup vocals.

"I don't love the way I hit that note. Can I maybe take the chorus again? Puck could you take it down half an octave?" Blaine explained after listening to the playback.

The guys in the booth nodded at him and started the track from just before the chorus. He started in on the chorus and was happy to note that the changes were good. He saw the grin on Puck's face and knew that his friend agreed with the new sound.

"Awesome, thanks guys. See you tomorrow."

Blaine and Puck walked out of the studio and nodded to the receptionist before leaving the building.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing Adam Levine in the hallway." Blaine mumbled to Puck as they headed towards his truck.

"He said something about having you sing on one of his tracks. He loves your sound." Puck replied casually with a blank expression.

Puck's face broke into an amused grin as Blaine walked into the side of Puck's truck in astonishment.

"Life is good Anderson. Life is good."

The album was coming along nicely when Puck announced that he was thinking about taking Adam up on his offer. He'd been impressed with the artistic freedom that had been given to Blaine and had notebooks worth of songs ready.

After much haggling with the executives to maintain his vision, Puck signed on with Robson Records officially.

The next months flew by as the two men worked on their solo albums and enjoyed the California weather. They were rarely found away from the studio or the beach. Long gone were the bowties and polkadots that had defined Blaine in high school. Puck's style had matured as well off the beach. The muscle shirts and tshirts had been replaced with casual dress shirts and jeans.

They skipped going home for Thanksgiving and spent the holiday working instead. They had promised their friends and family that they'd be home for Christmas and they were both looking forward to going home. The friends that they'd kept in contact with, admittedly a short list of San, Brit, Quinn, Sam and Mike, already knew about their upcoming music careers.

Blaine's excitement was tempered by his concern for Puck as the holiday approached. It had been months since he'd seen Puck react in any way to memories of Rachel. He'd hoped that the years apart had erased the hurt but he'd been pulled into Adam's office and the conversation they'd had concerned him.

"I'm worried about Puck." Adam told him without preamble.

Blaine regarded the man in front of him warily. The three of them had become great friends outside of work, so he knew that his concern was about more than profit.

"Have you heard his new stuff? His music has always had a...haunted tone to it. It's clear that he's had a hard time of it and some girl shit that really hurt him. But the last few songs have this super dark tone to them." He paused when Blaine's eyebrows shot up. "It's not the lyrics exactly but the way he's singing them. The lightness is gone and it's too much. Something's up. He can rerecord later; I'm not worried about that."

"I'll talk to him." Blaine promised. "Can I hear them?"

Blaine had sat in the sound booth and shared a look with Adam. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that this was a Rachel thing, he just wasn't sure how.

"Rachel's going to be home for Christmas."

The words had passed through Puck's lips over dinner a few nights before they were set to fly home. He'd said them casually but the tension in his shoulders was clear.

Christmas wasn't going to be the fun filled easy holiday of years past.

Please let me know what you thought. Thanks!