Finn had spent a lot of hours when he and Rachel had first started looking for a house. She had created this wish list of all the features she thought just had to go into their dream house, and like anything else in her life, she hadn't stopped until she had gotten exactly what she wanted. As was typically the case, Fin was a lot easier going about the situation than she was. As long as there were enough bedrooms for the family they were planning to have and a big yard he could chase their kids around in, he was going to be happy with wherever they ended up.

He had known that it was the house as soon as they looked at it. It had only been on the market for a few days and the wait list for a showing was already pretty extensive. However, from the most they stepped into the living room, Finn was sure that this was the place where his kids were going to grow up. He could see the Christmas tree already set up in the corner, Rachel's menorah in the front window. He could see family snuggle sessions in front of the fireplace, a little pink nursery in the room at the end of the hall, a tire swing hanging from the tall oak in the backyard. Those were all visions that had come to fruition. It would be hard to leave those memories behind.

However, when he stepped into the rustic little bungalow in Berkeley, Finn knew that there were memories to be made in this new home as well. He could see Gracie practicing her ballet in the small storage space just off the basement stairs. He could imagine playing baseball in the huge empty lot across the street with Jack. He could envision himself grading papers at the dining room table. He could picture Puck yelling at the Browns game in the spacious living room. He could see his family there; he could see their life there.

"This is it," Puck mused as he walked around the aforementioned living room. Finn watched him run his fingers along the crown molding that hugged one of the door frames. Whatever it was that Finn was feeling about the house, it was evident that Puck was feeling it too. "This is the house. I think this is where we should live."

"Yeah?" Finn asked as he came over to stand next to his friend. They looked out the big picture window and then at each other. "I think so too."

Puck turned to him with the biggest grin on his face. "I think we should make an offer, we have to. I don't want to lose this place," he said excitedly. It was the first time he had let himself hope for a future that centered on someone other than himself in a very long time. "We haven't really talked about financials but…"

"I'm going to sell the house in New York. We should get some decent equity out of the house, so you don't need to worry about it."

"But," Puck continued with a smirk, "I want us to do this equally. I don't want you to feel like you have to take care of everything, man. I have some money, quite a bit actually, I just want to be able to do my part. I've saved for something, though I never really knew what, for a long time. I want to use some of it on this."

"Are you sure?"

"Dude, yeah, of course," Puck shook his head as he laid his hand on Finn's bicep absently. Finn could tell that it was casual, that his friend probably didn't even realize he had done it, but that didn't prevent a series of sparks from dancing onto his skin. "I know we've talked about what I want to do next. I still don't know exactly, but I know I want to do this. I want to buy this house with you, with your family."

Finn smiled before calling out to the real estate agent. Twenty minutes later, they had written down a generous offer that made the petite blonde woman light up with a pleased smile. It was significant enough that she knew that the sellers would likely accept the bid. She left the guys alone in the backyard while she went into the house to call the couple selling the home.

"So I was thinking about what we talked about the other day," Finn said once they were alone again. "I know you said you didn't really know what you wanted to do, and I was thinking maybe you could take some time to figure it out. I am going to have to get a job out here but you seem like you might want the down time. Maybe you could just hang out for a little while so the kids could adjust. I know it's going to be hard for them to move, no matter how excited they are, and it might be really awesome if you were able to just kind of stay home with them."

It sounded like he would be a kept man, but Puck knew that he had enough in savings to make sure that he was contributing. Besides, it would probably be a good idea for Gracie and Jack to have someone around, at least in the beginning, while Finn worked. And he really liked spending time with the kids, getting to see these moments that he had missed out on in his own daughter's life. He would have never agreed to it ten years ago, ten months ago or even ten weeks ago, but now, he was willing to sacrifice his ego and his pride to make sure everything was okay for Finn's kids.

"Like a kept man?" he asked. He smiled at Finn in a way that let him know that Puck was agreeing without actually needing to say the word. He might be willing to reprioritize for the kids, but he still had a reputation to uphold. "I'll do whatever they need Finn, you know that."

The real estate agent came bursting out the backdoor then, an even bigger smile on her aged features. She told the two men that their bid had been accepted and that contingent approval on the loan and other requisite paperwork, they would be able to close on the sale within 30 days. Puck felt himself being pulled into a tight hug. He didn't have much choice but to allow the man's massive arms to wrap around him. They pulled back excitedly, both of them talking at the same time about all the plans they would have to make.

"We should take pictures of the house for the kids to see," Puck told Finn as they followed the agent back into the house. "Maybe you could do a video tour or something too. I'm sure my ma and your parents will want to see everything."

"I'm going to go return messages so I'll just leave you two to it," the agent smiled. Finn realized that she didn't know the specifics of the situation and likely assumed that they were together. He thought that should probably bother him more than it did, but he didn't really feel the need to correct her. "I'll be in the kitchen. Just find me when you're ready to go."

Finn grabbed Puck by the wrist and led him up the stairs. The two of them excitedly walked from room to room, making plans for who would get what space. Finn insisted that Puck have the master suite at one of the hallway. "It'll be easier if I'm down here at the other end by the kids," he pointed out. "I was thinking that Gracie could have the one at the top of the stairs and Jack would take the smaller one closer to me. I can't wait to help them paint."

Puck could already see the stains that those three were going to make. "There is the spare room downstairs plus the office," he pointed out. "We can make the office into a useable space that we can all take advantage of, set up a separate computer for the kids. And we should have a place where your parents can stay if they come to visit or Ma and Sarah."

"Or Beth," Finn said quietly, holding Puck's gaze intently. "We could talk to Shelby, maybe fly her out when we get settled."

Puck grinned but went on. "And that storage room is going to be perfect for the kids to have some play space. We could put Gracie's ballet barre up down there with a couple mirrors."

"I already thought of that!"

"Glad we're on the same page then," Puck said as he followed Finn into what would be his room. It was the biggest bedroom Puck had ever had to himself. He walked over to the closet and then to peer out over the backyard through the French doors that led to the small balcony off his bedroom. He turned back around at Finn and smiled softly. "This is going to be our home, dude."

"Yeah," Finn breathed softly.

Puck crossed the room quietly. He wasn't sure what he was doing but he pulled Finn into a hug. This one was more gentle, more sure than the other hug. "Seriously, Finn, thank you," Puck exhaled softly. "Thank you for sharing your family with me, for letting me do this with you. I haven't had a home in a really long time, not since I lived with Ma and Sar. But you, this place, this is already home."

Finn leaned back to look at his friend, surprised to see tears there. Finn reached up and wiped them away. He had heard all these things from Puck at different times, but this time was different. This time there was more that he wasn't saying, more that Finn was feeling himself in that moment. It scared him a little. He wasn't sure what to make of it or the fact that his heart was screaming that it was too soon. None of it really made sense to Finn so he pushed it down like he always did. He just patted Puck on the back awkwardly before leaning over to hug him again.

"Sorry I keep acting like a pussy, dude," Puck said as he stepped away.

"Hey," Finn shot back, catching him by the wrist. "Don't apologize to me for being real. You don't get to hide this stuff anymore, not from me, man."

They didn't talk anymore after that. Instead, Puck took an endless stream of photos of the rooms upstairs and then downstairs. Finn filmed them walking through the house, pointing out things that he knew the kids would want to know. They showed them the backyard, the basement, the view up and down the street. When they were sure they'd gotten enough, they asked the agent to take a photo of the two of them in front of the house. They each sent the snapshot off to their mothers and Finn might have maybe even made it his wallpaper.

"We should celebrate," Finn said excitedly as they drove back toward the hotel.

They would start the long drive back to Ohio late tomorrow after looking around the neighborhood at the schools and other significant sights. Finn had even set up an interview with a school on the drive out west. They had a whole life to plan.

"We should celebrate at a bar," Puck corrected his friend, and for the next several hours, that is exactly what they did.

Later, after grabbing a taxi to take them back to their room, Finn helped Puck to bed and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Puck was already passed out when Finn came back into the bedroom. Finn pulled off Puck's shoes and managed to maneuver his heavy legs beneath the thin comforter. He rearranged the blankets around Puck's chin before reaching over to flick off the lamp. Finn stood there for a moment afterward, watching Puck's chest rise and fall in the sliver of moonlight that came through the thick curtains on the window. He was suddenly, strangely, completely caught up in the man's beauty.

Finn knew that it was more than the physical that had captivated him. Puck has been incredible all the weeks, and yet, today, he made Finn feel like he was the incredible one. It was as if he wasn't the selfish one asking Puck to change his entire life to help him. It was as if he was the one giving him a second chance. Puck has been taking care of his family all the time and Finn just wants to take care of him in return. He wants to make sure that nothing bad ever hurts him again and that he forgets what he saw when he was at war. He wants to replace the bad memories with new ones, better ones, with this family. It was one they had built themselves, quickly but wholly.

"I'm going to take care of you too," he whispered as he watched Puck for another moment. "I promise, we're going to take care of each other out here. You won't ever be alone again; I won't let you. I don't know what this is, man, but I know that my kids need you. And I need you – we need each other."

Finn was just about to walk back over to his bed when Puck's hand reached out blindly in the dark. "Finn," he whispered, somehow managing to find Finn's fingers despite the lack of light.

"Yeah?"

"I don't understand what is going on," he confided in a tiny little voice. "Just don't freak out and kick me out of your life later, okay?"

Finn could tell by his friend's sleepy tone that he was barely coherent and likely wouldn't even remember the conversation tomorrow. So he decided to just agree with whatever Puck was saying rather than question it. "Sure, buddy," he pledged, brushing his thumb across the top of Puck's had comfortingly. His friend made a sleepy little sound before pulling his hand back. "Goodnight, Puck."

"Good night, Finn."