It's late at night when he finally gets home from his shift at the fire station and all he wants to do is take a shower and climb into bed with his girlfriend because he's so tired. They've been in New York for a few years now and just moved into a much nicer apartment than the little shoebox of a studio that they originally lived in, thanks to his recent promotion and the few roles that Rachel has managed to land in the chorus of some off Broadway shows. They even have access to the roof of the building where there's some sort of community garden that all of the building's tenants like to take care of.
Walking through the apartment he starts to strip off his dirty clothing and just tosses them aside knowing that Rachel will probably yell at him for it in the morning but he's just too tired to care. The promise of hot water and a warm body is all that rules his mind right now. He calls out her name and when he doesn't get a response he's not all that surprised. It's late enough that she's probably already asleep.
Once he's all refreshed from his shower, he tugs on a clean pair of pajama bottoms and heads towards the bed where he expects Rachel to be buried under the comforter but he stops short when he sees that the bed is empty. Puck backtracks out into the hall by the door and sees that while her purse, coat and shoes are still here that her keys are missing but he thinks that she can't be far. Sighing, he grabs his hoodie and stuffs his feet into his sneakers and leaves the apartment in search of his girlfriend.
Puck heads up to the roof since he knows she likes to go up there to think sometimes and he immediately spots her sitting on a swing that someone built up here sometime ago but apparently just left when they moved out. Probably didn't want to deal with taking it apart or something else like that. He sits down next to her and puts his arm around her shoulders so he can tuck her tiny body into his side.
Rachel's looking up at the sky as they swing silently back and forth. "Being up here makes me miss home."
Hearing this statement, Puck plants his feet on the ground to stop the gentle motion of the swing as he looks down at her. "What are you talking about? You hated Ohio. How could being up here in the city of your dreams possibly make you miss home?"
She just gives him a small smile. "I don't miss Ohio, Noah. I miss the stars." Rachel starts swinging again once his feet move and she continues, "You remember when you took me camping in senior year and showed me the stars?"
He nods his head. "Yeah that was a good time."
The petite brunette hums in agreement. "Well I can't see the stars here. I love New York and this is all part of my dream but I can't see the stars and I miss them."
"It's alright, Babe, you'll see the stars again. Now come on, let's go to bed because I'm beat and just want to sleep next to you."
A few nights later, Puck walks into the apartment after his shift in a much better mood even though it's still late. He sees that Rachel is curled up on the sofa waiting up for him. He secretly loves it when she waits up for him to get home before going to bed. He tosses a coat at her and says, "Come on, I've got a surprise for you," as he waits by the door.
When she reaches him, Rachel giggles as he covers her eyes with his hand. "I can keep my eyes closed on my own, Noah."
He kisses the side of her on the temple and says, "Yeah I know but it's just more fun this way. Now come with me." He leads them up the stairs and on to the roof where he then removes his hand and tells her she can open her eyes.
Rachel blinks her brown eyes a few times as she takes in the sight before her. All over the trees in the rooftop garden are multiple strands of twinkling star shaped lights. She can't contain the bubble of laughter that escapes her throat when she realizes that her wonderful boyfriend has given her the stars that she misses so much. She tosses her arms around his neck as she kisses him before saying, "Thank you, Noah. It's beautiful, they're so bright."
Puck just kisses her again before whispering in her ear, "You shine the brightest."
Photo Prompt: data . whicdn . com/images/10141138/photography158_large . jpg?1306389074 left by sarcastic_fina