AUTHOR'S NOTE: In this story, McKinley and Dalton are located around the Los Angeles, California, area instead of Ohio.

It was during homecoming in their freshman year of high school that Puck finally realized he needed to work up the courage to tell Finn how he'd been feeling since that kiss to the cheek nearly five years ago. They'd done it a few more times since then, kissed one another on the cheek or the forehead, yet neither of them had ever talked about it aloud. Puck, watching his best friend change into his pads and pants across the locker room, couldn't deny how his body was reacting, and after what they'd learned in Sex Ed earlier in the week, he was ready.

He quickly got dressed in his pads and pants and sauntered over to Finn, clapping him on the back of the neck. "Hey, man. How's it going?" he asked, giving Finn a giant smile to try and hide the nervousness and butterflies in his stomach.

Finn shrugged. "I dunno. My mom came home today talking about a new job and maybe moving, and I'm not really sure how I feel about that. I'm super nervous about the game tonight, too. I know I'm not starting, but Coach said that I'm first off the bench if something happens to Chang. And since he hurt his foot last week, I'll probably—"

Puck was seriously fighting the urge to kiss him to shut him up, and he did his best to focus on his words, recognizing that his friend was going through something. He leaned his elbow against the locker, nodding his head as he tried to refocus. "Mhm…"

"So, yeah. Not so good tonight. How about you? Starting tight end tonight. Nervous?"

"A little," Puck admitted. "I'm excited for it, though. And super ready. I've been working my ass off all week."

"Yeah. I know." Finn smiled at him, a smile that didn't reach his eyes like it normally did.

Puck took that as his moment. If he'd ever wanted a window to tell Finn anything, to cheer him up—hopefully—by telling him that he was in love with him, he had to do it now. "I, uh, I wanted to talk to you about something," he stuttered, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. "Um, can we, uh—"

At that moment, Beiste thundered in, smacking her hand on the back of her clipboard and shouting, "Listen up, guys! We've got a hard team to play tonight, and I need all of you to be at the top of your game. Gather round, guys."

Finn flashed him a sympathetic look. "We can talk later? Beiste needs us right now."

All Puck could do was nod and follow his best friend over to the huddle where Beiste was currently telling them the plan and exactly how they were going to win, complete with accolades for their new kicker, Kurt Hummel-Hudson—a skinny, dark-haired kid who danced and used his hips and shoulders just a little too much for Puck. He was gay, though, and Puck knew, deep down that he was, too. He hoped that, when Finn's brother found out about them—if there ever was a "them"—that he'd help the football team be a little more accepting of them. Kurt had, during practice that week, kicked the longest field goal in McKinley High's history. They were all counting on him to help them win the game.

"Those Dalton Warblers are gonna give us hell tonight, but we are gonna give it right back. Because we are what?" Coach Bieste hollered as all hands made their way inside the circle.

"We are the Titans!" the team hollered back.

"We are what?"

"The Titans!"

"I can't hear you! We are what?"

"The TITANS!"

"On three, team. Ready? One, two, three. TEAM!"

All the guys started to jog out of the locker room and toward the field, Finn and Puck trailing toward the back of the bunch.

"What did you want to talk about?" Finn asked, giving his friend a glance, one eyebrow raised.

Puck waved off the question. "It's nothing. Doesn't matter. Don't worry about it."

"You sure? It seemed pretty important earlier. You were nervous."

"Yeah. I'm sure." Maybe it was a dumb idea to think I should tell you how I feel. Maybe I should keep it to myself.

At halftime, everyone was pumped. They were ahead, Kurt had kicked three long field goals that had given them an advantage, and they had managed to get into their endzone once, which didn't happen very often. So, the players didn't spend long in the locker room, too eager to get back to the field and practice amongst the cheers from the fans of the McKinley High Titans.

All except for Finn and Puck. When Puck came out of the bathroom stall, he found Finn sitting alone on a bench, staring hard at the floor. He sat down on a bench across from him and stuck out a hand to rest on his shoulder, shaking him gently. "Hey, dude. What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

"Chang told me he's probably not playing much this second half, so it's up to me. I'm terrified."

"Why? You're the best damn quarterback on this team. You should be playing starter over Chang anyway."

"He's a senior, though. And I'm just a freshman."

"Doesn't fucking matter. You've got the skills. He doesn't. As far as I'm concerned, you're the best quarterback in all of LA. Hell, maybe even California."

"You're just saying that," Finn said, glancing up at him, his cheeks coloring pink.

"No." Before Puck could process what he was doing, he was reaching out, cupping one of Finn's cheeks with his hand. "Look up at me. Please."

Finn's curious, dark eyes met Puck's, and his lips parted just a little as though he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to.

Puck swallowed hard, taking in a long, deep breath then letting it out slowly, doing his best to tamp down the butterflies in his stomach. "You have nothing to be afraid of, dude. You're an amazing quarterback, and everyone is going to be excited to watch you play and demonstrate what you can do. You're going to give McKinley four great years, and everybody is going to be fucking sad when you leave this hellhole and go to college somewhere. Hell, you'll probably wind up going pro and winning 10 Super Bowls. You'll be the next Tom Brady, man."

A short, dry chuckle escaped Finn's lips, but he didn't say anything. He could sense Puck wasn't done.

"I—Well, I don't really know how to say this… I think that I might… I think I love you, Finn. I think I have for a really long time. I, um, I think I'm gay. Gay for you, at least, and I think that you're the love of my life." He swallowed against the emotions bubbling up in his throat, but the lump didn't go away. "You might not be able to say it back, and—"

Finn surged forward then, claiming Puck's lips in a kiss. Despite the way he attacked him, the kiss was shy, tentative, searching and testing out the waters to see exactly what kissing his best friend was like. When they separated moments later, there was a small smile on Finn's face. "I've wanted to do that for a long time," Finn said. "I love you, too, dude. I don't know if I can say I'm gay or not; I don't really know what all those words mean. I just know that I feel like I want to be with you forever, and your body does stuff to my body. I-I love you, too."

"So, what does this make us? Because if we're not just best friends anymore, I think we should quit calling each other 'dude.'"

"We can call each other whatever we want," Finn defended. "And I dunno. I mean, I would… Could we be dating, maybe? I mean, like, boyfriends?"

"Boyfriends," Puck repeated. "I like that." Then, he leaned in and kissed Finn again, sweetly.

It was during this kiss that Kurt walked in. "Hey, you two. Coach Beiste says there's two minutes on the clock, and sh—Oh, my god. I'm so sorry!" He immediately turned around, hands covering his face, his back to the two boys kissing. "Are you two—"

At the interruption, their kiss had stopped, and they were both snickering at the look on Kurt's face.

"We know you're gay, too, dude," Puck said with a grin. "You don't have to pretend to be disgusted."

Kurt turned around, an eyebrow raised. "I'm not disgusted. Just surprised. Are you two dating?"

Finn nodded. "As of just a couple seconds ago, actually."

"Well, congratulations. Are we telling the whole world that the star quarterback and tight end are an item now?"

"No," both the boys said at the same time, turning to look at each other. "We wanna wait a little bit. Not upset the team."

"You really shouldn't hide," Kurt commented, bringing his hands to his hips. "I know everyone will be excited for you."

"Why don't you tell the whole team that you were ogling that boy on the Dalton team, the one with dark hair and eye makeup. I think his name is… Elliot?" Finn teased.

"Okay. Fine. You're right. I'll keep it a secret. Don't wait too long, okay? I'm not great at secret keeping. As you know, Finn."

"Thank you. And we'll do our best," Puck replied.

"We gotta go," Kurt said. "Coach sent me in here because there were two minutes left before halftime was over, and she looked pissed that you two weren't out there yet."

"Damn! Let's go," Puck replied, jumping up and following Kurt out of the locker room door, his boyfriend hot on his heels.

"You know," Kurt tossed over his shoulder, "Finn, I always wondered if you and Puck would end up together. I think Mom and Dad will be thrilled."

"I hope so." Looking down the sidewalk, Finn could see Beiste at the other end, waving her arms wildly. "We better go faster."

When they finally reached her, she didn't go crazy and start yelling at them as they'd all feared. Instead, she looked Finn right in the eye and said, "It's your time to shine, QB."

The McKinley High Titans won their game. The final quarter was a nailbiter, and they won all the same. The win felt even greater when they all remembered it was homecoming and there was a dance to follow.

After the team huddle, everyone ran off to the locker room to change and get ready for the dance. Finn and Kurt stayed behind, gathering up their stuff. They were going home to change; their parents were picking them up in just a few minutes, and Finn was a bit nervous to tell his parents about his new relationship. He knew they would be thrilled. It was just a scary, big step.

"You okay?" Kurt asked, watching his brother's hand quiver as he zipped the bag with his pads in it shut.

"Yeah. Fine."

"Where's your crazy…" Kurt looked around, double-checking that no one was nearby before whispering, "boyfriend?"

Finn shrugged. "Probably doing crazy things."

Suddenly, he was attacked, Puck's arms around his neck as he jumped on his back and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Here I am. Miss me?"

"Always."

"Hey. You think your parents would be cool with me getting ready at your place and crashing there tonight? I had a text from my mom that she had to work late."

"Uh, yeah. Probably. We can ask."

"We're gonna tell 'em, right? I don't wanna lie to your dad. He's kinda like a dad to me, too."

"Yeah. We'll tell 'em. I don't wanna lie, either."

Puck came around in front of Finn then, pulling him into a hug and kissing down his neck. "I can't fucking wait to kiss those lips of yours again," he whispered into his ear a moment later.

"Me neither."

"Ahem!" Kurt said loudly. "Mom and Dad are coming."

Puck stopped kissing his boyfriend's neck and turned around, smiling as Burt and Carole walked up.

"Great game, boys," Burt greeted them. "Way to go."

Carole smiled, too. "I think there might be another congratulations in order. Finn, Puck, I'm so happy for the two of you." Then, she pulled them into a tight hug.

"How did you know?" Finn asked, wrapping an arm around her middle.

"A mother always knows. I'm so glad the two of you are finally together. I always knew you would be. You're so cute together. Meant to be."

When they pulled away, both Finn and Puck answered together, "Thanks, Mom." Then, they turned to each other, falling into another soft, sweet kiss with whispers of "I love you" floating between them.