The Circle Line Cruise was sold out for the entire day and the only cruise they could get tickets for the sunset one. They decided to buy those anyway, even if it was hours until evening now. Puck bought a hot dog and they sat on some scratchy grass in a small park, drinking their weights in water to keep hydrated. Quinn's pulse never really slowed down. She was continuously in state of panic and relief.

"I quit my job" she told Puck.

"Today?" he asked, his mouth full of hot dog and bread.

He coughed and she handed him the giant bottle of water. He swallowed his bite before she replied.

"Yes, today."
"Why?"

"I hated it, I told you."

"I know, but why right now?"
He was resting his upper body on his elbows, looking laid back in the grass. He still looked tired, hung-over. She wanted to relax beside him, but she couldn't. Her heart rate was too elevated and didn't know how to relax next to him anyway. Not yet.

"My boss made a pass at me" she replied.

"He did what?"
"My co-workers did it all the time. Mark, mostly. And I got used to it. They were all assholes but my boss… That was just too weird."
"Your co-workers did it all the time?"
She smiled at the look of surprise on his face.

"You've never been a woman in a male dominated field" she said.

"No" he said. "I can't say that I have."

"It wasn't always this bad" she explained. "It got worse when…"
"When?"
She bit her tongue. No, why was she biting her tongue? They had been making nice conversation last night. They were doing it today. All they wanted to be was friends. Blondes weren't his type anymore.

"When they found out that Henry and I broke up."

"Ah."

"They had this idea that all that was standing between me and them was him. That I was completely uninterested in dating them wasn't a possibility."

She watched him swallow down the last of his hot dog. His throat was tan and strong. His throat? She looked away. She wasn't going to stare at his throat.

"I guess my boss felt the same. That if I had once dated an older man, then why wouldn't I want to date another one?" she went on, mostly to distract herself.

"He thought that it was your type" Puck said sarcastically.

"Something like that."

"Well, I'm sorry they treated you like that" he said. "But this is great for me. I finally have someone to spend my days with."

"Someone to be a tourist with" she added.

He smiled.

"Yeah."

He passed her the water. She drank from it, just like he had, placed her lips where his had just been. The water was warm now.

"Five hours until the cruise" he said after checking his watch. "What do you want to do?"
"What do you want to do?" she asked back.

"Sleep" he said. "Just for a little while."

She nodded.

"Right, sorry. I woke you up."
"It's fine."

They moved into the shade under a tree. Quinn vowed to stay awake and have a look out for guards or security people. You weren't really supposed to sleep in these tiny took off his shirt and crumbled it up to use as a pillow under his head. After he fell asleep, she dared to look at him. It was all so strange. That he was here. That she wasn't at work. Or with Henry.

…

Eventually, she fell asleep too. It was the combination of a hung over, sleep deprivation and the excitement that made her sleepy. She lay down as far from him as she could and still remain the shade. When he woke her, the sun was setting.

"Hey" he was whispering, shaking her shoulder lightly. "Quinn, we need to go to harbor now."

"I'm awake" she mumbled.

"Good."

He handed her a bottle of coke. It was ice cold and wonderful.

"I got us some snacks for the boat ride too" he said.

"How long have you been awake?" she asked.

"A little while" he smiled.

"How long?"

"Two hours, give or take."
She groaned, sitting up and rubbing her face with her hands.

"Why didn't you wake me? We were supposed to do things."

"You looked tired" he said.

"Thanks" she replied tersely.

He gave him her hand and pulled her to feet. She felt disheveled. Wrinkled. Lost. Santana's white t-shirt was covered with grass stains.

"My back's stiff" she whined.

"I bet, you barely moved."

"How sad is it that I sleep better on a lawn than in a house?"

"Maybe it's because you share a room with Kitty."
She laughed.

"Kitty's nice."

"I know" he said. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know that you know" she teased. "Didn't you used to date her?"
"I think date is an exaggeration" he muttered.

"Sleep with?"

"Better."
She smiled at him. She tried not to picture them together. Just like she didn't try to picture him together with Santana, and Brittany, and making out with Rachel and… She decided not to go there.

"Did she get home okay?" she asked instead. "Kitty, I mean."

"I actually don't know" he confessed.

They began to walk to the pier, side by side.

"She was asleep in your bed. And you woke up in your bed. You must have noticed when she left."

"I didn't spoon her if that's what you're asking."

"It's not" she said.

"It's a big bed, you know. She probably left in the morning when I was asleep."

"It's not a very big bed" Quinn argued.

"What's your point, Quinn?" he asked.

"Nothing" she said, dropping it. "Nothing. I just wanted to make sure she's okay. I'll text her and ask."

There was a line on the dock, mostly couples, Quinn noticed. It was a sunset cruise so maybe she should have realized that earlier. Had he? No, probably not. They were both crappy tourists.

"Let's buy t-shirts like that" Puck whispered in her ear, pointing discreetly at the t-shirts with I HEART NY prints on them that at least 50 % of the crowd was wearing.

"And hats" Quinn added.

"Anything with that logo on it" he agreed.

"Santana will disown us."
"That's half the fun."

…

It was like a scene in a cheesy movie. The sun was setting and turning the sky pink. The skyline was black in contrast to the pastel. The boat was supplying the passengers with a soundtrack from Absolute Love. I will always love you had already played twice. Couples kissed. Some people had even brought their own wine. Quinn and Puck ate chips and drank coke. She read aloud from some guide book app she had downloaded to her phone.

"This building was almost burnt down in 1892" she said and pointed at a skyscraper that looked like every other building around it.

"Interesting" he remarked.

"I thought you wanted to be a tourist."

"Sorry, I want that. I just thought that there would be guide or something. I mean, a real guide."

She turned off her phone and stuffed it into her bag.

"Maybe it's too unromantic to hear about the extinction of Native Americans during date night."
"Probably."

"I didn't know this was the date cruise."

"Neither did I."

They were quiet for a little while. Puck couldn't help to think that they had dated, in various intervals and during different times in their lives. And this was the most date-like thing they had ever been to. Back in High School, she had been ashamed of him and of her own pregnancy and they had spent most of time in his truck. After High School, they had been too poor and too in love to want to spend time outside her bedroom.

"Don't tell me he is going to propose" she huffed suddenly.

Puck looked over. A man was crouching on his knee, pulling out a box and opening in front of a lady in a red dress. She cried. People clapped when she said yes. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"You're such a cynic" he teased her.

"It's inconsiderate to propose in front of a hundred other people. How are you supposed to say no?"

"Good point, I never thought of that."
"You haven't?"

"No, but on the other hand, I haven't been proposed to as much as you have."

She scoffed.

"I haven't been proposed to."
"You haven't? By Sam? Like three months after the birth of our baby? While I was in juvie?"
She rolled her eyes again.

"That was a promise ring kind of thing."

"Now you tell me? I punched Sam for nothing?"

"Probably" she replied. "Or maybe not. We did break up later."

"Wasn't that because you cheated on him with Finn?"

She punched his shoulder.

"Don't say it like that. I sound like a whore."
"You got paid for sleeping with Finn?"
"Ugh. Just shut up."

He couldn't. It was so easy to talk to her now. About anything. About the past, anyway. Their past. Talking to her like this was addicting. He wanted to do it more. It was better than sex with all those girls in Detroit.

"Promise that you never propose to anyone in front a crowd" she said. "That's all I ask."
"I promise."

"Don't propose at all" she went on. "Marriage is an ancient patriarchal institution."

"You really think so?"

He expected her to reply instantly with a snide remark but she didn't. She frowned, as if she was thinking hard.

"I don't know" she said. "I don't know if that's my opinion or…"

"Henry's?"

"Yes."

"That must be confusing."

"Very."

She was quiet for some time. They watched the newly engaged couple make out. They ate chips. They listened to Bed of Roses.

"I think it's mine" she said finally. "Henry was never a big feminist. He was against marriage but not because of that reason. I think."

"Why was he against it then?"

"Probably because his failed."

"Oh, right."
She went to the trashcan to get rid of the empty bottles and bags. The back of her t-shirt was green with grass stains. He smiled at that. He liked the disheveled Quinn. It reminded him of the lake house.

"Sorry" she said when she came back. "I shouldn't have brought up Henry. It's weird, I know."

"It doesn't feel that weird" he said.

"Really?"

"I don't think so."
"Okay."

…

"Bye" she said.

"I had a great time" he said, smiling.

"Me too. What are you doing tomorrow?"
"Don't you have to go into work at all?"

"I don't want to."

"Okay. What do you want to do?"
She shrugged.

"Buy souvenirs" she said.

"Yes" he agreed.

"And go somewhere with air conditioning."
He smiled.

"A museum?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Yes. Let's meet somewhere."

"How about Time Square?"

"Perfect. What time?"
"Ten?"
She nodded.

"Bye" she said again.

"Bye" he said.

He was taking the subway back to Brooklyn and she was walking back to Kitty's room. It wasn't far and she needed to clear her head.

"See you tomorrow" he said.

She didn't know if she was supposed to hug him good-bye. It was too soon, probably. They hadn't really touched since the kiss good-bye on Rachel's drive way. She hovered awkwardly in front of him.

"See you" she echoed.

He left. No hug. That was probably for the best. It was too soon. And she felt dirty and sweaty. She left the pier too. Plugging in her earplugs and listening to music as she walked block after block. It hadn't been weird talking, they had agreed on it. Not even about Henry. During the week at the lake house, it had been weird to talk about him and now it wasn't. What had changed? She knew. Puck wasn't in love with her anymore and therefore he wasn't jealous. And she wasn't in love with either of them. It wasn't strange after all. They were both less emotional now. It was a good thing.

…

"I still think it's weird that you've never been here" he said.

She shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess."

She wearing a tank top with the Empire State Building on it and a cap with that lame I HEART NY logo. It was like seeing her dressed up for glee performances in High School. She looked so completely different from her normal self. Not that he looked normal either with his State of Liberty t-shirt.

"But it's MoMa, it's art. Don't you like art?"

"Why do you think I like art?" she asked.

"I don't know. You seem like the person who likes art."
"I never even took art history in college. All my friends did. I chose something lame and difficult instead."

Puck liked the art museum because it was cool. Almost cold, even. The art was… weird. Modern, Quinn had reminded him. He didn't get it but that was okay. It was part of experience.

"What was the point of living in this city if you never saw it?" he asked.

"There was no point" she replied. "I realized that. That's why I'm here now, remember?"
Her phone rang sometimes. She never answered. He figured it was her boss or someone from work. It probably wasn't Henry. Why would he be calling her? They were broken up.

"Do you what else I want to do?"
"No" he said. "What?"
"Go see some ballet. I love ballet. Did you know that?"
"Yeah" he smiled. "I've seen those pictures of you in a leotard."

She laughed.

"I wanted to dance Swan Lake back then, be a ballerina. That's a good dream. Corporate law? Not so much."

"A bit more realistic perhaps" he noted.

"Probably. But who wants to be realistic all the time?"
"I thought you did."
"Yes" she agreed. "I did. Not now."
"What are you going to do now then? Go back to school?"
She turned to smile at him. God, that cap was atrocious. She wasn't though. She could never be anything but beautiful.

"I'm going to call and see if there are tickets for ballet tonight."

"Good life plan."
"I thought so."

They walked around some more, looking at pieces of art Puck didn't understand.

"Are you bored?" she asked.

"No" he lied.

"You are. Okay, you pick the next activity."
"Lunch" he suggested.

They found a small Italian place and ate lasagna among men in suits. Quinn managed to get two tickets to the ballet show that night. They sat the table and talked until the waitress handed them their bill and impatiently waited for their table to clear.

"Does your mother know that you quit your job?" he asked as they left the restaurant.

"No" Quinn replied. "But I don't really tell her things."
"Anything?"
"I haven't told her about me and Henry yet."
"You haven't?"
"No."
"Why not? Will she be disappointed?"
Quinn snorted.

"No, she'll be ecstatic. And about the job too. She'll tell me about lawyer jobs in Lima and set me up with some clean cut Lima man."

"She wants you to move home?"
"Yes" Quinn said. "But mostly, she wants me to settle down and give her grandkids."
"Really?"

She nodded.

"She thinks I'm too old already."

They decided to go back to Puck's apartment to rest before the show. The heat was really exhausting. The back of his shirt was wet with sweat.

"Why didn't you have kids with Henry?"

She snorted again.

"Henry already had kids."

"Well, so do you."
"Good point."
"Sorry, I shouldn't have brought him up" he apologized.

"I brought him up" she corrected him with a smile. "And it's fine. Henry didn't want more kids. He had already done the whole kids and family thing when he met me."

"And you were okay with that?"
He just couldn't help himself. He pressed on and on. Testing the limits.

"I was okay with it for a long time" she said. "Years and years. Thought it was what I wanted too."
"But?" he asked.

"We broke up."

"Because of that?"
"Amongst other things."

He stopped himself. No further now. They got on the subway. When they got home, they both took a shower and changed out of their New York outfits.

…

In Quinn's world, going to the ballet was a black tie event. Her father had always worn a suit and her mother a foot length dress when they had driven to Columbus to watch the company when Quinn was little. Puck didn't have a suit with him and Santana didn't have a single nice enough dress in her closet for Quinn to borrow (the long dresses she had were all sheer over the bust or too low cut for the ballet.) So instead, they dressed their best. Quinn found a white dress in the closet that probably something that Rachel had left behind since it almost had a crew neck. Puck ironed his only white shirt. She wanted to tell him that he had cleaned up nicely but she decided that that was overstepping.

"You think they'll let us in?" he asked nervously, closing the buttons.

"Yes" she replied. "I bet mostly tourists go to this anyway. And they don't have suits with them either."
Santana was still out when they left. They took the subway again and Quinn had to stand the entire ride since she was scared that the seat would make her white dress dirty. Puck stood too, out of solidarity.

"I've never been to ballet" he said.

"It's lovely."

"Like modern art?"

She laughed.

"No, better than that. There's actually a story and if you don't get it, you can buy a program."
Their seats were terrible. She hadn't expected anything else since she had booked last minute but still. She had to lean forward to see the entire stage. Nevertheless, she became transfixed. It wasn't Swan Lake, it was Sleeping Beauty but it was just as beautiful. She recognized every tone of the music and every move of the dancers. She had never danced like that of course, she had quit ballet when she was fourteen, but she had done the kids' version of it.

"Are you crying?" Puck whispered in her ear.

"No" she lied.

"Should I be crying too?"
She smiled at him. He wasn't leaning forward. He seemed content seeing only half the dancers. Oh well, she would make it up to him. They could go to a baseball game of something tomorrow. Tomorrow. Wow. Were they going to spend three days in a row together?

"I wish I could have seen you dance" he said as they left their seats.

Quinn's eyes were still damp. She hoped that she didn't mascara running down her cheeks.

"I wasn't this good" she said. "It wasn't like I gave up the opportunity to be a star. I was average, more or less."
"Yeah, but still. You seem to really love it."

"Yeah."
They stood in a line to get out of the theatre for a long time. People moved so slowly, probably because the crowd consisted mostly of people over eighty.

"This has been the most cultural day of my life" Puck said.

"Mine too. At least in years."

She bought a program on the way out, to keep as a memory. If she got another job and an income, she would go the ballet more often, she vowed to herself. Rachel would probably go with her.

"You sick of me yet?" he asked her.

"Nope."
"Good thing that we fought for eight years" he grinned. "So much time to make up for."

"Yes" she agreed, nudging his side. "I'm really glad we didn't speak for almost a decade."

…

They didn't go to baseball game the next day. Actually, Puck didn't see Quinn all day. She had been called into work, to figure things out with her boss, she texted him to say. He tried not to be disappointed and failed. Santana took the morning off and they ate breakfast at a diner not far from the apartment.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were spending two whole days with Quinn?" she asked, pointing her fork at him.

"Because you're never around" he countered.

"I'm around" she muttered. "I just have a lot to do before I go to LA again."

"I know" he said.

"You could have texted me and told me that you were spending time with your ex again."

"She's my friend too."

Santana laughed. Not kindly. She pointed at him with her fork again.

"Friends? Yeah, right."

"Don't be weird about this" he sighed. "She quit her job, I'm unemployed, neither of us know this city. It's not that strange."

Santana raised her eyebrows but let it go. Puck almost wished that she hadn't. He wanted to talk about it more. Maybe it was strange. A few weeks ago, they had been acting like a couple and now they were strictly friends. Back then, she had had a boyfriend, now she didn't.

"Does she know that you love her?"

"Yes" he said.

"Does she?"

"I told her at Rachel's, remember? She told me she loved me too."

"Yet she went back to Henry."

"What's your point, San?"
He felt irritated. He wished that she really had dropped it. Talking about it made it weird. God, this was fucked up.

"Maybe you should… ease into being friends" Santana suggested.

"I don't believe you" he sighed. "When I doubt her, you tell me that everything will be fine but when it's actually going fine, you tell me to back off?"
She shrugged.

"Hey, it's not easy being the friend" she retorted. "I don't always know what to say."

"Maybe choose a point of view and stick to it" he muttered.

"I'll do my best."

"Thanks. I'll do my best too."

"To do what? Stop being in love with her? Make her fall in love with you?"
"No. I don't know. I'll try and not draw any conclusions from this. It's just… nice, you know. We've never been friends. It's nice trying it out."

"I bet" Santana said and her voice was softer now. "Hey, sorry that I'm never around."

"It's fine. I hate that you're going to LA though. I'll be lonely."

"You should try to find a job."

"I know. I will."

"When?"

"Soon."

They finished their breakfast and Santana took a cab to an audition. Puck went out for a run. It was stupid since it was almost a hundred degrees outside but he had to do something. He was bored. More bored than he had been two days ago.

…

The next morning, she was there again. Wearing her own clothes (not Santana's) and carrying breakfast in brown paper bag. They ate sitting side by side on his bed.

"Did you have a good day yesterday?" he asked.

"No" she replied. "I had to sign a bunch of contracts since I'm resigning. I hate contracts. I hate papers."

"But you're out now?"
"Yes. Unemployed. With student loans. My life is at its peak."

"You'll work it out. You'll find another job. Didn't you tell me once that you wanted to be women's rights lawyer?"

She blinked at him.

"You remember that?"

"Sure."

He blushed. He wasn't supposed to remember things like that. If they were just friends, that was.

"Hey, I forgot to ask you" she said. "How's your shoulder?"
He raised his arm and flexed in front of her.

"Perfect."

"Perfect? Did you go see that physical therapist?"
"Well, no."
"No?"
"It stopped hurting and I had some catching up to do at work and…"

"Puck!"

"What? Look at it! It looks perfect."
She rolled her eyes at him and stole the last piece of donut from his paper plate. She had sugar around her mouth. She licked it off. He looked away. Friends, he thought. Friends, friends, friends.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked.

"It's your turn to choose" she replied. "I picked the ballet."

"Okay" he said. "Let's… go to Central Park."

"Alright."

They did. Quinn read from the guidebook app as they wandered slowly around. They rested on benches in the shade and drank lemonade to stay rehydrated. Puck wished from some rain. He hadn't done that ever in his life before.

"We could go to the zoo" he suggested.

"I hate zoos" Quinn replied. "They're depressing."

"Are they?"

"Could you imagine being locked up like that? It's horrible. I read something about the psychological trauma inflicted by…"

She trailed off. Her Henry face. Puck hated her Henry face almost as much as he hated Henry.

"Something Henry told you?" he asked jovially.

"Yes" she said. "He was the one who was against zoos, not me."

She looked sad. He wanted to put his around her shoulders but it was too hot and too risky. He didn't want to overstep.

"Don't pout" he said softly.

"I don't know which thoughts are my own anymore. He's infiltrated my mind."

"Living with someone for years can do that."

"What do you know?" she asked, nudging his arm. "Who have you lived with?"
"I was in the air force, Quinn. I spent 24 hours a day with the same guys. In the end, I couldn't remember who I was either."
"Really?" she asked.

"Really" he confirmed. "For years after I kept telling this anecdote about embarrassing myself on some date with a girl, until, just a year or two ago, I realized that it didn't even happen to me. It was McClair's story. I just heard it so many times that I thought that I was mine. Crazy, right?"

She laughed. Her face was turning pink. They had been too much in the sun. She didn't have the complexion for it. They should have brought sunscreen.

"That is crazy" she said.

They sat down on yet another bench. Puck handed her the last of the water they had bought only an hour ago. She finished it.

"Even if it was Henry's opinion about the zoo, it doesn't mean that it can't be yours too" he said.

"Yeah, I guess so" she said.

"Zoos are pretty depressing."

"They really are."

…

They drank wine in the middle of day just because they could. Neither of them had ever been unemployed before. Puck had a feeling that he could probably get a job here, as Santana had once told him, there was need for mechanics in New York too. The problem was that he didn't want to. He didn't want to go back to fixing cars. He was sick of it. And he didn't want to get a job before Quinn did. He had a feeling that the opportunity to see this much of her was one he couldn't afford to lose. It was now or never.