A/N: I am so thrilled to see how many people have added this to their story alerts & favorites! I really feel honored to write for such a dedicated and talented fandom! I'm glad that you're liking the story, I really hope you like this final installment! Please read and review if you have time, they are seriously the best part of writing for me. I will be posting more fics on my livejournal, you can find me at lost-n-stereo there. Thanks for sticking with this story and here is the third and final chapter! Enjoy!
Puck doesn't know why he's nervous as fuck to meet up with Rachel.
He's been single again for months, and he's been with a few women since his divorce but this feels different. But with Rachel it's always been different so he's not really surprised. He gets up an hour before his alarm is set to go off and he's filled with nervous energy so he decides to go for a run to calm himself down. Puck likes to run, he blasts loud music from his iPod and it helps him relax. Today though, not so much. He isn't meeting Rachel until six and he wonders how in the fuck he's going to get through the day if he can't just calm down.
The day drags on but soon enough it's getting close to five and he's just coming out of the shower when his phone rings.
"Are you nervous?" Puck rolls his eyes but leave it to Santana to know what is going through his head even without seeing him.
"Fuck no." She laughs and he knows he wasn't convincing enough.
"Bullshit, I can hear you sweating through the phone." He really wishes she could see the glare he's shooting her right now. "I'm just busting your balls. I know that you consider her..." Her voice trailed and Puck raised an eyebrow. It wasn't often Santana didn't say what was on her mind.
"You know I consider her...what?" She sighed deeply.
"I dunno...the one that got away?" Puck wasn't sure what to say to that so he didn't say anything. "Look, just relax okay? She wants to see you, you want to talk to her, I know you do..." He couldn't really argue with that. "It's gonna be okay, Puck." He was becoming uncomfortable with this conversation.
"Jesus San...when did you grow a vagina?" Santana snorts and Puck smiles.
"I didn't...I'm just borrowing yours."
After pulling on jeans and a plaid button down Puck makes his way down to the coffee shop. He sees her before she sees him so he takes the minute to really look at her. She looks beautiful, of course, but there is something there that he didn't see the last time he saw her. She's in an animated conversation with the couple at the table next to her and it makes Puck smile. He used to give her shit all the time about how she could make friends anywhere with anyone. The girl loved to talk. He really looks at her and notices the sparkle is back in her eyes, the dark circles gone off her face. She must feel him in the room because she looks at him then and flashes a brilliant smile. He grins back and goes to join her at her table.
She jumps up and wraps him in a hug and it would surprise him if he didn't know her so well. Rachel could be emotional at times but she wasn't one to hold permanent grudges, so he knew the happenings of last October wouldn't be an issue.
"Noah! I'm so glad you came!" He was fighting off the urge to make an inappropriate comment and she could tell. "Wow...no sexual innuendo? You've grown up so much!" He laughs and takes the seat across from her.
"How did your appearance go?" He listens to her ramble on about the talk show and how the guy that was interviewing her had horrible breath. He laughs with her and it's all going so smoothly that he's wondering why he was nervous to begin with. It's Rachel, being around her was as normal as breathing, even after all these years. She stops talking though and he starts to get the feeling like the mood is about to change.
"Noah, I'm not sure if you're ready to talk about it..." He shrugs, knowing what she wants to say without her having to say it.
"Honestly, it's whatever at this point. We got married way to soon, we didn't even live together first. I dunno I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time." She just nods and sips her coffee, waiting for him to continue. He knows that she knows he will when he's ready. They sit in silence for a few minutes before Puck has to ask what he's wanted to for almost a year. "Rachel...why did you come to my house that night?" He doesn't even say it with an attitude, he honestly just wants to know what has been going on with her.
She takes a deep breath before she answers and he's sure there is going to be a lot of information coming his way in a matter of seconds. He's not disappointed.
"Noah, when Finn told me you were married the only thing I could think about was how bad I messed up. I thought about you every day, about what you said about me needing to work on myself. And I did, I needed that because I was young and selfish and I didn't think of the practical things like you did. It took me a long time to realize that not everything was going to go my way, and that included being with you. I always thought that we would just find each other again, but then I heard you were married and it was like nothing was important anymore. I actually called in sick to more than a few rehearsals and you know how important performing is to me. I called Santana, asked her where you were living and decided that I had to see you." She's quiet for a minute and Puck waits to see if she's going to continue. She doesn't so he figures he's safe to start talking.
"You waited five years, Rach. I was single for a long time and you didn't care until I wasn't single anymore." She looks taken back and he's curious as to what she's going to say to that.
"You're right."
Not what he was expecting.
"What do you mean, I'm right?" She laughs a little and Puck is reminded again of all the little things about her he used to love so much. That little giggle was one of them and he's missed it.
"I mean you're right. I was stupid, I should have come to you sooner. I wanted to, but there was always something holding me back. My show, some new relationship. When I heard you were married, it was like a lightbulb went off and I knew that I had waited too long."
Puck isn't really sure what to make of all this. He didn't expect to come here and hash out the past few years of their problems but he's glad that he has some insight to what she's been going through.
"Noah..." She lowers her head and Puck can't control himself when he puts his hand over hers on the table. "Could we...did I wait too long?"
His heart is pounding and he's not really sure what he's supposed to say right now. He's afraid to look at her, afraid that if he looks into her eyes all of his resolve will be gone.
"Rach..." He chances a look at her and she has tears in her eyes. Puck brushes his thumb over her fingers. "I am...not ready to get into something serious again right now." She nods quickly and he watches a tear fall down her cheek. "But...I miss being your friend. I miss you." Tears are falling down her face now and Puck stands up abruptly, pulling her up to so he can hug her. He would feel like an asshole hugging a girl in the middle of a coffee shop but he's been known to do stupider shit when it came to her.
"Noah, I miss you too. God, I miss you so much." He rests his head on top of hers and holds her closer. Her tiny arms wrap around his waist and he sighs as he hugs her tighter. "I'm so sorry, Noah. I'm sorry it took me so long to find you again." He pushes her back gently so he can look at her face.
"It's not important anymore Rachel. We need to leave the past exactly where it is because we can't change it. Okay?" She nods tearfully and he smiles as he wipes her cheek with his thumb. "Let's finish our coffee."
They promise to talk more as they say goodbye and Puck feels better than he has in a long time. He texts Santana on his way home, calls her a bitch when she calls him a pussy for hugging Rachel in front of a packed coffee shop.
Rachel starts texting him more often. He calls her for advice on his songwriting. They agree that being friends right now makes a lot of sense, and it feels good to have her back in his life.
Finn calls him one afternoon to ask if he wants to go to a bar with him, Santana and Rachel. Santana is back on dick apparently and has been sleeping in Finn's bed more nights than not, and Finn doesn't want Rachel to feel like the third wheel. Puck agrees because he doesn't see anything wrong with hanging out with his friends for a night.
What he doesn't expect, and he probably should have, is that Rachel looks fucking gorgeous for their night out. He wasn't aware they were dressing up but Rachel tells him Santana told her last minute that they were going all out for the evening. Puck's glad that Finn is dressed like him because it makes it a little less embarresing that he's just wearing jeans. Santana shows up in a really short red dress and Finn seems happy so that's good for him. Santana notices Puck's face when Rachel isn't looking and she elbows him in the side.
"Damn boy! Roll that tongue up before someone else notices!" He glares at her because he's sure this "going all out" thing was a way for her to get them back together. She's been bugging him for the past couple of months to take things further with Rachel. He wants to, things have been really good with her but he's a little scared to take things past being friends. She calls him a bitch when he tells her that and he flips her off. "Have fun with your hand tonight!" She yells it as Finn rolls his eyes and pulls her towards a pool table.
Rachel laughs as she walks up to Puck and she puts her hand on his arm. She's had a few drinks and she was always a handsy drunk. He looks down at her and can't help but lick his lips as he looks at what she's wearing. She has on a dark blue dress that is short and tight in all the right places. She blushes a little when she realizes he is checking her out.
"That's some dress there, Rach." She smiles shyly and runs her hand down her side, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles.
"Oh this old thing...had it for years." He smirks and nods his head as he puts his arm around her shoulders. He's flirting with her and she's flirting back so he thinks that maybe it is time to take things further. She leans into him as he leans down to ask her if she wants to go somewhere and talk. He's not even using a line on her, he legitimately wants to talk to her. The sly smile and nod she gives him makes him think maybe that's not what she has in mind.
Her leaning up to kiss him once they are outside definitely makes him think that she has something else on her mind. He's not going to let it go that far, not tonight. He hasn't had this girl in years and he wants everything to be perfect this time around. He doesn't even care about how much fun Santana will make fun of him once she hears that. When Rachel slips her tiny hand into his as they wait for their cab he realizes that he'll take whatever shit life throws at him, as long as he has this girl by his side.