Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.
A/N: I edited this chapter, so all mistakes are mine.
A/N2: This story is mostly AU after Mash-up (1x08), but with some of the topics discussed in the later episodes and music used, I may sneak in a conversation, cover the same topic, or use the same song, but I will put my own twist on it and may use some of the music.
A/N3: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D
...
As Puck headed upstairs, the rest in the living room sat silently for a moment, the only real sound was Quinn's sobbing against Finn's chest. Santana's reasons, or comments seemed to be directed to Finn, Quinn, Puck and Rachel, but the rest of the club also felt like they had been hit with an invisible slushy from the harsh things Santana said.
Mercedes got up from where she had been and moved to to sit on the arm of the chair by where Finn and Quinn were. She rested her hand on the blond's shoulder, rubbing gently, "it's going to be okay, Quinn, what she said hurt, but Rachel's right, you deserve better friends than Santana and you have them in us," she assured her.
Finn smiled weakly at Mercedes, "she's right, Q," he murmured.
Quinn calmed down a bit and sat up, wiping her eyes and feeling embarrassed that she had started crying like that in front of everyone, but she didn't have a choice. What Santana said hurt, but what pissed Quinn off the most was she felt something coming, but she really appreciated the way Rachel stood up to Santana for them. "Thanks," Quinn said softly, reaching to pick up a tissue, "you're right, it hurt a lot, but I think I knew something like this could happen," she admitted wiping her eyes.
"How could you have seen this coming?" Kurt asked confused.
The blond Cheerio took a deep breath, "things haven't been the same since the Cheerios went to Nationals," she explained.
"I have seen the looks from her, but I didn't think she was that pissed about Puck and Rachel together or you and Rachel being friends," Brittany said softly from across the room, at the moment unsure how to feel; upset or angry, or a mix of both.
"You're allowed to have more than one best friend, Quinn," Mercedes said, "and apparently Santana didn't understand that."
Quinn nodded, "I know. A year ago I would not have thought about Rachel and I being best friends, but we are, or at least she is to me, I don't know her exact feelings, but after she just stood up to Santana like that, I think she feels the same way."
"I do," Rachel agreed, having come down the stairs hearing Quinn's last comment. "Last year, at this time, I couldn't imagine us being best friends, but we are," she said with a smile, "and I wouldn't change a thing."
As Rachel and Puck, right behind her, reached the group, Quinn stood up and the two girls shared a hug, both now a lot calmer than they had been moments before. "Neither would I," Quinn replied as they pulled away.
Rachel smiled, then looked around, "but I'm concerned that you all will blame us for her leaving."
"She left and it sucks, but I'd never blame any of you for her leaving," Brittany said, standing up and moving over to give them each a hug.
The rest of the group, even Will and Deborah, remained silently, no one really needing to say much else, since they agreed with Brittany and the last thing they wanted to do was talk more about it because it could upset them again; it was a tough way to end a friendship; the way Santana had, but it seemed like everyone would be just fine, once the shock wore off.
...
Ethan missed all the 'action', but when he got home and came over, they gave him an abridged version of what Santana said and what had happened after and he was just as shocked as everyone else was.
They ended up ordering pizza and the club members had dinner together, needing some bonding time with their friends, even if the next day they'd be over around the same time to celebrate Puck's eighteenth birthday.
After dinner they slowly started to leave until Quinn, Finn and Jessica were left, aside from those who lived there or across the street.
"You're not walking home alone," Puck said looking at his cousin.
"Why not? It's still daylight out," she motioned outside.
"Because who knows what crazy psychos are out there," he replied, "we," he motioned to Finn, Quinn, himself and Rachel, "will go with you. Unless dad wants to come with his gun," he added with a grin.
Ethan laughed, "uh, no, I'm off duty, but I think you'll be just fine. I do agree you shouldn't be walking home alone, though," he admitted.
Jessica nodded in defeat, "alright. I should get home soon," she replied.
"We're ready to go, if you want to leave now," Quinn said standing up.
"Do you guys mind watching Abby while we walk her home?" Puck asked.
"No we don't," Deborah replied as everyone stood up to say 'goodnight' to those leaving.
As Finn and Quinn gathered their things, both having gone with someone else to practice that day, the five left the house, walking down their street, past the Hudson's house and towards the area a few minutes away where the other Puckerman's house was. Walking up to the two-story house, they noticed Ben and Susan in the front doing yard work.
"Hey Uncle Ben, Aunt Susan," Puck said, nodding at them.
They heard Puck's voice before seeing them, but both looked up, "oh hey kids," Ben greeted.
"Hey Mr. Puckerman," Finn commented.
Ben laughed, "you can call me Ben, Finn," he replied.
"Oh alright," Finn nodded, shifting his bag on his shoulder.
"Hey mom, hey dad," Jessica moved towards her dad, kissing him on the cheek, "so I hear you told off some kid at practice. Starting early, huh? Usually you don't have to do that until the third day," she teased.
"Ha ha," Ben laughed standing up, "I had my reasons," he admitted, curiously looking at why all of them were there, "um, not that I don't mind the visit, but everything okay?"
Puck laughed, "yeah, I just didn't want Jessica to walk home alone and Finn and Quinn were heading home."
"Did you guys have a successful meeting?" Susan asked walking over to them, knowing that's why Jessica had gone over in the first place.
Ben raised a curious eyebrow at his daughter, "meeting?"
"I joined the Glee Club," she replied, "and we had a meeting at Rachel and Noah's house, well, it was more of a, um," she glanced at Quinn and Rachel, not sure how to explain.
"One of our former members abruptly moved over the summer without telling anyone, so we wanted to contact her and find out why she never said anything and she pointed out some reasons why she chose to encourage her parents to move," Rachel explained vaguely.
"Former member, as in someone I thought was a friend, but apparently not," Quinn added softly.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Ben commented, "I take it that it didn't end well," He replied.
Puck shrugged, "bitter ex," he replied.
"I see," Ben nodded, gathering up the tools he had been using; it was starting to get dark, so they wouldn't be able to be outside much longer.
Needing to get home, the four teens waved at Puck's aunt, uncle and cousin and they left, walking back the way they'd come and once they were about to the Hudson's, Quinn slipped her arm around Rachel's shoulders, even if she and Puck were walking hand-in-hand, "I'm sorry about what Santana said about your guys," she said softly.
Rachel shook her head, "don't be apologizing for what she said. Sure it hurt, but as Noah just said, she's a bitter ex-girlfriend, who wants to hurt me," she explained, slipping her arm around the girls back giving her a partial hug.
Quinn nodded, "I feel bad for Brittany, too. I don't think Santana was as close to her, but she still seemed hurt."
"Yeah, but after our conversation when I came back downstairs, she seemed to cheer up. Maybe you should call her after you get inside," Rachel suggested, as they paused outside the house.
"I will," she agreed, "I was going to anyway. I just wish I had a car, so I didn't feel so stranded sometimes," she sighed.
This wasn't the first time Quinn had complained about missing her car. Since her parents kicked her out, they made her give up her car, so she had spent almost a year depending on Rachel, her dads, Puck, Finn or anyone else for rides when she wanted to go somewhere, and she hated not being able to have that ability to just go somewhere without having to ask someone for a ride.
"Burt works on cars, maybe we could talk to him and see if he knows someone who is selling their car," Finn suggested.
"Yeah, but what money am I going to pay for it with?" She asked, "I'm not even eighteen for another month, so I couldn't even cosign on one," she added. "I need money to pay bills and I've applied, but not many people are hiring right now, but I am hoping by the end of September I could get hired, even if it's just temporary for the holiday season rush."
"Where have you applied?" Rachel asked curiously.
"Several coffee stands, Barnes & Noble, some places in the mall, a few stores in town," she sighed, "but they're either not hiring or don't want to hire someone who can only work the weekend. I'm still looking though," she finished wanting to stop talking about it.
Seeing she was trying to change the subject, the four said 'goodnight' with hugs before Finn and Quinn went into their house and Rachel and Puck continued home, just two houses down from them. Going inside their house, they found Deborah had already given Abby a bath to help them out.
"Thanks mom, you didn't have to do that," Puck said, seeing Abby was all clean and in her pajamas already.
"You're welcome and I know I didn't have to, but after the day you guys had, I figured you might want to relax, so this is one less thing you'd have to do," she explained.
"We have had an emotional day," Rachel admitted, "thank you," she said taking Abby from her.
Deborah nodded, "you're welcome," she said again, this time glancing into the living room to see Ethan leaning back on the couch, his feet up on the coffee table half asleep, while Arin was watching TV, "I think I should probably get them home before your dad falls asleep," she laughed lightly.
"I'm not asleep," Ethan muttered, opening his eyes, "just relaxing."
Arin turned off the TV when the show she was watching was over and Deborah, Ethan and Arin soon were saying 'goodnight' and heading home, leaving Puck and Rachel in the living room with Abby.
Rachel glanced at the time and saw that it was eight, "think we should put Abby down now or wait?" She asked him.
"She's starting to look tired," he admitted, "she usually goes to sleep pretty quick after her bath, so I don't see why not," he replied guiding her upstairs.
Rachel kissed Abby's forehead, "goodnight sweetheart, mommy loves you," she murmured.
Puck smiled and took Abby from Rachel, hugging and kissing his daughter gently, "love you, baby girl," he whispered, gently laying her down in her crib and turning on her mobile.
The two stayed by her crib for a moment, watching her slowly drift off to sleep, her arms and legs relaxing and soon her eyes were closed and she was breathing evenly, so they stepped out of the nursery and closed the door, being careful not to make a sound.
"We should really clean up the downstairs, I know we kind of did, but I don't want to wake up in the morning and have to do it. I have other things to do tomorrow," she explained.
Puck eyed her curiously, "other things?" He followed her downstairs and helped her pick up some of the leftover water bottles and soda cans that were still in the living room, along with putting chairs back where they went.
"I have some shopping to do and Arin and Jessica are going to help me while you, Finn, mom and Quinn are at practice and our dads are at work," she replied.
"You don't have to go shopping for a birthday present for me," he told her, "I got all I want already," he admitted.
"Birthday? Is that tomorrow?" She asked playfully, "I thought it was next Tuesday."
His eyes widened as he walked over and pulled her towards him gently, "you forgot my birthday?"
Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss, "never," she whispered, "I know it's tomorrow," she clarified.
"Good," he held her close, "and you know what I really want to do right now?" He asked and at her shaking her head 'no', he grinned, leaning forward to whisper in her ear, "make love to my girlfriend before I become an adult."
Rachel blushed, "you know nothing will change just because you become an adult and I'm going to be only seventeen in two weeks, right?" She asked softly, "there are no issues about it."
His hands moved down to rest on her hips, "I know, but I still want tonight to be special," he murmured, "and tomorrow night."
"Every night with you is special, Noah," Rachel responded, "but I do understand what you're saying," she added, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips.
...
August 17, 2010 - Puck's 18th Birthday
Rachel woke up and looked at the clock, seeing it was just after seven. She didn't want to get up, but she knew they'd have to soon, so she sighed and pushed herself up a little, laying over him a little more and kissed him, "Noah," she murmured.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up on him, "not getting up."
"Happy Birthday," she whispered.
"Thanks, I think," he admitted, reluctantly opening his eyes.
"Do you feel any different?" She asked curiously.
"Define different," he replied.
"You know, now that you're eighteen and an adult, do you feel different?"
He grinned, "oh, I thought you were talking about something else." Seeing her blush, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "no, I don't feel any different," he replied honestly, his hands resting on her bare back.
"Not even a little?" She nipped at the skin on his chest before pressing kisses along his jawline until her lips met his.
Snaking his hand up her body, he continued the kiss as he ran his hand through her hair, but needed to catch his breath, "not really, but this is different," he admitted, "I miss waking up and being able to do this," he whispered.
"I miss this, too," she agreed, settling her head against his chest, "when parents say they don't have time to spend with each other, I never believed it, I mean you live in the same house, how can you not? But now being a mom, I see what they mean. It's tough, but these few moments together are what we cherish."
"They are," he nodded.
...
Puck and Rachel were able to get up and shower before Abby woke and once she was up, Puck took care of her while Rachel made breakfast; she was getting pretty good at cooking; Deborah was helping her a lot, showing her things she didn't know.
David and Alan admitted over the summer that they both lacked the talent to cook; they could do a few meals, simple ones, but with their busy work schedules and Rachel's classes when she was younger, fast food seemed the easiest because they could eat on the go, so Rachel never had much of a chance to watch them or help them cook, but with Deborah's help, she was slowly picking up skills in the kitchen.
"Great breakfast babe," Puck complimented her as he set his plate in the sink and kissed her on the lips, "you're doing great."
She smiled, "thank you. I'm trying," she admitted.
"I know and I see that," he replied glancing at the clock, "I better go grab a change of clothes to take to practice," he said.
Rachel nodded, "okay. Is Finn coming over?"
"No, he said yesterday he'd drive Quinn. I'd go with mom, but we don't know if practice's will be over early or late," he explained.
"Late?" Her eyes widened with worry, "please tell your uncle that you need to be home by two-thirty because you've got family coming for your party," she begged, not realizing that there was a chance practice might run late.
"He knows," he assured her, "but I'll tell him again."
She relaxed a little and nodded, "because I don't know what time mom will get home and she's going to help me put some things together, even though she left me lists and recipes, I'm just not that talented yet and I just can't entertain an entire house of family plus everything else," she murmured.
Puck kissed her, "I get it, babe. I promise I'll be home as soon as I can and you know mom's not going to leave you hanging. I'm sure Aunt Susan and Hannah will come down early, so she can help, too," he assured her, giving her a tight hug.
"I just want today to be perfect. You don't turn eighteen again," she replied as they pulled away.
"It already is perfect," he smiled, "I've got the girl I'm gonna spend the rest of my life with, we have beautiful baby girl, my parents are back together, it's awesome," he explained.
...
By nine-fifteen, Deborah came over to the house with Arin, but didn't stay long; she talked to them for a bit, but soon the mother and son left to go to their practices, leaving Arin and Rachel at the house with Abby. Arin helped Rachel get Abby ready for their shopping trip and once she was, with list in hand, they left and went to pick up Jessica.
With Jessica and Arin's help, Rachel had a successful shopping trip, getting everything they needed for the day. Some of the things that Rachel was unfamiliar with, Arin or Jessica was, so it worked out and by noon they were arriving back at home, carrying Abby and the groceries in, putting away the cold stuff and sorting out the rest.
The only thing that Rachel was depending on someone else for was the cake. Carole, Finn's mom, has worked in a bakery in town for many years and is a cake decorator. She made the cake for Deborah and Ethan's birthday, also made their wedding cake and she promised Rachel that the cake would be 'awesome' and not to worry about it, so Rachel was leaving it up to her, and she trusted her, remembering the cakes she'd made in the past.
The three girls started working on the recipes Deborah had given Rachel, making the pasta, cutting up vegetables and other details, so when Deborah got there, she could help put things together.
Susan, Jessica's mom, and Hannah, Jessica's little sister, came over about one, and once Hannah got there, she and Arin went to watch movies in the living room, since Rachel wouldn't let them go over to the other house.
Because of the amount of people who would be there, they were going to stay outside, so after the food was prepared enough, they started taking extra chairs into the backyard to set up for the party.
By one-thirty, Deborah and Quinn got there, Deborah had ended practice at one, so Quinn came home with her and went to change, and then Tina, Mercedes, Artie, Travis and Will were the first to arrive that weren't family, followed by Mandy and Brittany once they had gone home to change.
The party didn't start officially until three, but the day before Rachel had told their friends that they were welcome to come over anytime after one, since she'd be there and didn't mind the company. Because it was a weekday, unfortunately Ethan's siblings couldn't make it down, but their oldest kids would be coming down and so would his mom.
Just after two, Puck arrived and found those who were there in the backyard, Mandy, Travis, Brittany, Mercedes, Tina, Artie, Will, Hannah and Arin, and passed on that the rest of the Glee guys should be there soon, and moved into the kitchen to find his mom, Quinn, Rachel, Carole, Susan and Jessica, "hey ladies," he smiled, walking right up to Rachel and slipping his arms around her from behind, while she was standing at a counter.
Rachel put the spoons she had in her hands down and turned around, "welcome home, Noah," she smiled kissing him, "happy birthday."
"Thank you," he whispered, pressing another kiss to her lips, this time letting it linger a moment longer before slowly pulling back, "it smells great in here," he complimented, turning a little to look around, "you've all been busy."
"...I'm not telling you how to drive, but you could have at least gone a few miles an hour over the speed limit," a male voice said, filtering into the kitchen from outside.
"I'm not going to get a ticket just because you're impatient, Kevin!" A female voice exclaimed.
"Must be Kevin and Kelly," Puck laughed, pulling from his girlfriend to go outside to see that his cousins, Kevin and Kelly, had just arrived, along with his other cousins Rich, Laura, Logan and his grandma Orla. Kevin and Kelly are Kegan's oldest kids, and she's Ethan's oldest sister, then Rich, officially Richard, is Brianna's oldest son and Laura and Logan are Brian's oldest kids, the twins. "Hey now, not fighting on my birthday," Puck teased.
"Noah!" Laura and Kelly rushed right over to him and hugged him, "happy birthday!"
"Thanks," he smiled, "have a good drive?"
"It was perfect, at the speed limit," Kelly, the same age as Jessica and Rachel, said, throwing a glare to her older brother Kevin.
"That's all I've heard for the last hour," Orla commented walking over to her grandson, "it's wonderful to finally get to spend a birthday with you," she said, trying not to cry as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
Puck returned her hug, "I agree, grandma," he admitted.
"Come on, grandma, no crying," Kelly said, "you promised."
"I can't help it," she admitted, "it's just been an emotional few months and I'm so glad to finally know all my grandkids," she smiled.
"And mom and dad are trying for number three so you'll probably have another one soon," Puck grinned, looking around nervously to make sure his mom wasn't around, knowing his dad wasn't there yet.
Orla's eyes widened, "really? Where is your mother?" She asked with a grin.
"In the kitchen," he motioned inside.
The older woman dashed off into the house, while Puck greeted the guys, "hey guys what's up?" He asked curiously.
Kevin and Rich hugged their cousin, "before I forget and mom will kill me if I do, we'd like you and Rachel to come over for dinner Saturday night while you guys are in town," Rich said.
Puck laughed lightly, but nodded, "sounds good to me, but I'll have to ask Rachel," he said.
"Mind if I ask? Mom's expecting a call soon," Rich said hopeful.
He motioned inside, "yeah, go for it. Tell her I'm fine with it," he added.
Rich nodded his thanks and headed inside the house and that's when he had a chance to look at Logan's t-shirt, "hey man, nice shirt. Are you looking for a fight?" He laughed lightly.
"What? You guys don't play us, right?" Logan looked at his t-shirt, which was a football one from his high school, Cleveland High School, but it said 'Cleveland High School Football - State Champions 2009-2010'. "We won state last year; beat Dayton by a field goal," he grinned.
"I've heard. Do you happen to know who their coach was? He's not coaching there anymore, by the way."
"No, I don't," Logan shook his head, "should I?"
"Me," Ben said from behind Logan, "didn't know you played football, Logan," he added.
Logan whipped around and his eyes widened in shock, "um, yeah, I, uh, sorry?" He bit his lip, unsure just how he'd act.
Ben walked towards him, "you guys played a good game," he laughed lightly, seeing how nervous he was and held out his hand.
At his laugh, Logan relaxed and shook his hand, "thanks, so did you guys. So you're not coaching there anymore?" He asked.
"Nope," Ben shook his head, "coaching spot opened up at McKinley, so it was time to come home," he smiled.
"What happened to your old coach?" Logan asked curiously.
"It's a long story," Puck muttered, glancing up to see Matt, Mike, Kurt, Burt and Finn walking into the backyard, "and probably not a good conversation to have today," he added.
Logan eyed his cousin, but nodded, "um, alright, later is fine, too," he shrugged.
Puck greeted his uncle and then the new arrivals, trying to move around to talk to everyone, considering that he was the reason why they were there.
Ben and Deborah's sister Carmel came up from Columbus and she brought Puck, Arin, Jessica and Hannah's cousins Jacob, who was starting tenth grade, and David who was starting sixth. Her husband couldn't come, because he had to work and since it was a weekday, it didn't work into his schedule.
Mrs. Morgan and Emma arrived just before three and now the only ones left to get there was Ethan, Alan and David.
Just before three-thirty, Ethan, David and Alan finally arrived and the party was in full swing. Puck did his best to 'mingle' with everyone there, but he also tried to sit down and take a few minutes here and there with his girlfriend or his parents.
Dinner was grilled burgers or hot dogs and various salads and side dishes they had prepared throughout the day and after, Carole brought out the cake and set it on the large table in the middle of the backyard. It wasn't super fancy, because she knew he hated flashy, but also knowing him, she kind of had the cake split in two; on one side had balloons, a guitar and musical notes and on the other was footballs and basketballs. On the side with the guitar 'Noah' was written and on the other side was 'Puck' and in the middle was 'Happy 18th Birthday'. Along the top, eighteen birthday candles had been stuck in and Ethan offered up the lighter for the bar-b-q to light them, but since they were smaller, Noah stopped him from lighting them, "hang on, I wanna say something," he said, looking around at everyone who was there, "I know I've said this a lot today, but I really appreciate you guys all coming. I know a lot of you will have to get going soon to get home, but I want to thank you guys again. Honestly, this has been the best birthday ever," he smiled, looking at his girlfriend, then his daughter, who was being held by his mom, "I've been able to spend it with my awesome girlfriend, my daughter, my parents, my sister, my friends, who are like family, and as much extended family as could come, it's awesome," he turned and looked at his dad, "for the past eleven birthday cakes, I've made the same wish as I've blown out my candles and I never said it because it would have gone against a lot of things I've ever said, but now I can tell you what it was. Every year, no matter how I felt about you, I wished you'd come home. Now you're here and I think you know how much it means to me to have you back in my life," he admitted, wrapping his arms around his dad in a tight hug, whispering, "I love to you," to him.
Ethan held his son, feeling tears sting his eyes as he replied, "I love you, too, Noah," he whispered, "and I'm not going anywhere again," he assured him.
Rachel, standing across the table from them, wiped her eyes and smiled, snapping a few pictures of them hugging, with Deborah in the background wiping her eyes as she held her granddaughter.
As father and son pulled away, Ethan lit the candles and looked at Noah, "all yours kid," he smiled at him, stepping back to slip his arm around Deborah's shoulders.
Puck took a second to think of a wish and then leaned forward, blowing out all eighteen candles and stood back, a smile on his face as he thought of his wish.
...
After cake, which was Puck's favorite - orange cake with chocolate fudge icing, he opened presents, where he got a lot of gift cards, some new games that he'd wanted for his XBox, some new movies and CDs and other gifts, typical for a teenage guy still in high school.
Slowly the guests began to leave, his family from out of town were the first ones to go, so he hugged everyone before they left, thinning out the guests a bit. Emma and Will were next to leave, followed by Mrs. Morgan and the Glee Club, until it got down to the closer family and friends. Those there helped clean up and once things were more put back together and less of a mess, Ben and his family left, and so did the Hudsons and Hummels, leaving the Berrys and Puckermans, but having to work the next day, Alan and David went home, promising to see them soon.
"You guys okay with everything?" Deborah looked around, there were still things setting out and some dishes to do, but the house wasn't a mess, "we can stay if you want us to help more."
"No, it's alright. I'll take care of it tomorrow," Rachel replied, "it's okay."
Ethan, Deborah and Arin went home, leaving Puck, Rachel and Abby in the house, and the young couple knew Abby was tired, but they gave her a bath and got her into her crib before they returned downstairs, "are you sure you're okay with taking care of things tomorrow?" He asked, "I can help now, you don't need to be doing all this yourself."
"It's okay, Noah, but if you want to help you could run the trash out and lock up down here, I'm going to go upstairs and get ready for bed," she admitted.
He nodded, "that I can do, it has been a long day," he replied, giving her a tight hug and kissing her.
"Yeah, it has been," she replied, stepping away from him and once her back was to him she grinned, "and an even longer night," she thought.
...
Puck gathered up the garbage bag and the recycling and headed outside to drop them in their respective cans and headed back inside, locking the downstairs up and after making sure the lights were off, he climbed the stairs, and pushed their bedroom door open, finding the the room dark. "Wow, she must have been tired," he thought reaching to flip on the lights, and as he looked up, he stopped dead in his tracks, seeing her laying on top of their bed, wearing, well, almost nothing.
Rachel had suggested he take the trash out, only to stall him from coming upstairs with her, so she could change into one of the outfits she'd gotten at the mall over the weekend, a light blue flyaway babydoll top, held together by a silk bow and the panties matched, tying together on both sides of her hips. When he opened the door, she smiled as the light came on, "happy birthday, Noah."
He stared at her, blinking his eyes, and when the shock started to wear off enough so he could think, he crossed the floor, kicked his shoes off and crawled up onto their bed, hovering over her, "best birthday ever," he murmured, his lips pressing kisses along her shoulders and neck before looking up at her, "you were stalling me," he added.
She nodded, "yes I was," she admitted, running her hand through his short hair, "I needed time to change."
Looking her over, he smiled, "you're beautiful," he said honestly as he kissed her lips.
She blushed at his compliment, groaning lightly at his lips against her neck again.
His lips trailed kisses down to the bow, "can I open the best gift ever now?" He asked, his voice a cross between a growl and moan.
Rachel nodded, "I'm all yours," she replied settling back against the pillows, opening herself to him.
Puck was stunned she'd done this, but he was serious, she was the best gift ever and also a gift that keeps on giving; she was his in so many ways and he knew he'd never lose the love he had for her, it'd only grow stronger the longer they were together.
...
A/N4: Hope you guys liked this... The first section was a tough one to write, because it brought up an experience I had about a year ago, when I was in a situation like the Santana/Quinn/Rachel one. I had someone I knew for many years, Brit, and she always told me my writing wasn't good enough, our relationship slowly grew into a one-sided friendship; it was always about her and she never even asked me how I was doing, it was always about her, so here, many years of 'friendship' ended last August, when I finally stood up for myself and I haven't spoken to her since; she put me in a major funk with my writing and two months later, in October 2009, I wrote and posted 'Out of the Blue', and now I have all of you to tell me that my writing is good enough, so I know I'm behind on posting and responding to reviews, but I cherish each and every one of your reviews, alerts, and favorites because they tell me that there are people out there who feel my writing is good enough or worth reading, so thank you to all of you who are reading this, I love you all and you guys keep me writing and are a constant reminder that I don't need Brit as a friend; I will never forget her, but you guys have made her a distant memory.
A/N5: I'm so sorry it's been over two weeks since I posted, but I've been so busy and stressed that it took me forever to get caught up on fic, but I'm doing better, so here is the new chapter. Please review and let me know what you think.
A/N6: The last few weeks have been hell, but I'm finally getting better. Majorly stressful and wanted to pull my hair out many times, but hopefully the bad stuff is behind me and I can only go up hill from here. My best friend and I took a road trip up to Forks and La Push, Washington (we're only about three hours from there) and spent the day hanging out. We had a blast! I know my way around town pretty well now (I've been there three times before) and it was a perfect way to destress.
A/N7: To kind of broaden my writing horizons, I'm borrowing an idea from a fellow friend / author GoingVintage and am going to attempt to do a fic table... Just working out the details and what prompts I'll be attempting to use. The fics will be one-shots centered around my one-true-pairing, Puckleberry, so look out for more from me coming soon, but I promise they will not pull me away from 'Starlight' or 'Out of the Blue'.
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