I've been meaning to write this for a while.

It felt like everything had changed.

Everything had changed.

Puck tapped his foot nervously. His elbows were resting on his knees, his fingers intertwined with each other. Occasionally he would look up and glance around, but other than that, he kept to himself.

The day had finally arrived.

Finn was coming home.

Just in time for the holidays, which was nice. Carole was pretty excited about it. Ever since he sent her a letter telling her that he would be home the week before Christmas, she'd been bustling about, a smile on her face and excitement in her voice. Her baby boy was coming home after almost three years overseas.

Even Kurt, who had spent Christmas last year in New York with Rachel and Blaine, had come home with the both of them in tow. Rachel was probably the second most excited about Finn coming home. They hadn't seen each other since Finn had been shipped off two weeks after graduation. She was convinced that he would be the same old carefree Finn.

Burt and Puck knew better.

Burt had friends who had come back from the war, tanned skin, mumbling to themselves, bags under their eyes, unable to function in a civilian lifestyle again. Puck's old man had fought in the same war that Finn's dad had, but he came back alive, and a completely different man. He had become a mean drunk, and eventually left his family and gone hell knows where.

Both men hoped that Finn wasn't as bad.

Rachel and Carole squealed from their place at the huge window where they could see the planes landing. "His plane's here!" Rachel said, bubbling with excitement. Kurt, who had been sitting with Blaine a few chairs away from Puck, got up and stood next to Rachel, a smile on his face. Blaine looked over at Puck, offering a smile before getting up and joining his boyfriend, wrapping an arm around his waist. Puck just stared over at the small crowd, wishing he could be as clueless as they were.

A strong hand gripped his shoulder gently, and he looked up to see Burt looking at him. "We don't know what to expect. Just try to stay as normal as possible, okay?"

Puck nodded and got up, and the two joined their family and friends. They saw the luggage being taken off, and the plane being connected to the jet bridge, and slowly, passengers trickled out into the terminal, greeting waiting loved ones.

The group waited as five people came out, then three, then five more, before finally they saw him, dressed in all camouflage and a hat covering his shorter hair. He was still tall as hell, but Puck hoped that wasn't the only thing that had stayed the same.

"Finn!" Rachel screamed, and ran over, throwing herself into his arms. Immediately, a huge grin broke out onto Finn's face, and he hugged her tightly as she started to cry and babble. Carole was the second one to run over, and Rachel reluctantly moved so that Finn could hug his mother. Carole started to cry as soon as their arms were wrapped around each other, rubbing his back and crying, "my baby, my baby" over and over. Kurt and Blaine trickled over, waiting their turns for hugs. Carole stayed attached to Finn's right side, only allowing Finn to half hug both of them.

Burt clapped Puck on the back. "Come on." He mumbled, and the two walked over together, Puck's hands jammed into his pockets. He seemed like the same Finn, Puck supposed, and when they reached him, he smiled and put a closed fist out. Puck blinked, then grinned and bumped his knuckles against Finn's.

"Welcome home, bro."