A/N: Here is the epilogue. Thanks for hanging in there for the delayed end to this story. Hope you've enjoyed this story. To avoid confusion in this chapter, pay attention to the dates, especially the last one! For those of you that are reading my other in-progress story (The Art of Seduction), I hope to motivate myself to continue it soon!

The concert was amazing. They had taken a limousine ride to the coliseum, were seated in the front row, and attended a personal meet-and-greet with the band after the show. It had been a magical evening…according to Rachel anyway. Puck would never use the word "magical" to describe anything. He would also never say that the kiss that Rachel planted on him in the middle of Livin' on a Prayer took his breath away. It did.

February 14th, 2013

Rachel Berry stood in the wings off stage and stared out at the audience. She could hear her heart beating rapidly despite the faint dim of murmurs as the curtains opened. She knew how lucky she was to receive a lead in Julliard's musical production while still a first year student. She was ridiculously nervous and her eyes darted around the partially darkened theatre. There was still enough light to see the first few rows of people and she imagined each one as a critic that would rip her performance apart and ruin her chances at ever making it to Broadway. Suddenly her eyes met green eyes. He wasn't supposed to be there! He had a test! She would kill him if he screwed up his chances at a 4.0 for the semester. Puck chuckled. He could barely see her standing behind the curtain, but he knew she was peeved. He shook his head towards the darkness and mouthed 'no' in response to her unasked question. They had been together for three years to everyone's surprise, including their own. Rachel had left to attend Julliard the prior August, but Puck remained in Lima attending community college. The distance had been challenging to their relationship, but it was still going strong. Puck had done surprisingly well for himself, so well in fact that he had received early acceptance to Hofstra University on Long Island. He told Rachel his news at the end of the show, after complimenting her profusely on her performance. She dropped every single flower she had received on the ground and flung herself into his arms.

February 14th, 2015

Finn and Quinn's wedding was beautiful. It hadn't been a surprise to anyone when they announced their engagement and decided to marry at only 21 years old. They had given the baby away for adoption, but it was an open adoption and they remained close with the adoptive parents. Little Amelia was the flower girl at their wedding. Puck served at best man and Rachel was Quinn's maid of honor. They had become increasingly close during junior and senior years of high school and remained friends throughout college. It was a strange friendship in many ways, but it worked for them. Puck and Rachel had been together for five years, but had never thought about marriage. They were young and had so many plans for the future. Rachel would be graduating from Julliard early and received a leading role in an off-off-Broadway play. Puck was to remain at Hofstra for another year, majoring in physical education. He was also a singer in the male acapella group at the university. Still, as Rachel walked down the aisle ahead of Quinn and saw Puck in her line of sight, she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to walk the route in a different colored dress.

February 14th, 2017

Puck was quite proud of himself. He had gone all out for Valentine's Day this year. He made a reservation two months in advance at one of the nicest restaurants in New York. It was expensive, particularly on his teacher's salary, but it was worth it. He had bought Rachel a single red rose…because everyone knows a single red rose is more romantic than a whole bouquet. They had just finished their entrees and were eyeing the dessert cart making its way across the room. Suddenly, there was a loud squeal across the restaurant. Puck was startled and dropped the item that he held in his hand onto his lap. He was startled again when Rachel spoke.

"Don't you think it's awfully clichéd to propose on Valentine's Day?"

"Oh, yea, totally", Puck responded as he picked up what he had dropped and placed it in his pocket.

Hours later, Rachel was annoyed to be shaken awake from a deep slumber that involved dreams of brunch with Barbra Streisand and Idina Menzel.

"Noah, it's after midnight. You have to be up early tomorrow and so do I!"

"Yea, babe, its 12:01 and I have a question for you."

And this is how Rachel Berry became one of the few women to receive a marriage proposal on February fifteenth.

February 14th, 2003

It was the third grade…the first year that they weren't forced to give everyone in the class a valentine. Naturally, Noah Puckerman received a valentine from everyone anyway. Even at the tender age of eight, he was known to be the coolest kid in school. His father would ditch the family a mere two weeks later, but for the moment, Noah believed he truly was lucky. As he sorted through his cards, he scoffed at the ridiculous valentines. Disney princesses? Lilo & Stitch? What is this crap? Eventually, Noah got to the final card in his pile. Spiderman! Now that's what I'm talking about. He flipped it over and was surprised to see that it was from Rachel Berry. He looked across the room at the weird girl with strange clothes who was always using big words and confusing the hell out of him. She did not seem like a Spiderman fan.

A few desks away, Rachel Berry was in deep concentration completing the extra credit assignment. The teacher had allowed them some free time to celebrate the holiday and look at their cards, but Rachel wasn't in a celebratory mood. Unknown to Noah, Rachel actually had never seen Spiderman. However, she had noticed his Spiderman binder and selected the valentine accordingly. Rachel had specially selected a unique valentine for each person in the class based upon their interests.

Noah pulled out a piece of paper from his binder and scrawled a message in messy handwriting. To Rachel. Happy Valentines Day. From Noah Puckerman.

He folded it up and tossed it on Rachel's desk as they all headed out to recess. When they returned, Rachel was confused to find a paper on her desk. She unfolded it and smiled softly. She re-folded it carefully and placed it in her folder. It would spend the next few weeks in a place of honor on Rachel's dresser between her ballerina jewelry box and junior singing competition trophy. It was the only valentine that Rachel Berry received that year.

Over the years, Puck and Rachel chased their dreams, fought and loved, raised two children, and never stopped singing. Occasionally in conversation, the topic of their first Valentine's Day together would arise. Rachel would regale the listeners with the tale of the kissing contest and their unexpected union. Puck would grunt through most of the story, but always interrupted to correct her when she misquoted his on-air declaration of feelings for her. Rachel never told him that she messed it up on purpose to get him to say it again. Puck never told her that he knew she did it on purpose every time.

On each of those occasions, they smiled to each other at the memory of their "first" Valentine's Day. Neither one remembered the day ten years earlier where an exchange of cards made Puck feel understood and Rachel feel visible. Neither realized that destiny had set its course much earlier and the kissing contest was just a mere catalyst.