"The Totally Not Dorky but Awesome and Badass Bromantic Tales of the Puckerone and Trouty Mouth"

Summary: Life is simply a series of interconnected moments that guide us along. Here are some of the moments in the collective lives of the Evans family.

Pairings: Samtana, Puckleberry, Bartie, Klaine, Chang-squared and Wemma. Past Finnchel. Sack, Pucktana, Pezberry and Plaine friendships

Warnings: No real spoilers involved in this story. It's obviously very AU as I totally made up Sam's family life. So nothing really spoilery in here. Be warned, this fic does deal with sensitive issues (child abuse, domestic violence and homophobia). It's not terribly graphic but it is mentioned and discussed by several characters. Any resemblance any character in this story may bear to someone from Supernatural is very much intended.

Disclaimer: I in no way shape or form own Glee despite my continued efforts because if I did Chord Overstreet would still be on the show. I do own Sam's brother Dean. But even that shtick is borrowed from Supernatural… which I also don't own. I also nothing from Suits. There is a tiny crossover here that I doubt anyone important (hi, USA lawyers) would notice.

Author's Note: Good morning, everyone! This is a little difference in that there is only one piece to this one. I got stuck on the other ones yet again. Just wanted to post something Glee. My brain has been buzzing off Avengers. Really hard to get back into Glee mode. But it's coming along. Should be updating this and Living for the First Time soon. Take care. Hope you enjoy.

Moment I

Inspiration

Dean shuffled towards his front door slowly and not without a fair amount of annoyance on his features. He didn't know who it was exactly but seeing as they woke him from the best sleep he'd had in months, he hated them. He had a fairly good idea about who it was. He knew it was a gleek. They were the only ones that insisted on bothering him on his days off. They were also the only ones that knew when he had a damn day off for the express purpose of bothering him. He also knew it wasn't Matt, Mike, or Artie as he finally managed to foist his crazy annoying little brothers and their equally as annoying friends on his very beautiful, and recently accepted into the family, girlfriend. They were currently bugging the hell out of Lily at her job. Better her than me, he thought a little unfairly. He loved the woman but he really didn't want to deal with five teenage males on a day without classes. He really wasn't sure how he became the designated go to person for the displaced gleeks but he had a feeling that it had to do with him being the only familiar adult in NYC other than the Berry's. And apparently he was more fun to bother than Hiram and Leroy. The gleeks were turning more sadistic with age. He was both proud of that and annoyed that they were using it against him.

The doorbell rang again prompting him to grumble loudly. Thus far the ringing wasn't obnoxious so it wasn't Blaine either. Rachel had a key and Santana liked to pretend she didn't remember Dean giving her one on their first day in the apartment. There were plenty of times he woke to the sounds of her picking the lock. She claimed she was testing his reflexes and reaction times. Really, Dean was of the belief that the woman just enjoyed giving him gray hairs.

He finally reached the door and flung it open only to come face to face with the one gleek he wasn't really expecting. He had nothing against Tina. He thought she was pretty cool the few times that she hung out with the boys. But she wasn't one of the normal crew that refused to leave (i.e. Matt, Mike, Artie, Blaine, Rachel, Quinn and Santana). He knew that his face must've reflected his confusion as she giggled a little.

"Hey, Tina," he finally managed to say, stepping to the side to let her in. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah," she nodded, walking into the living room. She sat down on the arm of what was unequivocally Dean's chair. "I just wanted to show you something."

He raised an eyebrow but sat down in his chair next to her. She reached into her bag and pulled out a CD case. She held the case out to him. He realized this was the project she and Quinn were bitching about the week before. On the corner of the cover slip was a big 'A'. "Hey, congrats, Tina!"

She flushed but shook her head. "That's not what I wanted to show you. This is my final for my video journalism class. We're supposed to interview someone that inspires us on what inspires them. So I picked the most inspirational of my friends."

When she didn't elaborate further, Dean let his eyes drift towards the title. He felt his heart skip a beat or two with pride. My Inspiration: From Puck to Noah. "You interviewed Puck?"

"After everything he's been through in his past… life," Tina's face darkened a little, no doubt in long misplaced guilt about not seeing through Puck's façade that everything was great. Dean knew that she wasn't the only one who still had those moments, his own brother included. But he knew they were all getting better at it as evidenced by the fact that she was able to shake it off a minute later. "Anyway, I picked him because he's been through so much and he's still able to keep his head up. He hasn't let it break him. At any rate, I figured he should start getting used to the whole idea of interviews anyway since it's only a matter of time before someone catches on to what we all know."

"And that is?"

"That he's going to be huge," Tina replied, with a casual shrug.

Dean nodded his head, clearing his throat. "So let me guess he picked Rachel for his inspiration, didn't he?"

"You might be surprised as to what he picked as his inspiration. Although, in retrospect, I'm really not," Tina shrugged, shouldering her bag. "I'll see you later, Dean. I have a study session with Quinn and San for our math final. Quinn's been taking lessons from Rachel on how to be an anal retentive Nazi. She's got poster boards and highlighters!"

Dean snorted, walking her back to the door. "You forgot your disc."

"That's yours," she smiled. "It's the unedited version by the way."

His brow furrowed as the Goth went skipping down the hall to the stairwell. It was common knowledge that the elevator in their building was not to be trusted. One day he'd move into a nicer apartment but for now it was the best he could do. He walked over to the window of his building, waiting until he saw Tina outside walking down the stairs. She gave him a little wave before she was gone. He was completely confused. His eyes landed on the case still in his hand. With a shrug, and a lack of anything better to do with a relatively empty house and sleeping toddler, he placed the DVD in and sank back on the couch.

The video opened up on what he realized was Sam and Puck's dorm room. He could tell by the almost obnoxious amount of posters plastered across the room. Neither of them knew which poster belonged to which boy. And they didn't care. Tina was currently sitting in front of a Boondock Saints poster from the first movie. So she was on Sam's side of the room.

"Hello, my name is Tina Cohen-Chang. This is my final for Professor Oliver's Video Journalism class. We were asked to pick what inspires us. And I know it's not the most natural choice but I picked my friend, Puck. Well, actually he's almost like a cousin in law at this point."

There was a soft huff of laughter from the other side of the room that Dean knew was Puck. His lips curved in a smile of his own.

"Stop laughing. It's true. I picked Puck because despite the fact that he's been through what totally appears to be a Law & Order: SVU episode, he's still a positive person. He's currently studying musical composition at NYU and lives in this very room. So, please welcome Noah Puckerman-Evans. Or Puck, to those that don't know him."

The camera panned left and suddenly his brother was on camera. He was sitting facing Tina on his own bed. He could tell that Puck was trying to appear relaxed but he could read the kid's body language better than that. He was nervous. It was almost adorable. Hazel eyes met the camera almost hesitantly.

"So why am I doing this again?"

"Because," Tina's exasperated voice sounded. "You totally inspire people with your lyrics. Not just me, but a lot of the other gleeks too. So what inspires you?"

Puck's brow furrowed. "What inspires me?"

"Yeah, like what makes you tick?"

Puck fidgeted on the bed. "I guess…. You're going to edit this, right?"

"Of course. I'll show it to you first."

He heaved a sigh and shifted upright. "Ok then, you remember my dad, right?"

"Pretend that I don't."

"Oh, right. Well, the thing is my fath… my dad… the sperm donor… he used to hit me a lot because… well, I still don't know, really. Anyway, he was a drunk and a really mean one at that. He split when I was eight but my mom blamed me for it. She thought if I was better then he would've stayed. After awhile I started thinking that too. After awhile I started thinking that maybe if I wasn't around… things would be…. Better."

Dean swallowed the lump growing in his throat. This wasn't new information. He knew this but to hear it said so candidly was intense.

"Anyway, I thought about it. A lot. When I was fourteen, I stopped thinking and just did it. I had it all planned out. My mother was supposed to come home for her lunch break that day. I knew she'd be the one to find…. Me. I figured that served her right. So an hour before she was supposed to get there… I went to my room… and I sliced my wrist."

Tina let out a shaky breath. "You're still here. So what happened?"

"My mom decided to work through her lunch break so she never came home. But Sarah, my kid sister, she came home early from camp…. She was sick or something. I couldn't let her see that. I… never wanted her to know what I felt. So I wrapped up my arm, dropped her off at a neighbor's house and took a taxi to the hospital. I told them I cut myself making lunch." Puck laughed darkly and without even a hint of humor in his voice. "They believed me too."

The fingers on his right hand absently traced a very specific pattern on his left arm. "I never tried again. Never really thought about it seriously again… until he came back. He promised to change and at first he did. He was better than before. I guess you can teach old dogs new tricks. But you can't make an abusive douchebag change his ways. One morning he actually whipped me with his goddamn belt. That was the day I just couldn't take it anymore. I was fucking up in school. I was pushing everyone away. I actually yelled at Brittany, who is probably the sweetest most awesome person in the world. And I yelled at her. That's when I just said I can't do this anymore. I don't want to do this anymore. The world would be better without Noah Puckerman."

"Puck… you know that's not true."

There was a brief pause before Puck's eyes drifted to the camera, and the Goth behind it, smiling. It was one of those rare smiles where his eyes lit up.

"Duh, we're talking about the past, Hello Kitty," he laughed when an action figure went flying past his head. "I'm so telling Sammy you threw his Ewok at me."

"Get on with it," Tina huffed.

Puck nodded, the smile only somewhat lessening. "When I got home from school, he started going in on me. I don't even remember what we were arguing about to be honest. Could've been anything. Maybe he didn't like my shirt or I was too loud coming home. But it was something that about me that pissed him off. He tried to hit me and I walked away. That's when I made the decision. I was going to end it that night. I stormed out the house but he followed me. He actually hit me in the front yard. I was trying to get back up to make it to my truck when all of a sudden there was this wall between me and him. A wall named Sam."

"That was the night Sam went to your house because he thought something was wrong with you."

"Yeah, creepy little weirdo started tracking my behavior and figured out that I wasn't acting 'normal' or whatever. He was there and he pulled me away from my dad. He helped me get away that night and I never had to go back."

"So Sam is your inspiration?"

"You'd think but no. Don't get me wrong. Sam is… pretty damn important. But my inspiration is a little more than that. I guess when I hear inspiration, I think of the reason I get up in the morning. The reason I can write songs. The reason I bust my ass to keep my grades up. The reason I try and smile at least once a day."

"Oh, so it's Rachel," Tina said in a sing song tone.

The Ewok sailed towards the camera prompting the camera woman to protest loudly. Puck snorted. "No, it's not Rachel. It's the one person that made all that stuff possible. The person that believed in me enough to actually make me believe." His lips curved into a smile. "My inspiration is my big brother, Dean."

Dean was glad that he was alone and no one was around to witness his jaw dropping open dramatically even as a familiar stinging formed in his eyes. Him? Puck actually picked him? Over Rachel and Sam?

"It would be easy to pick Sammy or Rachel," Puck continued as if he was hearing his brother's thoughts. "Sam saved me that night and Rachel saves me every day. But Dean… he is the reason I'm still here. He's the one that took all that metaphorical shit and made it real. Wait, can I say shit?"

Tina's voice assured him that he could say whatever he wanted even as Dean snorted. Leave it to Puck to wonder about his language while bearing his soul. Kid didn't worry about it any other day of the week.

"So yeah, Sam said we're brothers but Dean made it true in more than just words. Rachel, her dads and the two they've practically adopted along the way, showed me that family doesn't always mean violence, hurt and pain. But Dean… he adopted me. He made me part of his family. He threatened to cut his actual family out of his life if they didn't learn to accept me. He didn't need to do any of that. I was just his little brother's damaged good friend but he looked past all that."

Dean was definitely glad he was alone. He didn't need to hear the teasing from anyone later that he was crying a little. But seriously, how could he not? He knew that he meant a lot to Puck but this… he actually really did appreciate everything.

"Dean didn't need to do any of that," Puck continued. "Before his parents died, he was just this regular guy, dating a pretty hot chick and living his life. Then he decides to raise his little brother. A year later, he's taking in me too and going out of his way to make me understand that I had a family that cared. That I was… safe. And that means more to me than I can ever really express. So yeah, that's my inspiration… my brother."

The video continued to play as Tina asked more questions about everything from the first time he met Dean to his favorite color. As they moved away from the heavier topic, Dean found his attention drifting as well. Puck never ceased to amaze him. He gently wiped away any evidence of tears and finished the video. By the end Puck was completely relaxed and comfortable talking to the camera. Dean realized in that moment that Tina was a genius. Puck was going to be big. He was special. And he was his little brother/foster son.

He felt more than saw someone sit on the arm of the chair where Tina originally was sitting. He didn't question how the hell Puck got back in the apartment without Dean noticing but he just concluded Mike was giving out ninja lessons again.

"What did you think?" he asked, looking at Dean.

"I think," Dean started, smiling slowly. "I think Tina was right. You're pretty inspiring. And the record, I didn't have to do those things, you're absolutely correct. I wanted to do it. I knew that all you needed was someone to remind you that you could do it." He shrugged. "Besides I know the others would come around."

He really did know that. For all the difference he had with his cousins sometimes, he knew that they took family just as seriously as he did. Once she got past the initial reluctance to accept him, Jo became one of Puck's biggest supporters. They even had inside jokes that none of them were privy too. It just showed how much the kid was a part of his world.

"Thanks, Dean."

Dean reached to ruffle Puck's hair, playfully. "None necessary, brat. This is a two way street. I got something out of this too, you know."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, I fully expect a ridiculously expensive gift with your first paycheck."

Puck snorted. "I got you, bro."

Dean elbowed him, chuckling. "So how was Lily when you left the others?"

"I don't think apocalyptic can quite cover it," Puck smirked. "She's about ready to shove a stapler up Chang's noise. She already sent Sammy and Matt into Louis' office. Really the only one not irking her is Artie and that's just because he's too busy building that crazy robot thing." At Dean's pointedly confused look, Puck shook his head. "It's probably best you don't know about that one."

He wanted to protest but Puck was probably right. He shook it off though in favor of looking at the clock if Lily had already resorted to sending them to her slimy coworker than it would only be a matter of an hour or so before they showed up like the slightly tarnished (never bad) pennies they were. And true to his prediction, the four teens barged into the apartment midway through Ironman wearing identical grins. Matt and Mike settled down, each taking over the narrative of their fun filled afternoon of torturing someone other than Dean while Artie and Sam argued with Puck about restarting a movie they've all seen at least fifty times (at least!). Dean couldn't help but bask in the madness. No, he didn't have to take in either Sam or Pick but if he didn't, then he would've missed opportunities and moments like this.

"Dude, your creepy robot thing is trying to escape… again."

Dean raised an eyebrow in the direction of Artie's bag where there definitely was something moving. He started to comment but decided it was best to just let that one go because honestly… no. just no.