Title: In the Broken Night, Set Against the Sky
Pairing: Rachel/Quinn
Synopsis: Sequel to On a Clear Night! Rachel and Quinn have established a stable and loving relationship with one another, but now they tackle bigger life issues over the summer before Senior Year - sexuality at a young age, family bonds, and the unexpected journey everyone must take when confronted with past decisions.
A/N: Lyrics are from "Lifeboats" by Snow Patrol. This fic will be plotted out over approximately 10 chapters (1 verse for each chapter), and won't be a songfic like On a Clear Night was. I'm sorry this took a couple days to get out to you guys! I'm so excited to share this with you and really I have no excuse other than my insomnia has been plaguing me and I couldn't function properly much less focus enough to write a quality beginning. I hope you can all forgive me and will grow to love this sequel. I really wanted to raise my standards above everything else I've done so far so I knew if I was writing while running on no sleep, it would just be bad. Anyway, moving on, this fic will be entirely from Quinn's perspective as the journey she and Rachel take together will be based around her experiences and the issues she's yet to deal with. Thank you, again, for the enormous support I've recieved in the past two fics and I hope you all know how much I adore you. Special thanks to Ashley (you know who you are!) who kicked me in the rump to get this posted: your reviews have been a blessing and you're simply wonderful.
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Chapter 1: Before I Burst
Hold on, hold on,
let me get the words out before I burst:
there's no truth at all,
poking at the giant eyes of ancient gods.
Quinn's emancipation had come in the form of one very determined Rachel Berry. She would have hardly believed it a year ago, sitting in her sickeningly pastel bedroom at the Fabray Household, that she'd be living with the Berrys and finally accepting of the fact that she really didn't hate Rachel at all. It had taken a lot of work and struggle to get to the point where she was emotionally, not to mention a lot of heartache everytime she forced herself to slushie Rachel over the last bit of school term left before summer. Her mental breaking point had been when Rachel had openly called her out on her 'secret,' alone in that auditorium. God, had she been beautiful and perfect in that moment, the way she'd pulled Quinn to her as waves to a shore, and Quinn had felt herself gravitating without any sense of self-control. She was 17 years old and she had to admit it frightened her being in love with a girl at 17, especially in the middle of rural Ohio. Over the years, though, Quinn had realized that Rachel Berry was nothing if persistent. She got what she wanted and held her head high the entire time. And, Quinn realized, Rachel had wanted Quinn's acceptance long before she wanted Quinn's love. Even when Quinn had been absolutely terrible to Rachel, the diva had somehow managed to beg for compliments like scraps, looking for the smallest bit of softness. She wasn't always good with softness, but she sure did try these days. She tried for Rachel. How did you express emotion when you weren't sure of everything you felt?
The blonde shifted in her computer chair. It was late in the Berry household and Rachel was downstairs with her father's discussing some family business. Quinn rested her head on her knee, leg tucked tightly against her chest, and she was gently running her finger over a copy of Beth's birth certificate. Even though she had given the child up for adoption, she'd requested a copy of the certificate as a sort of momento, a piece of the daughter she'd never have. Lately she'd been plagued by thoughts of Beth, that familiar pang in her heart when she thought about everything she'd miss, and the guilt at bringing a child into the world that she wouldn't ever be able to raise. She'd known at the time she'd made the appropriate decision, the best decision for Beth's future, but there was no pain like losing a child. Knowingly turning your back and walking away was the most difficult thing. Quinn felt stabs of regret and she knew she'd been looking at the certificate for too long again - tears pricked her eyes like hot needles as she touched the tiny footprint. Nobody knew Quinn had this small momento of her daughter, but right now she didn't want anyone to know. As she heard Rachel's hurried footsteps up the stairs, she tucked the paper away in her notebook and glanced apprehensively at the door. Rachel could see through her heart and soul and Quinn really didn't want her to see that she'd been upset.
The door flung itself open and Quinn really didn't have time to register anything until her chair was rolling backward into the desk and Rachel was laughingly pulling herself into Quinn's arms. The brunette's lips brushed against Quinn's, and Quinn couldn't help the smile that passed over her face as she saw that brilliant grin Rachel had. Usually it meant something spectacular was happening or Rachel was thinking of a favorite Barbra song, "What?" Quinn's laughter bubbled out with the question as she looked at Rachel.
"It's summer!"
"I know! We did just get out of school last week, Rach, I was there," Quinn felt a lightening in her heart only Rachel was capable of giving her. It felt sometimes like Rachel was pumping air into Quinn's chest and she was going to explode with joy, or something close to it.
Rachel detached herself from Quinn's grip before she bounced over to the bed and sat down, her petite body joyfully bounding a bit on impact, "Quinn Fabray don't you get a smart mouth with me," Rachel seemed to be managing the most authoritative tone she could, and it made Quinn laugh because that smile on Rachel's face wasn't making anything seem authoritative, "I'm merely excited because summer means the Berry family goes on a hiking trip in Colorado and by extension that means you're coming as well! Daddy, Dad, and I were just talking about it. They of course were giving a few ground rules for us to follow - "
Quinn's grin didn't falter, and she only shook her head a bit as Rachel went on the way she usually did when she was overly excited, and the blonde rose from her chair to lay on her bed just behind Rachel, a hand slipping to Rachel's long brown hair and playing with her locks, just listening.
"And also Daddy said that I get to decide on a trip for just you and myself to take, since he and Dad will be taking an impromptu honeymoon to California. So we have to decide on that mutually," Rachel turned her body a quarter of the way, now facing down at Quinn as one knee brushed against Quinn's. Quinn was idly amazed at the way her stomach still fluttered when Rachel looked at her, or when she tangled her fingers in Quinn's when she wasn't expecting it.
Quinn was used to taking trips as a family but this was a first - a solitary vacation, just her and Rachel? The disbelief must have been all over her face because Rachel was looking at her inquisitively.
"Have you not taken vacations with family before, Quinn?"
"Oh, of course," Quinn shook her head, as if clearing the fog, and did her best to clarify to Rachel what was going through her head, "I have, it's just, a vacation, just you and me?"
Rachel lit up brightly and nodded, her cheeks dimpling as that smile threatened to make Quinn's grow, "Yes!"
"They don't mind? They trust us not to ... ?" Quinn trailed off. She knew the silence at the end of the sentence was enough to make Rachel blush, and blush Rachel did. Profusely. Quinn smiled a little deviously at the way Rachel's eyes were darting around looking for anything to distract her, her fingers unknotting from Quinn's and tucking brown hair behind her ear.
"I mean, of course we haven't even discussed the possibility as I've always been fairly virtuous and you and I have both agreed to - "
Quinn chuckled, sat up, and pressed her lips to Rachel's to silence her as gently as possible, "Relax. I know. I was just saying, ground rules for camping trips and then a vacation alone?"
Rachel nodded, "Admittedly contradictory, but they trust us."
Us. What a funny concept. Quinn hadn't ever really been part of an 'us' even when she'd been in psuedo-relationships with Finn or Puck, but there Rachel was sitting on the bed using the word and they were discussing where to go on vacation - together. As a couple. Like a little honeymoon for teenagers in love. It amazed Quinn, even as she lay there looking up at Rachel, and she reached over, pinching Rachel on the arm enough to make Rachel draw back and flinch.
"Ow! What was that for?" Rachel looked confused and slightly offended.
"I was making sure I wasn't dreaming or making this up."
"I don't believe that's how it works, Quinn," Rachel corrected, and Quinn mused at how cute she looked when she wrinkled her nose in displeasure.
Quinn merely grinned, shrugging her shoulders apologetically before laying back down. She knew all was forgiven when Rachel lay down beside her and rested her head on the crook of her shoulder. She loved the distinct way Rachel smelled, how it was warm and almost undefinable. She breathed Rachel in for a moment as Rachel's arm slipped over her waist and the brunette's fingers cupped her hip.
"Do you really think you're dreaming?"
"Sometimes," Quinn's own honesty surprised her. She knew her voice was lower, softer than usual, as if divulging secrets. She toyed with Rachel's sleeve as she pondered how to continue, "after everything you and I have been through, now I'm living here and we're...together and we're an 'us' and it's all a little unreal sometimes. I always thought, you know, that bad things just happen and I had to accept it. Now that something good has happened, it's hard to accept."
Quinn felt Rachel nod against her shoulder, and felt those perfect brown eyes on her, "I've forgiven you, you know."
"I know." Quinn knew. It didn't mean she forgave herself. There were so many mistakes, so many mistakes she's made. What did it mean to be Quinn Fabray, now? Her whole life had changed over the course of a year.
Rachel's lips grazed Quinn's hand as she took it in her own, "I hope you forgive yourself one day." She'd said it before, but it never really sank in.
"I guess there's just so much change in my life, it'll take a while to realize it all. I mean our high school knows that we're together, so when we go back senior year it'll all be totally different. And then we'll be planning our futures and my family is ... well, gone. For lack of a better word. I'm trying to figure out how to express myself better these days because I know that it makes you feel better, and that in order to make this work I have to learn how to express my feelings, so that's a struggle, too," Quinn's hazel eyes turned to Rachel, who was gazing at her with complete adoration and understanding.
"Quinn, I never want to rush you to change, or want you to change at all," Rachel clarified, as if making sure Quinn understood everything was fine, "I mean, it took us how long to get to this point? We didn't even kiss until ... well, not that long ago," Rachel seemed to flush a bit red at the thought and that caused Quinn to smile. "So it's safe to say slow change is okay. Already being out is big enough and I'm not expecting you to just wake up and feel like this is all normal life for you."
Quinn smiled a bit, feeling a sigh escape her chest a bit as she closed her eyes, resting her cheek against Rachel's forehead. The diva's grip tightened around her waist and Quinn felt Rachel settle closer.
"Besides, we have all summer and we have a lot of life left to tackle before you have to start being serious all the time," Rachel continued on, apparently taking Quinn's silence as a sign she needed convincing.
"I just love you, Rach," Quinn surprised even herself as the words were breathed between them, and she found herself stroking the skin of Rachel's arm, noticing goosebumps there, "I have no doubt that things will be fine, sometimes I just have a hard time believing that it's okay to be happy."
Rachel seemed to accept this answer, and Quinn felt her weight shift. Without opening her eyes, she knew Rachel was sitting up and looking down at her now, most likely with her brows knit together in thought.
"You really believe you don't deserve to be happy?"
Quinn almost wanted to sigh out of impatience. As much as she loved Rachel, she still sometimes asked too many questions. She smiled a bit, satisfying her impatience with silence and a sigh, "It's not so much that, it's just I'm not ... used to it." With that, Quinn wasn't expecting to feel a pair of lips at her ear, Rachel's fingers tangling in her hair, or the weight of Rachel's torso laid across her own and pressed very closely. Quinn gulped a bit, her heart stumbling in her chest a bit as she tried to make the shock of it wear off. Rachel always managed to make Quinn feel electric.
"Get used to it, Fabray," Rachel's murmur was almost too much and images of their few make-out sessions and nearly-intimate encounters flooded Quinn's brain as Rachel's fingers trailed her throat.
Quinn groaned, eyes sliding open, "What are you trying to do to me? This is the girl that blushes when I even mention the idea of - "
Rachel's grin was far from innocent as she drew her tongue over her teeth. Quinn felt her chest tighten in anticipation and anxiousness, words halting on her tongue. Rachel was looking at her in that hungry way she did sometimes, and even her eyes were a bit dilated, "The idea of what, Quinn?" Before Quinn could answer, she felt Rachel's lips brushing over her own and teeth pulling on her bottom lip for a moment.
Quinn felt her breath rasp out. With Rachel in her life, it certainly was full of unexpected surprises lately, like the way Rachel could blush at the mere mention of sex but turn into an absolute sex kitten in the next moment without even thinking, or the way Rachel's hands tangling in her hair and demanding a deeper kiss made Quinn forget everything she was thinking about.
###
It had taken a lot of thinking about zombies and aliens for Quinn to cool herself down when Rachel finally had brought them to a slow halt. They'd had more than a few make-out sessions that almost turned into jumping headlong into the kind of sexual activity they weren't quite ready for. The agreement to take things slow was ever-difficult with Rachel's decidedly surprising episodes of particularly skillful seduction, and as Quinn lay with Rachel in her bed, her heart was still hammering against her ribs insistently.
"Sometimes I can't believe it's you laying with me," Rachel's voice came out of the silence, and Quinn barely noticed they were now laying in the dark, too wrapped up in one another to care enough to go flip the light switch on, "I used to watch you and think you were the loveliest person I'd ever known, even when you were trying to hate me."
It was Rachel's phrasing that told Quinn that Rachel had always known Quinn better than she'd known herself. Her fingers danced over Rachel's shoulder as she pressed quiet kisses to whatever skin she could reach, "Lovely? Really?"
"Really, really. You're beautiful, Quinn, I meant what I said at Prom that night. You know," Rachel breathed after a moment, hands pausing thoughtfully against Quinn's collarbone, "I was the one to tell Finn to get that corsage, to match your eyes. I've always thought you had the most beautiful eyes."
Why was Rachel so good with words? It made Quinn feel inadequate. "Funny that. I was going to say the same thing about your eyes."
"I mean it. And the way you looked in that dress, your hair," Rachel sighed almost dreamily. "It was so hard not to just touch your face that night and kiss your cheek."
Quinn was surprised at this information. It was far before any of their romance had even been thought of.
"I've always cared so much about you," Rachel's voice softened, sounded a little sad, "watched you suffering and wanted to help."
Quinn's heart was swollen with love she couldn't keep to herself, and her chest felt tight again; she pressed an insistent kiss to Rachel's shoulder again, "How did I get lucky like this?"
When Rachel laughed a little quietly, Quinn felt the weight of sadness lift off the diva.
"I mean it, Rach. I'm not very good with words. I know we're only in high school, we've got so much more living to do, but I feel like I just .. I feel like my heart could explode. I love you. You're so kind, and so compassionate, I can't focus sometimes. It's like I have all these feelings going at the same time. I remember that night, though, and you looked beautiful more than I could have said. I felt more loved in that moment than I ever had, when you wanted to help me fix my makeup, dry my tears. It didn't make sense at the time." Quinn took a breath, surprised at all the words tumbling from her mouth, "It makes sense now, though. Hugging you like I did on the stage, never wanting to let go."
"Good, 'cause if you do let go I'm pretty sure Dad's going to be a little upset," Rachel joked sweetly and pressed her lips against Quinn's neck. Her grip tightened.
"Santana would be gagging at us right now," Quinn commented, laughing a little and shaking her head.
Rachel nodded in agreement, "Most definitely, but then she'd be blushing the way she does when she wishes she and Brittany could be as open about everything," Rachel paused in thought, "what do you think about New York, for our vacation after Colorado? I know we were just there for Nationals - "
"Rach, you really don't have to justify New York to me," Quinn chuckled a little throatily and she glanced at the clock. They'd been laying together and talking - and making out - for four hours. Time always managed to make itself disappear with Rachel. "I'd love to go back. Plus, it'd be just us, and we could really explore the city this time. And I like how happy it makes you when you're there."
Rachel squealed a little in the darkness and squeezed Quinn tighter, "Thank you!"
Quinn laughed, rolling her eyes despite the fact Rachel couldn't see it, but maybe Rachel did have a sixth sense because before she could open her mouth, Rachel spoke up again.
"Don't roll your eyes at me. I'll thank you all I want."
###
"Good morning!" Leroy chirped over his cup of coffee as Rachel and Quinn joined him in the kitchen that next morning. It amazed Quinn how much this family enjoyed the early mornings - it was taking Quinn some time to adjust to that.
"Morning Dad," Rachel hugged her father tightly before she made her way to the refrigerator, and Quinn watched her pull out the orange juice. The blonde made her way to the cupboards and got a couple glasses for them both, offering Rachel her gold-star glass and smiling quietly at her before she sat her own down and took the orange juice from Rachel, pouring them both a glass.
"Morning," Quinn added afterward, sitting next to Leroy. She thought it was kind of nice, the way he always smelled like a hint of expensive cologne. Rachel's dads had become her family, and it never failed to surprise Quinn that she felt more comfortable around them than she had around any male in her family, "did you sleep well?" She questioned, earning a pleased smile from Leroy.
"I did indeed," he responded, "Rachel, don't use up all the pancake mix," Leroy glanced up at Rachel, who was busily mixing a large bowl of pancake batter together, "I know you like your pancakes but we'd like to make that last." He chuckled in that warm way he did when his daughter amused him, and Quinn found herself chuckling in a similar fashion.
Rachel seemed to ignore him as she began singing some Broadway tune, dancing to music only she could hear as she made pancakes.
"So did Rachel tell you about the Colorado trip?" Leroy asked as he shook his head in Rachel's direction before getting up to pour himself another cup of coffee, glancing at Quinn with a hopeful smile, "I hope you'll be going with us."
Quinn nodded and sipped at her orange juice, savoring the taste on her tongue before speaking, "I will be, definitely. I'm not very good in the outdoors but I hope you don't mind," her tone was apologetic and she offered a smile that mirrored one she'd give if she stepped on Leroy's toe.
Leroy laughed, a full-on belly laugh, "You can't be any worse than Rachel. She spent the whole trip spraying herself with Off! and telling me the numerous diseases that came from the bug species in the area."
Quinn grinned, dipping her head down and trying not to laugh. She saw pancake batter fly in Leroy's direction and heard Hiram's sleepy reprimand, "Rachel Barbra Berry, don't waste that pancake batter."
Rachel huffed indignantly.
Laughingly, Leroy wiped the batter from his shirt before sitting back down, "Did you girls manage to decide on where you'd like to go for your trip afterward?"
"New York!" Rachel shouted triumphantly and nearly splattered Leroy again as the spatula flung into the air as if she were holding up a trophy or imitating the Statue of Liberty.
"I assume Quinn agreed to this as well, I hope," Hiram kissed his husband good morning, touched Quinn's shoulder, and sat on Quinn's other side. The blonde smiled at how at home she felt, sandwiched on the chair between Hiram and Leroy's chairs, how easily she had slipped into the Berry family dynamic. She felt like she should be glowing because of the happiness in her heart. She nodded simply in answer.
"We didn't really get to have much fun in New York when we were out there for Nationals, so I'd really like to go back there," Quinn finished her glass of orange juice and her eyes flickered to Rachel, who'd turned around and looked at her adoringly, with a bit of a grin. She shrugged a single shoulder and offered Rachel a loving smile before blushing and glancing down.
Rachel managed to finish making the pancakes and dished out plates for each of them, "Thank goodness for vegan eggs."
"Amen," Leroy mirrored and clinked his coffee mug against Rachel's glass.
"New York it is, then. We'll book the tickets and so on later in the day. Do you girls have plans?"
"I think the glee club is planning a cook out tonight, maybe after some swimming," Quinn had almost forgotten about the text from Santana the day before. She'd gotten so wrapped up in spending time with Rachel and family that her normal social activities weren't overwhelmingly important.
Rachel glanced at Quinn from Leroy's side, "Really?"
Quinn nodded, swallowing, "Mm, yes, but we're getting you a bikini that's not argyle first." She grinned at Rachel, "otherwise Santana said you're not allowed," she joked softly.
"I really don't know why everyone insists, it's not like I have that much argyle - "
"You really do, sweetie," Hiram soothed and smiled. "Well, just as long as you girls have a ride back. I'm taking Leroy out for dinner tonight," his loving gaze rested on his husband for a moment before he went back to eating breakfast.
Quinn's eyes fell on the three people surrounding her, all eating breakfast in the easy silence. She had gone from a family that never accepted her to a sort of 'adopted' family that paid for vacations and joked over breakfast and really loved each other. And they really loved her.
It took everything in Quinn not to get choked with emotion. She satisfied her body's want to react to something by continuing to eat her pancakes, all the while smiling at her plate like it had just read her poetry.
###
Quinn hummed absently as she leafed through different swimsuits, Rachel on the opposite side looking through them, and as she glanced up and found brown eyes looking at her, she smiled, then narrowed her eyes as she recognized the look of pleading on Rachel's face, "No argyle."
Rachel huffed and Quinn had to stifle her laughter as she saw brown hair bob off past the rack they were at and disappear into another section. She felt a hand on her shoulder and still quietly laughing, she saw Santana looking a little impatient.
"You really need to tell me next time what store you're going to be at," Santana reprimanded and Brittany came in airily next to her, offering a wave. "We just spent a half an hour looking for you and Jewpacabra."
"Hello to you, too, Santana," Rachel's voice came from nowhere. Quinn looked for her but couldn't see her from behind the racks of clothing.
"It took you a half an hour to walk around a mall in Lima, Ohio? There's like .. maybe 20 stores." Quinn raised a questioning eyebrow and smirked a little bit at the way Santana rolled her eyes.
"We stopped in the Disney store," Brittany answered simply and she held up a stuffed Stitch doll, "San got me a present."
Quinn smiled, and Rachel's head popped up (just barely) over a circular rack, only her brown eyes and nose visible over it, words muffled, and Quinn could hear her croon, "Ooh, that's so cute, Britt..." The way Rachel was looking longingly at the stuffed animal told Quinn she'd be spending a little bit of her emancipation money on some kind of gift for Rachel later. Rachel's head disappeared again, brown hair bobbing closer before she came to Brittany's side. Brittany gladly shared a moment of adoration over the stuffed animal.
Santana only groaned and rolled her eyes. Quinn could only laugh. Rachel was adorable and she couldn't wipe the smile off her face, not for a moment, no matter how much Santana would bother her about it later, "So did Girlfriend get a bikini that isn't argyle?"
Rachel shot a glare at Santana, and Quinn flinched for the Latina as a hanger flew in their direction.
"I'm just saying! You'd look much better in something black," Santana defended, hands above her head as she ducked. "Quit throwing shit, you're not a monkey, although your height is about the same."
Quinn had to duck the next hanger, and caught Rachel around the waist after circling around behind her, placating her with a squeeze, "It's Santana's way of saying she cares and she wants to look at your lady-parts even though they belong to me," Quinn grinned and knew Rachel was blushing profusely by the way she sank backward against Quinn. She felt Rachel's weight against her and the way Rachel's fingers dipped against her arms, her chest deflating in a sigh.
"Please," Santana merely waved the commentary off, looking Rachel over before she disappeared with Brittany, returning with a red bikini in Rachel's size. "Here, shopping done. I don't have the patience to explain to you why this is more fashionable than something on a golf sock."
The foursome made their way out of the store after Quinn paid for Rachel's bikini, and inwardly Quinn was a little more than thrilled to see Rachel in it later. Red definitely would compliment Rachel in a way that would make their agreement pleasantly difficult to abide by. Her hand slipped into Rachel's as they walked, and she sipped at the shake in her hand as Santana explained to Brittany the difference between golf and frisbee golf, with Rachel chiming in with different facts that only confused Brittany more. Quinn's eyes rested on something in one of the windows they passed, a little onesie with the words 'mommy's favorite girl' scrawled across the front. That familiar pang made her halt in her step, and as Rachel's concerned gaze looked her over, she merely shook her head and offered a quiet smile, mumbling something about a crack in the floor.
Quinn had a feeling Rachel knew better, though, because her brown eyes turned back to the window and mirrored Quinn's own pained expression before her hand squeezed Quinn's against her tighter. Quinn was grateful for the silent comfort and Rachel's compassion as they made their way along the line of stores. She felt a little sobered by her thoughts, and as they entered the noisy food court and Santana split off with Brittany to go get Chinese for them, she thanked the heavens for Rachel. The brunette wordlessly slipped her arms around Quinn's waist, Quinn's arms automatically sliding around Rachel and holding her tightly against her, much like the way they'd embraced on the stage - Quinn's face buried gently against the curtain of Rachel's hair and Rachel's lips pressed against the nape of Quinn's neck. Rachel felt perfect in her arms, and Rachel soothed her.
"She's on your mind a lot lately," Rachel's words were only audible by Quinn, and Quinn nodded in acknowledgement, not giving an inch of space between them.
Beth haunted her, and Quinn wondered if she would ever be able to find peace with herself. Rachel's hands sifted through her hair as she pulled away, and those understanding chocolate eyes searched her own. It felt like Rachel saw everything, and Quinn always felt so incredibly bare under that gaze, but not unpleasantly so.
Rachel offered a quiet smile, tracing her thumb along Quinn's face, "It'll get easier, I promise."
Despite Quinn's history of pessimism, she really believed Rachel. Who wouldn't, when Rachel's eyes were so full of love and hope?
###
"Holy shit," Puck nearly dropped the plate of grilled hot dogs as Quinn and Rachel finally came back to the pool area. It was clear he was staring at Rachel in her red bikini, and Quinn couldn't blame him - she'd practically mauled Rachel when Rachel had come out of the bathroom, changed into the bikini. Quinn had made a note to thank Santana later, and she slipped her hand into Rachel's, grinning at Puck.
"How about not staring," Quinn offered with a playful growl and watched as Puck smirked, rolled his eyes.
"Whatevs, you'd be staring too if she wasn't your girlfriend."
Girlfriend. Quinn's girlfriend. Her eyes slipped over to Rachel, who was nervously offering a wave to greet the glee club. She felt Rachel bury her face against Quinn's shoulder and stand behind her, bare skin pressed against her own. Rachel was her girlfriend. Rachel loved her, had picked her. In that moment it hit Quinn so hard she couldn't believe it. She nearly stumbled as she turned around to take Rachel in her arms and embraced Rachel so suddenly the shorter girl had squeaked a little in surprise.
"What's this for?" Rachel asked, her voice wavering as her hands slipped around Quinn and rested on her back. They were pressed flush against one another, and right then Quinn felt the heat from Rachel's skin, realizing she'd forgotten they were both in bikinis.
Quinn didn't know if she was turned on or emotional, or both, but she sighed and rested her head on Rachel's shoulder, "You chose me."
"I did," Rachel confirmed softly and squeezed Quinn closer. The diva seemed to have forgotten they were under the watchful gaze of the glee club as well. Quinn hugged Rachel just a little tighter, felt tears prick her eyes.
"I'm so grateful," Quinn's whisper was so full of feeling she surprised herself. She settled against Rachel a moment more. As she pulled away, Rachel looked simply stunned at the simple but loving admission, mouth slightly agape. Quinn liked making Rachel speechless.
"Hey, Sonny and Cher, do you want to swim or not?" Kurt called from the corner of the pool, where he was examining his manicured nails.
Quinn grinned, raised an eyebrow, and shared a conspiritorial grin before they both simultaneously strode to Kurt's corner of the pool, picked him up screeching by the arms, and threw him in. Rachel's face was alight with laughter until Santana grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her in immediately after; her hand flailed out hand caught Quinn by the wrist, causing a dominoe effect as Quinn felt herself freefalling into the water.
She burst out moments later, gasping for air, laughing and watching Rachel try to peel herself from Santana's slick grip around her waist.
"Oh my god! That hair product was NOT waterproof and it's so expensive! What a waste!" Kurt screeched as he climbed from the pool, looking a bit like a drowned rat, bangs clinging to his eyes as he tried to wipe them away.
Quinn's laughter peeled from her, made her stomach ache, and she saw Santana grinning happily in her direction. Rachel was still trying to peel herself from Santana's grip and calling out for Quinn to eject her immediately but Quinn was too busy laughing out of pure amusement to do anything.
Santana managed to dunk Rachel under the water again, and laughed, breaking away as she climbed out of the pool and hid behind Brittany, who had put little swim trunks on Stitch and was setting him up in a sunbathing chair.
Rachel burst to the surface, cursing at Santana, but Quinn laughingly wrapped her arms around Rachel, feeling her slick skin under her hands and marvelling in the back of her mind at the softness, and felt Rachel go limp in her arms and allow herself to be dragged back from the edge of the pool.
"It's okay, we'll figure out how to pay her back later," Quinn assured as her laughter finally settled down. Santana was still grinning devilishly from Brittany's shoulder and Puck was looking at them all like he was expecting a lesbian orgy but suddenly all Quinn could feel was the way Rachel's skin felt under her fingers and the way the muscles of her stomach felt taut as the water slid over them both. She found herself leaning back against the edge of the pool, still holding Rachel around the waist, a little lost in how Rachel had leaned her wet head against her shoulder and Quinn could feel once again all of the bare skin left to press against her own. She could tell Rachel was a little caught up, too, because her breathing was coming a little short.
That red bikini was going to make it very hard to focus on anything. Quinn didn't really care, especially when Rachel turned around in her arms and pressed herself fully against Quinn, her weight keeping Quinn against the marble of the pool behind her. Quinn's face felt a little flushed, because she felt the muscles of Rachel's stomach pressed so tightly against her own, and the soft flesh of Rachel's top against her own.
Rachel had that hungry look again, and Quinn gulped a bit; the glee club didn't seem to notice the moment of intensity passing between them.
"I really want to kiss you," Rachel said it in a way that made Quinn think she wasn't just wanting to kiss Quinn, that she meant entirely more, and Quinn didn't think she'd argue if that happened. They wanted to limit the PDA in front of the glee club, though, merely because Rachel had explained it felt more personal and private to keep it between them - even though Quinn thought it was also to keep the pressure off of their relationship.
Quinn nodded in agreement, speechless as she felt Rachel's slick arms slip around her neck. Her hands had nowhere to go but Rachel's back, and they itched to go just a little lower to what she knew to be Rachel's best asset. Quinn groaned low in her throat out of sexual frustration, and Rachel grinned wolfishly as if she knew she had the power, especially the way her hips suddenly but subtly pressed against Quinn's. Quinn's hazel eyes wide, she arched an eyebrow afterward, "You're devious."
"I never claimed to be innocent, Quinn Fabray."
Rachel pressed her hips lightly against Quinn's again, too subtle for anyone to see above the surface of the water, and Quinn groaned again. "Yeah, I'm getting that."
Quinn really, really liked summer.