A/N:Hi everyone! This oneshot is dedicated to CSM because she's having fildo withdrawals at the moment and I owe her this anyway. As well as to all of you who support me as an author. I really appreciate it :)

Disclaimer: I don't own or profit from Glee or its affiliates, unfortunately.

"Finn!" Rachel protests as he pulls into the Taco Bell parking lot.

"You said you're hungry! Rach, there aren't many places open at one in the morning that have things you can actually eat!" he counters, cutting the engine and looking at her.

She relents, albeit grudgingly. They'd just spent ten hours at a baby shower for one of Rachel's friends and there hadn't been much vegan-friendly food. And well, she's a little buzzed and he'd gotten stuck with crappy designated driver duty, but he's always up for a meal. Especially because he kinda wants a fucking taco and hasn't had one in like a year 'cause Rachel does all the cooking and he needs to eat healthily and all that stuff.

So here they are. She gets four bean burritos and he nearly bursts out laughing at the clerk guy who gives her the strangest look, and then again when she glares and asks if there's a problem. Maybe he's just finding everything funny 'cause all he's listened to today is giggly women being even gigglier about baby clothes and baby shoes and baby bottles and other baby stuff. And he figures it'll be different when it's his kid. But it wasn't his kid and he barely even knew the couple and he wasn't allowed to have any alcohol. And the delicious little sandwich finger thingies didn't begin to cover for how lame being DD is.

So Taco Bell it is. Rachel stares at him, appalled at the "unnecessarily copious amount" of food he orders.

He laughs again. "Seriously? You ordered four burritos." She huffs, but he takes her hand and squeezes and she falters a little, finally sighing and squeezing back as they wait for their food.

She scowls at the drink selections and then at him when he fills a cup with Mountain Dew. He shrugs. "Hey, you got to drink today, so no complaining." He smiles easily and he loves how alcohol kinda loosens her up a bit 'cause she just rolls her eyes kisses his cheek before finding a table.

He sets the tray down on the table and grins when she sort of inhales her first burrito—he's been teaching her well. It's a little funny—ending up like this and all. He and Rachel have had their fair share of rough patches. But it's comforting to know they really are going the distance. Like, it's easy to talk about in high school; the rest of your life seems far away and stuff, like it doesn't matter.

They'd patched things up—gradually, but still—in high school. And they'd both been so sure nothing would ever break them up again and he's gotta admit, it seemed likely back then. But that was before the real world dawned on either of them.

'Cause you see, college was pretty awesome. Except for the parts that had, you know, sucked. Like the time two months before his graduation that he and Rachel broke up.

Everything had been going great—like, seriously. He'd been preparing to move out to New York after graduation to be with Rachel.

Um, until she'd told him she didn't want him to move out East. Yeah, okay, so she didn't say it like that. She'd actually said something about how she'd been offered a spot on some bus truck tour thing of—some musical or another (he'd sorta stopped paying attention to details at that point) and she would be travelling extensively for at least a year, so she was leasing her apartment and there wasn't really a place for him to stay. She'd said she still loved him and nothing would really change.

Yeah, he'd countered, except like everything. He hadn't taken the news well. He'd been really proud of her—he can't deny it now—and he'd always wanted her to chase after her dreams. He just had never thought it would end up being so, well, literal. And that's what he'd told her right before he decided maybe if would be best if they broke up. He wasn't sure he could live with the constant reminder that he would always be second to her stardom.

Thinking back on it now, he's pretty sure he was just being a baby. But when you're two months away from earning your degree and stressing about it and thinking more about moving away to be with the girl you're absolutely head-over-heels in love with and all that, you probably don't have very good judgment or anything. Especially considering that four months later, after he'd moved back into his mom and Burt's house for the summer, she'd shown up on his doorstep, sniffling.

Needless to say, it had scared the crap out of him 'cause he'd figured she would only come to him if one of her dads was dying or something. As it turned out, she'd been practicing a speech or something to give him. She said how she loved him and she'd realized that being successful wasn't nearly as special when she didn't have him to share her success with. And has much as she loved performing, she'd quit the tour and she hoped they could at least still be friends.

He'd stared at her a while before inviting her in. "Just so you know," he'd told her eventually. "I would never ask you to give up your dreams for me. I just wish you'd said something to me first, you know? Maybe then I would have understood more. But you just kinda sprung it on me and trust me, there's little, if nothing, I want more than for you to get all the fame you deserve."

And then she'd started crying again, but he was sure this time it wasn't the bad kind. Anyway, then there'd been a few more tears and a lot more talking and even more sex, much to the dismay of his parents. He chuckles a little, remembering it.

So the next week he'd moved back with her to New York and though they'd moved into a better apartment since then, they've been living together in the city for just over four years now.

"Finn?" Rachel asks, licking a little bit of taco sauce off her lip.

"Yeah, babe?"

She smiles a little. "You just seem distracted. Is everything all right?"

"Yeah," he answers honestly. "I was just thinking how awesome life is right now. I mean, I think so at least. Like, yeah I'm still not impressed with being the designated driver—" She rolls her eyes. "—but it's nice just being here with you after watching people being happy and stuff all day. I just feel like life has finally, like, fallen into place, I guess." He grins at her.

She smiles widely right back and takes another bite of her third burrito (it still makes him laugh that she ordered so many and he can tell that she knows this by the slight glower that forms on her face as he tries to resist laughing again). "I know exactly what you mean," she says eventually. "I know the air conditioner in our apartment is faulty, and really I've complained to the landlord so many times, but I have a feeling that since I'm unavailable for his kind of 'negotiations' that my complaints fall on deaf ears. But we're in a good place, Finn. And some day, we'll be in an even better one." She smiles again and sips at her drink.

A better place…des she mean like a house? Or a really good apartment? Or like, more metaphorically and stuff? Like married and with kids and—married.

Dude. He can totally do this. He pats his pants pocket briefly and considers. She doesn't know it, but he's had the ring for about a month now. He just hasn't had the balls to ask her yet. Mostly because he's had a lot of images of him asking her, but mostly after a fucking awesome round of hot sex in which she insists he's being insensitive because he knows how seriously she takes this and can't believe he just wants an all access pass to between her legs. He swears it's not like that—he loves her and he knows that she knows it—but he can't deny that having sex all the time would be awesome. Still, he's pretty sure the whole proposing thing isn't supposed to piss her off and he wants to do it right. One of his friends at the office told him to drop the ring in her wine for her to find and how it's so romantic and that's what he did when he proposed. Finn had managed to refrain from saying that they'd gotten divorced nine months later.

Besides, with his luck, Rachel would probably choke and then hold out on him for weeks and he would totally deserve it. So yeah, that was a no. He'd asked Kurt, but there'd been no way for him to afford any of his step-brother's ideas, especially after managing to buy the stupid ring. So he just carries around in his pocket every day, hoping he doesn't get mugged or something 'cause he's been working his ass off to afford this thing. He even washed Kurt's car when he'd visited for twenty extra bucks. It wasn't his finest moment (and in fact Kurt had laughed for like ten minutes before agreeing) but whatever. He has the ring now, so it's all worth it.

He should totally just go for it.

He swallows the last of his however many tacos he's eaten now and takes a deep breath. "Rachel?"

She looks up at him. "Yes, Finn?"

He licks his lips nervously and pulls the box out of his pocket, clutching it tightly. "I just…I really love you and you talked about being in a better place and well…" He glances down momentarily and then moves to sit next to her. "I'm not gonna, like, get on one knee on the floor 'cause I don't want to get rabies or syphilis or something and you're the one who's always talking about being sanitary and stuff, but I'm doing it in spirit or something, okay?" He smiles at her and barely controls his frown when he notices she's looking at him warily.

"I never really thought much about the future until you," he continues. "But what we have, you and me? It's the best thing ever and I was stupid to give it up before. But I'm glad we're where we are and like you said some day, we'll even have more. So Rachel, I'm asking if—"

She screeches. He almost falls out of the booth in haste to back away from the noise. He stares at her.

"Finn Hudson!" she exclaims, throwing her hands up. He looks around and notices a couple of people staring at them. "Are you proposing to me? In a Taco Bell?"

"Well, I—yeah," he sighs in defeat. Shit.

She pouts. "You know I love you immensely but a proposal is supposed to romantic and asking me to spend the rest of my life with you in a place that sells eighty nine cent tacos and smells like rotting fruit inside a gym sock is not romantic." She offers a small smile like it's a consolation prize or something and Finn can't help but feel a little indignant. "Here's what we're going to do," she says softly. "We're going to go back to our apartment , in which you'll set out—"

"No," he interrupts, his brow furrowed. She opens her mouth to speak again, but he shakes his head firmly. "I really love you, Rach. But it's always about the way you want it. And normally, it's cool. Like, I don't mind eating your weird vegan food or making sure I don't wash clothes that are brown and black together and going to yoga with you on Thursday nights and carrying you home afterward even though yoga makes me hurt all over and not in the good way, really. And I don't mind having dinner with your theatre friends on Monday nights or remembering not to wear my shoes around the apartment and I don't mind how you write on the memo board the different sex positions you wanna do that night. But it can't always be the way you plan it Rachel. And I'm sorry if this isn't your dream proposal or something. But I've been waiting weeks to do this and it feels like one of those now or never moments."

He takes another deep breath and sees her eyes boring into his with interest and maybe a slight bit of insult, but she doesn't say anything. "So here's what's really going to happen, Rachel. I'm going to ask you to marry me and you're going to say yes and everyone in here that's staring at us right now is going to smile and clap and congratulate us, okay?"

She licks her lips, her eyes never leaving his, and nods imperceptibly.

"As I was saying, you're the only one who's ever really made me consider the future in any way that actually mattered. And I want you to be in my present and future and everything forever. I know we've hit snags along the way, but the important part is that we love each other and can work through everything. So, why don't we seal the deal. Marry me, Rachel. Marry me and be my wife?"

He looks at her for real and finally sees what he needs to. She wraps her arms tightly around him and says into his shirt, " Yes. Yes. I'll marry you and I'd be honored to be your wife, Finn."

She looks up at him and smiles. "That's more like it," he tells her, slipping the ring onto her finger. She laughs a little and the people around them start a slow clap. Finn actually snorts because he never figured he'd do this so in public and it's a little embarrassing, but hey. It all worked out, so he can't complain too much.

"I'm sorry," she murmurs. "I didn't mean to take the spotlight from you. And it's kind of nice to have witness to this moment because I know I'm not making it up."

He presses a kiss to her forehead and says, "I'm pretty sure if you made it up, I wouldn't be wearing the same jeans I've been wearing for the past three days." He shrugs a little.

"Finn!" She pokes his chest. "I just did laundry yesterday! I could have washed them."

He shrugs again. "Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? They pretty much never get dirty."

She laughs a little at this, but it's probably because she's still kinda drunk and he can get away with comments like this when she is. She starts to open another packet of taco sauce for her last burrito, but he snatches it from her grasp suddenly. "Finn, what—"

He smiles sheepishly. "It's fitting," he says, holding it up. He's always thought it was weird that the Taco Bell sauce packets have all these strange sayings on them, but this one says "Marry Me," and he's just corny enough to think it's perfect. "It can be like a momento or something." He tries to shrug and pretend he's not like the lamest person ever. But she grins and takes it from him again, putting it in her purse.

"You're cute," she tells him, giggling a little.

But then she's pushing him out of the booth and hurriedly throws their trash away before running out the door. He chases after her and unlocks his truck when he sees her leaning against it, eyeing him appraisingly. She opens the driver's side door and pushes the seat all the way back before shoving him inside and climbing on top of him as she pulls the door closed.

"Rachel?" he chokes out as she unbuckles his belt.

"You had your way about the proposal," she whispers huskily and pulls at his shirt. She leans down near his ear. "Now I'm going to have my way when it comes to celebrating." Her mouth latching to his neck, he groans and pretends he can think straight.

Though in all honesty, even though it's tacky and they're not teenagers anymore and people could totally come into the parking lot any second, he's not gonna complain about this one.

Even if he didn't get to finish his tacos.

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peace out!