The rehearsal dinner was still going strong, but Quinn had reached her limit for the evening. When she though no one was looking she slipped out of the hotel dining room through one of the doors to the balcony.

It was mid October and the air had a sharp chill to it, the first warning that winter was just around the corner. Quinn shivered and tightened her wrap around her shoulders as she rested her arms on the balcony's railing. Even though she'd lived up north for half her life, she still wasn't used to the winters. They were almost enough to make her contemplate moving back to the south. Almost, but not quite. The city glittered around her and she could hear the constant and comfortable dull roar of traffic from below, this was her home now and she couldn't really picture herself leaving.

The door behind her opened, letting a blast of warm air rush over her.

"You can't hide out here forever." Quinn turned slightly towards her friend and quirked her eyebrow up questionably, waiting for her to elaborate. "You can't hide from him forever."

Quinn sighed and tipped her head up towards the sky, ignoring the look the brunette gave her as she leaned back against the railing. "I don't know what you're talking about Santana."

"Please," she scoffed. "You've been avoiding each other for almost month, which I have to say is rather impressive because you're both in this wedding. And you didn't show up at the bar last week when we celebrated Rach's show ending. She was hurt about that, by the way." Santana rattled off a list of everything Quinn already knew. She felt her stomach clench and she blinked hard to keep her eyes from welling up. Santana knew just how to needle through her armor and hit her where it hurt the most. She always had.

"Mike's your best friend, well next to me and Berry of course. This ignoring each other bullshit is childish and ridiculous."

"You can't call her Berry anymore you know, not after tomorrow. She'll be Puckerman from now on."

"We've already got one Puck, don't need another one, besides she'll always be Berry to me. And don't change the subject." Santana softened a bit and placed her arm around Quinn, resting her chin on Quinn's shoulder. "What happened Q?"

"I don't want to talk about it".

"Well, sucks for you cause I'm not going anywhere 'til you start talking."

"Santana."

"Don't give me that tone Fabray. I'm immune."

Quinn huffed and picked at her fingernails before returning her gaze to the skyline. After a few moments of silence she sighed and leaned her head over to rest on top of Santana's. "I was so stupid."

Santana snorted "Obviously. If you weren't then we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"No, I mean, I was really, really stupid." She takes a deep breath and grips the railing a bit harder. "We slept together."

Santana let out a whoop and planted a loud, messy kiss on Quinn's cheek. "Fucking finally! When? How? Dish!"

"I'm not 'dishing' about it Santana. We slept together. That's all."

"Fine, keep the dirty details to yourself for now, I'll get them from you when you're good and drunk anyway. It's not like we didn't all see this coming. You've been dancing circles 'round each other forever." There was a pause before she continued thoughtfully, "Oh, wonder who won the pool."

Quinn turned to her friend, disbelief etched across her face, "You had a pool going about when we would sleep together? That's disgusting." Santana just smirked at her. "Anyway," she continued, waving her hand in the air, "It doesn't matter because it was all a mistake."

"Um, What?"

Quinn pushed back off the railing and away from Santana and begin to pace back and forth. "It was a mistake! We slept together and he was gone in the morning before I even woke up! He clearly regretted it and I feel so stupid because it was all my fault."

"Okkaaayyy Q, you're gonna to have to break it down for me. Cause you're actin' kinda crazy. That doesn't make any sense. Mike's been head over heels for you for ages, he wouldn't regret it."

It was a after little 2 am when the group of friends finally spilled out of the last bar they'd stopped at to celebrate Kurt's's birthday. Rachel and Santana had their arms wrapped around each other's waists as they belted out the last verse of the song that had been playing on the radio. Puck stood off to the side with with his phone aimed at the duo and a grin on his face, this was probably going to be online before they even got into the cab. Quinn shook her head with a smile, Rachel was going to kill him in the morning and she didn't want to think about what Santana would do.

She was so caught up in watching the scene in front of her play out that she stepped funny and stumbled in her heels. A hand grasped her elbow, catching her before she could fall. She looked up and grinned when she saw Mike staring at her with a look of concern on his face. Quinn felt a shiver run through her when he wrapped his arm around her waist and cradled her to his side protectively.

"You alright Quinn?"

She waved her hand in the air dismissively, "I'm fine." And to prove her point she stepped out of his grip and promptly landed in a heap on the ground.

He sighed and hauled her to her feet, keeping her hand firmly in his as he turned to hail a cab. "Sure you are. C'mon let's get you home." He signaled to Puck, and waved to Santana and Rachel who were still standing in the middle of the sidewalk singing, although they'd moved on from the recent stuff to one of their duets from back in glee.

Quinn stumbled into the cab and then leaned across Mike's lap to wave frantically to her friends. "Goooodniiiiight 'Tana! Happy birthday Rach!" She was still blowing kisses as the cab pulled away. When she could no longer see the girls on the sidewalk she sighed and rested her head on his legs. "Mikey, I think I'm drunk."

Mike smiled and reached his hand up to brush the hair off her face, grinning when her eyes fluttered shut. She wrapped her arm around his waist and snuggled close, her head pilled on his thighs and her eyes closed.

She woke up when she felt herself being lowered onto something soft and comfortable, momentarily panic flashing through her until Mike flipped on the lamp and she saw she was in her bedroom. She smiled up at Mike and when he moved towards the door she reached out and caught his hand, pulling him back towards her.

"Stay with me Mike?" she whispered. He searched her face before nodding jerkily. She watched as he kicked off his shoes and settled next to her on the bed, his head pillowed on his hands as he continued to watch her silently. Quinn took a shaky breath before leaning forward and pressing her lips gently to his, her hand coming to rest against his hip. That seemed to be all the encouragement Mike needed as his hands came up to grasp her waist as he deepened the kiss. Quinn pulled back and grinned at him before reaching across him and switching off the bedroom light.

Sunlight streamed in through the window and Quinn groaned, turning towards the opposite wall and the expected warmth of the body next to her. Her hand stretched out and a frown creased her face when it made contact with nothing but cold, rumpled covers. Mike had mentioned something at dinner last night about an early practice for the show he was choreographing, but she hadn't expected him to be gone this early, a glance at the clock showed that it was just after 9. The morning after drinking was always the worst, she could never sleep for more than a few hours before she was up and wide awake.

She stretched and tried to ignore the pounding in her head as she slid out of bed, grabbing her robe from the chair. Making her way to kitchen she found a fresh pot of coffee brewing which made Quinn smile despite the jackhammer working away inside her head. She grabbed a mug from the cabinet, filled a cup and sank down into a chair at the table, her cat leaping up to settle in her lap.

Last night had been incredible, even if she hadn't intended for it to happen that way. She'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't have feelings for Mike. They'd been building for the last two years, ever since he'd moved to the city and rejoined their group of friends. She hadn't said anything though, not even to Rachel or Santana. At first she figured it was just the last remnants of a crush she thought she'd left behind in high school. Though as they spent more time together, becoming closer friends, Quinn realized she was falling in love with him. She'd kept quiet about that though, determined to try to push past it so that she didn't jeopardize the friendship. Well, until last night when she practically pulled him into her bed and had her way with him.

She looked at the clock one more time before finishing off her cup of coffee. As long as she was up she might as well get dressed and try to talk to Mike.

A little over an hour later Quinn was walking in the door of Mike's dance studio. She waved to the girl on the phone at the front desk and nodded when she just pointed towards the back rehearsal room. Music was pulsating out of the open door and Quinn could feel slight vibrations in the hardwood floors under her feet. She leaned against the doorjamb and watched quietly as Mike and one of the dancer's from his class flowed across the floor. She loved to watch him move, he was flawless and so confident on the dance floor.

Quinn moved to step further in the room as the music died out and the two dancers stopped their movements, frozen in the final embrace of the dance. Before she could open her mouth to say anything the girl reached up and pulled Mike towards her in a searing kiss. Tears clouded her eyes and she turned and ran out the door of the studio.

"If he didn't regret it then why hasn't he called me in a month? Why did he run off in the morning before I even had a chance to talk to him about it? And why was he kissing some other girl when I stopped by the studio to see him?" Quinn blinked harder, fighting to hold the tears in, but they spilled over anyway, running down her cheeks. Thank goodness she'd invested in good waterproof mascara for this wedding.

"Oh Q, I'm so sorry." Santana wrapped her arms around Quinn again, pulling the taller blonde close. The two women stood there for a few moments, Quinn's shoulders shaking in silent sobs as Santana rubbed her back and murmured in her ear.

They both jumped when a voice broke through the quiet on the balcony.

"I didn't regret it."

Quinn turned towards the door and saw Mike standing there, shoulder resting against the frame and his hands in his pockets. His eyes were trained on hers and neither of them noticed when Santana slid around and slipped back through the doorway behind him.

"Could've fooled me. Do you always run out on the girls you sleep with?" her words were laced with a venom left over from her days as a cheerio and her eyes were just as cold.

"I didn't run out on you! I had a practice. I made coffee when i woke up and left you a note to call me so we could talk. You never called and then when you didn't come to dinner that week I figured you were avoiding me because you regretted it. So, I let you have your space."

She stared at him, her eyes softening a bit, but her voice was still hard. "I never found a note."

"I left it on the counter. By the coffee machine. I figured you'd see it when you woke up and made it to the kitchen." Mike threw his hands up in frustration, "Why would i lie about it Q? Have I ever lied to you?"

She shrugged, and looked down, a bitter laugh bubbling up. "But I suppose you always make out with your dance partners?"

Mike sighed and ran his hands though his hair. "It wasn't like that. She kissed me, but I stopped it. I'm not interested in her, not like that. I've told her that before, she just doesn't want to listen." He moved closer towards her on the balcony, stopping about a foot away. "I thought you were angry that I'd taken advantage of you, for sleeping with you while you were drunk. I thought you regretted it and I didn't want to make things any more awkward between us. It seemed better to keep my distance for a while."

He moved closer and tipped her chin up to look her in the eye. "I don't regret it Quinn, not one bit of it. But it killed me to think that you did." Quinn's chin trembled and she took a shaky breath. "I've wanted that for so long. I've wanted you for so long."

His words were filled with so much warmth and sincerity that it broke her resolve. "I didn't regret it either," she whispered. "I've wanted you for so long too, I just didn't want to ruin our friendship. I was so hurt when I woke up and you weren't there, and then seeing her kiss you, it broke my heart."

Mike sighed, "I'm sorry Quinn, I never meant to hurt you."

"I know. I was stupid to think that you would have. You've never hurt me Mike, not once in the almost 20 years we've known each other. I'm sorry I didn't give you a chance to explain."

They stood there silently for a moment before Quinn reached up and pulled Mike down to her, slanting her mouth across his. He wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him and the other hand found it's way to her hair, getting tangled in her short blonde locks. She whimpered and deepened the kiss, her hands wrapped firmly around his neck.

A burst of applause came from the direction of the doorway and they broke apart to see their friends clustered around, cheering them on. Quinn groaned and buried her head in Mike's chest, her body shaking with laughter. Puck let out a wolf whistle, with Santana immediately following. Rachel and Kurt continued to clap and cheer, identical grins plastered across their faces.

Mike smiled and leaned down to whisper in Quinn's ear, "Well, I guess we don't have to worry about telling everyone." She pulled back and smiled up at him before pressing her lips to his in a soft kiss.

"Saves us the trouble," she shrugged. "Now let's go celebrate!" She laced her fingers with him, and tugged him towards their friends who were still grinning like maniacs while arguing over who had won the pool.

This was definitely her home, with these people, and she couldn't imagine being anywhere else.