A/N: This is an apology of sorts to all the Finchel readers that read my fic Pain and Love by accident. I had no idea that by putting Finn and Rachel on the character list I had tagged Finchel. My sincere apologies. However I still ship Faberry :P (Then again I do ship Finchel and Puckleberry and Pezberry) I'm not too good at writing one-shots or Finchel so do forgive me!
'Finn?' It couldn't be. After all these years…'Rachel?' the petite Broadway star nodded.
'Finn? You still live here?' she asked, uncertainly.
Finn nodded. 'I'm the football coach at McKinley now.'
'Oh wow, that's…' Quick! What do you say to your old boyfriend that you left for Broadway? 'Unexpected.' 'Yeah. I guess.' Both of them avoided the topic.
'So, are you having fun teaching?' 'Not as much fun as you're having being a Broadway star I'm sure.' He replied with a smile.
'Finn…about that…' Rachel hesitated. 'About what?' Finn asked, pretending not to understand.
'You know what I'm talking about. Why didn't you come?' 'Come where?' Rachel stamped her foot in frustration. 'New York!'
'New York? Why would I go there?' Finn asked, still clueless. 'All I know is that you left me here.' He said, defensive.
'But I prepared a ticket for you to come! I even wrote a letter! My dads assured me that it would be in your hands!' She cried frantic.
'Rach, I never received any letter. It must have been a mix-up. And all this time I thought you'd given up on me!' Finn smiled inside. There's still hope for us to happen again.
'Wait…my dads! They planned this whole thing to separate us?' Rachel said, furious.
'Your dads? Why?' Finn asked puzzled. Rachel sighed. Sometimes the guy could be really thickheaded.
'Didn't you see their expression the first time we told them we were going to get married? They never wanted us together! They sprung the New York ticket on me and I had to pack that night, it was a wonder that I was even able to write to you, let alone get a ticket for you!' she had it all figured out now.
'How do I know that this isn't a lie?' Finn said. Rachel rolled her eyes. Trust him to choose this time to be the smart one.
'Because I still have this, Finn.' She said softly. She pulled out a locket he gave her. 'Remember this? Senior year. Under the big oak tree next to Breadstix.' She opened the locker. It showed a photo of them together, beaming at the camera, the perfect picture of joy.
Finn's eyes grew wide at the locket. 'You still kept that. After ten years. Oh, Rach. It seems like I'm not the only one who still misses being together then.'
'Every night, I call the airport to ask if there was anyone called Finn Hudson. The receptionists all recognize me by now.' She said, chuckling a little.
'Rachel, I understand if you don't want to, but can we have dinner together tomorrow night?' Finn asked cautiously.
'Like a date?' Rachel asked. Finn nodded uncertainly and waited for her response. 'I'd love it! But Finn, I have to apologize first for doubting you.'
He grinned. 'Apology accepted, and ditto. Sorry too.' She shrugged. 'Misunderstandings. I'm going to yell at them tonight.' They both laughed.
'Um, I gotta go, I've got work tomorrow I'm afraid.' Finn said.
'Cool. I look very much forward to seeing you tomorrow night. Meet you outside Breadstix at eight?' asked Rachel, knowing his answer.
'Nah, I'll pick you up fifteen minutes earlier.' They both said simultaneously. They laughed.
Maybe this could be a new beginning for them.
