Come What May
Rachel was happy in New York. She had all she could ask for; Finn, a great job, (She performed, although not as widely as she had once hoped. Finn was too grounded for her to be able to do that.) and a nice home. She kept in touch with Kurt, who had ended up in the same company as she had. They occasionally sang together. Kurt was happily married; coincidently it had not been Blaine who he had married, but a taller man, a blonde, by the name of Sam Evans.
"Hey, Rach," Called a voice from the kitchen. Rachel peered at the mirror for a split second more, finally satisfied, and hurried to the kitchen. On the table were two plates, both set with eggs and Italian bread, toasted. One contained bacon, and she wrinkled her nose at it.
"I made breakfast." Finn smiled a dopey grin, pointing. Rachel nodded in turn, sitting herself next to Finn at the plate without bacon.
"Thanks, Finn..." She murmured. It was impossible to be completely vegan with Finn. He always wanted something with meat in it, or something just generally anti-vegan. Rachel had grown, at least slightly, accustomed to it. She still however avoided all meats. She picked up a piece of the toast and bit into it, savoring the warm, buttered bread. "Pretty good."
Finn grinned again, attacking his bacon and eggs with his fork. He seemed not to chew as he finished his meal after a few minutes. Rachel stared down at her plate, suddenly not hungry. "Well, thanks... I have to go to work, Finn. I'll see you later, ok?" She stood, taking her plate and scraping the rest into the trash. She placed it in the sink, smiling thinly one last time and grabbing her purse on the way out.
"Bye, Rachel!" Finn called.
Rachel took the elevator down from her floor, humming 'Defying Gravity' quietly to herself as it did so. With one hand she held on to her bag's strap. With a ding, the elevator doors slid open, and she checked the floor. Rachel stepped out, stopping humming to look around. She exited the lobby quietly, nodding to the clerk behind the desk, who smiled in return.
Rachel quickly walked to her car, swinging open the door and sliding into the seat. As she closed the door, she fished for her keys from her purse. She pushed it into the dash and started the car, almost immediately straightening and looking at her mirror. As soon as she saw no one was there, she pushed the gas, car in reverse, and pulled out of the parking lot. Rachel sighed as she was swept into traffic. "This may take a bit, but that's why you leave early." She murmured.
Why is it it's so easy to talk to yourself? She asked herself. She had no reply to her own question, instead she navigated through the traffic.
"You sang well today, Rach."
"Thanks, Sam. So did you, Kurt! You were really good." Kurt blushed and Sam pulled him closer.
"Well, thanks. But what do you expect? We were the best singers at McKinley. Although, must I say, Mercedes and Santana were both quite good themselves."
"Yeah..." Rachel became quiet a moment. They had lost contact with both of those people, as well as Brittany. The last they had seen them, it had been at Santana and Brittany's wedding.
Kurt himself nodded to the ground, and Sam squeezed is shoulder. "Well, then. You guys want coffee? My treat."
Rachel bit the inside of her cheek, thinking of Finn, and then smiled. "I' love to, Sam. It's been a while since it's been just me and you guys."
Sam nodded and smiled back, leaning down to pec Kurt on the cheek. "And you, babe?" Kurt smiled and nodded.
"Of course."
It was a date.
The three walked to the closest coffee shop, titled Batista's, chatting as they strolled.
"How's Finn, Rach?" Asked Kurt. He may have been his step-brother, but he hadn't visited in a while.
"He's...Finn." She replied, fingering her purse strap. "Still adorable, and oh so tall." She laughed slightly, smiling at the two men beside her. As she passes a small tree planted in to dirt filled into a cement hole, something catches her eye and she stops, lookign at the small green snippet of ribbon tied to the tree. It's like the few others she's seen, and taken. She carefully unties it and pushes it into her bag, walking quickly to catch back up to Kurt and Sam.
"Hey, where'd you go for a sec? I thought we'd lost you." Sam said, smilign to let her know he was kidding.
"Oh, just thought I saw something," Rachel answered. "Hey, look, it's the shop." She pointed, bumping Kurt with her hip as she budged them towards the door.
"This coffee is amazing." Sam spoke, sipping his blend. "I've never had better; Jesus, why'd we never come here before?"
Kurt shrugged. "I can be a bit of a die-hard Starbucks fan, but right now, I think I've been converted." He was drinking his own coffee, humming lightly to himself. "It's quite a lot better than what I'd thought, definitely richer, better than Starbucks. Quite interesting."
"I agree." Rachel nodded, tipping back her coffee mug to get the last few drops from the cup. "Hm, what time is it?" She asked, glancing around the room for a clock. Well, for a good coffee spot, it's a bit inconvenient to not have a clock. Sam glanced at his watch.
"It's five-thirty." Rachel jumped up. "Thanks for the coffee, Sam, Kurt. I'll see you both tomorrow, ok?" She skirted aorund the table to side-ways hug Kurt, then Sam.
She left quickly, leaving Kurt and Sam looking at each other, bewildered. "Wonder what she's doing?" Kurt asked.
Sam shrugged. "I dunno, probably has to do with Finn, she seemed almost panicked, like she's late for something."
Rachel burst through the apartment door, face red. "Hey, Finn, I'm home. Sorry I'm late..." She wipe her forehead with the back of her hand as Finn shuffled in from the bed room, shirtless and clothed in basketball shorts.
"Oh. I didn't realize it was already six." He scratched the back of his head. "I was playing COD the past few...uh, minutes..." Rachel inwardly snorted. More like ever sense I left.
"Oh. Alright, then. Did you forget about what we have planned for later?" She asked, brow furrowed.
He quickly shook his head. "No, of course not." He shambled into the kitchen, and the sound of rustling paper sounded from the room. He was checking the calender. "Dinner at seven. I remember."
"Of course, Finn. Well, I'm going to go read for a bit in the den, at about 6:45 we'll leave, ok?"
Finn nodded, eager to head back to his game. Rachel sighed, pulling a book off the shelf, shedding her coat, and plopping onto the couch. Maybe it'll be better tonight. She thought, before immersing herself into her book.