I'm still alive haha! Sorry about the hiatus. Anyway, this one shot is inspired by a wonderful dream I had a long time ago (seriously, I began writing this during the summer and have now posted it). Hope you enjoy :)
Dedicated to my lovely reviewers of TTAO chapter 15: miamalkinxoxo, musicallygleek235, hpdreamer500, hpfangurl12993, Olivia94, CeciltheGleek, LovesArrow, gleekers, faithfullyfinchel, XxSailorWinchesterXx, EpicFinnEpicWin, Katniss12Everdeen, xXLove2ReadXx, noro, softballer8931, gymkidz2000, marri, LiveLoveLaughLife, shaleasa, and TheGleeGirl15. You are all amazing :) Thanks for the support!
Disclaimer: -sigh- You know the drill…
A Very Berry Strut Down Memory Lane
This was normally not a very Rachel Berry thing to do.
Normally whenever Rachel missed her boyfriend, all she had to do was pick up her cell phone and press speed dial to give him a call. She would give anything to hear the innocence in his voice she had come to love, or the cheerfulness in his contagious laugh. And if that didn't work, she always could pull out a small wooden box, embroidered with gold buckles on the edges and labeled FH & RB inside a neatly engraved heart. Within the box lay a bunch of keepsakes, all revolving around the relationship she treasured with Finn.
. . .
The movie tickets from the time they went to see Titanic
Rachel had begged Finn for days to accompany her to the special romance movie revival night at the theater. Remaining ever so steadfast and resolute, he wouldn't budge even with her constant pleading.
But Rachel was determined to change his mind and so, for the sixty third time that very day, she brought up the dreaded topic once more in the hallways of McKinley High.
"C'mon Finn! It'll be fuuun," she said in a sing song manner with a twinkle in her voice. She was trying her best to be persuasive—which, needless to say, was never-ending—, but Finn wasn't having any of it.
"For the hundredth time today no way Rachel! That's a total chick flick. I can't be seen dead in that place!"
"But there are action scenes too," she pointed out, "You'll like it, I promise…"
"I doubt it…"
"I'm imploring you Finn—"
"I don't even know what that means…"
"It's just one little movie…"
"It'll be bor— ," Finn began to say before Rachel interrupted him.
"Please?" she pouted, sticking out her bottom lip like a young child so that it quivered slightly. When in doubt, Rachel knew exactly when to pull the puppy face card.
Finn groaned. How could he say no now to his girlfriend who insisted on acting like this?
"Okay, fine," he gave in, raising his hands up in the air, "I'll go. I'll go." Finn figured he wouldn't be a very good boyfriend if he didn't sacrifice at least a portion of his manly pride for his girl.
Rachel squealed with delight as she jumped into Finn's arms, "Oh Finn! We're going to have the greatest time!"
He chuckled at her excitement, "Anything for you babe."
After the end credits finished rolling down the screen, Rachel began babbling nonstop about her thoughts on the movie all the way to the parking lot, analyzing every possible aspect of the film, leaving Finn unable to squeeze in a word.
Not that he was going to anyway.
"Finn?" Rachel asked after hearing nothing but silence from him, "Finn?" She turned around just in time to see her boyfriend inconspicuously wipe a tear that had leaked out from the corner of his eye with his index finger. Finn froze as his eyes met hers; she wasn't supposed to have seen that.
Rachel feigned a loud gasp, placing her palm on her heart, "Did I just witness the impossible? Finn Hudson-" She paused for dramatic effect, "moved by a 'chick flick'?" She made quotation marks with her fingers, grinning cheekily, laughing inside.
Finn scoffed, defending what was left of his manly image, "My eye was itchy."
"Oh please, you liked the movie," she teased, playfully poking his chest at every syllable.
He grabbed her gently by the arm, pulling her closer to his body. Wrapping his long arms around her slender waist, he asked in a quiet whisper, "But do you know what I liked more?"
"What's that?" Rachel asked softly, slowly rising on her tippy tip toes so that their foreheads met and her arms rested around his neck.
"You."
. . .
The long elegant white silk gloves she wore when she taught Finn how to waltz
"This is taking for-e-ver," Finn complained as he stepped left instead of right. He moaned in frustration, dropping his arms and letting his frame slide. "This is absolutely hopeless," he muttered quietly, his head hung low.
Rachel had been explaining and demonstrating to Finn the basic steps for the waltz now for three hours straight and he still could not understand the simple movements of the dance.
"You'll get the hang of it soon enough. You're almost there!" Rachel cheered him on. She knew they had been practicing for ages but she admired how Finn was trying his best. And he was improving, even if he didn't think so.
However, she saw how depressed her boyfriend looked and added, "This will mean a lot to your mom and Burt you know, to be able to dance with your mom at the wedding. It'll be a nice gift to them."
Finn looked up at her with his large, sorrowful eyes. "Yeah, that's the whole reason why I'm doing this in the first place! I know it'll make my mom happy. But, if you haven't noticed, I have two left feet!"
"You just need a little more practice, that's all."
"But I don't know how!" Finn groaned.
"That's why I'm here," Rachel said matter-of-factly, "to teach you the necessary skills. Now hands up."
Finn grudgingly raised his arms and hooked one around Rachel's waist, giving her a small squeeze. His other hand slowly entwined with Rachel's small hand, poised and ready to go.
"Okay, let's begin. Forward left foot, side right, step with the left and there!"
Finn looked up in surprise, realizing that his feet were finally cooperating with him. He had mimicked Rachel's orders exactly and he didn't even step on her toes this time! Full of shock and pride, he exclaimed excitedly, "I did it! I did it Rach!"
"See what can happen when you put your mind to it?"
In a thrilling whirlwind of pure exhilaration, Finn lifted Rachel up in his arms, spinning her around and around. Rachel held onto Finn's neck and bent her legs back, squealing at Finn's overjoyed enthusiasm as he spun her in the air. She giggled hysterically as she flew freely in circles, her billowing hair whipping in her face. Finn placed her down and immediately planted a small kiss right on her lips.
The sides of Rachel's lips tugged into a grin as she asked, "What was that for?"
Finn chuckled, "For believing in me."
. . .
Two rose petals from the time Finn surprised her on their anniversary
"Finn, you didn't forget did you?" Rachel's voice rose an octave higher as the question surged out of her mouth.
"Forget what?" Finn panicked, frantically patting his pants pockets with his hands to verify he wasn't forgetting anything in there, "Wait, it's not your birthday is it?"
"No, Finn," Rachel moaned, "I can't believe you didn't remember!"
Finn stared at her dumbfounded as Rachel let out another gasp of exasperation, "It's our one year anniversary! You know, the day we first became a couple? It's been a whole year Finn."
"Oh."
"Oh Finn? Oh's the best you could come up with!" Rachel squeaked.
"I'm sorry Rachel. I've just been really busy lately what with football and all…"
"Yet you couldn't remember our own anniversary! Do you realize how long I've been planning this?" After composing herself for a brief second, Rachel said in a very straightforward tone, "I've begun organizing this day after our first date. It was supposed to be perfect. You were going to pick me up tonight and we were going to spend the evening on the most romantic getaway to the park where we would exchange anniversary gifts and have a picnic and gaze at the stars all night, ultimately falling asleep in each other's arms." She huffed out loud, crossing her arms across her chest after she was done.
Finn smirked, laughing at his girlfriend's melodramatic attitude towards every little thing. Rachel, however, was not finding things at all humorous.
"This is not funny business Finn!" she reprimanded him again, this time with her hands on her hips.
"You're cute when you're angry," Finn replied, receiving a cross glare from Rachel. But she soon furrowed her eyebrows in confusion when Finn reached into his football jacket and pulled out two surprisingly undamaged roses. He handed them over to Rachel, who was looking rather shocked.
"What's this supposed to be Finn?" she asked somewhat exasperated, staring down at the roses in her hand.
"It's for you. For our anniversary remember?"
"But I thought you said you forgot?"
"It's called acting Rachel," he said with a wink, "Learned it from the best."
Rachel frowned, "Oh."
Finn laughed heartily. "Oh?" he mimicked teasingly, "Oh's the best you could come up with?"
Rachel stood there dumbfounded and for once in her life, at a loss for words. As Finn's laughter died down, she merely stared blankly at the roses in her palm, as if trying to take everything in. The two stood there in silence, Finn awkwardly coughing to relieve the thick palpable tension.
"So…," Finn's voice broke through the stillness, alerting Rachel to where she was. He pursed his lips as he asked tentatively yet quickly, "Are you happy?"
And, instead of the sweet hug or perhaps even the kiss that Finn was expecting, he received a huge blow to the chest, whacking the air right out of him. He wheezed and took a step back, looking up only to see a furious girlfriend, looking much scarier than Finn could ever imagine.
"Finn Christopher Hudson! What on earth would cause you to do such a horrendous thing! Do you obtain joy out of seeing me enraged? Do you like tricking people just for the fun of it? This was atrocious—no absolutely deplorable and—"
But before Rachel could continue her rant any longer, Finn took this moment to shove his face forward so that his lips met hers in a crushing embrace. To his surprise, she didn't back away from the kiss. Instead, she kissed him back with more hunger and passion than he expected she was even capable of. At long last, they parted, leaving behind a partially panting Finn.
"Y-you said you wanted to be surprised," he explained, "So…surprised?" He heard her chuckle as he closed his eyes and leaned in once more.
"Very."
. . .
The long good bye letter Finn wrote before they each left for their respective colleges
Finn tenderly cradled his depressed girlfriend in a warm embrace, squeezing her shoulder to give her assurance that he completely adored her. Rachel laid her palms flat against the front of Finn's shirt, feeling the steady pound of his beating heart meld with her soft touch.
She whispered solemnly, "But what if I want to see you?"
"I'll always be with you Rach. We're only going to different colleges. It's not like we'll never see each other again."
"Yeah but it won't be the same," she said sorrowfully, broken inside.
"I know. So I wrote this to make it up to you," Finn said as he handed Rachel a folded up piece of paper.
Rachel looked up, surprised, and hastily wiped her face void of any tears that were beginning to start their cascade down her face. She gently straightened out the handwritten letter, reading it silently to herself.
Dear Rachel,
When we first met, I was just another high school boy who could barely tell his right from his left. All I ever wanted was to be popular so I played sports and hung out in the cool crowd. But then I met you, Rachel, and everything changed. I changed, for the better. Because of you Rachel, I realized that popularity didn't mean a thing. I found love. The kind only found in fairy tales. When we first started dating, I thought it was too good to be true. I couldn't understand why you would want to be with a guy like me when you could do so much better. But then you assured me that I was your guy and nothing would come in the way of our relationship. I know these past few years have been the best of my life and that's all because of you. You've given me so much Rachel and I don't think you realize that. You were the only one who believed in me all these years and you opened my eyes to the world of music. You have no idea how much that means to me.
You've always said that you plan on being a star. And now that we're leaving for college, you'll finally be able to do just that. You're following your dreams and I couldn't be any more proud. Even though we'll only be a couple hours away from each other, I promise I'll still be here for you. I'll never stop thinking of you but I know you're doing what you love at Julliard. I just want you to know that you're the one I love and nothing is ever going to change how I feel about you. You're my best friend and everything I could have ever wished for. I hope you realize that even though we won't be together every waking moment of each day, my love for you will never die. It's immortal, like a fire within us that will never be extinguished. Remember that.
Finn
P.S I'll come and visit whenever I can, promise. Break a leg out there. I love you.
Rachel looked up from the letter and immediately threw her body into Finn's arms, giving him the biggest bear hug her arms could give.
Finn laughed softly, "I'm glad you liked it." Scrunching up his nose, he recalled how the letter had taken him exactly six hours and thirty seven minutes to write. After all, he had to look up the definitions and spellings of every other word. But it was all worth it. Just to hear whisper the words,
"No, I loved it. I love you."
. . .
Rachel couldn't handle it anymore as she tossed the letter back into her treasure box. The small container of tokens simply could not satisfy her intense desire to see her boyfriend just one more time. Rachel stole a glance at her alarm clock on her bedside table. 11:30. Finn wouldn't mind a late night visit, right? Rachel quickly tiptoed over to the door, making sure not to wake up her roommate who was asleep, snoring under the covers. Thankful that her roommate was a heavy sleeper, Rachel slinked out of her dorm room, carefully closing the door behind her. In such a rush to leave, Rachel didn't even bother changing her clothes so off she ran, dressed in a set of pink pajamas patterned with patches of white clouds. She didn't even bother taking off the fuzzy pink bunny slippers that adorned her feet.
She hastily ran out into the cold, dark New York streets, the sidewalks only illuminated by the faint beams of the streetlights. Raising her arms as high and as far out as she could, Rachel waved them frantically in order to call a taxi cab. She didn't want to waste any time scouring the parking lot for her car when there was another means of transportation by which she could reach Finn faster. Luckily, an available taxi came her way and Rachel immediately leapt into the backseat, not even paying attention to the poor driver who was obviously confused by her attire.
"NYU please."
Surprisingly, it was all easier than Rachel could have ever imagined.
Arriving at NYU. Check.
Remembering the password and entering the dorms. Check.
Finding Finn's room. Check.
Seeing that his room was unlocked. Hallelujah.
Peeking into the room, Rachel could not see anything. Understandably.
It was very late at night—or extremely early in the morning—whichever.
Rachel crept into the room, tiptoeing like a kid stealing cookies from the cookie jar at night. She passed the door without a sound and let out a sigh of relief. She was more than happy to see that the door to this dorm was not like the creaky one she had back at her place. Letting down her guard some, Rachel carefully walked into the pitch black room with her hands held up in front of her, acting as mini shields in case she ever bumped into anything.
Creeeak.
Rachel froze as she stepped onto a patch of squeaky carpet, the sound resounding off of the walls and reverberating through her ears.
Ah, crap.
However, none of the boys in the dorm stirred; they all lay asleep, snoring soundly, some louder than others. Much, much louder. She supposed guys could sleep through almost anything, even intruders apparently. She made a mental note to remind Finn to get a lock for his door after she left. Who knew what crazy psychopath could stroll in and abduct her boyfriend while he was asleep? These boys could sleep through a tornado and an alien invasion and still not wake up.
Rachel fumbled through the darkness, taking baby steps to ensure that she wouldn't slip and break her ankle on a stray skateboard or whatever these boys were keeping in their room. Finally, Rachel felt her shin brush against a wood frame, signaling a bed and therefore her boyfriend. She reached down to pat the bed to verify her assumption and smiled joyfully as her hand rested on Finn's quilt covered leg.
Eagerly climbing into the bed with him, Rachel pulled open the covers and scooted her body into the warm indent of the mattress. She moved over so that her chest was facing the extremely muscular body of her boyfriend, close enough that she could feel the heat from his breath slide down the side of her neck. She sighed and wrapped her arms around him, relishing in the moment of being with her guy again.
She whispered quietly in his ear, "I missed you so much."
Rachel felt her guy shuffle over and heard a sharp intake of breath. A small gasp of shock escaped his mouth though it would not even come close to the one she would let out merely seconds later.
A gruff voice suddenly arose from the darkness, "'Sup Berry. 'Bout time you realized the errors of your ways."
Rachel froze; that was not Finn's voice. That was…Puck's?
"Noah?" she hissed through clenched teeth, "What are you doing here!"
"It's my dorm—and to be more precise, it's my bed. So what are you doing here at this late hour? Trying to get down and dirty with the Pucksaurus? Not that I'd blame you. Finn's no match for my badassness."
Rachel silently gagged to herself as she rapidly scrambled off of Puck's bed, making a racket and waking everyone else in the dorm up. She tumbled off of the mattress and onto the carpet, landing flat on her back and leaving a long trail of Puck's sheets behind her.
"Hey Berry! Watch it will you?"
"Whasagonon?"
Suddenly Rachel's heart leapt with joy as she recognized Finn's sleepyhead voice mumbling.
"Finn!" she cried, "Where are you?"
Rachel's voice was the only stimulus Finn needed to wake up and become alert despite his drowsiness. He immediately sat up straight in his bed, his ears pricked up like a dog's when it hears the bell for lunch.
"Rachel?" he asked into the darkness, "What are you doing here!"
"Trying to visit you," she mumbled back quietly.
"And apparently," an irritated Puck snapped as he peeked at his bedside clock, "Two-in-the-frickin-morning is the BEST time to—"
"Shut it Puckerman," Finn interjected, "Here Rachel. Follow my voice. I'm over here."
Extremely grateful that she could detect any sound with her immaculate sense of hearing, Rachel slowly navigated through the boys' dorm, careful not to fall into beds that belonged to men other than her boyfriend. Somehow, with Finn's patient guidance, Rachel arrived at the foot of his bed and could slightly distinguish the contour of his body in the darkness. Finn gently lifted his covers up, inviting Rachel into the warmth and comfort of his bed. Upon seeing this gesture, Rachel happily climbed into bed with Finn, snuggling deep within the covers so that her back touched his bare chest. She felt his long arms warp around her body, cuddling her in an affectionate and loving embrace.
"This feels nice," she murmured quietly, settling into the warmth radiating from her boyfriend.
"Mhmm," Finn replied in agreement as he sighed, closing his eyes. "Rachel…I'll never understand."
With a quizzical look upon her face, Rachel turned over so that she faced him. "Understand what?"
"How you manage to do this."
"You're going to have to be more specific at some point Finn," she giggled.
"I can't believe you're here right now, that's all," he grinned, running his free hand through her luscious brown locks. "But wait...don't you have classes tomorrow?"
"Yeah but this is worth it," she said smiling, "Just to be here with you again. I can always skip a couple of classes anyway..."
"Rachel Berry!" Finn reprimanded in a joking manner, "Who knew you could be such a rebel?"
She playfully stuck her tongue out at him in reply and snuggled closer to her boyfriend. Gently caressing his chest with her palm, she reveled in the intimate sensation of her flesh against his. It had been so long since she had last been with him and she missed him terribly. Now that she was finally with him again, Rachel made extra sure he realized how much he meant to her. Finn mumbled something incomprehensible in return and she let out a small chuckle.
"I love you Finn."
"I love you too Rachel."
But from across the room it was Puck's unmistakable voice whispering from under a pillow that interrupted the couple's sweet moment.
"Shut. Up. Before. I. Puke."
Even an angst girl like me needs a break from all the suspense! So fluff keeps me sane…for the moment. xD (I would like to add that this was written before "Furt" and kind of contradicts the whole scene where Finn learns how to dance…needless to say I was laughing when that scene came out!) Hopefully this piece will make some wounded Finchel fans feel slightly better...
So, what'd you think: good, eh, cringe worthy? Let me know through reviews! :) They, too, keep me sane. You wouldn't want a crazy writer rampaging through ff now would you? ;)