The snow was lightly falling outside, the streetlights flickering on as the sky darkened, and Quinn's heart beat with anticipation. It was the eighth night of Hanukkah and she was eagerly waiting to take the next step in her relationship with Rachel.
They had been dating for 2 years, after an unexpected run in on Broadway. Rachel had just gotten out of an audition, and literally ran into Quinn on the way out, knocking her textbooks into a pile of snow. The ingenue had apologized profusely, words running together as she dusted snow off the book. New York apparently relieved the blonde of all previous tension and she shrugged it off, nonchalantly accepting Rachel's offer of coffee to make up for a few sodden pages.
Coffee had turned into dinner, dinner into dates, and dates into a relationship. It was strange, but their chemistry was so palpable that neither could deny it any further. Besides, New York was the city of dreams, wasn't it? Two years later, they were living together in the penthouse of their building, Rachel's dreams cementing into a reality with each offer from Broadway and Quinn's darkest fears abolished with the success of her career.
A whine interrupted Quinn's train of thoughts and her eyes darted to the kennel she had hand selected a week ago. The husky puppy inside scratched and whined again, begging to be released. She sighed, reaching through the bars, placating him by letting him nibble at her fingers.
The elevator dinged suddenly, signaling Rachel's arrival. Quinn shot up, quickly fixing the bow atop the kennel and rushed to the elevator. Rachel breezed through, snow in her hair, red scarf tucked into her black coat.
"Hey beautiful," Quinn took the girl of her dreams in her arms, bringing their lips together.
"Mmm, you're all," Rachel tightened her grip slightly, pulling them closer. "warm and nice and soft and-"
"Silly girl," she giggled, undoing Rachel's scarf and coat. "I've got a surprise for you."
"Baby," she murmured, kissing the blonde again for good measure. "You shouldn't have. Is it Barbra Streisand?"
Quinn chuckled, pulling Rachel into their kitchen. "C'mon, I bet you're still cold, I just made some hot chocolate."
"Why can't you warm me up?" Rachel purred into Quinn's ear, causing the blonde to nearly drop the mug she was holding.
"You don't want your surprise?" Quinn deflected, ignoring the sudden heat flooding through her system.
"And here I thought that would be my surprise," Rachel pouted, taking the mug of hot chocolate from the blonde.
"Okay, okay," she laughed, taking Rachel's free hand. "Happy Hanukkah, darling." She pecked Rachel's lips before leading her into the living room and walking her to the dog kennel. "Surprise!"
"A puppy!" Rachel shrieked, quickly setting the mug down on the counter and rushing to the kennel, and letting the black and white puppy out. "He's so cute, Quinn! What- Does he have a name?"
"Up to you, Rach." Quinn grinned, sitting down next to Rachel and just watching her interact with their new puppy. Happiness swelled within her and she hoped Rachel understood that it wasn't just a puppy; it was a step in their relationship, hopefully cementing their longevity.
"Can we call him 'Snowball'?" The brunette cried, scratching at the puppy's ears. He let out a yap of approval, tail wagging furiously.
Quinn laughed, pulling Rachel and Snowball closer, nuzzling her nose into Rachel's neck. "Welcome to the family, Snowball."
"G'morning," Rachel murmured, kissing up Quinn's bare shoulder as she stirred, yawning loudly.
"Hey pretty girl," she kissed Rachel's lips, snuggling closer sleepily. "Please tell me you don't have to go early today."
"I'm yours till 5 pm, Miss Fabray," she cooed, wrapping her finger around a lock of blonde hair. "All..yours."
"Be mine forever," Quinn whispered, squeezing Rachel's hand. "Forever and ever and ever."
"Forever and always," Rachel promised, "I'll love you til then."
Quinn smiled, "Rach-" She was interrupted by a loud barking from the living room. "Sounds like Snowball's up."
Rachel shot up, quickly tugging on her silk robe, Quinn's eyes following her intensely. She rushed to the living room, gone before the blonde could even register what was going on. Groaning at the cold, she grabbed her own robe, shrugging it on as she stepped into the living room. The newspapers she had laid down on the tile were damp, her nose wrinkling at the smell.
However, the smell didn't seem to bother Rachel, who was hugging Snowball to her chest, petting him excitedly as she proceeded to find the dog food. Damn dog. "You're all mine and Snowball's," Quinn grumbled under her breath, starting to clean up the mess.
At Rachel's insistence, they took Snowball on his first walk in Central Park after breakfast. "Do you think I could get him those little socks some celebrities put on their dogs so his paws won't get cold?" She pondered, stealing a sip from Quinn's coffee.
"Baby, I don't think you have to worry about that," Quinn giggled, stealing a kiss while locking the length on the leash. Rachel's lips were warm and she tasted of coffee and vanilla, and as she deepened the kiss, the leash broke free from her hand.
Quickly pulling back, she caught sight of Snowball yapping happily, tail wagging furiously as he dove headfirst into a pile of snow. Seeing Quinn running after him, he darted away, head low and bottom up in the air, growling playfully. "Snowball!" She yelled, diving for the leash as he attempted to leap over a bank of snow three times taller than himself. She grasped onto the red handle triumphantly, holding it above her head, and pulling Snowball toward her.
"Quinn!"
She turned her head, seeing a flustered Rachel rush over, her face adorned with worry. "I'm okay," she started, struggling to her feet.
"How could you just let go of Snowball like that!" Rachel scooped him up in her arms, checking him for any injuries caused by the snow. "You poor baby, your first experience with snow and mommy lets you go like that."
"Rach.." Quinn stood there, flabbergasted at the debacle taking place.
"Quinn Fabray, could you please be more responsible next time? He could have whisked away by a..an eagle or owl!"
"I'm sure they're lurking within the large group of pigeons by the lake," she muttered sarcastically. "Sorry, baby. I'll try and be more careful."
Despite chewing up a few manuscripts and one of Quinn's favorite pillows, she harbored no animosity towards Snowball. None. Not a single drop. That is- until the day came that he required a bath and Rachel was scheduled for rehearsal and couldn't ruin her nails.
Quinn filled the guest bathtub with warm water, as Rachel read the instructions from the shampoo bottle carefully. "You have to be careful not to get it in his eyes, baby. We can't hinder his future as a loyal newspaper receiving wonder."
"Rach, baby, you sure you want to be taking pictures of this...adventure?" Quinn asked, drawing her hair up in a bun. "It's not going to be pretty."
"Of course I do! Our baby is getting his first bath, this moment will never come again."
"Right. Okay, kiss for good luck?" Quinn asked cheekily.
Rachel rolled her eyes, but pulled Quinn into a hard kiss regardless. "Have fun, love."
Breathless, the blonde unclasped Snowball's leash from the door knob and tied it to one of the racks along side the bathtub. With a plop, she nudged him gently into the water, where he began thrashing and barking, spraying water into Quinn's face. "Snowball!" She yelled, struggling to keep him from jumping out of the bathtub. "Stay! Bad dog!" Behind her, the flash went off multiple times, capturing Snowball's attention for a mere second before he start thrashing again and finally jumped out of the bathtub.
"You are such a bad dog," Quinn growled through gritted teeth, forcing him back inside the tub. After 3 more attempts, he was finally complacent, letting Quinn shampoo him so long as Rachel was holding his beloved stuffed squirrel toy and waving it at him.
"Who's a good Snowball? You're a good Snowball," Rachel cooed, snapping more pictures. "Baby, I think you've finally found your match."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Quinn said dryly, rinsing Snowball's fur one last time before scooping him up in a beach towel. "No idea."
"I love you," Rachel murmured, once they had settled into bed. "Thank you so much for getting Snowball. I know you probably didn't mean for it to seem this way, but it's nice that you're making this commitment for me, for us."
"I'd do anything for you, Rachel." Quinn said, kissing the side of Rachel's head. "I love you too."
A whine at the foot of their bed made the both of them laugh. "And I love you too, water resistant dog."
"Quinn!"