Note: Everything up to Yes/No is canon, minus the awful proposal. The story disregards the cheap elimination of the Finn's father plotline (he's still a war hero in this), and you should disregard my lame title. I don't claim to own any of the characters, just the plot.
... ... ...
So he enlists, gets his orders, and he's content-even though she isn't. She doesn't understand why he feels the need to go tromping over into an unstable area when there's plenty of things he could be doing that are safer.
He doesn't change his mind, not when he wakes up every morning and sees the photo of his dad on his nightstand.
... ... ...
Finn and Rachel stay together even after he gets his orders, but they're well aware of the impending hardships with Finn leaving. According to Rachel, there's no reason to break up, because distance is just one obstacle and they can do this. He makes it through bootcamp, and sure enough, he gets shipped out-coincidentally from New York. Rachel sees him off and goes back to kick ass at NYADA, beginning the next real step to fulfilling her dream. One night she and her friends get out early and decide to have drinks-and it's open mike night at the bar they choose. Who gets up and plays? Noah Puckerman, who never forgot that first Nationals experience in New York and decided to move out there after graduation. He works in the bar full-time while trying to put a band together and plays on nights like this-Rachel and he end up having a nice chat and exchange numbers. They have coffee once or twice, briefly, and he makes her laugh. They're friends, just like they always have been. This whole time, Rachel is exchanging letters (they're romantic like Dear John, don't ya know) and emails with Finn.
Speaking of Finn, he is doing well as Private Hudson-the Army is perfect for him. He always knows what he's supposed to be doing (since his C.O. tells him so), and he's proud that he's made it through bootcamp and is being assigned to help keep the USA safe and helping others rebuild their country. He Skypes with Rachel sometimes, but mostly they email and stuff. One day soon after he arrives overseas, he's a bit surprised to see an email from one Quinn Fabray-it's pretty standard, just a 'good luck over there, we'll miss you, come back safe' thing. He writes her back though, and that's how that starts. They start exchanging small talk emails-he talks about how the food is shit in the mess tent most days and remember how they went for pizza that one time and Finn ate a record number of breadsticks before the pizza even came,and Quinn writes about how she's settling in nicely at Yale and studying journalism and business (while performing with the drama program). He thinks that's cool, and she tells him it's an honorable thing he's doing and that she's proud.
... ... ...
Meanwhile, back in New York, Rachel is busy because she, of all the freshmen, got a bigger role in the latest production at school-she even gets a song. It's rough though, because the professors are hard on her, and it's awful because Finn's not there to comfort her like usual. One particularly hard day after a difficult voice lesson, she goes back to the bar she knows Noah works at, because he's a pretty good friend these days and maybe some of his crude humor will help ease the sting of the endless criticism of her lower register. He is there, and he does help-just not exactly how she expects him to. He's actually knowledgeable about music and its technicalities, which surprises her slightly, and eventually after talking the song over and thinking about some of his advice, he convinces her to get up on the tiny bar stage. It's just him backing her up with a few chords on his guitar, but it's really nice when it he chimes in with a few harmonies. She sings it the best she ever has, and it's a powerful feeling to know that she can do this. Of course, she doesn't know what she's feeling when she thinks about how it was Noah Puckerman that helped her realize that.
... ... ...
After a few months, Finn doesn't really notice that his emails to Quinn are getting to be longer than his to Rachel, but Rachel's got a show going-he knows that-because she mentioned in her last one, and he doesn't mind at all that she's not writing much either. She's doing her thing and he's doing his, the separation anxiety he was feeling has faded mostly now, and he's happy (and he looks forward to Quinn's emails a whole whole lot). He gets to go home in a few days for a brief leave before shipping out for overseas, which is awesome and way unexpected, and he's also happy because Quinn will be there. She's going home for Christmas, and with them both back in Lima, they hang out. She is still completely pretty and color-coordinated, which he thinks is impressive, and he feels a little twinge in his chest when he makes her laugh (he has to take a snowball to the face to do it, but it's worth the icy pain). For her part, Quinn definitely noticed how the military toned Finn up, physically and personality-wise. He's a goofball still, but she can see something else behind his eyes that suggests what the crack of discipline has broken, the difficult things he's seen and done since she's seen him last. There's a moment when she sees something more familiar though, and they are way too close after she tripped him during their snowball fight. Nothing happens, they just stare at each other for a bit longer than appropriate, but Quinn knows this is trouble and Finn is astounded because holy crap, Quinn is pretty, smart, AND FUN now. He realizes he's not at all put out that he doesn't have Rachel to kiss on New Year's (she had rehearsals and a new show opening and couldn't spare a day so her dads flew to NYC), but instantly backtracks when he wonders about kissing Quinn. No way. He's got a girlfriend.
... ... ...
Back in New York, Rachel is flourishing. She's getting more roles (most of them still small ones) and things are getting easier. And, she actually made friends with a guy in the pit orchestra who plays bass, and put him in touch with Noah. They found a drummer and another guitarist and Rachel is often a guest at their rehearsals-she thinks they sound great. Noahis great, to Rachel. She looks forward to their weekly drinks now where she gets to unwind and tell him all about her stresses-he lets her talk but doesn't let her get down on herself when her art gets hard. He doesn't tolerate that 'bullshit,' as he calls it, though she tells him cursing is coarse, but she lets him say that because right after he tells her that she's been owning songs and stage since high school and probably before, and she won't suddenly stop now. It hasn't actually escaped Puck how happy Rachel is here, and he finds it fucking weird that he smiles so much around her, but she has like a forcefield of enthusiasm around her and he can't help it. He actually looks forward to working now, in case she comes in, and his band and music is actually making progress thanks to her. He's always kinda liked her, but it's becoming way more than that now that he can talk to her about stuff and they can drink and have fun, not to mention he has noticed she shows a little more skin these days. Any skin is more skin than what those lame sailor dresses she wore in high school were about, he scoffs, but then he admits to himself that he thought she was hot in those animal sweaters too. They showed off a few things he liked.
... ... ...
Finn has to go back, even across the Atlantic this time, and Quinn has to go back, but this time they try Skyping-something he hasn't done with Rachel in awhile. He can't remember the last time he saw Rach's face, but when Quinn's pops up on the screen in the lab he lights up, and instantly they fall back into their routine that includes comparing schedules. He wins when it comes to sleep (5am wake up is a bitch) but she wins at things too-he laughs when she talks about how he can complain when he has to suffer through macroeconomics. Finn sucks at even fractions, so he sympathizes, and but his frown is actually for her offhand comment about a guy she's been casually seeing. He doesn't like that-but then she says she's staying single, because she dated enough in high school, anyway, and a serious relationship would take away from her studies. He's distracted by that whole exchange, because he's very very interested in asking more but, she brings him back to the present when he notices Quinn's voice get softer when she asks how it's "going, really going, over there." He knows he's gotta reassure her, and tells her that it's been quiet and that the bad guys are still in hibernation for winter. It does the trick and he can't stop himself when she cracks a smile-"I miss you a lot." Not home, not America, not the burgers from Wendy's he's always telling her he's craving. He's very specific-he misses her. Her smile is strange, but a good strange, and what he doesn't know is that Quinn's trying not to cry. He isn't just her friend who enlisted anymore-more and more he reminds her that he's her ex-boyfriend that took care of her and knew just what to say and stood by her through the worst moments of her life, and damn, it hurts that he's not hers and that he's not here.
He knows he has to talk to Rachel about this.
... ... ...
Noah comes to one of her shows. He's had to work during every single one, because he can't be making much working at a bar, but there he is about 20 rows back, left center-she saw the mohawk first. She's inexplicably so happy that he's here, and it makes her want to blow him away even more so than she does every audience every night. She does hit that high note and she sees him clapping and the full-on toothy smile he gives her at curtain call. She doesn't expect him to be at the stage door but hopes he is, and sure enough-he comes through and he's standing there sheepishly with a bouquet of daisies. Before he can react, she's throwing her arms around him and laughing loudly-he squeezes her back and gruffly gives his review of the show: "you were fucking awesome." That is exactly what she needed and wanted to hear, and she purposefully lingers in his arms a little longer. He walks her home and they have a nice night jumping cracks in NYC sidewalks and taking a detour down to Times Square where they take grainy, touristy pictures of themselves in the landmark on their cell phones. He wants to kiss her at her doorstep, but doesn't because she's Finn's girl still last he checked (ugh), and she wonders why he just walks away at the end of the night because she really wanted that kiss.
Wait.
Finn is her boyfriend, who just happens to be overseas and absent.
Right.
... ... ...
Finn feels like this will be an asshole-ish move if he confronts and confesses to Rachel what's exactly been going down since they saw each other last in a letter or email-that's like, a text message only in an envelope or computer, which is douchey. She doesn't know about his holiday basically spent with Quinn or that they've been talking past the first initial emails. Finn never thought it would turn into anything serious but it really really has—doesn't it mean something when the highlight of your week is talking to your ex?—and he has to tell his girlfriend. They set a time for a Skype date, because that's as close to in person as he can get—since there's a bit of an ocean between them. He squints when she pops up on the screen, trying to refamiliarize himself with her face, but also buying time to think up the nicest way to say this so she doesn't get mad. Of course she gets him off the hook, and he's confused when she says it. "Noah's here in New York." She tells him because she really really likes that Noah is in New York, and she likes it morethan she misses Finn, which she decided after spending 3 straight days pouring over the scrapbooks she put together of her and her boyfriend, trying to make herself remember. It didn't work, so here she is. Of course, she's not expecting the first thing he says to be "I've been talking to Quinn," and then they both sort of slump over and everything comes out.
Things have shifted for the both of them, really shifted, even in a year-they've grown up and seen the world a little more, and really, they're happy. They're happy doing what they're doing and with the directions their lives have taken, even though it meant their path together split. Other people have helped them along the way instead, and both are oddly okay with this, they find. Finn asks if this means they should break up, and it's not mean-just slightly sad. Rachel's been his girl for the longest, and while his gut says it's what he wants, it's still gonna feel weird. She says yes, because it's not in her to ease into things. She wondered when her hero Finn stopped being her hero and started just being a hero, and she still loves him-it's just not the same. He makes her promise to not stop calling or sending emails and things-it's not like he just wants it to be over. She agrees, and when they click off it's not like a load lifts off her chest or anything, which makes her wonder when exactly their relationship became this friendly thing instead of the big, epic future she'd always wanted. She realizes then that she never pictured Finn as the one in the tux and wedding ring clapping as she accepted her first Tony-he was always tall and handsome, yes, but he was a faceless man. But then, she physically has to stop when she realizes her dream guy may be faceless, but apparently somewhere along the lines she started thinking of him with a mohawk.
... ... ...
Finn doesn't tell Quinn he and Rachel decided to go just friends, and he doesn't hold it back for any particular reason-it's just hard to gauge how just much he digs his ex-girlfriend when there's an ocean and then some between you (he knows it's a lot, though). Plus, there's a lot of shit between the three of them, and he doesn't wanna make any moves until he's certain it's the right one—if he's learned anything in this godforsaken desert, it's that one false move can mean the end. To be honest, he just wants to see her. She's been giving him a lot of space recently, and he knows it's because things got weird. He does get her on a Skype call, and it's so so easy the moment he sees her face-he just relaxes. And that's how it accidentally slips out in the midst of their conversation about a girl on Quinn's floor that got pregnant by the R.A.: "Why'd you do it?" He can tell she knows exactly what he's talking about by the way her eyes narrow and Scary Quinn appears-alright, so this isn't going to be an easy conversation. Quinn didn't expect that at all, and she doesn't appreciate the ambush so she retorts with the only thing she can think of-"why'd you dump me after a funeral?" Finn winces at that, but it's not like that's a hard question to answer, so he does. "Because I'm an asshole. And I didn't think about anyone but myself. I'm sorry." The army has taught him that's a shitty way to be, to not think of others and consequences, and he knows now how much that must have sucked for her. All things considered, she probably felt how he did when Rachel stole Drizzle away with the truth, and that had been one of his lowest moments. Quinn gives, the pause lasting only a second before she's apologizing and telling him all about Beth and what happened. He gets yelled at by his C.O. to "get off the damn computer" but the floodgates have been opened, and Finn's intent on rebuilding the foundation way sturdier this time.
... ... ...
It has been a few weeks since Rachel's epiphany concerning Noah, and with all of free time since the show ended, she's been trying to figure out just how to get his attention. Because ever since this revelation, she's that much more annoyed when slutty girls at the bar leave their numbers, that much more annoyed when he smiles at one, and that much more annoyed that she still hasn't figured him out. She's still plotting when she arrives at a club downtown-Noah and his band have a gig! They've been working hard and got noticed a little bit, and of course she wants to see his their debut. She is in the front row-or would be, if there were rows, but it's a table close to the stage-and bobs her head in time to the music. They are good, but she likes watching Noah's face the most-he loves this. Afterwards, she waits because he's talking to someone, and only when he shuffles over to her does he smile-apparently there's some interest, and that guy said he had a few things lined up for them. Puck's fucking stoked about this because his first ever gig went well and Rachel's here and practically bouncing at the news and the future is looking up because that agent guy man liked them. It's only small stuff, but he'll take it if it means he gets to keep doing this and someone likes it. He impulsively hugs her, crushing her to him as she squeals. "S'good," he says, and he lets her take his arm and lead him out.
This is a perfect opportunity, and Rachel sees that-it's such a great night already, what with Puck's gig going well and now his music is being appreciated, so she decides to push it further, subtly persuading him that a late dinner would be nice. He pays without a thought, and Rachel merely bites her lip. It's just pancakes at a diner (she has vegetarian crepes), and he's so hungry he's practically shoveling the short stack into his mouth, oblivious to the wheels going in Rachel's mind across the table. She really is good company-she's cute, and New York is more her pace so she's comfortable enough to just chill, quit with the high school games, and talk. Her life's interesting, and hearing about it sorta gives him a window into what his life maybe could be one day. It's nice, to say the least. Every time, but especially now.
He's made a habit to walk her home every time they're together, just because there are some serious psychos in this city, and she's important. They get to her door and she just stands there and stares-it makes him a little uncomfortable at first, but he won't have to have long before she just explodes and tells him what's up. "I'm aware I haven't been on one in awhile, but I thought it was standard protocol on dates to kiss goodnight," she blurts in one breath and he blinks-uhm, he knew she was single now, but he'd never figured on ever making it out of the friend-zone with her. Rachel's jaw hangs like she's in shock too, and sometimes she curses her confidence because right now Noah looks more flummoxed than interested-but she can't stop babbling. "There was dinner, and you paid-" He doesn't even care that she basically weasled him into a date, his lips close over hers instantly and he's walking her backwards into her dorm room-thankfully her roommate seems to be out. "You talk so damn much, Berry," he murmurs. "Just...stop for right now."
... ... ...
There's an ambush, and 5 men die. One was in Finn's regiment-he knew that guy and lost to him in poker-and it's close enough to shake all the guys. Quinn notices when she calls him for their regular Skype date (friend date), and when she doesn't buy the 'just tired' excuse, he tells her—he missed last week's call and she knows something's wrong. He doesn't cry, but it's close-his breathing gets all weird-and he ends up telling her about him and Rachel too, and how this is not how he expected life to go and he hates not knowing what to do. Why am I even here? I didn't sign up to watch my friends die. Quinn's heart straight breaks because she can't stand to see him like this, not when she knows exactly how much good he's capable of, and she talks him through it, soothing him. The conversation is quiet, and Finn calms down and whispers a thank you. The smile she gives him he instantly recognizes as the one she gave one when she rejoined glee after her punk phase senior year. He shakes his head slightly, figuring that yeah, she did still have some of his heart then. But now as she shifts topics (to distract him, for sure), and starts rambling about OSU football-which she totally started following for him back in 10th grade-he smiles a ghost of grin and thinks that maybe she definitely has most of it now.
... ... ...
He gets a care package full of joke books, pranks, and Will Ferrell movies two weeks later with a return address from New Haven, Connecticut. He is the happiest he's been over there as he bugs all his bunkmates with stupid jokes and even pranks the cook on base. The only time he's not full on smiling his big stupid grin is when he in his buddies indulge in the new copy of Step Brothers and Finn remembers Quinn's shrill shriek at the sight of Will Ferrell's junk that resulted in a pillow fight. Good times.
They never did talk about Rachel in the midst of Finn's breakdown but they do weeks later, when the conversation is considerable less heavy after Finn tells her about a water balloon fight they had on base. She can't help but ask, and Finn only has to take a deep breath before he tells her how he and Rachel just ended up growing out of that end-all, be-all love they thought they had, and into the kind where their letters and things are mostly the same-she still sends him infrequent care packages of snacks-but they aren't punctuated with 'I love you's' anymore. He sounds fine with it, which surprises her, but she's more surprised to hear it's been months since their split. She apologizes for it, because it feels like the right thing to do, and he merely shrugs and informs her that Rachel and Puck now have a thing. She's so shocked at his nonchalance that she's not even prepared when he asks her outright how her dating life is, and her blush spreads way too quickly.
... ... ... ... ... ...
Two years later, things with Noah are better than she ever could have hoped for. They are official now—Rachel made him say it—and she likes waking up on her late days to the soft strumming of his guitar (his favorite to play for her is Banana Pancakes), she likes going to the bar and being greeted with a kiss now, and she likes how Noah has his band and she has her new show—a bit part, but it's in a real Broadway play, and she gets a song—but at the end of the day, they fall back into bed with each other and he knows just when to shut up her work babble with a kiss (and a little more).
"I'll see you tonight, right?" he says, kissing her fully, despite her having a piece of breakfast melon in her mouth. He's smirking and chewing on a piece he wrangled out of there with his tongue when he pulls back. "Later babe." He ruffles her hair and he's gone, leaving her smiling.
This is really her favorite part- how nothing really has changed, and yet it's all gotten better. It may not be what she pictured in high school, but this life is exactly how she always imagined.
... ... ...
Quinn has never thought much of it, but her friends do, and they want to know why, in 3 years, she's never given any time to a guy—not even that cute one who makes and serves her latte before 10am Wednesday class. The excuse 'I dated so much in high school—all disasters' got old faster than their anthropology professor, and there's no reason for their smokin' hot friend to get a little romance, or hell—a little action. Quinn always manages to brush their prodding off, because really—there isn't anyone she's interested in past the standard coffee date, and she wanted to concentrate on her studies so she could actually get somewhere in life. After the whirlwind that was her four years in high school, it's actually nice to have a somewhat mundane life—classes, schoolwork, movie marathons with the girls on weekends, coffee and dinner sometimes during it. The occasional night out.
And of course, her friends know about the regularly scheduled Skype sessions that happen every week—like clockwork, Quinn shuts her door and logs on, turning down every single invitation to do anything, no matter how enticing or creative. They can tell because of the laughter—they've never heard Quinn snort like that, at least not while sober—and how long it always lasts that it's important to her, and that she has a good time. At first all they knew was that it's her friend Finn in the army, serving overseas, which might seem vague, but really—every day, Quinn is diligent, crossing out each date on the fridge calendar (puppy themed, this year), each X bringing her pen closer to the big red circle around "MAY 4TH." That's when this Finn guy supposedly gets out and home, and yeah, so maybe there is a reason she's not into casual sex or any of the men here—maybe it's because they're not him.
... ... ...
A bunch of the guys decide to fly back to New York together so the plane ride can be their last 'oo-rah' before they all split—Finn is one of them. After two tours overseas and an associates degree earned at a stateside base in Texas, his term of service is up after three years, and he is free to pursue a civilian lifestyle! He calls Puck—he gets the number from Rachel after she makes him promise not to make things weird. He doesn't, of course—it's all part of his plan, and things don't feel that different, anyway. Sure enough, Puck is there to pick him up at JFK. They share a bro-hug, which is minimally awkward—after everything in high school, it seems like things are finally settling down like they should be. Puck leads the way, even shouldering Finn's bag for him, and Finn's grateful—he's older now and very official now in uniform, but those two trips for Nationals did nothing to make him comfortable in this city. It's fast and weird, and it's exhilarating too, but it takes a lot to make a giant like Finn feel out of place, and he does.
They get to wherever they're going after a brief subway ride and walk—Finn's still craning his head around to look at all the tall things and nearly gets hit by a cab. Puck makes fun of him for being such a 'touristy goober' but Finn doesn't care, nor does he notice that they've wandered into the theatre district (he doesn't exactly know New York has one) and have stopped—he's still taking it all in. He does look down when he hears a familiar, loud laugh and his name being shrieked, because Rachel is bumrushing him and yep, she's still tiny in his arms.
He's glad he came here.
... ... ...
Central Park may be his favorite part of this city, probably because it's green and not desert which is nice considering a few of his recent living situations, but mostly because there's all sorts of space, which is like home. He and Rachel are sitting on a bench in the middle of it, and it's nice, she thinks. She's so happy he's back safe, but she's still trying to get used to not feeling that longing and hearts-in-her-eyes crazy that had her trying to fit him in here. Her life is good now, the best it's ever been, and it's hard to believe sometimes that she made it here (mostly). And Finn—he is her friend, who came to see her show last night and cheered the loudest, who slept on her boyfriend's couch last night, who believed in her in high school and grew up to be a brave soldier. And so maybe she concedes inwardly that her high school self must've been wrong—because right now is the first time she can actually tell herself honestly that her relationship with the tall boy on her left is perfect. It's comfortable.
"Does he treat you good?" Finn breaks the silence and smiles, smirking at her, which earns him a smack. Though he's at rehearsal at the moment, Noah is a fantastic protector, friend, and kisser (among other things), she answers, and Finn makes a face. "He makes me happy," she sums up simply, and he purses his lips and looks at her hard, trying to gauge if that's the truth. It is—Rachel never was one to lie about anything, much less her feelings. "Good," is all he says. There's no sting in his heart, no bitterness that his best friend is somehow better at her than he is. 'Good' is exactly what he and Rachel are, too. Like this. They zigged and zagged but finally they're on the same page. Or at least, he knows what book she's reading.
They do talk about 'what ifs' and what could have been, between them. It was inevitable, Rachel knows this, but it's also not weird—she also knows Puck and Finn had a long talk last night regarding her. But Finn's also talked about how he can't wait to just relax and watch some football during regular viewing hours (he had to watch at 6am while on duty), and she just smiles. That's exactly what she expected, but not what she wants. She's built for the life outside the greenery of this park, for bright lights and for the constant surprise of this city. Of course, it only takes a second before she knows who he's thinking about as he squints off at the baseball fields of Central Park. "Are you going to go see her?" She's not sure how she feels about the Finn and Quinn thing again, but she certainly wants Finn to be happy and Quinn really was a lovely girl once the two of them dropped their Finn feud.
That had been rather pointless, in the end.
He's blushing and shaking his head, and she knows she has him. "You should wear your dress blues, and just go up there! The sight of you in uniform will do it, trust me." She nudges him, and gets excited because this sounds so romantic to her. "Really—you know she's wondering about you, and you two need to sort everything in person anyway." Finn, for his part, was already considering this, and he's massively encouraged that Rachel thinks he needs to, because Rachel always was really smart.
... ... ...
He leaves New York the next day and his goodbyes are way more emotional because of Rachel—'I'm just so happy that you're home! Have fun and call me!' When he goes, Rachel leans into Puck and he wraps an arm around her as they watch their friend head into security. "Glad that's over," he jokes and looks down when she digs an elbow into his ribs. He had been apprehensive about Finn being around, because yeah, he was thinking in the back of his head that maybe she'd fall into that schmoopy shit she always got into with his dumbass friend, and that would've sucked. He had no idea how it had happened but Berry had him wrapped around her little finger, she knew it, and he was cool with that. He didn't want that to change. And now Finn was leaving—bound for Quinn, apparently, weird—and Rachel was staying here, with him. He kissed her once quickly, shaking his head because high school would've been so much easier had they all figured this shit out sooner.
... ... ...
Instead of Lima, he heads north, with the scribbled address of Quinn's new apartment on a slip of paper in his uniform pocket. Connecticut is pretty in spring, and he did dress in his official garb, with shiny shoes and everything before he takes a cab to Quinn's place after landing. She's not there but he leaves his bag with the very accommodating clerk at the clubhouse and wanders over to campus—maybe he'll find her, but either way he's gotta kill time. It's not weird at all that he knows her schedule a little—it's not—and he finds himself wandering over the journalism building. It's got a TV! With the news on, but whatever, it's something, and he watches until classes let out—yes, including Quinn's. He doesn't see her at first, through the streaming mass of people, but his stomach feels like it started doing a whole freaking gymnastics routine in there even still, since she could be around. She actually sees him first, and stops dead. She knew he was stateside again, and that he was officially discharged, but he'd said nothing about coming here. And yet, he was looking dapper 20 feet in front of her with his uniform cap cocked just so, and she didn't even care that she was missing whatever Julia was saying.
There's a blonde blur and Quinn's throwing herself at him a lot like Rachel did, only the hug is different. He buries his face in her neck and squeezes her, and her fingers dig into his shoulders harder. "Hey," he mumbles into her hair, and she just strokes the back of his head once before he sets her down. They grin stupidly at each other for a few seconds before Quinn's friends come over and insist on being introduced—that's fine and everything, but he's single now and so he doesn't have to care that he's shamelessly staring at Quinn.
She leads him back to her apartment which she shares with her roommate from last year, Liz—he's heard all about her, and the three of them have a nice afternoon just sitting on the couch and talking, exchanging stories. It's all very normal, except his stories are slightly different than theirs, and it's way too easy for him to just kick off his shoes and chill there, his shoulder pressed against Quinn's. Liz splits, but he and Quinn just get more comfortable at opposite ends of the couch, their feet warring with each other in a game they always used to play while they goof off and chat.
They do that until 2AM, and Quinn tells him he can stay as long as he likes.
... ... ...
He does stay, and he loves getting to act like a normal college kid, going to her classes and eating in dining halls and he convinces her to go see her school's baseball team play. They eat pizza and watch reality shows and movies when they can actually decide on one, and he watches her study, because she still has to do that—finals are coming up, she still does that thing with her pen in her hair that he always found cute. He sleeps on the couch for four nights in a row, and doesn't mind one bit. This is the most relaxed and best he's felt in a long time, and maybe he's just never really understood how awesome normalcy is.
One night they go to a party, which is cool because college parties are way wilder than high school ones, Finn finds out. Quinn's just here for him—frat parties are so not her scene, there's too much alcohol and bad decision-making around to remind her of her spotted past, but she wanted him to get the 'whole' college experience, being that he's here. She also wants him to think she's exciting, but he doesn't need to know that this isn't the usual case. It almost feels like high school again—the quarterback and the head Cheerio at another blowout party—except they aren't reigning over everyone anymore, which is better. He gets her a drink and they peoplewatch, because he can't believe the lack of control these kids have (discipline is kind of a staple in his life now), but eventually his 2 second attention span rebounds and he's asking her to dance. His mondo-crush he has on her, which has only gotten bigger since they've reconnected in person, eliminates the whole grind and hump theme that's happening around them out since he wants this to remain a boner free zone. And so instead he twirls her and they fall into a weird two-step, considering the booming bass around them. It's hilarious though, trying to remember and relearn the steps they once memorized for her chastity ball, and it's nice how the awkward newness of those times are meshing with the seasoned whatever they are now. Finn figures he should work on defining that as they walk home to her place, because he's kind of obsessed with how cute she looks jumping over cracks in the sidewalk like she is.
... ... ...
He sleeps on the couch, again. Liz is asleep or out still, maybe at the library, but it's not noise that's keeping Finn up, or the fact that he's uncomfortable—this is a way comfy couch. It's just sometimes his mind takes off with possibilities and thoughts and they're all too fast for him to really understand but that doesn't stop him from trying. He's still doing that, hands linked behind his head, when Quinn slips out of her room and approaches. That's enough to halt his thought process, and not because the tshirt she's sleeping in rides rather high. Quinn doesn't know quite what she's doing but she couldn't sleep and suddenly while laying in bed she remembered how Finn would do this thing back when she was living with him—not really anything, he had just hugged her in bed, but it had been enough—and suddenly here she is, standing 3 feet away and wondering if he still gives good comfort like that. Finn just raises a playful eyebrow and his mouth twists in a sort of 'I know what's happening here.' She climbs onto the couch with him, nevermind that it's smallish for Finn's huge form not to mention two people, settling herself on his chest, her head tucked under his chin like always.
His arms fall exactly into place, squeezing her tightly for just a moment, but it's when she feels his thumb brush her back soothingly that something gives and she tips his head down to kiss him. And no matter what he was secretly wishing for, it was not that—still, his mouth moves slowly against hers in a soft kiss before they pull away after a few seconds. Finn forgets to breathe because he wants to know that what just happened wasn't just a random thing, but she smiles helplessly, and she's so pretty in the mostly dark that he kisses her nose and grins back. They don't say anything for the longest time, which Finn thinks is really cool because he's kinda getting what Quinn is feeling anyway. He never used to be able to do that—she was so walled up as a teenager, but she's so mellow and fun now. Like a hybrid Quinn that he is absolutely in love with, he decides. For her part, Quinn bunches her hand in her shirt, presses several kisses to his chest, and doesn't let him see how big she's smiling.
... ... ...
The next morning, the two of them are sitting closer than usual at the table during breakfast—Liz caught them all cuddled and asleep together on the couch, and yeah, she totally did a jig in the living room because FINALLY her friend is happy. She's never seen Quinn actually play coy like she is right now as she looks at the couple across the table, and Finn may be kind of huge and definitely one of the dimmer lightbulbs in the box, but he makes Quinn laugh and they have something.
When Liz leaves the two of them alone, Finn bites his lip and sheepishly slides a brochure across the table towards Quinn. She's confused for about 3.7 seconds before she realizes that Southern Connecticut State is all of 10 minutes away and no, she didn't know that they boasted a pretty good elementary education program.
... ... ... ... ... ...
Four months later, she's directing Finn where to put the chairs in his new Connecticut apartment, and when he whines and mumbles something like 'Q, it's not gonna be that different if I just leave it here!' she shakes her head and insists, giving him the familiar look and eyebrow. Finn knows that ok, maybe she's being anal about furniture, but that face means if maybe he shuts up and gets this done, maybe he can convince her to break in his new (it's used, but new for him so whatever) couch with some serious mackage. There's a new spring in his step, she notices, after that, and 2 hours later she knows why—he's pulling her down onto the couch, their teeth clacking lightly as their mouths meet through their laughter. She's allowing him to get a little handsy—that under the shirt, over the bra concept is so played out—when she realizes that maybe she didn't know if why she loved Finn 4 years ago in the bathroom of McKinley, but she certainly knows why she's in love with this version of him, right now.
In fact, high school seems like such a different life—when she expected perfection and had perfection expected of her in every capacity. Sure, her life fell apart shortly into that endeavor, but everything has been built back up so much better since then, she thinks, as she watches Finn wander shirtless into the kitchen for water because 'wow I'm still not used to making out with you, I need a break before there's a situation.' And as she tries not to laugh when he runs into the doorframe, or when he's wiggling his eyebrows at her in a completely stupid way, she realizes that all this trumps that so-called standard of perfection. This is the happiest she's ever been, here on this old couch with this man sporting a goofy smile as he pulls her to him and turns on some basketball game, and she shivers as she thinks about all the moments to come, really believing that it all worked out and it's all going to get even better.