Finchel Drabble: "Annie and Kevin"
Prompt: Future Finn and Rachel eavesdrop on their daughter fighting with her boyfriend and make some references to their own arguments while they were in high school.
Prompt given by: czarnabastet
Rachel lay her head on Finn's shoulder as they snuggled closely together on the couch, a bowl of popcorn between them.
Finn sighed contentedly as he stretched his arm around his wife.
"I've been looking forward to this all day," he said, squeezing her shoulder.
"That's just because it's your turn to pick the movie," she teased, "andit's trilogy night."
"Ah, Back to the Future 1, 2, and 3," he grinned, "classics."
"Plus, Marty McFly is your personal style icon," Rachel chuckled, tugging at his flannel.
"No popcorn for you," Finn scolded, snatching the bowl away.
"Hey!" she squealed, diving across his lap.
"Nope," he said, "not until you tell me that after all these years, you still think I'm super hot in my puffy vests."
Her laughter was interrupted by the sound of their daughter shouting at her boyfriend in the next room.
"Well then, you're obviously not serious about us, Kevin!" they heard her yell, followed by the slamming of her bedroom door.
"Thatdoesn't sound good," whispered Finn as Rachel bit her lip.
Kevin shuffled uncomfortably into the living room, intending to say a polite goodbye to the Hudsons.
"Mr.—Mr. and Mrs. Hudson, I—I," he stammered nervously, "I—I guess I'll be going, I—I'm sorry, I don't know why she got so upset."
"Kevin," Rachel began, taking pity on the poor teenager with shaking hands, "have a seat, sweetie."
Finn motioned for Kevin to sit down in the recliner next to the couch.
"Th-thank you, Mr. Hudson, I—I'm so sorry, I would never try to hurt Annie," he sputtered.
"Relax, Kevin," Finn smiled, "we know that. What's going on?"
"Well, she's just really stressed out about the tryouts for the play, and she really wants us to be the leads," Kevin explained, looking down at the floor, "so she's worried about what duet we should sing for auditions. I just said that we should just have fun and not take it too seriously…I guess that was a mistake."
Finn and Rachel exchanged knowing grins.
"Um, yeah…" Finn said, nodding and furrowing his brow, "Annie's kind of intense that way. It's funny, I have no idea where she gets it from."
Finn smirked, nodding his head in Rachel's direction. She punched him in the arm in response.
"He is right, though," Rachel admitted, "Annie's got my flair for the dramatic. Everything she does, she does with great passion. Which is a wonderful quality. But, unfortunately, it can also be sort of…maddening…in an endearing way, of course, right, Finn?"
"Absolutely," Finn laughed, "Kev, we could tell you stories all night about the things this one has done…heck, she even sent a girl to a crack—"
"Finn," Rachel interrupted sharply, "I'm sure Kevin isn't interested in the details of our high school days."
"Right," Finn said, catching himself, "the point is, Kevin, that sometimes Annie can get a little too caught up in her ambition. When she believes in something, she's not going to back down. Sometimes, it's enough to drive a person insane," Finn said, shooting a grin at his wife, "and I know she's stubborn, and these are things she sometimes thinks she would like to change about herself. But you know what? I think you'll find, when it all comes down to it, those are the things you love the most."
Rachel gave Finn a look of gratitude, taking his hand.
"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Hudson," Kevin said softly, "I know you're right. I hope that Annie and I can be as happy as you guys are when we're ol—"
Kevin caught himself a bit too late, his face quickly reddening. Finn and Rachel burst out laughing.
"Anyway," Kevin said, giving an embarrassed chuckle as he wiped sweat from his brow, "I think I'll give her some space tonight. Will you tell her I'll call her in the morning?"
"Of course, Kevin," Rachel said warmly, "good night."
"Later, dude," said Finn, giving him a fatherly fist bump as he walked him to the door.
"I'd better go talk to Annie," Rachel sighed as Finn returned to the couch.
"Break a leg," Finn said, squeezing her hand.
"I love you," Rachel replied, kissing her husband tenderly on the cheek.
She smiled to herself, thinking how lucky her daughter was to have found a boy as sweet as her father. And heck, Kevin was pretty darn lucky too, if she didn't say so herself.