Be Mine

by Firewifesara

Finn and Rachel celebrate Valentine's Day through the years. AU

A/N- Happy Valentine's Day readers! I couldn't help myself. This is AU and super cheesy. Special thanks to Mel for holding my hand once again. Thanks to Rosie and Nayma for the inspiration. These are some awesome ladies. As always, I do not own Glee or its characters nor do I own "Can't Fight this Feeling" by REO Speedwagon.

Be Mine

"Ok class, it's time to start handing out our Valentine's Day cards. You can get the mailboxes we made earlier this week out of your cubbies and put them on your desks." The bubbly second grade teacher watched as her students enthusiastically retrieved their Valentines mailboxes and returned to their desks. "Once you have your boxes on your desks, you can get the valentines you brought and bring them back to your seat. We can begin when everybody is ready." The kids all sat back at their desks, anxiously waiting for the go ahead from Mrs. Palmer. "Okay. Group one. If you brought Valentines, you can go ahead and start handing them out now. The rest of you wait in your seats until I call your group."

The first group of students made their way around the room, each of the four kids dropping a card in the mailboxes around the room. Soon they were back in their seats and the second group was allowed to go, then the third and finally, the fourth. Soon all the cards and treats were handed out and the teacher had let the kids play for the last fifteen minutes of school.

"I can't believe the new girl brought apples. Who does that?" Noah Puckerman looked into the mailbox he had on his desk in disbelief.

Finn Hudson smirked at his friend, a dimple prominent on his cheek. "I like apples." He said simply.

"Me too, but it's Valentine's day. There can never be enough candy."

Finn shrugged "Your mailbox is full of candy, Puck."

Puck rolled his eyes "And apples."

"If you don't want them, I'll eat them."

Puck plucked the bag of sliced apples from his box and casually tossed them at Finn. "Here you go."

"Awesome."

"Okay everyone; it's time to clean up. When you finish cleaning your area, put the rest of your stuff in your back packs and line up. Don't forget your Valentines mailboxes." The teacher watched as the kids packed up and when the bell rang she dismissed the kids to go home.

Outside, Finn watched as his mom worked her way through the line of cars picking up the students of Lima Elementary School. When she was in front of him, he said goodbye to his friends and climbed in the back seat of his mother's car.

"Hey Honey. How was school?"

Finn buckled his seatbelt "It was fine."

"How was your party?" she pressed as she drove the car towards their modest home not far from the school.

He shrugged again "It was okay."

Soon the two were home and when Finn placed his Valentines mailbox on the counter and began going through them one by one, his mother right beside him. As he pulled each of the valentines out of the box and separated it from the candy, he barely took the time to read who why were from, but his mother looked over the names on the cards with a smile.

Carol Hudson was a single parent; her husband had died a few years ago and she was left to raise Finn on her own. She worked as a nurse, but she tried to spend as much time with her son as she could. She loved watching him grow into a kind, sweet young man. Sure, he was only eight right now, but she could see how great he was already turning out.

She watched as he filtered through his cards relatively unceremoniously until she notice a subtle smile form as he detached a homemade card with a large gold star in the center from a package of apples and read it to himself. When he put it to the side with the other cards, she picked it up. The card had hand drawn music notes scattered around a gold star and simply said: To: Finn Love: Rachel.

"Who's Rachel? Is she new?"

Finn shrugged, his focus never leaving his newly acquired candy. "Yeah, she moved here a couple weeks ago. She talks a lot, but she's pretty cool anyway."

Carol gave the boy a knowing smile and discreetly walked out of the room with the card. It was important to save the first love note from your son's first crush, even if he wouldn't admit to having one.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Rachel Berry walked around the classroom nervously dropping Valentines into the pre-decorated boxes on her classmate's desks. Sure this wasn't her first Valentine's Day, she was in fifth grade now, but this was the first time she was going to tell a boy she liked him.

She didn't want to draw attention to herself or her crush, so everybody in the class got the same homemade card and treat she always brought (not apples anymore, she learned that lesson). This year though, his was different. His was special, because besides the usual To and From, his also had You are cute written on it in gold ink.

She made her way around the classroom and when she stood in front of Finn Hudson's desk, he smiled his cute smile at her and she nervously dropped the last card and candy (kitkat, she heard they were his favorite) in her hand into his box. "Thanks Rachel." He said.

Rachel's panic wouldn't let her speak to him, so instead she smiled and nodded at him before walking back to her seat, having given away all her Valentines.

Finn watched as an unusually quiet Rachel made her way back to her chair. She was always talking, but she didn't say anything to him, not even when he said hi to her. He noticed that she seemed a little weirder than usual. Finn wondered if maybe she noticed the extra heart he drew on her Valentine card. He didn't know why he did it. He didn't draw one on anybody else's, but for some reason he felt like adding something special to hers. She was nice and pretty and she deserved to smile.

After school, Rachel was at home going through her box of Valentines. She separated the candy from the cards, making sure to read who each one was from. She smiled when she saw the crude heart drawn on the Transformers card. The messing handwriting simply saying the card was for her, from Finn Hudson. She traced the drawing with her finger with a smile on her face. She knew Finn was nice.

Finn ran home after school, eager to eat as much candy as he could before his mom got home from work. He plopped his backpack on the couch and tossed the box onto the kitchen table, flipping the lid open excitedly. He separated the cards from the candy in two messy piles and quickly opened the kitkat at the top of the pile. They were his favorite. While he chewed on the chocolate candy, he noticed a familiar gold star peeking out from the pile of cards and pulled it out.

You are cute.

Finn smiled as he opened a small bag of M & M's. She thinks he's cute.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

"Excuse us, Ms. Reid. We are here to deliver the Valentines carnations."

"Go ahead Mr. Evans. Class, keep your books open and we will continue to discuss the Civil War after they are done." The stern teacher instructed the class as she gestured for the boys to get started.

Sam Evans made his way into the classroom and walked to Quinn Fabray and handed her a pink carnation with a tag attached to the stem. Quinn squealed as she took it and smugly waved it around for the rest of the class to see. Sam walked to Katelyn Phillips next, handing her a carnation as well. The girl blushed slightly and placed the flower on her desk gently. With only one flower left in his hand, Sam walked to where Rachel was sitting and handed her the flower. He turned to the teacher and smiled as he made his way out of the classroom. "That's it Ms. Reid. Thank you." The boys left the classroom and the teacher picked up the lesson where she had left off.

Rachel sat in disbelief as the teacher talked. She brought the flower to her nose and took in the lovely scent before gently taking hold of the tag and turned it over: Happy Valentine's Day Rachel. -FH. She gently rubbed the soft petals between her thumb and forefinger with a smile; she had an idea who FH was. He has always been a good friend to her. He was nice to her when she moved to Lima in second grade and even though they were in middle school and he was on the football team, he continued to be nice to her. Though they didn't hang out much, she knew he was a great friend. She tried to push the thoughts of Finn away and attempted to turn her attention to what the history teacher was saying. It wasn't easy.

Finn was walking out of the school after the final bell when he heard what sounded like a girl calling his name. He finally came to a stop under a large oak tree in front of the school and turned around to see Rachel walking towards him with a pink carnation in her hand. "Hey Rachel."

"Hi Finn." She tucked some loose hair behind her ear.

Finn stuffed his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, "You got it, cool."

"I did. Thank you. It's beautiful."

He shrugged. "It's no big deal. The football team was selling them to make some money for new equipment. I get to see you smile and get new football stuff."

"I think it is a big deal. Thank you, again."

Finn looked around the school yard before returning his gaze back to Rachel. "Are you walking today? We can walk together. If you want."

"I am walking. That would be great, Finn."

The pair walked in silence most of the way to Whitman Avenue. In front of Finn's house, Rachel stopped and turned to face him.

"Thanks for walking with me. You didn't have to."

"I wanted to."

Rachel took a small timid step towards him and lifted onto her toes. She pressed a hesitant kiss to his lips before quickly backing away. "Happy Valentine's Day, Finn." She turned on her heal and walked away before Finn noticed that her cheeks were burning with embarrassment as she practically ran the last two blocks to her house.

Finn stood in on the side walk in awe. A pretty girl had just given him his first kiss -on the lips- and it was awesome. He shifted his backpack on his shoulder and began making his way up the short pathway to his front door, his smile wide. "Mom, I'm home." He called out as he rounded the corner into the living room.

"Hey honey. How was school?" Carol asked.

Finn smiled widely, "It was awesome."

"That's good. Did anything special happen?"

Finn's cheeks turned red and he shoved his hands in his pockets. "It was just a really good day."

Carol smiled knowingly at her son. She had decided as soon as she saw Rachel kiss him that she wouldn't say anything about it, but that doesn't mean she wasn't going to try to get him to talk about it.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Rachel looked up from her locker to see Finn standing next to her. "Good morning Finn. Happy Valentine's day."

"Thanks Rach." Finn shifted his focus to look around the crowded hallway of McKinley High school. "Uh, happy Valentine's Day to you too."

Rachel tilted her head to the side in confusion, suddenly noticing that her was acting strange. "Is everything okay?" She questioned.

"It's fine. Are you going to the dance tonight?" He shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

Rachel smiled widely. "Of course. A bunch of us from the drama club are going as a group." She playfully nudged her elbow against him "You want to join us?"

Finn smiled almost shyly and looked at the ground. "Actually, I was kind of hoping you would go with me." He noticed her eyes widen in shock. "As my date." He added nervously.

Rachel opened her mouth to speak but for a moment, she was at a loss for words. Her brown eyes were wide in shock as she studied his features. "Finn, I thought you were going alone. Noah told me that a bunch of the football players had decided not to bring dates, he said something about 'badasses' going stag." She rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of the claim, "Why decide to bring a date, especially me?"

"Why not you? You are awesome, Rach. Puck decided that we weren't going to bring dates, probably because he was shot down by Quinn, twice." He held up two fingers with a smirk. "I only went along with his stupid plan because I was scared to ask you."

"Why be scared? You've known me since second grade."

Finn took a step closer to her and shrugged. "I don't know? You might say no? Anyway, I was thinking about it last night and just decided that I would regret it if I didn't ask you. So? Will you? Go with me, I mean."

Rachel smiled and hugged the books in her arms closer to her chest. "You know what, that sounds fun. Yes, Finn Hudson, I will go to the Valentine's Day dance with you."

Rachel didn't think she had ever seen him smile so big before. "Awesome. I'll pick you up at seven." He placed a hand on her elbow and leaned down to kiss her cheek before turning and walking to his first class.

Thankfully, Rachel was already planning to go to the dance, so she already had a dress; it was a simple light pink dress that flowed to the floor and it fit her perfectly. She hadn't figured Finn would have a corsage for her since it was such short notice, but when he showed up at her house with a pink lily for her wrist, she was happily surprised.

They had arrived at the gymnasium arm in arm an hour ago and even though Finn was sure he would somehow injure her if they danced, when she asked, he led her to the floor anyway. They were swaying in each other's arms as Uncle Kracker's "Smile" played throughout the gym. Finn took in a deep breath and closed his eyes "Rachel," he began "c-can I ask you something?"

She looked up at him "Of course, Finn. Anything." She sounded a whole lot more confident than she actually felt.

"Uh, are you glad you came with me, tonight, I mean."

"Why wouldn't I be? You have been very chivalrous."

Finn furrowed his brow "That's a good thing, right?"

"Yes. It's a good thing. Continue."

He smiled tentatively and his hands involuntarily tightened on Rachel's hips as they continued to sway to the music. "Cool. Uh, anyway. I was wondering if maybe you would, uh, if you would maybe want to be my girlfriend."

Rachel immediately stopped swaying and looked at him in disbelief. "What?"

"Rach, I've seriously had a crush on you since elementary school. You gave me my first kiss, you're gorgeous, you're talented, you won't let me beat up Karofsky, even though he deserves it, and you have always believed in me. I have known you for nine years and I'm tired of pretending that I don't want to hold your hand and put my arm around you and take you on dates and…" He swallowed thickly, "and kiss you."

Rachel's grip on Finn's shoulders tightened as he poured his heart out to her on the dance floor. Her eyes were slowly filling with tears as she stared at him, her mouth slightly open while he spoke.

When he finished, she stayed silent for a few moments, though to Finn, it seemed like an eternity. His heart rate was rising with every second Rachel was silent and he wasn't sure how much longer he could wait in silence. Finn was about to ask her if she heard anything he had just said -he hoped so, because he's not sure he could say it again- when she finally spoke.

"You know, you can kiss me if you want to."

Out of all the possible responses, that was not one he had been expecting. He was surprised and nervous and already lowering his lips to hers, "I want to."

Finn encircled his hands behind her back, pulling her closer to him and allowing Rachel to wrap her hands behind his neck. When the kiss broke, Rachel slid her hands down Finn's neck to rest them on his chest. They rested their foreheads together while they caught their breath after a minute Rachel pulled back and broke the silence between them. "Finn, can I let you in on a little secret?" He nodded. "I have thought of what it would be like to be your girlfriend almost every day that I've known you. Granted, what that means has changed over the years. In third grade I imagined you eating lunch with me and holding my hand and in sixth grade I was hoping you would carry my books." She rambled.

"What about now?"

"Now, I would like to kiss my boyfriend again."

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

"I present to you for the first time as husband and wife: Mr. and Mrs. Finn Hudson! Let's give them a hand."

Finn held his hand out for his bride to take as they walked into the hotel ballroom. They entered the room to the applause of their friends and family. As discreetly as he could, he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I love you."

Rachel looked up at him, her puffy white dress flowing around her and smiled, "I love you too." They walked through the crowd of people stopping every couple feet for congratulations and hugs until they arrived at their seats at the head table. Soon after they sat down, the speeches began. The best man, Finn's step brother and one of Rachel's closest friends, spoke first, followed by the maid of honor, Emily. She and Rachel had become close their first year in college and three years later, they were closer than ever, so close that people often referred to Rachel, Emily, and Kurt as the three musketeers.

Just when they thought the speeches were over, the sound of a fork being tapped against a champagne flute could be heard. "I know it isn't all that common for the mother of the groom to give a speech, but I couldn't resist. For those who don't know me, I am Carol Hudson-Hummel, Finn's mother." She turned to her left and gave a watery smile to Finn. "I remember when Finn was in second grade, it was Valentine's Day and he had come home with his homemade mailbox ready to sort through the cards and eat the candy. I noticed him pause when he came across one with a big gold star in the center of it. I asked him about that card and he told me it was from a new girl at school: Rachel Berry." Carol stole a glance at Rachel before continuing. "He mentioned that he thought she was 'cool' and that was the moment that I realized my Finny had a crush." Laughter could be heard in the ballroom and Carol heard Finn groan in embarrassment. "I have watched these two grow as friends throughout elementary school and middle school before finally dating in high school." The ballroom erupted with a chorus of applause and laughter while Puck could be heard over it all saying that it took Finn long enough.

Carol waited for the group to settle down before speaking again. "Most recently though, I have seen them growing into responsible young adults who have managed to maintain a loving relationship while working towards a college education. It has been a privilege to watch my son grow into such an incredible young man. I am equally blessed to have witnessed his new wife grow up into the smart and beautiful woman she is today. I'm so proud of you both." Carol raised her glass to the couple, "To Finn and Rachel."

"To Finn and Rachel." The room echoed.

The reception continued into the evening and as Rachel had found herself across the room from her new husband as his voice came across the sound system. "Mrs. Hudson, I need you up here." Rachel politely excused herself and stood next to Finn. "I couldn't let this day pass without singing to my gorgeous wife. That's right, I said wife." Finn looked back to see Kurt standing next to the DJ and nodded once before taking Rachel's hand. The music began and Rachel instantly recognized it as one of their favorites.

I can't fight this feeling any longer.
And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow.
What started out as friendship,
Has grown stronger.
I only wish I had the strength to let it show.

Finn pulled Rachel to him and wrapped his free hand around her waist. Rachel's eyes never left his as she rested her hands on his chest and they began to sway to the music. Finn's voice filled the large ballroom as he continued singing the song as their friends and family watched on; not one of them able to question the love the two shared.

Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore.
I've forgotten what I started fighting for.
And if I have to crawl upon the floor,
Come crushing through your door,
Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore.

He was barely able to finish the last note before Rachel had pulled him down by the collar of his jacket for a searing kiss. The crowd erupted in a thunderous applause as the two kissed and Kurt hastily made his way over to them and pulled the microphone from Finns hand. If Finn noticed, he didn't let on; he just wrapped his, now free, hand around Rachel's waist as they continued kissing on the dance floor. Knowing how the two love birds can be, he lifted the microphone to his lips and cleared his throat.

"Well then. Let's send these two on their honeymoon before we all get more of a show than we planned on." Kurt gently shoved his brother's shoulder and spoke again. "The limo is out front."

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

"Hey babe, I'm home."

"Finn! You are early."

Finn stood in front of Rachel and placed a hand on her waist. "We finished at the music store early. I decided that I wanted more time with my wife on our first anniversary. Is that ok?"

"Of course it is."

"How were rehearsals this morning?"

Rachel smiled widely. "They were so good. Opening night is going to be great! Two weeks!"

"You will be great." He said with a kiss. "So I picked up your present on the way home."

"You did? I already got your Valentine this morning, Robots?"

He shrugged, "Robots are awesome. Are you ready for your present?"

"I am." She held out her hand, palm up in anticipation and Finn chuckled and kissed her nose.

"Arms out and close your eyes." He instructed. Rachel lifted both her arms in front of her as she closed her eyes. She could hear her husband rustling with something before he she felt the weight of something heavy on her outstretched arms. "Okay. Open." Rachel opened her eyes slowly and saw a pearl white book with a red ribbon tied around it. "Mom helped me wrap it. And put it together."

"What is it?"

"Open it."

Rachel sat on the couch nearby and gently tugged at the red ribbon causing it to fall away fluidly. Finn sat next to her as she opened the book to the first page and gasped. "Finn, where did you get this?" Her finger traced over the familiar cardstock now protected by a plastic cover.

"I found out a while ago that my mom had saved a bunch of these. She said that when I came home with that Valentine, I had a weird smile and she felt like she should keep it." He reached out and turned the page for her. "I noticed when we moved here you had some old valentines in your keepsake box and I decided it would be a good idea to put all of our old valentines in this book. And since we got married on Valentine's Day, I put our wedding invitations in here with one of our wedding pictures. There is even extra space in the back." Finn suddenly realized that Rachel had been extra quiet and he panicked a little. "Rach?"

Rachel wiped away the tears falling from her eyes and tried to speak. "Finn…" She began. "It's… it's amazing. I can't believe you found all these and put them in a book." She turned another page, her finger once again tracing over the page. "This is the carnation you sent me in eighth grade." He nodded and she turned the page again. "This is when you first told me you loved me." Another page turn. "This is from when we went on that double date our freshman year in college. That was a disaster. Tracy and Noah did not get along at all. I thought they were going to kill each other." They both laughed as they recalled the night.

Finn rested his head against hers. "As I recall, the entire night wasn't a disaster. We had some fun after we ditched them."

Rachel closed the book and gently set it on the coffee table, her hand slowly running over the cover of the book. "We did turn that night around. How about we go into the bedroom and reminisce some more?" They both stood and Rachel hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Finn. You are the best husband ever."

"It's easy when I have the best wife ever. "

"Come on Mr. Hudson, let's go." With that, she took his hand and led him to their bedroom.

Their dinner plans could wait.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

"Are we all set for tonight?" Finn asked as he wrapped his arm around his wife and placed a kiss on her lips.

Slightly dazed by the kiss, it took Rachel an extra minute to formulate a response. "Yes. We are going to drop of Chris and Valerie at my dad's house at six, dinner reservations are at six thirty then it's just me and you home alone for an all-night ten year anniversary celebration for two."

Finn smirked and leaned down to kiss her neck. "Hmmm I like the sound of that." Rachel tilted her head back as Finn nipped and sucked at her neck. Both of them were so caught up in each other that neither heard the front door open. It was only when their sons excited voice was heard in the foyer that Finn stopped his assault on her neck. They watched, amused, as the excited six year old entered the kitchen still talking.

"-made cookies. Elise gave me extra kitkats, cause she said she brought too many, but Jimmy said that she gave 'em to me cause she wants to be mys girlfriend. I told Jimmy that we couldn't be boyfriends and girlfriends till we hold hands and that he was just being silly. Then Elise drawed a heart tattoo on my hand and look!" The little boy held out his hand proudly for his parents to see.

Finn took a step towards the little boy and lowered himself to where he was closer to his height. "That's a cool heart buddy. But remember, we can't draw on ourselves."

The still smiling boy looked at his dad, "I didn't draw it, Elise did." He clarified.

Rachel placed her hand on Finn's shoulder and held back a laugh. "Next time have her draw on a piece of paper for you. I'm glad you had a good Valentine's party but how about you go get your stuff ready for your sleepover with Papa and Granddad. Try not to be too noisy, okay; your sister is taking her nap."

The little boy happily agreed and took a couple steps before Finn called him back. "How about you wait to wash that heart off your hand, Papa and Granddad will want to see it."

"Okay Daddy!" The little boy excited turned towards the hallway.

Finn stood and once again wrapped his arms around Rachel. "He is getting an early start."

Rachel giggled. "I'll be sure to check his Valentine's mailbox for love notes."

"You never know. I'll go help Chris get ready." He kissed her and took a step back as he pulled a small card from his back pocket and handed it to her. "For you." He kissed her cheek and left her in the kitchen while he went to help their son.

Rachel took the card with a smile and opened it gingerly. She pulled out a card with a dinosaur holding a red heart that simply said "To: Rachel From: Finn. You are Dino-Mite! Happy Valentine's Day" Finn had drawn an extra heart with the number ten inside it.

This was one of her favorite Valentine's traditions, even if some people thought it was silly. Rachel smiled; she knew that Finn would find the handmade card, complete with a large gold star, in his suit pocket later.

Twenty-four Valentine's Days, ten wedding anniversaries, two kids, two Tony's, and a music store later, Finn and Rachel still liked to exchange simple children's cards every year so they would always remember how their epic love story had started.

A/N- There you have it! I hope you enjoyed the cheese fest! Thank you for reading and please remember that reviews are always welcome.