A/N: Its been more than a while. Sorry about that. Life of a College student but I'm back, for now at least. The Faberry Week blog on Tumblr inspired this fic and gave me the idea of maybe making this a series of first. I figured I'd see what response this story had before making a decision though. But if you haven't already you should definitely heck out the Tumblr faberryweek(dot)tumblr(dot)com. It's awesome and there's plenty more fics, art and everything else on there.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or the characters portrayed.
Firsts: Visit to NYADA
The first time she goes is completely unplanned. Many people think otherwise but seriously, she hadn't planned it all. It's just with Yale being so expensive, her working part time and only on a half scholarship, she was unable to get away and come home for the 4 day Thanksgiving vacation, including the weekend.
She calls her mom the Monday before to let her know the news and that's when she finds out about Rachel. Judy Fabray, who has taken it upon herself to become as open as possible to prove how much she has changed has apparently become pretty good friends with the Berry men. Quinn even had to talk her out of hanging a rainbow flag from the antennae of her car, reminding her she didn't exactly live in the most gay-friendly area.
According to Hiram Berry, which Quinn later realizes is the short one; Rachel will be unable to make the trip home as well. Apparently she was in some performance at school and they held rehearsals every day except Thanksgiving, including the Wednesday before the Friday after. Judy suggests that Quinn drives up to NYADA and they spend the day together. Quinn just chuckles, tells her mom that she'll think about it and hangs up.
It isn't until the Wednesday before Thanksgiving that the thought actually does cross her mind. I mean her and Rachel were sort of friends right? I mean it's not like they regularly emailed and called each other but they graduated on good terms and they talk very rarely on facebook. What the hell? It's not like she had any other plans.
After a few exchanged text messages Quinn is on the road by 7:30 that night after promising Rachel for the 4th time that she'd be careful. It wasn't a blizzard or anything but snow flurries had been falling for most of the day and it was a more than just a little slippery. Quinn keeps her promise and by 10 she's pulling up to Rachel's school. Rachel meets her out front, hands Quinn a visitors parking pass and waits.
Quinn smiles as she walks into Rachel's dorm room, it exactly how she imagined, well at least her side is. There are Broadway posters tacked to the wall, photos of Rachel with her fathers, Rachel with the Glee club and a few with people Quinn don't recognize taped to the wall and a rainbow comforter.
"Welcome to NYADA Quinn" are the first words Rachel speaks to Quinn as the blonde drops her duffle bag to the floor and takes a seat on the bed. Quinn gives her a small smile as her eyes drift to the other side of the room. The other side is pretty much bare except for a few random photos and a large RENT poster.
"You have a roommate" Quinn says more than asks and turns to look at Rachel who is still standing in the middle of the room. "She doesn't mind me staying does she?"
Rachel shakes her head. "Oh no not at all. Monica is a Technical theater major. She's a little introverted and hardly ever around but she's nice. You two should get along wonderfully" Rachel promises with a smile. Quinn nods and frowns as realization passes her.
"So do you guys have a blow-up mattress or cot or anything or…"
"Actually…" Rachel trails off, biting her lip with a shrug. "We don't. The original plan was for you to sleep in the same bed as me however…" Rachel adds quickly when she sees the shock on Quinn's face. "… Monica informed me if needed she would spend the night in her boyfriend's room and you could take her bed, you know if you were too uncomfortable."
Quinn thinks about it for a long minute as she stares at the opposite bed. She didn't want to put anyone out, especially someone she didn't know out of their own room. She also didn't know Monica and was slightly uneasy with sleeping in her bed. Then again her only other option was to share a bed with Rachel, an extra-long twin bed that she knew could hold them both comfortably but only if they were somehow touching. The thought made her throat kind of dry up.
Rachel waited patiently; still unmoving from where she was standing in the middle of the room. She wasn't sure how Quinn was going to take the information of having to share a bed, a very small bed, with Rachel but at least she hadn't taken off running yet.
A few more seconds of silence echoed through the room before Quinn sighed and shrugged, giving Rachel a small smile. "No, that's fine. Fair warning though, it might be a good idea to sleep on the inside since I tend to stretch out. I don't want to shove you out the bed or anything."
The smile that lit up Rachel's face was totally worth it as Quinn lowered her eyes to look at the ground. Why was Rachel so happy to share a bed with her? Wouldn't she have preferred to have her own space? Especially when there was a perfectly good bed across the room?
Rachel just nods and finally moves from that god-forsaken spot in the middle of the room. She heads for her dresser and pulls open the bottom drawer. "Did you bring something to sleep in or should I provide you with something?"
Quinn shakes her head. "No… I-I brought pajamas" she curses silently for the slight stutter. Rachel nods, takes out a tank top and pants then closes the drawer.
"You can change in the bathroom over there if you prefer in case Monica arrives" Rachel says. For the first time Quinn's eyes find a slightly open door on the other side of the room leading into a darkened room. Assuming it's the bathroom she nods and stands, grabbing her duffle bag and disappears behind the door. As soon as the door closes she sighs.
She was actually here, in New York, at NYADA in Rachel Berry's dorm room. She couldn't believe it. She hadn't even considered how close they actually were to each other until her mother mentioned it when she'd dropped Quinn off at school that first day back in August. Quinn had just shrugged it off, figuring it was irrelevant information. It wasn't like her and Rachel talked that summer. In fact she hadn't talked to anyone that summer except Santana, Brittany and surprisingly enough, Mike. She took another deep breath to steady herself as she unzipped her bag and sought out her sleep wear, then cursed herself again. Why hadn't she packed something different to sleep in? Then again sleeping in a bed with Rachel hadn't been the plan.
Inside the room Rachel was having a similar crisis in her mind for a completely different reason as she changed into her own pajamas. Quinn Fabray was here, in her room and about to sleep in the same bed as her. Who owed her a favor because Holy hell! She tried to erase the smile that spread across her face.
It was no secret to herself and her friends that the brunette had developed a crush on the blonde sometime back during senior year. She wasn't sure when it happened exactly but one day she was walking down the hall, her hand in Finn's and her eyes connected with Quinn's across the hall. Quinn simply smiled and waved at her and Rachel's heart stopped.
She had no idea why seeing as she and Quinn had been friends for quite some time by then and Quinn had smiled and waved to her on more than one occasion. Never had it affected her in that way. Rachel grinned back, her hand loosening in Finn's as she watched Quinn disappear around a corner. The next day her and Finn were over and she remained 'happily' single for the rest of the year.
She knew there was possibly no way Quinn would ever return her feeling but that didn't stop her from constantly talking about the blonde to Kurt, Puck and Mercedes the summer after graduation. They all made it known they thought she was crazy but she didn't care. Even when she got to NYADA she had talked Monica's ear off 'the gorgeous blond cheerleader' from high school.
With that said you can imagine her surprise when Quinn texted her a few hours ago and asked if she minded that she come up for a day or two. Of course she didn't mind! She jumped at the chance, screaming and scaring Monica half to death. When Rachel mentioned Monica giving up her bed, she left out the fact the other girl had teased Rachel about giving her the room for the night if she had any 'plans'. Rachel simply blushed and told her it wasn't necessary.
Rachel had just pulled off her shirt when the door opened and her roommate walked in, bookbag thrown hazardly over her shoulder. Rachel spun around to face her in pink pajama pants and her black bra. "Hey" she said a little too cheery and the red-head stopped in her tracks with a smirk.
"She's here isn't she?" she asked, closing the door behind her. Rachel simply grinned and Monica laughed and glanced around the room.
"She's changing in the bathroom right now" Rachel supplied as she pulled her tank top over her head.
"You know my offer still stands. I can spend the night in Jason's room. He won't mind."
Ignoring the wink, Rachel shook her head as she took a seat on her bed. "Not necessary. We're just friends I told you. Besides… nothing would happen tonight anyway. This is the first time I've seen her since graduation."
"So, she still hot?" Monica whispered, taking a seat at her desk. Rachel blushed and Monica laughed. Before either of them could reply the bathroom door eased open and Quinn walked out. Monica smirked at the barely audible gasp she heard come from Rachel. Quinn was dressed in a grey T-shirt with WMHS across the front in red letters and the smallest pair of black shorts known to man. Any smaller they'd be considered underwear.
"Um… hi?" Quinn said, her eyes falling on the red-head staring at her from the opposite side of the room.
"Hi. I'm Monica, Rachel's roommate" Monica supplied, her voice getting softer as a shy smile over took her face. Rachel shook herself out of her stupor and nodded.
"Yes sorry. Monica this is Quinn, my friend from high school I was telling you about."
"Nice to meet you" Quinn replied politely, meeting Monica in the middle of the room to shake her hand. "I hope you don't mind me barging in like this."
Monica shook her head. "No its fine" she assured then turned to Rachel. "Um, I'm going to head out to the lobby to study with Jason. Nice meeting you Quinn."
Rachel shot her roommate a glare as the girl disappeared out the room, leaving Rachel and Quinn in an awkward silence. Quinn cleared her throat as she dropped her bag.
"So…"
"I was thinking we could head to bed if you wanted. You look pretty tired from the drive up. We could get up tomorrow, grab breakfast somewhere and I could show you around New York. Even on Thanksgiving it doesn't sleep" Rachel said with smile. Quinn returned it and nodded.
Rachel pulled the blankets back on her bed and climbed underneath, scooting as far back to the wall as she could. She watched Quinn bite her lip for a few seconds. Rachel wondered if she was contemplating on changing her mind about her sleeping choice but before she could question her though Quinn was sliding into the bed next to her. Rachel bit the inside of her cheek to hold in her whimper when she felt Quinn arm brush against hers as they both settled on their backs, shoulder to shoulder.
"Is this… okay?" Rachel asked, turning to face the other woman. Quinn nodded but kept her eyes on the ceiling.
"It's fine."
Rachel smiled and reached up to turn off the lights, enveloping them in complete darkness. She felt Quinn exhale beside her before shifting slightly, her back now facing Rachel. Minutes passed and Rachel was almost positive that Quinn had fallen asleep.
"Rachel…" her name was barely a whisper but Rachel heard it.
"hmm?"
A few seconds of silence. "Thanks for letting me visit."
"Anytime Quinn. Thanks for actually coming. I know we're not really friends but-"
She felt the bed shift again quickly. "We are" was whispered directly in her ear and she shuddered.
"We are what?"
"Friends?" the way the word ascended at the end made it seem like a question. "Aren't we?"
Rachel smiled. "Yeah… we're friends."
Another shift in the bed and Rachel's breath caught as she felt the steady breathing near her neck. Pushing her feeling back she closed her eyes and tried to relax, ignoring Quinn's presence as she tried to force herself to go to sleep.
She could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness when another shift and an arm across her stomach and hand on her hip brought her back. The steady breathing on her neck never faulted and Rachel assumed Quinn was asleep. Sighing she closed her eyes, moved her arm to rest atop Quinn's and smiled.