It's three days away.
It's Quinn's biggest case yet.
It's also set for the morning after the night of the Tonys.
If Quinn wins this case, Quinn becomes Quinn Fabray, Partner.
If Rachel wins this award, Rachel becomes Tony Award Winner Rachel Berry.
If Quinn wins this case, she gets a nice advance and moves herself and her girl into that new building in Gramercy they've been eyeing, the one right next to the park and a few blocks west of that really great school.
If Rachel wins this award, she gets a nice bonus and a whole slew of producers fighting over her and that shiny gold statue she's been dreaming of her whole life.
But Quinn and Rachel have always been at odds.
Quinn and Rachel were at odds when they were in school and Rachel was midtown at Juilliard while Quinn was uptown at Columbia.
Quinn and Rachel were at odds at parties when Rachel would be there half an hour early wearing her new plaid dress and Quinn would show up late in a striped one.
Quinn and Rachel were at odds in December when Rachel got home with a brand new menorah to find Quinn balanced precariously on a chair, angel in hand, reaching towards the top of a Christmas tree that definitely hadn't been up when Rachel had left that morning.
Quinn and Rachel were at odds in high school when Quinn was hurling a bright red slushie at Rachel in her brand new blue pantsuit.
Quinn and Rachel are at odds right now as Quinn, notes and depositions and documents she really can't afford to forget to enter into evidence spread out across the table in front of her, sips idly at her iced coffee and watches Rachel bounce nervously around the kitchen, pausing to start the microwave up for a few more seconds because she likes her tea scalding.
"I don't know why you're staring at me," Rachel comments offhandedly, staring intently at her mug rotating in the microwave, "when you have a docket to be working on."
"It's not a docket if it's only one case, Rachel," there's an elongated slurping sound as Quinn finishes her iced coffee, only stopping once when she hears the irritated tap-tapping of Rachel's foot, "and to answer your question," she raises her eyes to catch Rachel's in their reflection in the microwave window, "it's because I was thinking of docking iyou/i of those little shorts."
Rachel's reflection locks eyes with Quinn's and Quinn barely has time to break into a pleased smirk at the distinct and sudden lack of annoyance she finds there before she's pinned to the back of the chair and there's a distinct weight on her lap, smooth legs trapping hers in a death grip as Rachel's lips capture her own in a searing kiss.
When Quinn and Rachel are at odds, things are really great.
It's two days away, and Quinn hasn't slept.
Her glasses are falling off her face and she's trying to comb a hand through her hair but it's too tangled and she's had on the same pair of sweatpants for God knows how long, but she can't stop now, because she's onto something. She's onto something and she knows she's almost got it figured out, just one more connection and-
"Baby, what do you think of this dress?"
And Rachel's there.
Rachel's there in this strapless midnight blue dress that's complimenting her perfect skin and showing off her perfect cleavage and her perfect collarbone and that perfect little scar Rachel got on her shoulder when they were running screaming through the hotel lobby after winning Regionals their junior year that Quinn always pays special attention to when she's kissing her, and Quinn doesn't care.
Quinn doesn't care because Rachel may have just ruined the only shot she had at winning this case and becoming partner and getting into that building with the pretty park and that great school and Quinn's furious.
"Can't you see that I'm working, Rachel?"
"But baby, I-"
"I'm working, and this case is in less than forty-eight hours, and I just don't have time for you right now."
That one stings.
"I just wanted-"
"Rachel, once again, you're not listening to me. I don't have time for you right now."
Rachel's just staring at her now, eyes wide and open and hurt, but she refuses to cry.
She didn't cry when she took a bright red slushie to the face and it ruined her brand new, bright blue pantsuit.
She didn't cry when she needed four stitches in her shoulder after tripping in the hotel lobby after Regionals their junior year.
She didn't cry when the angel fell off the top of the Christmas tree and knocked over her menorah one year.
Instead, Rachel takes a glass out of the cabinet, walks over to the sink to fill it up, and refuses to cry.
The cup starts to overflow, but Rachel doesn't turn the sink off until she hears "why are you still here? You're an actress, you know your cues."
Rachel's the one who doesn't sleep that night.
Instead, she lies awake in the center of their bed, curled up around nothing, crying.
The Tonys are tonight.
The Tonys are tonight and Rachel's slipping into a springy, plush seat at Radio City Music Hall, face sore from all the smiling she's been doing the last half hour.
A well-dressed, but painfully awkward teenage boy is sitting next to her. He reminds her a little bit of Finn, when he was in high school.
He catches her eyeing him and smiles weakly, stuttering. "I- I'm just a seat filler, but I'm a really big fan of yours, my name's-"
She smiles, and shakes his hand, talking to him until the lights dim.
She's a little irritated when they do, though, because the opening number is starting and whoever she's supposed to be sitting next to isn't there yet, and these are the Tonys, but then she hears a rustle of fabric and the seat filler's mumbled apologies and she feels the seat next to her give a little bit as someone sits down, but her eyes don't leave the number in front of her because that would be rude and these are the Tonys.
She wants to remember every second, because this is what she's dreamed of her whole life.
But the Tonys only mean so much, especially when she's feeling soft lips against her ear, and hearing Quinn's voice.
"I messed up so bad you're not even going to look at me?"
Rachel wishes that were the case.
But Rachel's never really had much discipline when it came to Quinn.
After a whispered, "you're late, but since you're not an actress, I suppose I can forgive you for not knowing your cue," she stares at her the whole night.
She stares at her during every song.
She stares at her during every acceptance speech.
She even stares at her as the nominations for Best Actress in a Musical are being announced.
She's staring at her when "Rachel Berry!" echoes through the room and the music that follows can't even be heard over the cheering of the crowd.
(It takes Quinn cupping her face and whispering, "baby, you did it" and kissing her before Rachel realizes what's happened.)
She's back to staring at Quinn in the car, though, once they're finally on their way home.
She isn't even distracted by that shiny gold statue sitting in her lap.
She notices the corners of Quinn's lips twitching before she even says it.
"I don't know why you're staring at me when you have that Tony in your lap."
"Because I want to dock you of that dress."
Quinn's laughing and unbuckling her seatbelt and sliding across the seat and she's up against Rachel before Rachel even really knows what's happened, and it isn't until she's taking the Tony off of Rachel's lap to place it gingerly on the other side of the seat that Rachel is able to respond.
"But you have your case tomorrow morning."
"I gave it to someone else" is the nonchalant response she gets before Quinn starts sucking on her pulse point.
"You what?"
Quinn scowls when Rachel jerks out of her grasp. "Yes, Rachel, I gave it to someone else."
"Why?"
"Because," Quinn explains as if it were obvious, pulling her dress up to drop down to the floor of the car in front of Rachel, "I wanted to be here with you." Rachel opens her mouth to protest, but Quinn holds up a finger. "I love you and I want to be here with you, but you did enough talking in your acceptance speech tonight. You literally overran the walk-off music. You're done for a while."
The last thing Rachel sees before her eyes flutter shut and her head tips back is Quinn's mischievous grin.
Quinn and Rachel are at odds again.
Quinn's tongue is at odds with Rachel's as the two wrestle for dominance while simultaneously trying to get the door to their apartment unlocked and open, but as soon as they're inside, Quinn lets Rachel push her up against the door once they get it closed.
Quinn's deep cherry dress is at odds with Rachel's midnight blue one, but Quinn takes time to admire the perfect skin and perfect cleavage and perfect collarbone it presents her with. It doesn't even matter, Quinn thinks as she kisses Rachel's perfect little scar, since both dresses have ghosted silently to the floor anyway.
Quinn's pale skin is at odds with Rachel's tan skin, but Quinn lets Rachel's cover hers as she pulls her backwards onto their bed.
Quinn's at odds with herself as she struggles to find a way to say I'm sorry and forgive me and congratulations and I love you all at once.
But she's at odds with Rachel again before she knows it, her blonde hair tangled with Rachel's brown on the same pillow as they lie in the middle of their bed and she lets Rachel curl up around her.
She feels Rachel's breath against her neck slow and even out, and kissing the top of her head, whispers "I love you, Tony Award Winner Rachel Berry."