AN: My sister; left my heart in Paris gave me this prompt back in August, I swear she keeps giving me ideas in the hopes that I'll come up with some for her but I'm running out at the moment :)
AN2: this is a future fic; Finchel are back in Lima for their wedding (Finn has big... or rather small plans for their lives together), they find out that the person who they booked dancing lessons (for their first dance) with is Quinn... still a Faberry fic
Also kinda AU a little, I dunno really it could be considered AU seeing as I haven't watched an episode since 3x04... I kinda died a little when I saw what was going to happen the week after (I do know what's happened I just can't watch it)
Posted: 31/1/12
I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You
"Finn this is the place" Rachel dragged her fiancé towards the front door of the building
"Ok, calm down Rach" he tried to keep his balance and not trip over his own feet "I still don't see why we're here" he muttered
"Finn" she sighed stopping at the double door to the building "I want our first dance to be perfect" she slipped her arms round the tall mans middle "Don't you?" she asked so innocently
"Of course I do Rach" he lowered his head and kissed her as softly as he could
"Good" she kissed him again quickly before pushing the door open and dragging him to the correct dance studio. She could see their instructor inside, so she entered the room without second thought, Finn still attached to her hand at the wrist "Hi, sorry we're late-" she stopped herself as soon as the instructor turned to face them "Quinn? Quinn Fabray"
"Wow, I didn't think you two would be my 2 o'clock" it took her a second but she did relax and smile "How have you two been, you both look great" she unexpectedly and awkwardly walked straight up to them and hugged them in turn
"We're great, just great" Rachel was still surprised
"We're getting married" Finn said proudly earning an elbow in the rib from Rachel.
He looked to her confused she turned her head up to him and said through a fake smile "We didn't invite her" it took him a moment with that stupid confused expression that he used all the time.
Sometimes it was like he only had two looks; half furrowed brow looking into space and dopey grin... oh and maybe gassy infant
"Finally" Quinn was still smiling even though the situation had become awkward very suddenly "he did propose 7 years ago Rachel, it's about time you let him make an honest woman of you"
The young blonde woman acted happy for them but inside the reminder of these two together was killing her. How could they be back in Lima, life was just so unfair.
"W-we would have invited you but no one knew what had happened to you" Rachel explained
"Don't worry about it" she just held onto that charming smile... that was possibly fake "so" she decided to cut to the chase "You two are in town to get married" the couple nodded "then I'm guessing you're here for a quick lesson to make you good enough for your first dance as man and wife?"
"What makes you think we need a lesson?" Rachel asked mischievously, expecting Quinn to say the next word that fell from her mouth
"Finn" she said simply with a shrug
"Hey" the young man protested
Both women laughed playfully
"Right I think we should get started" Quinn said once the laughing finished "Did you both bring your shoes; the ones you'll be wearing on your wedding day?"
"See I told you there was a point in bringing them" Rachel said to Finn grabbing the bag from his hand
Quinn chuckled at the interaction but it wasn't genuine, she was just being polite "When you're ready"
Not much later...
"No, no, no. Finn you're stepping all over her. Rachel you're perfect but Finn; you're useless" she used a tone that made the whole situation playful even thought it was painfully awkward. With their history... and the secrets
"I realise you're tall" the blonde continued "But you're not holding her properly" she stepped in "Right" she hid her nerves as she gently grabbed Rachel's hand "Your hand is supposed to be on top; you're supposed to lead, and you other hand goes here" she felt Rachel flinch a little as she held her waist. It took her a moment to pull herself away "Now you try"
What felt like an eternity later...
"Well, I don't think you'll humiliate yourselves on the big day" Quinn said, still light hearted and playful; it was becoming a little more difficult with every minute but she was managing.
"Thank you Quinn, for doing all you can" Rachel replied similarly
"So when's the big day?" she took a chair from the stack leaning against the wall, the other two doing the same
"Next Saturday" Finn answered proudly
"A week away? Wow, hope you're ready"
"We are" Rachel said confidently "We've only been planning for about a month, but we've got everything covered. I'm just lucky my soon to be brother in-law is such a wedding enthusiast"
"Yeah Lucky" what else could she saw
As they were changing their shoes Finn's phone rang, signalling he had a new text "Oh, Rach" he started "Puck and some of the other guys are going to get together, I'm going to go meet them, will you be okay to get back to your dads?"
"Um..."
"I can drive you back" Quinn offered
"Great" he smiled "Well I'll see you later" he waved before heading to the door
"Finn you forgot you shoes!" Rachel called after him
"Oh right" he said goofily before picking up the shoe box and heading out again "See ya"
"So Quinn, why are you back here in Lima? I thought you went to Yale?" Rachel thought she'd get straight to the point
She nodded as she finished tying her trainer shoe lace "Yep, went to Yale, graduated, moved to New York, and then came home when my mom got sick"
"Oh no" she sounded genuinely concerned "Is she okay?"
"Um, well" she sighed, standing up and shouldering her bag "she had breast cancer, they removed the tumour but the cancer had already got to her bones and that's kinda end game. They can't stop it but, considering that, she's doing okay. She accepted it and lives each day to the full"
"So you look after her"
"Well, I do but she keeps insisting that I go back to New York, but..." she shrugged "I'm kinda settled here now, I haven't got anything back there to go to"
"Oh, so what do you do, here in Lima"
"I teach drama at Dalton academy"
"Where Blaine and Kurt attended briefly?"
"Yeah that's the one" she pulled the door open and let the shorter woman through first
"Thank you" She said as she slipped through the door "So what about these dancing lessons?" She continued
"That's just something a little extra I offer at weekends. I saw you won that Tony award" Quinn wanted to know about Rachel
"You did?" Rachel was a little surprised that Quinn even bought it up
"You didn't think I'd keep an eye out for you, so when you made it on Broadway; I could tell people 'I knew her in high school'" she chuckled
"So you probably read and seen all about my life" she rolled her eyes
"Only your accomplishments, I've never been that into knowing everything about you celebrities"
"I'm hardly a celebrity"
"So modest Berry" Quinn sighed "You are amazing though"
Rachel quirked an eyebrow
Quinn smirked "I might have taken my mother to New York a couple of times and we might have seen a couple of your performances; and you were outstanding Rachel"
"Well I'm not that good at taking a compliment. Thank you"
"There you go again" Quinn sighed and shook her head, before walking faster to the next door so she could open it again for Rachel
"What?"
"What happened to 'I need applause to live'?" she mocked light heartedly
"Okay I guess I'm just finding it weird that you're complimenting me" she laughed lightly
"Yeah, sorry about that... you know high school and everything" she didn't really want to bring that up but she knew she'd have to
"Quinn, please" Rachel just brushed it all off "its past us now let's just move on"
"Okay" Quinn was happy but didn't want her apologies to be that easy
"So I know Puck is still in town, do you keep in contact with anyone else?" she asked as they reached Quinn's car
"Only San and Britt; you know the occasional email or phone call" she shrugged "What about you?"
"Only Kurt and Blaine, other that Finn of course but we all shared an apartment while we were at NYADA, Blaine got in too the year after" she explained "So we all got pretty close"
Quinn laughed as she opened the trunk of her car to put her bag in "Just the thought of you having to share an apartment with 3 guys"
"Well at least Kurt isn't really a guy, guy" she laughed a little too
They both got in Quinn's car, Rachel get her wedding outfit shoes with her in the front passenger foot well
"So why are you back in Lima?" Quinn picked up conversation again as they started the car journey back
"Well, it was just right for the wedding with both our parents being here, and we thought the rest of the old club wouldn't mind coming back as it was all our home once. Also after the wedding we're going to settle down here. He's going back to work with his step dad and we're going to start a family"
Quinn couldn't believe her ears "What about Broadway?" she managed to keep her voice calm
"Oh, I'm done with that and Finn sacrificed for me its time I-"
"Wait! What!" she almost stopped the car so she could stop and listen to what the other woman was saying, to see if what she'd heard was real "Finn hasn't sacrificed anything, he went with you, is that really a sacrifice; its not like he missed out on a job opportunity. The job he's taking here is his if he wanted it or not!"
"Quinn, I think you're over reacting"
"No, Rachel you're not reacting enough!" he voice was almost shrill "Has he brain washed you?"
"No, it's just time to settle down" Was Rachel really believing the words coming out of her own mouth
"What so you won a Tony, you were on Broadway for two years: you're 25 for god sake Rachel, it's not time to settle down. I can't believe you!"
The short brunette bowed her head staring at her hands in her lap "I'm sorry you feel that way Quinn"
"You shouldn't be sorry I should be sorry I mean; you could have anything Rachel, you shouldn't be throwing it away for what: Finn?"
Rachel shook her head "Not just for Finn, for a life, for happiness"
"... I saw you on that stage; I saw how happy you were... I didn't see that when you looked into Finn's eyes" Quinn just shook her head and continued to the Berry's house
"What is wrong with you? Why can't you be happy for me?"
"I'm trying, I really am but how can I be happy for you when that is what you've chosen?" Quinn sighed at the end of her rhetorical question "I'm sorry it's not my place"
"No its not" she agreed, she then looked to the driver curious "... why do you even care?"
Quinn didn't answer, luckily she didn't have to as they'd just pulled up outside Rachel's dad's house "Here you are" she said as she stopped the car "I'm sorry for what I said and hope you have a wonderful wedding day" she said with only a hint of happiness (which we can assume was fake)
"I hope you come Quinn, you were invited any way but we didn't know what had happened to you" Rachel said sadly
"Thank you"
She was about to get out of the car when she remembered something else "Oh, we're having a little reunion, for drinks tonight. It's not hard to guess where there's only one Bar in Lima" she laughed lightly "But all the old Glee gang will be there, please join us"
"Sure" Quinn finally met the other woman's gaze
"Be there at 8" she opened the door and hopped out of the car. Quinn watched to make sure she got in her house okay, before head butting the steering wheel and groaning; Rachel was back
...
When Quinn, herself, finally reached her own home, she threw the front door open and tried not to slam it out of respect for the other resident in the house, she dropped her bag by the front door before storming into the lounge and dropping herself on the sofa opposite her mother. Judy had her nose buried in a magazine but she wasn't oblivious to the world around her
"Quinn?" she dropped the magazine onto the coffee table "What's wrong... did you hit your car again?"
"No" she answered pout-ily like a five year old "Rachel's back"
"Oh?" the mother said lightly
"For her wedding"
"Oh" Judy said in a lower disappointed tone
"She's marrying Finn"
"Oh" yet again, in an even lower tone
"He's making her give up everything; they're moving back here to start a family"
"But what about New York and Broadway"
"She's giving it up" she sighed and shuffled to sit up straight "For him" the daughter grumbled
"But, that can't be what she wants"
"Apparently it is" she stood up again "I'm going to have a shower then I'll cook us some dinner, yeah?"
"Okay" the mother answered, partially distracted "...Quinn" she stopped her daughter with her had on the younger blondes wrist as she walked past "Why didn't you tell her?"
"Tell her what?" She tried to play simple, though she knew what her mother was talking about. She had told her mother everything, all her deepest secrets
"Don't play coy with me" she warned "Look; If you told her you were in love with her-"
"It's not that simple" she took a seat next to Judy
"Why not?" the mother protested, hating seeing her daughter hurt
"I can't just go up to her and say 'You are the girl that I've been dreaming of ever since I was a little girl'" she then shook her head and smiled a little remembering those were the lyrics to a certain song
"I don't like seeing my baby sad" her mother said affectionately patting Quinn's knee
"I'll be fine, I'll... I'll get over it"
"Because you've done so well over the past 7 years to get over her" Judy replied sarcastically "I want to see you happy before I die"
Quinn rolled her eyes "Don't say things like that"
Yes Judy was dying, although she had a couple of years left in her yet, but she'd accepted it (though Quinn hadn't), she was enjoying her life; a few trips here and there and a cosy lifestyle in Lima. Now she just wanted to make sure Quinn was happy before she left
"Sorry, but its the truth; you need to do something; either tell her or find another woman to make you happy; please Quinn, for me"
"I'll try" she sighed and rolled her eyes before getting up and finally escaping the room
...
"Quinn, you made it, I'm so happy you came" Rachel hugged her the minute she stepped through the door of the bar
"Yeah well, couldn't let you down could I" She smiled, her expression then dropped and she grabbed the short brunette's wrist, gently and moved her away from the door way "I want to apologise for my behaviour earlier, it wasn't right"
"That's okay Quinn, you were just concerned, and I'd like to thank you for being so. But there's no need to worry, everything's good"
'Good not great?' Quinn wanted to say but she left it "okay, I'm going to get a drink; can I get you one?"
"Thank you but no thanks, Finn already got me one for now"
"Of course he did" she smiled that fake smile, trying not to stare too far into the star's eyes, or she'd be lost "Well I'll be over in a minute" she excused herself for the bar
She just asked for a beer, maybe some people wouldn't see that sort of drink for Quinn but she could never be bothered with one of those funny coloured cocktails
"Holy Shit; Lucy Q Fabray?" Quinn cringed when she heard those words before composing herself
"Santana head Bitch, Lopezbian, good to see you again"
"Hmm nickname needs some work"
"Sorry if that's the best I came up with on the spot, but you know how I hate being called Lucy"
Santana took a seat at the bar, Quinn decided to actually sit down with her "So what the hell are you doing here?"
"I live here remember"
"No, what are you doing in this bar with Rachel and Finnept here"
"I was invited" she said with a little sigh "Thanks for not telling them where I was but I guess fate was cruel and they found me anyway"
"Yeah sorry about that Q, I didn't think you'd want to be at their wedding" yeah Santana knew, after a drunken confession shortly after the proposal
"I've been avoiding this since I learnt he said those words" she took a sip from the bottle she'd just paid for "How's Britt?" skipping along to another topic was for the best
"She's fine, but all this wedding talk has her on edge, I think she wants me to pop the question"
"And how would you feel about making a commitment like that?" she asked as she started tearing at the corner of the label on the bottle
"...fine actually... just I don't want to get it wrong, I want to wait a little longer, until we're back home"
"Well good luck San"
The Latina stood up and hugged her old best friend "I'm sorry we drifted Q"
"Me too" she relaxed into the unexpected hug.
Santana pulled away first "So you joining us?" she gestured with a nod of the head to the group behind them
"Yeah in a minute" was her simple answer
"Okay" The Latina went back to the old Glee club reunion.
Quinn stayed at the bar, drowning her sorrow with a few more bottles, and letting the laughter fade away. Her heart rate would pick up every time she heard Rachel's distinctive laugh.
She was interrupted again by another old friend
"How you doing then, Quinn?" Kurt took the bar stool next to her, the same one Santana had sat on before
"Never been better" he didn't know the truth but she was always scared he could see right through her ever crumbling walls "I bet you're looking forward to the wedding then" she took the attention off herself.
"Yeah, really happy about the whole thing" Kurt may have been drunk but he could still hold a conversation and could still convey his emotions; he was being sarcastic
"What's wrong? Aren't you happy; your best friend and brother are finally tying the knot?"
"That's the thing: Yes; Finn's my brother and I love him dearly, but Rachel's my best friend and I love her even more. She shouldn't marry him. What she's done is astounding. She made it onto Broadway within a year of graduating NYADA, she won her first Tony and now she's giving it all up" Kurt finished with a huge sigh before turning to Quinn
"You see it too?" she asked "You see that she's giving everything up for him"
"I may have had a thing for him once but that boy is too thick to even see that he's being selfish and she's too scared to say no to him"
"Why?" Quinn was panicked as she tried to get word from this drunken version of Kurt "What's she scared of"
He glanced behind them to where Finn and Rachel sat, surrounded by old members of the glee club, Rachel was smiling but it didn't reach her eyes "I think she's scared of being alone"
That was it, the key to it all, why else would Rachel give up all her dreams when she'd barely started, either that or he was physically hurting her... no Finn's an idiot, and he may get violent but he takes it out on inanimate objects, but he wouldn't hurt a person, not someone he loved
"Well" Kurt downed his martini before grabbing the second one in front of him "Back to the party"
Quinn left without speaking to the soon to be married couple. She'd sat at the bar and watched them interact for some time but she just couldn't talk to them, she wanted to, she wanted to take Rachel away and tell her that she didn't need Finn... but she couldn't, because it wasn't right; not to Rachel and as much as she didn't want to admit it, it wasn't right to Finn either.
...
Quinn really had to ask herself what she was doing here, at the wedding of her nightmares, but something in her heart... and her feet led her here. She slipped in at the back shortly before the ceremony started. She couldn't think, all she knew is she woke up that morning, dressed up, got in her car and driven straight to the ceremony venue.
She caught sight of Finn at the front, Puck by his side and again questioned what the hell was she doing here... it was going to tear her apart
And then the music started
And she entered (neither father on her arm, perhaps they were arguing over who got to do it), Quinn's breath hitched at the sight of the beautiful brunette, she was flawless in her white dress, her soft dark hair done up in a bun with a few strands left loose to frame her face.
Rachel kept her eyes fixed on the front of the room, to her fiancé the entire time; she walked straight past Quinn and didn't even see her
Rachel reached the front of the room, she took her future husbands hand, he gave her that goofy smile and she smiled back... although it didn't quite reach her eyes
The ceremony started smoothly; no one messed up their lines, and the soon to be happy couple's smiles never faltered. There was still something in those eyes though, like she saw something coming; an end rather than a beginning.
As the line asking if anyone had a reason why the two standing before them should not be wed; they should speak now or forever hold their peace, everyone held their breath, Rachel's taller father fidgeted in his seat as if he were about to stand up, his husband grabbed his wrist tightly, his jaw tightening as if sending a message: 'don't you even think about it'
The ceremony was about to continue when one word echoed throughout the room
"Stop!"
There were a few gasps and many people turning in their seats to see who had interrupted
"Thank god" the taller father sighed, not caring what his husband thought
"I knew inviting her would be a bad idea" Finn muttered and let go of Rachel's hands to confront the blonde storming up the aisle. Rachel furrowed her brow with worry as she watched Finn take a few innocent steps away "Quinn; you have to understand I'm with Rachel now"
Quinn looked at him confused "What?" she then realised he thought this was about him, she pushed past him to look the brunette in the eye "Rachel; don't marry him"
"What is wrong with you Quinn? It's been over between you and Finn for years and you bring this up now on my wedding day!" she exclaimed with hurt "I thought we were friends and it was just because you wanted Finn ba-"
"I don't care about him!" Quinn stopped her, wanting to stop the hurt and anger on the other woman's face "I care about you. I see the way you look at him, you don't love him Rachel, not anymore. If you're marrying him just so you're not alone, just so you have someone, w-well you don't need to Rachel... You can still find someone... I believe that; because no one could not love you, Rachel; you are amazing and beautiful and anyone would be lucky to have you"
"And how could you possibly think that?"
"Because I love you... he wants to hold you back, I'd never do that to you, I'd follow you to the ends of the earth if that's where you wanted to go-"
"Quinn" Rachel uttered, in an attempt to stop her, to question what she'd just confessed
"- but I'm not saying pick me, I'm saying don't pick this, you can't end up back in Lima you have so much more, still, ahead of you. And on top of that, if you do this, I'd have to move away because I couldn't stay here and see you every day, I can't watch you throw the rest of your life away... I'm sorry but I had to say that" she wiped a few tears from her eyes "I'm so, so sorry" she turned away from the woman she loved, she started to walk briskly but soon broke out into a jog then she was just running as her face screwed up and more tears flooded from her eyes, she didn't look back.
...
"Quinn?" Her mother called from the living room when she heard the front door open, then slam closed "Is that you?" she got off the sofa and rushed to the hallway where she just caught sight of her daughter rushing up the stairs. Confused as to what was going on, she followed
"Quinn" she tapped on the open door, her daughter in distress rushing all over the place, throwing a duffel bag onto her bed and piling clothes in a mess, on top of that "Quinn? What's wrong?"
"I did something awful" she sniffed "I made a mistake and I only hurt people. I have to get away" she rambled out still rushing back and forth to throw clothes onto her bed
"Calm down" Judy said softly reaching out and grasping the younger blonde's wrist "Sit" she led her to sit on the edge of the bed "Explain"
"I-I couldn't help myself" she just kept looking at her mother's hand wrapped round her own, settled on her thigh "I couldn't let Rachel marry him without knowing"
"You told her?" Judy sounded pleased "What did she say?"
"She didn't say anything? I didn't want to hear her rejection, I-I j-just couldn't hear it"
"But how do you know that she'd reject you, if you didn't stay"
"She looked so hurt Mom; I stopped her wedding because I was being selfish"
"Sometimes we have to Quinn, if we ever want a chance of being happy" she gently stroked Quinn's red tear stained face
"I just wanted, I don't know... I wanted her to love me back, but I screwed it up too long ago" tears threatened to spill again "So I went for a drive, I went to think... and I have to get out of here, I can't be here and see her... I..." she sighed, not bothering to explain any more
"There is one more thing I need you to clear up for me" The mother said
The daughter just nodded with a sniff
"If she doesn't feel the same way, can you tell me why she's sitting in our living room, still in her wedding dress?"
Quinn froze all motion, all panicked thought. The tear that was on the verge of being free from her eye just sat there blurring her vision, she slowly turned her head to Judy "What?" her mind was travelling a mile a minute and that was all that spilt from her mouth
"She turned up about an hour ago; I let her wait" she smiled
Before another word could be said or emotion shown Quinn was on her feet, out her bedroom door and down those stairs, straight to the living room. Once she stood hidden just outside the door way she took a second to try and compose herself before taking that final step
And there she was, wringing her own hands in her lap her dark hair still immaculate; tied up in a bun with a few strands allowed free just to frame her face
"Mrs Hudson?" The blonde asked, getting the other woman's attention, their eyes immediately locked: her heart would break if what she said was the truth
Rachel smiled and shook her head "Miss Berry" she corrected
"What are you doing here?"
"Well" she stood up, straightening her flawless dress "Someone interrupted my wedding, and they told me something, something that I think was really hard for them to say"
"You have no idea" Quinn breathed and looked away
"You can't say things like that, Quinn, and just leave"
"I'm sorry for telling you-"
"Why? Because it was a lie?" She asked, hurt partially evident in her voice
"No, because it wasn't right to say that sort of thing in front of those people, it wasn't fair to you"
"No, what wasn't fair was that you didn't tell me this before" There was that same hurt expression on the brunette's face, the same one she had when Quinn had confessed her biggest secret "Why didn't you say?" she now sounded a little angry
"I don't know... actually I don't see how it would matter if I'd told you sooner"
"What? If you'd told me I could have everything I wanted sooner than the day I was going to marry a man who I don't love the same way I did in high school" she started taking cautious steps forward
"What do you mean everything you wanted?" she wished to hear what she really wanted to hear but she had her doubts, she bowed her head as tears fell again
"I want Broadway, I want New York, I want a lot of things too much Quinn" she was now standing right in front of the blonde, she hooked a finger under her chin to meet those hazel eyes she'd only dreamed about staring into this intensely. She moved her hand to cup one side of the blondes face and wiped a stray tear away with the stroke of a thumb "And I want you so much" she breathed as she stood on her tip toes and tilted her head to meet those soft, inviting lips.
Quinn felt like her entire world had exploded, something she'd only dreamed about was finally happening; Rachel's lips caressing hers, so gently, so simply and it was perfect. After screwing up Rachel's big day Quinn never imagined she would feel this. Her heart was beating so erratically, yet she felt calm; it was unreal
And then the lips were gone again, she opened her eyes to meet deep brown ones, ones that she could get lost in. But she couldn't yet;
"What will happen now, with Finn and everything?"
"I need some time away, to think. I might do some travelling"
"Oh, okay, I mean I understand"
"I was thinking maybe the ends of the earth" she raised an eyebrow as if hinting something "Wondering if you'd go with me?"
"I already said I'd follow you anywhere; Rach" she was the one to initiate the next kiss, wrapping her arms round the shorter woman's middle
"Good" she breathed against Quinn's lips "Because I don't want to be anywhere without you"
"I love you" she finally said it, even if she rushed it out; she said those exact three words, to just one person, the only person she ever wanted to say them to; and not in front of an entire room full of people
"I love you too" and then she heard it back and she felt life couldn't be any better
Okay so not really sure about this anymore but let me know what you though...
I have checked this for grammar and spelling but its late here so I probably missed a lot; I'll give it another look in the morning :)