A/n: I am officially in love with Smytheberry. It is now 3rd on my list of OTPs (behind Pucklberry and Klaine respectively). I ship pretty much anyone with Rachel Berry BUT Finn Hudson, (I'd ship Rachel with Lord Tubbington before Finn) so this fic may not be too kind to that character. Obviously this is pretty AU, but what is exactly AU is discussed enough to give you an idea.

Also, I was planning on making this into a mammoth-sized oneshot, but…. I really wanted to post this before "On My Way" premieres this Tuesday. So, this is a snippit of a possible (10k words-ish) oneshot in the works. I'd love your feedback on what I've written so far. Please review, loverly Smytheberry shippers! Without further ado: a taste of my vision.

Shroud of Secrecy

Rachel sat on the trunk of the red hybrid car that her daddies had bought her for her sweet sixteen. Well, she thought, technically her dad (Hiram) had bought the little earth-friendly car, without telling his husband and boy was her daddy (LeRoy) steaming mad when we found out! It had caused quite a bit of tension though the two had made up within 24 hours: it was a rule between the two of them, and the whole family really: They never went to bed mad, they always talked it out and made up, and that's what family is supposed to do.

Rachel absentmindedly swung her legs back and forth to the beat of the faint music coming from inside the gas station convenience store when she perked up as a black car came into view on the highway before exiting into the small parking lot of the gas station. The car pulled smoothly to a stop next to hers.

Rachel couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at the sight of the bronze-haired boy exiting the vehicle. He had taken off the Dalton uniform jacket and was in his untucked, button-down shirt and loosened tie. Sebastion came to stand in front of Rachel, who was still seated on top of her trunk.

"Sorry I'm late, practice ran late because Wes and Trent started arguing about who had sung "Grenade" better and I didn't have time to chang-" Rachel cut him off with a kiss as she pulled him closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. Sebastian immediately responded and threaded his fingers through her hair. Rachel hooked her legs over his hips making him groan and run his tongue over her bottom lip before deepening the kiss further. Damn, he had missed his girl. They both finally had to pull back, panting as they tried to get air into their burning lungs. She switched her arms' position so that now she was hugging his middle and brought him close so she was leaning against his chest.

"I've missed you so much, Seb," she whispered into his shirt. She felt the vibration of his chuckle against her cheek. He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.

"It's only been three days, Rach," Rachel shrugged and squeezed him a bit tighter before loosening her grip again. "But I've missed you too." The two were silent for a few moments, just to soak in that they were together; with her arms still wrapped around him and his hands still running through the loose strands of her hair. Without a word Rachel loosened her grip and Sebastian stepped back, and he helped her off the car's trunk. They linked hands and headed towards Sebastian's car.

Rachel turned on the radio to a classic rock station as Sebastian backed out of the parking lot. She knew he preferred classic rock or the Oldies station, which she had teased him endlessly for. Sebastian glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and sent her a smirk. Rachel grabbed his right hand and held it in hers. By now Rachel would usually be bantering back and forth with her boyfriend, but at the moment she was content to merely hold his hand in silence and revel in how lucky she was to have him when he could have chosen any other girl- or guy for that matter.

Sebastian's mom and Rachel's daddy (LeRoy) were old friends and used to hold playdates for their children. But they had moved away ten years before, only keeping in touch with Christmas cards and the occasional phone call and email. The Smythes had moved back to Ohio at the beginning of the summer. LeRoy was beyond excited and had organized a dinner between the two families. It was there that Rachel and Sebastian reconnected. They instantly seemed to click, as they had even when they were children. Which Rachel's dads had been secretly hoping for; they had been trying to get rid of Finn since the fiasco at Nationals where Finn had selfishly put his desire over his team and their baby girl's dream. Sebastian and Rachel became close-knit friends, which would have shocked anyone from the glee club, because Sebastian could eerily be compared to Santana. Soon after the rebirth of their friendship, Finn screwed up, which everyone seemed to think was inevitable. Rachel broke up with him and ended up a crying mess on Sebastian's couch and he had to be physically restrained by Rachel from kicking Finn's ass. Two weeks later they kissed for the first time and started dating soon after that.

"Rach," she turned to Sebastian, blinking to come back to reality. He had parked and they were at their diner. It was a small noodle place that had vegan options for Rachel and the best Mac and Cheese Sebastian had ever had in his life. The two sat at their normal table and ordered the usual with their favourite waitress who constantly gushed at how cute the two were together.

"How are your dads?" Sebastian asked Rachel once their food was ordered. This subject was a lot more neutral. Both of the Berrys knew Sebastian and wholeheartedly approved of him- LeRoy especially.

"They're great. Dad was just promoted and Daddy booked us a trip to go see NYADA over Thanksgiving Break!" Sebastian's smile seemed genuine but turned strained and she knew what question was coming next.

"How about glee club and" he clenched his teeth and his fists balled up under the table unconsciously, "him?"

"Seb-"

"When are we going to tell everyone?" he asked in a hushed voice, angrily, though he already knew the answer.

"After Regionals, I promise. And I will break it off completely with Finn and tell him about us"

"And you'll tell him that I swim and play lacrosse and could totally kick that fifth-rate quarterback's ass!" Rachel smiled weakly, glad that he was still joking because it meant he wasn't too angry.

"Of course," she agreed. Sebastian still had a less-than-pleasant expression on his face.

"You know about my history with Jesse. And I don't want to get their judgment passed on us before competition and I don't need everyone distracted before competition"

"So, you care more about winning then-"

"NO! Nonononono!" Rachel quickly countered and then the two trailed off into a small silence as their waitress brought them their orders, which they both ignored as they restarted their conversation where they left off. "Last time when the team found out about me 'fraternizing with the enemy' they gave me the ultimatum of breaking up with him or they would kick me out of the club."

"Seriously? And you consider them your friends?" Rachel opened her mouth as if to reply but shut it when she realized she couldn't really respond to that. "But I get it." He knew how much this meant to her.

"How are the Warblers?" Rachel asked, knowing that this was a far safer topic. Without all the girls they had far less drama.

"Fine, only thing is, I'm thinking that they're getting suspicious."

"Well pretend that you have a boyfriend from another school, or flirt with some guys at Dalton?" The Warblers just seemed to assume that Sebastian was gay rather than bisexual, though that could work to their advantage.

Sebastian eyed his girl oddly as she took another bite of her broccoli pan noodles. Was she seriously suggesting that he flirt with other guys? Rachel seemed to feel his eyes boring into her and looked up.

"What?"

"Nothing. This is just the best. I have a girlfriend who is encouraging me to cheat on her. This is a moment all men dream of," he sniped sarcastically at her. Rachel's jaw dropped.

"That's not what I was trying to portray! I was merely suggesting that-"

"We have each other's permission to cheat on each other, yeah, I got it," he ground out before moodily shoveling multiple spoonfuls of his favourite comfort food. Rachel bit her lip as she watched him. He was far more angry about the situation then he showed.

"Seb," he didn't look up. "Seb, I'm going to break up with Finn by this weekend." That announcement mad him start and peer over at her. "I should have never gotten back together with him even as a way to keep our relationship out of the prying eyes and minds of my fellow glee clubbers. I'm sorry."

Sebastian didn't say anything, but he nodded and seemed to relax far more easily after that. He and Rachel mutually decided to not waste the short amount of time they had together by fighting.