Title: RachelLess Years

Summary: It's been four years since they started college, and the distance is starting to take a toll on Finn. One shot, Finchel.

A/N: This really isn't even a fic… more just a scene? If that makes sense. I don't know haha, but I enjoyed writing it, so I hope you enjoy reading it!

Finn misses her a lot. She calls every day, and they text a ton, but it's just not the same as actually seeing her face to face, being able to hold her in his arms. He can't sleep that well when she's gone. He just sort of lies in bed, stares up at the ceiling, counts as the blades on the fan go round and round. He sleeps with the windows open, because the noise from the street calms him a little; he can't handle the silence that surrounds him in the room when it's just him in there, by himself.

Nervous – that's the feeling that starts to take over whenever she's gone. It feels like his skin's crawling, kind of, an itch that can't be scratched until she's back in town. He used to be good at the distance; well, not good, but okay. He missed her and stuff but he was okay because he knew that she was off doing her thing, and he was doing his thing, and that they were both where they each needed to be. But it's been four years now, three long, Rachel-less years. He sees her some weekends, and usually at Christmas. She doesn't come home for summer anymore though.

He rolls over onto his stomach, pushing his face into the pillow, taking a few deep breaths. Reaching over for his cell phone that's on his nightstand, he dials the familiar number, holding the phone to his ear. He closes his eyes tightly, and he feels pathetic, so needy.

After a few rings, she picks up. "Baby?" Her voice sounds scratchy, hoarse, concerned. "What's going on?" He is quiet for a couple of seconds, his eyes still scrunched shut. If he doesn't open them, he can almost pretend that she's there.

"I miss you, Rach," he says, and his voice catches a little. "I can't sleep."

"What can I do?" she asks quietly, and he hears some rustling from her end of the phone. She's probably moving from her dorm out into the hallway. He knows from experience that her roommate is a light sleeper, and he can practically see Rachel in his mind, her comforter trailing behind her, as she sits down outside of her room. It just makes that nervous feeling racing over his skin turn into want, and he misses her so badly that he actually feels an aching in the pit of his stomach.

"I don't know," he whispers, and he sits up, dropping his head down to his knees. "I just. It's just that I miss you, and I know I was okay earlier today and stuff, but it just feels like it's been so, so long since I've seen you and I can't sleep, and I hate it."

"I know."

"And I know I've probably been super annoying this semester, and I'm sorry, because I know that the end is in sight or whatever you keep saying but it still feels like May is so far away." Finn sighs. "I'm acting like such an idiot, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for waking you up."

"It's okay," Rachel says, comforting, "you're not acting like an idiot. I miss you, too, you know." Her voice sounds a little sad, and Finn rakes a hand through his hair, frustrated. He pushes the bed sheets away from him, and haphazardly gets out of the bed, tripping over his own feet in the dark. Swearing under his breath, he makes his way over to the door, flipping on his bedroom light. Suddenly, the dark disappears and he glances over his room. It's a mess. His clothes are strewn all over the place, dirty towels are piled up near the door to his bathroom, and there are glasses of half drunk water all over the place – like he's in Signs, or something. He has a couple pictures of Rachel stuck on the wall, pictures of her laughing and smiling, one of her and him at his twenty-first birthday party. Her smile is wide, her arms wrapped around his waist, hugging him to her tightly. Finn sighs again.

"I just miss you, Rach."

"I know. We'll be together again soon."

He turns off the lights, and he gets back into bed. He stares at the ceiling fan, as he listens to Rachel talk about the play that she's working on in school. She complains about her classmates, saying how they are unmotivated and unprepared. He interjects here, saying that obviously they are motivated if they're going to that school, and she gives in, saying that, okay, maybe they're motivated but they are just not as motivated as she needs them to be. Finn laughs, and she laughs a little too. He tells her about his business class, and how confusing it is, how difficult it is, but that he thinks he's going to end up getting an alright grade if he keeps going to his tutor. They talk about seeing each other in a month, and then they talk about him moving out to New York. He admits that he's a little nervous and she says that it's okay to be nervous, that he'll love the city once he moves there officially. She asks him if he's feeling any better after about an hour, trying to cover a yawn but he still hears it clearly.

"I know, you need to go," he says, covering his eyes with his free arm. He's still not tired at all, and that nervous feeling is starting to skitter over his skin again. He hates saying goodbye, he hates having to hang up the phone.

"No, no, it's not that, it's just that I'm afraid I'm going to fall asleep out in the hallway," Rachel says, giggling a little. Finn doesn't say anything. He's irrationally pissed off right now; he doesn't know why, he just hates that Rachel has to go, he hates that she can't stay on the phone with him, he hates that she's going to fall asleep so easily while he's going to spend the night wide awake.

"Finn," she says quietly, trying to get him to say something. He stays silent. "Finn. I can keep the phone on, even after I fall asleep. It'll be like we're sort of together, even though we're not."

"What, I'll listen to you breathe for five hours, and that's supposed to make me feel better?" he asks sharply, immediately regretting what he just said. "Rach-."

"I'm trying to come up with a solution," Rachel interrupts tightly, and Finn can tell she's trying not to get upset. "I can't just stay up all night talking to you, I have a lot to do tomorrow; I have classes, and then rehearsal, and then work at five. So, it's either 'listen to me breathe', or hang up now."

"Fine," Finn says softly. "Please keep the phone on."

"Okay," she says, and her voice is soft. "I love you. Please have a good night, okay?"

He tells her that he will, and he apologizes, and she say that its fine, that she knows that this last month is probably going to be a bit tough on them both. She says that she loves him, again, so much, and he says that he loves her, too, more than anything.

"The Finn-Less years are almost over," Rachel says sleepily.

"Yeah. They're almost over," Finn says, thankfully, and he continues staring up at the ceiling, watching as the fan goes round.