Title: We Could Be Beautiful Together (So We Are)
Category: Glee
Genre: Romance
Ship: Sam/Rachel
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: "Sam slid out from under her car, streaks of grease covering his face and the tight white shirt he was wearing." by azraeldoesnotdispute – Tumblr
Word Count: 3,268
Summary: Rachel thought she was taking a step toward reuniting with Finn, what she was really doing was finding a better half.

We Could Be Beautiful Together (So We Are)
-1/1-

Rachel really shouldn't have been surprised. Sure, she had gone to Hummel Tires thinking that she might entice Finn into conversation and eventually forever, but apparently he wasn't working that day and so she was directed to Burt's new recruit. When the hopes for a Finchel reunion fizzled before her eyes, Rachel was able to see reality quite clearly. Sam had informed the club that he was looking for a job to help out with bills now that they were able to find affordable daycare for Stevie and Stacey. Kurt was quick to tell him that his dad was hiring and voila! Sam had part-time employment working on cars, doing tune-ups and checking oil and whatever it was that boys who worked in garages did… Rachel had no idea because, contradictory to how Quinn and Santana implied she bore a strong resemblance to a man, she was in fact quite feminine and so anything involving tools or DIY projects were not in her scope of interest.

Sam greeted her with a crooked grin, wiping his hands on a rag, his blue coveralls stained with grease. "Rachel, hey," he said lightly, before nodding his chin toward her car. "Burt said you needed me to take a look."

"Um… Yes…" She bit her lip. Actually, she was fairly certain that there was nothing wrong with her Prius. She took very good care of it and made sure it was regularly serviced, almost too much even, but she wasn't planning on telling Finn that… Seeing as she was hoping to bond with him while he put his new found understanding of cars to work. Sure, they'd broken up again shortly into the school year and he was once again chasing after Quinn, but… There was still some hope inside Rachel that they would finish out their senior year together. What the future brought after that didn't promise much in the way of the two of them, but she still thought it could be magical to spend her last year of high school with a boy she loved…

That being said, she had no idea what to tell Sam about her car.

Tossing his rag over his shoulder, he walked over to her car and popped the hood to take a look. "Was there anything you were worried about? Weird noises or something?"

"Well…" She wrung her hands, not sure if she should try to keep up appearances or tell him the truth and take his pity. "I… I don't really know. You see, I'm not very… handy when it comes to these sorts of things…" she explained honestly.

He nodded. "Okay, well… I'll take a look around; make sure everything's running right…" He lifted his head up and grinned at her again. "You can sit in the waiting room…" He took a look around, making sure the coast was clear, and then leaned over close to tell her, "The magazines are all a few years old but I think Kurt donated them when he realized his dad's taste ran toward fishing and car stuff…" He chuckled quietly and she was surprised when she shivered as his hot breath skittered against her shoulder.

She managed a smile back and then looked up at him thankfully. "Okay, well… A few years old or not, I'm sure Kurt would still appreciate I update my knowledge of what's fashionable…"

His eyes took her in from head to toe. "I like your skirts…" He shrugged. "And your dog sweater's cute…"

She smoothed her hands down her waist and swallowed tightly, her mouth suddenly dry. "It was a gift from my nana," she told him, rolling back on her heels. "She has eclectic taste, which I obviously take after… Much as the other's tease me, these are actually custom made sweaters." Her eyes widened for emphasis.

"Really? That's cool…"

She was fairly certain nobody had ever referred to her clothing style as cool or anything resembling such… Still, it was nice of him to say.

Nodding, he motioned his hand back to her car. "I shouldn't be long… If everything's working, I'll have you out of here pretty soon." He licked his lips and crossed his arms. "If it takes too long and you want to go out for coffee or something, I'll just text you when it's ready…"

"Oh, no, that's fine… I can wait." She shrugged. "I cleared my schedule… I wasn't sure how long it would take so I didn't want to make plans just in case." She shook her head. "And Kurt and Blaine are on a date, so they probably wouldn't want me to crash. And of course, Mercedes is involved with that football player…" She frowned. "I can't seem to remember his name; she uses to many petnames…" She shook her head dismissively. "And Noah's having some kind of video game marathon at Artie's, so he'll just ignore my phone calls. He doesn't think I know he does that, but it's really quite obvious. That only leaves the rest of the gleeks, none of which I really spend much time with outside of school, so…" She saw his amused expression and bit her lip hard. "I—I'm sorry, I just started rambling…"

He grinned. "No worries…" He motioned a thumb back. "But this is my last car before I'm off and I was kind of hoping to get a few hours to myself before I have to pick Stacey and Stevie up from daycare, so I should probably get started…"

"Right, sure, of course…" She backed up toward the door leading back into the front of the store. "Oh, um…" She rocked on her heels. "Thank you, Sam…"

"It's okay…" He smiled widely. "It's my job…"

Her cheeks lit up. "Right, I—I know…" Feeling like shaking her head at her behavior, she spun around quickly and fled.

Sitting in the waiting area, she tried reading through a few of the magazines Kurt had supplied. Sam was right; there were a number of older issues of Elle and Vogue. Still, she thumbed through them even as her mind wandered. She wasn't sure why she'd been so off kilter with Sam; he'd simply surprised her, she assured herself. Sure, she hadn't felt that disarmed by a smile in quite some time, but that was natural. For all of Santana's teasing, Sam actually had very nice lips; cute and pink and incredibly attractive when he offered that crooked grin of his. And despite his poor taste in girlfriends, Mercedes aside, he continued to be one of the nicest boys she'd ever met. She wondered if his history at an all-boys school might have been the cause of that. Either way, he was far more appealing character wise than she could say for many of the boys on the football team.

Only after she'd finished two past-copies of Elle and one of a very informative Vogue did Rachel realize she'd been waiting for quite some time. Standing from her seat, she checked the time and realized that Sam had been working away on her car for nearly an hour. Frowning, she made her way back out to the garage.

She jumped at the noise that jarred her senses. Perhaps she'd been too distracted to notice before but the garage was incredibly loud. Men were wielding various tools that she couldn't begin to name and the screeching noise of them had all melded together to a loud pitched squeal. She nearly covered her ears from it, but instead just quickened her steps. She found her shiny red Prius just where she'd left it.

All she could see was a pair of old, scuffed boots and the ends of blue coveralls sticking out from below. She wasn't sure if she should tap him or call his name; she certainly didn't want to surprise him. She had no idea what he was doing under there and if it demanded serious concentration. Finally, she settled for clearing her throat. The first time got her nothing, so she tried again a little louder. Realizing the noise of the garage was overpowering even her, she decided to just give his boot a little attention-demanding tap.

"Shit!" she heard him curse and winced.

"I… I'm sorry," Rachel called after him, lifting up on her tiptoes like she expected to see his face in the inner workings of her engine. "I didn't mean to bother you, but I realized you were taking awhile and I started to worry that perhaps there was something wrong or… Maybe you got distracted and my car was finished and I was waiting for no reason…" She wrung her hands.

Sam slid out from under her car, streaks of grease covering his face and the tight white shirt he was wearing, having undone his coveralls to his waist. Her breath left her on a hiss, her chest contracting at the sight. Eyes wide, she stared at the shapely biceps that flexed beneath her gaze, dotted in a thin sheen of sweat and smudged with black. He grabbed up a rag and started wiping down his long, dexterous fingers, and she bit down on her lip to keep from expressing her absolute attention. The sinewy spread of his shoulders tightened and released as he shoved up to his feet and while she told herself to step back, she was rooted to her place, keeping her entirely too close to his looming body. Gulping, she raised her chin and looked up into his face, staring down at her with dark, green eyes, fringed in brown lashes.

Breathlessly, she murmured, "I… didn't mean to interrupt your work…"

"S'okay," he returned. He lifted an arm to brush his hair of his face with his wrist, but smudged grease against his temple.

A smile quirked her lips and she reached up to to rub it and the rest of his mess away, following the handsome contours of his face, thumbs smoothing over his skin, careful not to let the grease touch his hair. Without thinking, she threaded her fingers down his shaggy bangs and tucked them behind his ear. "There."

He grinned slowly. "Thanks."

She felt a flush fill her cheeks. "So, um… My car?" she wondered, dragging her eyes from him and settling them on her Prius.

"Yeah, uh…" He licked his lips and turned, walking back toward it.

She sighed wistfully at the way his back moved beneath his white tank top. He really was an incredibly healthy specimen of man… She blinked rapidly, trying not to stare.

He nodded his head for her to follow him over and then pointed inside. "There were a few things loose… I don't wanna scare you, but whoever's been fixing you car hasn't been doing such a great job." His brows rose for emphasis. "And they're probably charging you out the ass, so…"

She grimaced. "Well, the bills have been getting progressively larger…"

"It happens." He nodded. "You should try and stick to a shop you trust and not the manufacturer or whatever big budget place…" He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. "And I'm not just saying that to make you a repeat customer, 'cause I don't get paid on commission or anything…" He bumped her shoulder with his and gave her a serious look. "I just want to make sure you're safe out there."

"That's…" Her brows furrowed at the genuine concern. "That's really nice of you."

He shrugged. "Yeah, well…" He blushed at her praise. "Anyway, I've got a few more things I need to tighten up and check but then I'll have her all ready for you."

Amused, she looked up at him. "Her?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "I've even named her…"

She laughed softly. "Is that right?" She pursed her lips and crossed her arms defiantly. "And if I don't like this name you've picked?"

He petted the side of her car with dramatic affection. "She's already taken to it, so… I think you'll just have to deal."

"Really?" She shook her head. "Now I really must know what you chose!"

"Well…" He leaned back against the car. "I thought about Neytiri… Y'know, for obvious reasons." He shrugged. "But it didn't really fit, so then…" His eyes widened with excitement. "I thought, what about Grace!" He nodded happily. "See, Grace was the doctor in Avatar, she was played by Sigourney Weaver," he explained. "And she had a really big dream, y'know? Like she didn't just want to understand the Na'vi, she wanted to be a part of them… And she dreamed of a day when we would learn from them and they us and there would be true peace…" He smiled. "I dunno, I just thought she was kind of a big dreamer… Like you… So, you and Grace, it just… fit…" He rubbed the back of his neck then, seemingly embarrassed by his explanation.

She stared up at him in startled awe. "That… That's lovely, Sam."

"Yeah?" He ducked his head. "I dunno…"

"I like it." She reached over and squeezed his forearm. "Grace," she said, letting it roll over her tongue. "It's perfect!"

"Cool," he agreed, nodding. "So, uh…" He waved back at the car. "I'll just finish fixing her up and then you can get out of here…"

"Sure, of course," she agreed, moving back so he could return to work. She glanced over at the waiting room and then back at him. "Would you mind if maybe I just… stayed here?" she asked, tucking her arms behind her back. "I won't bother you!" she assured. "I just…" She shrugged. "It's a little stuffy in the waiting area and well, maybe you could explain to me a little more about what exactly was loose in the car…?"

Honestly, she could care less what went wrong with her car. She just wanted to stick around and spend some time talking to him. She chose not to analyze it too much, but she was starting to feel much more comfortable with him and a large part of her wanted to pick at his brain and get to know him a little better. Sure she had come to the garage for Finn, but Rachel was always a girl who took every opportunity presented to her. And who was she to deny this?

"Sure." Sam sat back down on his board, arms on his upturned knees. "It's kind of boring though…"

She waved it off. "Oh, I'm sure it's not…"

He smiled, lying back and rolling beneath her car.

She stood in front of her car once more and rested her chin in her hand while she listened to every little detail he had to share about how cars worked and what fit where and what exactly was loose. She hummed and showed interest, but truthfully she didn't understand much of what he was saying. His deep voice however, made butterflies skitter around in her stomach. And his feet kept shifting, resting against the back of her calf, which was a rather enticing, if innocent, gesture.

"Hey Rachel?" he asked, bumping his foot against her leg.

"Yes?"

"You, uh… You wanna get coffee or something when I'm done here?" he wondered. "Maybe we could pick up a movie or something too and watch it at my place… Stevie and Stacey will be there, but they're all right…"

Her eyes widened at the prospect, heart pounding in her chest. Was this…? Did he mean this as a date? Or just a friendly outing? Should she ask for some time to head home and maybe change her outfit or check her make-up or—or well, she didn't know, but she felt like she should be better prepared for any long-term time spent with him… and his family.

"You don't have to or anything…" he added when she didn't reply right away. "I mean, I'm not gonna like sabotage your breaks or something 'cause you turned me down…" He sighed then. "Please don't tell Burt I said that… He might fire me for even joking about that." He rolled out from under her car then and darted his eyes at her and then away, looking embarrassed. "Look, I… I know I'm probably coming on really strong or whatever…" He ducked his head. "I just… I like you." He shrugged. "I know you've got this weird back and forth thing with Finn and since I've already gone through that I should just totally avoid you, but…" He looked up at her earnestly. "I think you're nice and pretty and when you sing I feel really light and stuff and…" He shook his head. "I dunno, you get my Avatar references and you don't think it's weird when I do impressions and did I mention you're really, really pretty?" He laughed awkwardly. "So… I just thought maybe we could see if there was anything there, y'know?" He played with his grease rag. "I should stop talking…"

She walked over to him slowly and knelt down in front of him, smoothing her skirt out modestly before she tucked her hair behind her ear and caught his eyes. "I wasn't trying to reject you, Sam, I was just… surprised." She lifted her shoulder. "I would really like to have coffee with you and see what's here…" She stared at him searchingly. "But if we're going to do that, then I have to be honest and tell you that I'd originally come here with the intention of possibly getting Finn back."

He winced, looking away.

"I know that sounds bad," she sighed. "But I haven't thought of him almost the entire time I've been here with you…" She shook her head. "That might not sound good enough or even remotely appealing to you, but…" She inhaled deeply. "You give me butterflies…" She smiled. "I haven't felt those for him in a long time and I think… I know that it's time to let go of that relationship…" She shrugged uncertainly. "But I will completely understand if taking a chance on that and my, admittedly, chaotic feelings toward him is too much to ask…" She chewed her lip. "Though I think it would be a waste because I really enjoy talking to you and hearing your impressions and discussing the cinematic treasure that is Avatar…" She grinned. "So if your offer is still valid, then… I would be proud to accompany you to the Lima Bean…"

He didn't answer right away, but eventually, he looked up at her with his lips tilted. "We've all got baggage, right?" He raised a brow. "I think… I wanna try this, so…" He quirked a brow. "You wanna get coffee with me after this, Rachel?"

She beamed at him. "I would love to!"

"Awesome." He bit his lip as he smiled widely.

After he was finished with her car and she paid the bill, she drove her newly fixed Prius over to the Lima Bean with Sam in her passenger seat, doing an impression of James Earl Jones quite magnificently. She laughed joyfully, from the very pit of her stomach, and was happy to see the way his happiness lit up his face.

They spent nearly two hours drinking coffee and talking and laughing more than she had in, possibly, her whole life, before eventually going over to pick up his younger sister and brother. And then she spent her afternoon watching Disney movies with them and convincing Sam to be her duet partner for all the songs, even making him break out his guitar. It was the beginning of something beautiful.

The rest of her senior year was in fact spent with a boy she loved. But it wasn't Finn, it was Sam Evans. And it turned out their future lasted far beyond high school.

[End.]