"I really wish you'd tell me where we're going," Artie said, as they headed out to his car. "I'm pretty sure you're supposed to inform the driver of the destination."
Quinn grinned. "Well, I'm not going to inform the driver," she said, watching as he manoeuvred himself into the vehicle. "Because it's a surprise."
"Oh," she added. "Here, I got you this."
He took the small box from her, and opened it.
"I was kidding when I said you should get me a chauffeur hat," he said, grinning. "Wait...you're not going to sit in the back if I wear this, are you?" he added. "Because that is seriously not what I had in mind."
She laughed. "No, I just thought this could be our thing."
"A hat is our thing?" he asked, placing it on his head. "Interesting."
She laughed again. "No, a hat is not our thing, but THIS hat could be ONE of our things! As long as you promise to only wear it for me...and maybe for Linds, if she wants."
He nodded. "That can be arranged. How do I look?" he asked, grinning rakishly from beneath the brim of the hat.
She studied him for a second. "You look adorable!" she said, adjusting the hat slightly so she could see his eyes better. "Can I take a picture?"
He sighed. "If you must," he said. "But no one sees this!"
She grinned, snapping the photo with her camera. "Now, that's one for Facebook!"
She took several more pictures, before she was satisfied and got in the car with him.
"Now, are you going to tell me where we're going?" he asked, starting the car.
She nodded. "Well, I thought we'd start out with lunch. At first I wanted us to have a picnic, but then I realized that it's way too cold, and that won't work. SO...we're going for lunch at that deli on 22nd. How does that sound?"
"I love that place!" he said, as they backed out of the driveway. "Good choice."
She smiled. She knew the deli was his favourite place to grab lunch, so it made sense to have their spectacularly epic day start like that.
"Artie, I really don't think this is a good idea. Why don't we park in a parking lot somewhere where there's more space?" she asked, concerned by the fact that they had parallel parked outside the deli, and he was going to have to exit the car on the driver's side. The street wasn't that busy, but she was still worried that something might happen.
"No, it's fine," he said, shaking his head. "Besides, the nearest parking lot is a couple of blocks away, and it's freezing cold out there. We'll be popsicles by the time we get back here."
"But Artie..." she started, before he cut her off.
"I said it's fine. I'm not going to get run over. No one wants to have running over a kid in a wheelchair with their car on their conscience." he snapped, more harshly than he had intended.
"Fine," she said, getting out of the car. "I'm just worried. No need to be rude about it. If you like, I can just stop caring about things like that."
He could tell by the tone of her voice that she was upset, and felt guilty instantly. He hadn't meant to snap at her like that.
"Quinn," he said, once he was out of the car, and they were on the sidewalk in front of the deli. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. It's just...this whole thing is new to me, and I haven't figured everything out yet."
"I just don't want anything to happen to you," she said. "And I even worry about getting out of the car myself when it's parked like this. People go way too fast, and don't always pay attention. Plus, the road looks kind of icy."
"You don't need to worry, everything is just fine. See? I'm sitting here on the sidewalk in front of you. I didn't get run over, and there were no ice-related incidents. Next time we'll park somewhere else," he said, reaching out and taking her hand. "But right now...your fingers are freezing, let's go in."
She grinned. "You're still wearing the hat. Are you going to take it off?"
He shook his head. "Are you kidding me? This thing is warm! And plus...I want everyone to know I'm driving Miss Fabray."
After a delightful lunch, Quinn announced that it was time for the second part of her plan.
"Where to now, milady?" he asked, once they were back in the car and had the heat turned on.
"Well, I thought we might go through a drive through somewhere for some coffee or something," she said. "Unless you've forbidden drinks in your baby."
He grinned. "My baby?" he asked. "Who do you think I am, Kurt? There are cup holders for a reason, woman! I just hope we're parking somewhere...or something, because I do not have enough hands to drive and drink something at the same time."
She laughed. "Well, I was going to test your driving skills by seeing if you could do both those things at once, but since you've caught me on that..." she trailed off, a sparkle in her eyes. "I thought we might park somewhere."
"Should I be excited?" he asked. "This sounds like one of those things where we end up making out in the car."
She burst out laughing. "Artie! You're just going to have to wait! And just for the record...it does not help the romantic atmosphere when you say things like that."
"Romantic atmosphere?" he said, grinning. "So, this IS going to end with us making out, isn't it?"
"Not if you keep talking about it!" she said. "Now, drive!"
"Yes, ma'am," he said, pulling out into the road. "Whatever you say."
After they had stopped for hot chocolate for him and a chai latte for her, he turned to her. "Where to?" he asked.
"You know that little park by the lake?" she said, as they drove down the road. "The one where Linds always wants to feed the ducks?"
He nodded. "We're going to the park?"
She shook her head. "We're going past that park, and around the lake a bit more. There's a nice little spot there where I thought we could...watch the birds."
"Watch the birds?" he said, grinning. "Is that a metaphor for something, or...what?"
"You're just going to have to wait!" she said. "Oh!" she added, reaching for her purse. "I almost forgot. I made us a car CD for today." She pushed the disc into the slot, and soon they were driving along listening to Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours."
"Are you trying to tell me something with this CD?" he asked, after a couple more songs had played. "Because this really sounds like you're trying to tell me something."
She laughed. "These are just songs that made me think of you, and...of us."
"And what is the CD called?" he asked, as they approached the lake.
"Well, I thought we could call it Quinn and Artie's Ultimate Car CD, or something," she said.
He grinned. "Spectacularly Epic Car CD?"
She nodded. "Definitely."
"Hey, I was thinking about this the other day," he said. "You know how people give couples those names, like Finchel and Puckleberry? Well, if they gave us one it would have to be Quartie. I tried a bunch of other ones in my head, and nothing sounded as good as that."
She laughed. "Is this what you think about when you're lying in bed at night and can't sleep?"
"Um...no, when I can't sleep I think of you," he said. "I mean..." he trailed off. He hoped she would think that him thinking of her when he couldn't sleep was sweet, and not...slightly creepy, or something like that.
"And thinking about me puts you to sleep?" she asked, in mock indignation. "Gee, thanks! I love you too!"
"No, that's not what I meant!" he muttered. "Thinking about you makes me all relaxed and warm inside, and then I just drift off to sleep. So...in a way, I guess that is what I meant. But not in the way you think I meant it! You don't put me to sleep because you're boring, thinking about you puts me to sleep because you're so amazing that it makes me feel safe and comfortable and...I'm going to stop now."
She grinned. "Well, just so you know, when I can't sleep I think about baby penguins. And occasionally you...although mostly it always comes back to the penguins."
He laughed. "Baby penguins are more adorable than I am," he said. "I can't argue that."
"Sometimes when I can't sleep, I think I should text you just to see if you're still awake, but then I'm always afraid you won't be, so I don't do it." she said. "Turn here."
As he pulled into the small clearing beside the lake, he said, "You can always text me. If I'm asleep, it won't wake me up, and if I'm not...then you can talk to me and stop thinking about penguins!"
She laughed. "I was just kidding about that," she said. "Well, mostly. I will admit, sometimes I do think about them. But mostly I think about how cute you probably look when you're tucked in your bed and sleeping."
"Because that's not creepy at all," he said, grinning at her.
"It gets better," she said, as he parked the car near the edge of the lake. "Sometimes I think about how you would react if I showed up outside your window in the middle of the night. I could probably climb in there, you know."
"I could climb in that window when I was 7," he said, grinning. "So I'm pretty sure you could do it now...you're a lot taller than I was back then. And it's pretty low to the ground. But...if you're going to do that, could you warn me, please? I'd rather not have a heart attack in the middle of the night."
She grinned. "But if I warn you that takes all the fun out of surprising you!" she said, handing him his hot chocolate.
They sat for a few moments, looking at the lake.
"Why isn't it frozen here?" he asked, breaking the silence. "I noticed ice on the other parts of the lake...why not here?"
"I think because it's deeper here," she said. "My dad and I used to come here a lot in the winter, because it was the only place where the birds could still get at the water."
"What about flying south for the winter?" he asked. "I don't see any birds."
She grinned. "Not everything flies south for the winter." She looked around, looking for what she had hoped would be there."
"Are you looking for something?" he asked, looking around the surrounding area. "What's that on the water? Is that snow?"
She looked to where he was pointing. "No, that's not snow. Those are swans!"
"Swans?" he asked, looking closer. "Wait...we have swans here?"
She nodded. "I was hoping they would be here! Aren't they beautiful?"
He watched them for a couple of minutes. "They are," he said, "but not as beautiful as something else I can see around here."
She blushed slightly. "Flattery will get you...well, pretty much whatever you want," she said, grinning.
"I actually meant those icicles," he said, pointing to some nicely formed icicles that were hanging from a nearby branch. "Aren't they gorgeous?"
She laughed. "How silly of me to think that you might have meant me," she said, reaching over and taking one of his hands in hers, while sliding closer to him, thankful that there was no arm rest between them. "You look a little cold...let me see if I can warm you up."
He grinned. "This is just like a dream I had once. I mean...ah, screw it. This is just like a dream I had once."
"And what happened in that dream?" she asked, kissing his neck.
"I don't know, I woke up before anything good happened," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "Wait...this is going to be kind of awkward," he added, gesturing towards the general direction of the steering wheel.
She moved back a bit. "Does your seat go back?" she asked, feeling around beside him for a lever that might help with that. When she found what she was looking for, she pulled it, and before either of them knew what was going on, they were fully reclined.
"This goes back a lot more than I thought it would," he said. "I hope we don't have problems getting it upright again."
She laughed. "We'll deal with it later. That isn't what should be on your mind right now. I'm about to ravish you here."
He grinned. "Well, you know me...always thinking ahead. And wait...ravish? Aren't I supposed to do that to you?"
She shook her head. "It's my turn."
He couldn't argue with that, right?
As she climbed over so that she was in the right position, her elbow bumped the horn, which beeped loudly.
"Oops," she said. "Well, at least we know that works..."
He laughed. "Just in case we need to beep at something?"
She nodded. "You never know!" She leaned in, her lips meeting his. "I am so proud of you for passing your test yesterday."
He kissed her as a response to her comment, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer.
She pulled the hat from his head, and tossed it into the back seat, along with her scarf, his scarf and gloves, and her purse.
"You rock my world," he whispered into her ear. "Just thought you should know that."
"You rock mine too," she whispered back. "Just in case you were wondering. Now, be quiet and kiss me."
After about forty five minutes, and despite the fact that they were both suitably...warmed up, Artie had to start the car and let the heat run for a few minutes.
As they sat there, arms wrapped around each other, watching the sun begin to set over the lake, she turned to him.
"I hope today met your expectations," she said. "I know it wasn't exactly as spectacularly epic as I'd promised."
He grinned. "This day was more spectacularly epic than I can even describe. I wouldn't have changed a thing. It was perfect."
She smiled. "Are you sure you're not just saying that?"
He grinned. "Positive."
"I want to stay here with you forever," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. "But, we should probably get going fairly soon here. It's starting to get dark."
He nodded. "Can we just have five more minutes of sitting here, exactly like this?"
She nodded back. "Alright, five more minutes."
A/N: I'm just going to say this right now to be clear...I know absolutely nothing about the geography and climate in Ohio. For the purpose of this story, there is a lake there, most of it is frozen, and there are swans! I don't really care if this is inaccurate...I needed all three of those things for this story! :)
QUARTIE FICATHON NOW IN PROGRESS! All the fics that have been posted so far are AMAZING, and anyone reading this should go read them all!
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