A/N: This story is inspired by the website Dear Old Love on Tumblr, where people submit confessions to people they've loved (requited or unrequited). Some of the submissions really are quite poignant, which is why I've decided to use them as prompts for this story. The prompt will be listed at the end of each chapter.
Each chapter will be unrelated to each other, although most of the submissions are quite angsty, it might not translate to the actual story. Most of the chapters will be around this length or shorter, and rarely longer (unless I'm particularly inspired). The majority, if not all of them, will revolve around Rachel/Quinn and will be K-T rated.
Un-betaed, so apologies in advance for any grammatical mistakes and such. Hope you'll enjoy reading it!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Dear Old Love submissions, nor the site (which belongs to Andy Selsberg), and am only trying to put my own interpretation of it on Faberry. Also don't own any of the Glee characters that will crop up in this story.
It was a warm summer night when you first fell in love with Rachel Berry.
You're standing in the gazebo in the park, a place you had discovered together when jogging together. It's become a place of refuge for the two of you, both separately and together, safe from the drama of McKinley High where you're the popular head cheerleader and she's the ostracized captain of the Glee Club. Here, you're Quinn and she's Rachel, free from the expectations that burden you both in your daily lives.
The stars are shining above you; the bright constellations completely visible in the clear Lima sky. Sometimes, you want to believe that the stars have played a role in the two of you being together, but it's a far too idealistic thought to have, and you've always been a realist.
It doesn't stop the thought from crossing your mind every time you see the stars, though.
Warm arms wrap around you from behind, making you startle. You stiffen for a moment, but relax once you recognize the comforting warmth behind you.
"Hey there." Rachel presses a kiss the nape of your neck, before resting her head against your bare shoulder, exposed by the thin straps of your tank top. You sigh softly, leaning back in her embrace. For such a small person, Rachel has incredibly strong arms, and you've never felt more at home than in her arms.
"Hey, yourself." You whisper, lying your head back on her shoulder, looking back up at the dusky sky. "The stars are beautiful tonight."
"They are. I'm going to miss this when we go to New York. It's one of Lima's redeeming qualities; the stars. You can never get such clear nights in the city." You go rigid at the mention of New York. Rachel's always been so sure that you'll both get out of Lima and make it to New York, but if there's anything the last few years have taught you, it's that you never get what you truly want. Even if you want nothing more than to follow Rachel to New York and live happily ever after, you just know that you'll drag her down.
You don't know if it's because she picks up on your hesitance or not, but she pulls you tighter against her and turns you in her embrace so you're face to face. "The stars are beautiful, Quinn. Just like you."
You giggle at her cheesiness. "What a charmer." You say sarcastically, the warmth in your eyes betraying your tone. "Only you could make that line sound remotely charming." Rachel grins, pulling you into a deep kiss. All your worries about your future is forgotten as your lips slide over each other's slowly, tongues tangling together fiercely. She moans into your mouth as you scratch her extremely sensitive scalp softly. You love that you're the only person that knows that about her.
You pull apart slowly, and you run your knuckles across her cheek slowly in a tender caress. She ducks her head, a blush rising on her cheeks at the affectionate gesture. As her head rises back up, the soft glow of the moonlight catches her hair, and your breath hitches in your mouth because she is so, so beautiful.
And in that moment, under the stars of the Lima night, you fall in love with one Rachel Berry.
"I'm in love with you." You blurt out, because you can't keep it in. Rachel freezes, and for a moment you panic - was that too fast? Does she not feel the same way? Is she going to break up with you? Your thoughts are put to rest when Rachel grins and pulls you into a gentle kiss. You return it full heartedly, nipping her bottom lip playfully before running your tongue to soothe it.
"I'm in love you too." She murmurs against your mouth before nuzzling your nose with hers impishly.
John Keats once wrote a poem about how he wanted to stay in his lover's embrace eternally, and even if you've read the poem over and over again, you've never experienced the feelings he spent hours putting into words until now.
You would give anything to be in this moment forever; not worried about the future, and what it would bring, limbs tangled with Rachel's as the moonlight danced over the both of you, her head resting against your chest as you both watch the bright stars, wondering if it had played a part in the two of you being together
You'd give anything to be under the same stars as Rachel Berry for the rest of your life.
That's the moment that runs through your mind almost exactly five years later, as you stand under the same gazebo that you've stood at every Sunday night since she'd left.
It's the same moment that runs through your mind when you run back to your tiny apartment, type in the link of the first airline you can think of on your laptop, book the earliest one way flight to JFK, and drive to the airport without a single piece of luggage.
It's the same moment that runs through your mind when you peer out the airplane window and see the bright lights of the city skyline, half covered by the dusky clouds.
And it's the same moment that runs through your mind when you step into the cool air of New York, and look up at the sky.
The stars might not be as visible as they were in Lima, but they're there, and no matter what happens, you're looking at the same stars as Rachel is, and that is all the motivation you need.
Dear Old Love confession: What keeps me going is knowing we're looking at the same stars.