Disclaimer: i don't own glee or "the world is yours" by jason mraz.
you are the world
It's rainy on a Tuesday when he realizes he's falling in love with her.
(all over again).
"I filled out my application for NYU today, Rach." They're lying on his too-small twin bed as he twirls a lock of her hair around his finger. He thinks she might be asleep, as they've been lying there for hours with each other, hardly saying a word.
Immediately, she sits up. "Wh-what? Finn, I didn't even know you were applying."
He cocks an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I? That's where you're going."
She looks like she might cry as she fidgets with the hem of her skirt. "You're applying there for me?"
"Oh, and their killer football team, obviously."
Her foggy eyes roll dramatically. "I didn't know I was a factor in your college decisions, Finn."
"Why wouldn't you be?"
"Because, it would be really easy if I wasn't. You could go to OSU, play football, get really great grades, join a fraternity and meet lots of attractive girls. You could have it all. So I just thought that's what you wanted."
He intertwines his fingers with hers. "It does sound like a pretty awesome life. But, I don't know if that's for me."
"Why not?"
"Because you're not it."
She says nothing as she lies back down, moving her small frame closer to his. They feel perfect and right and like they should have been forever. Sometimes he wonders why he ever thought otherwise. Why he had so much trouble forgiving what she did with Puck, why he dated Quinn, why he ever thought things could be okay when they weren't together... none of it even makes sense now. He feels dumb for letting things get so out of control. He always feels dumb, except when he solves medium-difficulty Sudoku puzzles, or when he gets a B on a Spanish test.
But Rachel makes him feel like he can do anything.
She pushes him, because she knows he can do whatever he wants.
And he loves that about her. He loves everything about her, really.
She plants a kiss on top of his sweatshirt. "I'm so proud of you, Finn."
He holds her a little tighter.
The day of sectionals, he makes her a lunch.
She always makes tons of baked goods over to his house, so much so that when she didn't bring any over two weeks ago because she was frantically filling out her Julliard application, Kurt (and his mom and Burt) interrogated him as to why.
But, he wants to do something special for her, like she does for him all the time. Just because.
He spends all of Friday afternoon in Whole Foods trying to find vegan-friendly food for her. He runs into Mrs. Fabray (or whatever she is now, Johnson, he thinks?) and it's super awkward. She asks him how school is and that she misses seeing him around and that hopefully he and Quinn can work things out.
He doesn't really have the heart to tell her it's never going to fucking happen, so he just smiles and says school is great, he misses her too, and it's for the best. He notices how her face falls with disappointment, and says good bye quickly.
All he wants to do is find the aisle with the hummus.
When he hands her the lunch when he picks her up, she looks confused.
"What is this, Finn?"
"It's a lunch. Don't worry, you can eat it all. There's pita bread, hummus, some carrots, and some vegan sugar cookies. I know you don't like chocolate chip, so I hope the sugar is okay. I just wanted to do something for you, Rach. This time last year, things were pretty messed up between us… and I just want you to know that you make me feel awesome and we're awesome and I'm really happy."
She tries to hide her growing smile. "Where did you find all this stuff?"
"Oh, I went to Whole Foods yesterday. There's a lot of cool stuff there, and I figured they would have food that you like."
"This is so great, Finn. I love it." She leans over and kisses him softly.
"I love you."Almost immediately, he wishes he hadn't said it. They had been back together since the summer, but neither one of them had said it. He didn't know why that was, maybe they were scared or nervous to make it as real as it had been before, because everything is just so perfect. "If you don't want to say it back, I understand, but I just thought you should know-"
She kisses him again, this time with more fire than before. Her hand reaches his hair as his finds the fabric of her bright red trench coat. It's so her- so Rachel- and he can't help but smile into her lips. When she pulls away, she tilts her head onto her head rest, smirking at him.
"I love you too. I just wanted you to say it first."
They hold hands all the way to the school, and things seem more perfect than they've ever been.
(maybe because they are.)
a/n: so, I found this on my computer. it's unfinished, and I had actually forgotten that I had written it. but, I actually sort of love it. it's not my best work, but it's my love letter to finn and cory, because I really miss them both so much. I'm not sure I will ever be able to write for glee again, but this is the first time I've posted something in a long, long time, and it may be for a while.
but this is for you, cory.