i.
When Harmony is in first grade, she's assigned to make a poster board displaying her family tree and give a presentation in front of the class. She makes sure to make her poster extra good and wears her favorite red sweater with the puppy on it, because if Mother taught her anything, it's that every performance counts.
"Hi, I'm Harmony," The little girl says. Her poster is covered in glitter and tiny gold stickers and surprisingly neat handwriting for such a young girl. "I have two mommys," She starts. One of her classmates, puzzled, whispers something to their friend about how that's possible. "I have a Mommy and a Mother. I love them a whole lot."
"I have a dad, too. He's on Broadway," She continues proudly. Her mother was also in a handful of Broadway shows but is currently taking time off to raise Harmony. "But I don't love him like I love Mommy and Mother. And I don't see him a lot."
All of her classmates look confused, but Mommy told her they might be. She said their family is unconventional and not everyone would understand. Harmony isn't sure what unconventional means, but she thinks it means different.
"I have aunts and uncles, too! Lots of 'em!" And now Harmony is practically dancing as she speaks, because she loves her family with her whole heart, all of them, blood related or not. "There's Uncle Kurt and Aunt Santana and Uncle Finn and…" She's rambling, and Mommy says she should try not to. Slowing down her words, she says, "And a whole lot more. And I have cousins, too. Sugar and Rory. They're in Mrs. Green's class."
"Then why don't you look alike?" Kristen Howell asks. Harmony never liked Kristen after she made fun of her Christmas sweater that was covered with the bows and jingle bells.
"Because we aren't related by blood," Harmony answers. Her moms have explained this to her thousands of times. That she only has Mommy's blood, not Mother's. And Rory is only related to his Daddy, not his Papa, whereas Sugar isn't related to her Mom or her Mama, but some lady in Rhode Island who wanted her baby to have a good home.
"But you can't have two mommys," A boy named Joey Davidson argues , visibly upset. His mommy had died the year before. "That's not fair! That's cheating!"
Before Harmony can jump to defend herself, the teacher, a young woman name Miss Andrews, claps her hands together, interrupting, "Alright, thank you, Harmony!"
"But I didn't finish!" She protests, but Miss Andrews is already at the front of the class, ushering her back to her seat.
After that, Harmony begins to understand how truly unconventional her family (which includes everyone like Aunt Brittany and Mother and Uncle Mike and Rory and in some strange way, her father, Jesse St. James) is.
She also learns what unconventional means.
ii.
That year, Harmony insists that they need to have matching Halloween costumes and that she's going as Elphaba or to her non-musical theatre friends, the Wicked Witch of the West. Rory and Sugar don't argue with her (they never do), and that's how a little green girl with a pointy hat and broomstick ends up going around Rory's neighborhood (because they get the best candy there) with a girl in a blue and white checkered dress and sparkly, red shoes and a scarecrow with bright blue eyes and floppy brown hair.
Mother and Uncle Kurt take tons of pictures which Harmony loves and happily poses for, but Sugar and Rory tire of quickly, and the trio is soon on their way.
Afterward, they all go to Rory's house and make their candy trades because Sugar hates nuts and Rory doesn't like Butterfingers. And Rory's Papa orders pizza and lets them watch Struck by Lightning, the first movie he ever wrote.
That night, when they're curled up in Rory's bed, and Sugar is mumbling in her sleep and Rory's sleeping on her arm, Harmony can't help but love them both a little more.
iii.
She loves seeing her face all over the Gerber Baby Food commercials. They still use her ads even years later, and it makes her feel like a celebrity.
Her sonogram was used for Murder, She Wrote as a last minute thing. The director of the episode, a friend of Mother's, needed a sonogram and after remembering that Mother's wife was pregnant, called her up and asked if she could use it. Mommy figured that it wouldn't be a big deal, so why not?
She was more reluctant about her thirteen month old girl becoming the Gerber Baby. Quinn did not want her sweet Harmony to become a child star. But every time the camera was on Harmony, she would light up, and it was obvious that Harmony loved being in front of the camera.
Even though Mommy insisted that she shouldn't feel pressured by Mother's career, Harmony knew at a young age that she wanted to be on Broadway.
Harmony is the best girl in her tap class. The teacher always says that she has the cleanest tap sounds, and Harmony always gets to try the harder time steps. And it makes her feel good to be praised by the teacher. It makes her feel special.
When Mother explains to people why she loves performing and she calls it an adrenaline rush, Harmony knows what she means. It's the feeling she wants to have for the rest of her life.
iv.
Harmony's favorite thing to do with Mommy is bake. She lets Harmony make real brownies, not the gross vegan friendly stuff Mother makes her bake. And although Harmony has come to enjoy some of the odd food her mother forces on her, brownies should be brownies.
When they bake together, Mommy will sing for her, too. Harmony asks her to sing for her a lot, but she usually refuses then makes a joke about how silly Harmony is for wanting her plain, old Mommy to sing for her when Mother is a Broadway star. But Harmony likes Mommy's singing voice. It's sweet and soothing especially when Harmony would wake up crying after Mother had returned to Broadway and couldn't be around as much.
But Mommy will always sing when they cook together. It seems to be a subconscious thing, because she starts humming while measuring out flour which elevates to full out singing by the time she's stirring all the ingrediants. Either way, Harmony takes what she can get.
It's always the same song. Something about Papa and preaching. Harmony doesn't know the song or who it's by or why Mommy always sings it, and for all she knows, it's something Mommy made up herself. But she'd kind of like to keep it that way.
v.
Harmony forces Rory and Sugar into putting on a show for their entire family when they come to visit on Christmas Eve. They practice for weeks beforehand, and the adults eat it up. For most of the songs, everyone ends up joining in (because deep down, they're still New Directions), and Puck brings out his guitar to play back up for several numbers.
The real show stopper is Harmony and Rory's duet of Baby, It's Cold Outside, choreographed by Sugar. Harmony worked with Rory for hours to get his acting on par with hers. For some reason, the adults get really into that song, particularly Rory's dads.
They make some giggly comment about history repeating itself that Harmony doesn't understand, but she smiles and acts like she does.
vi.
In the third grade, Sugar gets her first boyfriend. They sit at lunch together and in art class and share Cheetos and partner up in P.E. which leaves Harmony with Rory for dodgeball. And he's terrible at sports.
It makes her so angry. One of her best friends was stolen from her by some stupid boy that smells like the stupid tuna fish sandwiches he eats at lunch. Sure, she still has Rory, but he can't keep up with her like Sugar can. And he's a boy. It's not the same.
"Y'know," Rory says one day at lunch as he crunches loudly on a carrot. "You'll get a boyfriend someday, too."
Harmony stares wordlessly at him. Does he think she's jealous? Harmony Berry-Fabray is not jealous. Not of Sugar.
"You're really pretty, too," He says.
She continues scowling at him. "I am notjealous. I'm just mad that Sugar ditched us. We were best friends way before her stupid boyfriend came along." Rory shrugs, because he has other friends to talk to while Harmony doesn't. "And for the record," She continues, her eyes flashing, "I don't even want a boyfriend."
"Whatever ya say, Harm."
vii.
Jesse St. James comes to visit Harmony. He's only done it a handful of times before and Harmony doesn't even remember most of the visits.
She knows he's her biological father and that he's half of the reason why she's here today, but every time she sees him, she gets starstruck. She should really be over it by now (her mother is theRachel Berry-Fabray, after all), but each time, he'll tell her that she's very pretty and very grown up, and she can't help get a little giggly. Mother finds the whole thing hilarious.
Mr. St. James takes her out to ice cream nearby. It's funny. She can refer to a dozen of her moms old high school friends Aunt and Uncle, but she can't call her own father by his first name. He buys her a vanilla cone, and they sit in a booth in the back, and he wears sunglasses indoors and a leather jacket despite the warm, spring weather.
He asks her how school is and her dance classes, and he remembers her age which her grandparents never can. She tells him about how she's going to be on Broadway, and he tells her that she reminds him of her mom (but he means her mother). That's one of the best compliments she's ever received.
viii.
Harmony plays Wendy in local production of Peter Pan, and it truly is the best moment of her ten year old life. She gets to fly around in a harness and sing songs in front of a theatre of people and her moms get her flowers every night, big bouquets of roses that don't die for weeks.
Even Uncle Puck comes to see it and tells her that she was awesome. And he told Mother once that'd he'd rather shave off his mohawk again then come see a Broadway show, so Harmony holds that compliment closest to her heart.
ix.
The summer before sixth grade, Uncle Finn decides that he's going to teach Rory how to play drums. Unfortunately he doesn't take into consideration Rory's inability to keep a beat, and the lessons last less than a week.
Harmony, however, is interested in learning how to play the drums. She can play piano well and even picked up some guitar skills from Uncle Puck, but she's never tried her hand at anything else.
And Uncle Finn's a really good teacher. He stands behind her and lets her hold the drum sticks, covering her tiny hands with his large ones. After learning the basics, he starts to teach her a song, something by Journey.
Harmony loves playing the drums. It isn't like dancing or singing where she's constantly trying to remember every little technical note and be absolutely perfect. When she's playing drums, she can just let lose and rock out.
She isn't the best at drums, and for once, she doesn't care to be. Drums are just another facet of music that she'd like to explore.
"I taught your mother how to play drums once," He tells her one day. Sometimes she forgets that Mother and Uncle Finn dated. They seem like they'd always just be best friends. Or like herself and Rory. "She was absolutely terrible." Harmony can't imagine her mother being bad at anything. "You're much better."
Harmony beams. She really loves her Uncle Finn.
x.
Mommy and Harmony drive into the city one night to see the opening of Mother's new show. Harmony's been into the city numerous times, because they live in a suburb right outside where the taxes are high and the schools are great. But this night's different.
She wears a red dress with a large bow in the back and her favorite black beret, and Mommy takes her to some fancy restaurant before the show. Harmony feels so grown up in the city, walking down the streets of New York to the theatre.
The show and Mother are fantastic, of course. Afterwards, Mommy gives Mother roses, and there's crowds of people wanting Rachel Berry-Fabray's autograph. But before addressing the fans, Mother insists on taking a picture with her darling daughter and lovely wife, and Harmony just loves her moms so much.
xi.
The night before her first day of middle school, Harmony is setting out her new, first day of school, navy blue dress with white polka dots when Mother comes in with a tiny box.
"Before you begin another monumental chapter in your life, I wanted to give you something," Mother says, sitting down on Harmony's bed. She opens the box to reveal a necklace with a small, gold star. "It was given to me by your Uncle Finn, and he told me that it should serve as a reminder that I am a star and should never give up my dreams."
Harmony takes the delicate chain in her hand as Mother continues, "And I want it to be the same for you. No matter what anyone says. Can you do that for me?" And Harmony promises, because she is a star, just like Mother, and nothing's going to change that.
After that night, Harmony does not go a single day without wearing the star around her neck.
xii.
Middle school isn't as exciting as Harmony thought it'd be. Or at least, not much changes. She still spends lunch with Rory who still sucks at sports and Sugar who still has a new boyfriend every week, and there still isn't anyone who can keep up with her vocally in choir.
Is it so wrong to want someone who is on par with her talent and knowledge of musical theatre?
xiii.
There's a community production of Annie, and Harmony is thrilled but not too surprised when she gets cast as the little, red haired orphan. Her wig is awful, but she has so many songs and lines, and it makes her feel so grown up. Plus all the adults in the show love her and tell her she's adorable.
And when the hot stage lights are blinding her, and she's singing that the sun will come out tomorrow, and there's thunderous applause when she takes the final bow at the end of each show, Harmony can't imagine a better feeling. The attention and congratulations she receives makes her feel like the most important person in the world.
When Rory and his dads come see the show, Uncle Blaine pulls her aside and says not to tell Rory but she's the most talented kid he's ever met. Harmony giggles and pinkie swears not to tell Rory.
xiv.
For her thirteenth birthday, Rory and his dads and Sugar and her moms and Uncle Finn come over for a special birthday dinner.
Sugar gives her a silver charm bracelet that has a star, a four leaf clover, and a unicorn charm, and Harmony didn't even know unicorn charms existed but of course, Sugar would be the one to find it. Rory gives her a new music book and a scarf that his Papa definitely picked out.
Then they eat cake with real eggs (even Mother!) and watch Harmony's favorite movie, The Sound of Music. And even though only Harmony, Mother, and Rory's Papa stay awake through the whole thing, it's one of the best nights in a long time.
That weekend, her moms take her to see the revival of RENT that Uncle Artie directed, because as Mother says, there's no better way to come of age.
After the show, Mother takes Harmony backstage to say hi to Uncle Artie and one of her previous co-stars, and the cast is thrilled to see Mrs. Rachel Berry-Fabray. When they learn it's Harmony's birthday, the cast sings happy birthday to her, and she gets a picture with the entire cast. And it is without a doubt the best birthday she's ever had.
xv.
It's weird to go through puberty with your childhood best friends, because Harmony has to face the fact that they're growing up. They can't be the dynamic trio that runs around playing leprechaun and unicorn and Elphaba anymore.
And suddenly Rory's voice is an octave lower, and soon he's towering over both Sugar and herself. One day, Sugar makes the off handed remark that Rory is cute, and Harmony doesn't even know what to say because this is Rory. He's her best friend that would sing whatever song she wanted and wore poorly tied bow ties like his dad. And it creeps her out that any girl, and especially Sugar, would think of him that way.
xvi.
Harmony cannot wait to start high school. After all, that's where her moms met and made friends for life. Plus there's glee club and fall musicals and then college.
Harmony starts practicing for her glee club audition during the summer. She runs through her entire repertoire before deciding that none of them work. They're all fantastic, of course, but Harmony needs to do something different. Something that will guarantee her the female vocal lead.
And then it hits her. A duet. It's perfect. What better way is there to show how wonderful of a female lead she would be than show that she can nail a duet?
Which leads to Harmony dragging a reluctant Rory to the Glee Club auditions on the first day of school. He hates singing in front of people, but after his dads overheard Harmony begging him to join, they insisted he join as well. Plus Sugar was going to be busy with cheer leading, and soccer didn't start until January.
They sing "Tonight" from West Side Story, and it's perfect. And it should be after all the weeks Harmony spent with Rory, choreographing his every little movement and making sure he didn't move his eyebrows too much.
It's hardly a surprise when they both make it or when Harmony gets the solo for Sectionals.
xvii.
Harmony falls in love for the first time halfway through freshmen year.
His name is Samuel, and he's on the soccer team with Rory. He's older and really cool and he has dreadlocks and he plays guitar in a band and he actually flirts with her. Like he calls her things like beautiful and gorgeous, and Harmony never thought she'd like someone like him, but she does. And when he kisses her, Harmony understands what all those songs mean when they talk about fireworks and hearts doing cartwheels.
He makes her feel wanted and special in a way being able to belt a high A can't.
Mother doesn't like him, and Mom just keeps repeating, "As long as he makes you happy." Rory hates him, too. He tells her that she's too good for him, and Samuel doesn't even know who Sutton Foster is and didn't that used to be a deal breaker?
She ignores him, because what does he know? He doesn't even have the balls to talk to the girl he likes.
But when it falls apart, Harmony runs to Rory, because Sugar's awesome but her straight up honesty isn't the best means of comforting someone. She hates that she can't stop crying over a boy, a stupid boy, but her heart was just trampled on.
When he opens the door and sees her crying, Rory immediately wraps his arms around her without question. She buries her face in his chest, looping her arms around his torso. "It's okay, Harms," He murmurs into her hair.
"He was in the auditorium," She manages to choke out, the tears falling faster. "With E-Emily Foster." She can't stop sniffling, and she's staining Rory's shirt with tears and black smears of mascara. "And they were–"
Rory rubs slow, soothing circles on her back and tries to shush her, but Harmony continues pathetically, "He said that he'd wait until I was ready, but the first chance he gets…"
And she hates this, because Harmony Berry-Fabray isn't supposed to crack, let alone break. Not even in front of Rory.
Rory invites her inside, and she washes her face while he makes tea. They watch The Sound of Music, and Harmony falls asleep with her head on his shoulder, and she actually feels better. And he never says, "I told you so".
xviii.
Sugar is Harmony's best friend in the entire world, and she would do anything for her. So when Harmony hears Kristen Howell commenting on how it's no wonder that Sugar's so good at the splits because she's so used to having her legs spread, Harmony doesn't second guess slapping the peppy, little cheerleader across the face.
Harmony doesn't get suspended since there were no witnesses, but she gets sent home for the day. Her Mom comes to pick her up and asks what in the name of God came over her. When Harmony tells her what Kristen said about Sugar, Quinn smiles and takes her to go get some ice cream.
xix.
Mother comes home one night to Harmony belting "Defying Gravity" in her room. "Sweetie, what are you doing?" She asks, not even bothering to knock.
"I'm practicing," Harmony replies matter-of-factly.
Rachel smiles, because Harmony is always practicing. "What for?"
A determined look passes over Harmony's face that is incredibly Rachel Berry looking. "A girl said she could sing the song better than me. So we're having a diva off tomorrow in Glee."
Mother's smile widens, because her daughter is such a chip off the old block, and she sits on Harmony's bed, patting the spot next to her. "You know, you really are my daughter."
Harmony sits and grins. She can't think of a better compliment. Except being told by Uncle Sam that she looks like both her mothers. "Why do you say that?"
"Because I had many diva offs in my day," Her mother explains, smiling fondly at the memories. "Including one with that same song. Kurt and I sang it."
"Uncle Kurt?" Harmony asks, brow furrowed. "Why would you have a diva off with Uncle Kurt? I thought you were always best friends."
Laughing, Rachel shakes her head. "Hardly. But that's another story for another time." Taking Harmony's sheet music, she moves to sit at the piano bench. "Now, let's win you a diva off."
xx.
Sugar insists that Harmony needs to go to a real high school party. Harmony can't even make up an excuse to get out of it, because Harmony's moms told Sugar's moms they were going out of town for the weekend.
Sugar also insists that Harmony can't wear her usual flowery dresses and plaid skirts and berets (Sugar calls them baguettes, but Harmony knows what she means) which is why Harmony shows up at Joey Davidson's party in a skin tight black dress that shows off far too much Harmony for her liking.
And that's basically all Harmony remembers from the party.
When she wakes up in Sugar's bed the next morning with a pounding headache and every noise seems to drill into the spot between her eyes, Harmony knows that nothing good happened.
"Well, you had a few drinks," Sugar explains. "Then a few more, and you were hammered. It was kinda funny, though, because when you saw Rory, you licked his face because you said that you wanted to taste the rainbow." She giggles at the memory, and Harmony groans loudly, shoving her face into her pillow.
"And you made out with half of the soccer team until Rory pulled you away and told me to take you home," She continues.
"Oh, fantastic," Harmony moans into the pillow.
That night Harmony attends her first and last high school party.
xxi.
Over the summer before junior year, Sugar attends overnight cheer leading camp, so it's just Harmony and Rory sitting on the roof of his car, staring at the night sky. Sometimes it's nice to hang out with just Rory, because he never makes her talk while Sugar never runs out of fuel. And oddly enough, sometimes Harmony doesn't feel like talking.
"Do you trust me, Harmony?" Rory asks out of the blue.
She tears her gaze away from the sky to stare at his profile. It's moments like there when she's caught off guard by how attractive her friend really is. "Of course I do, Rory. You're my best friend."
Propping himself up on his elbow, Rory leans down and presses his lips against Harmony's. The kiss ends so quickly that she can't even register if it was nice or not.
"What was that for?" Harmony sputters out, staring up at him wide eyed.
He shrugs. "I wanted to see if you lived up to the hype." Harmony isn't even going to attempt to figure out what that means. "You do, by the way."
For once, she is rendered speechless before finally saying, "But I didn't even do anything."
Rory raises an eyebrow. "Would you have done something differently?"
Sitting up as well, she shrugs. "Maybe I would have actually kissed you back." And Harmony doesn't even know what she's saying, but she has the overwhelming urge to get a proper kiss from Rory.
His eyebrows shoot up. "Really?" He asks, clearly flustered. He gulps audibly before clearing his throat and saying in a way he probably thinks is non chalant, "You can if you want."
A giggle escapes Harmony's lips, because he is too adorable. She nods slightly, her eyes flickering to his lips as she leans in closer. "Really," She whispers against his lips before kissing him.
Fireworks explode behind her closed eyelids, and her heart bursts, and there's a ringing in her ears. It feels different from Samuel's greedy kisses, because it's so sweet and gentle and innately Rory.
One of his hands tangles itself in her dark hair, and the other arm wraps around her waist, pulling Harmony down with him as he leans back on the roof of the car. Settling between his legs, Harmony grabs on to his shirt collar, desperately holding his lips to hers.
Rory detaches his lips from hers and leaves feather light kisses on her jaw, all the way down to her neck. He must be able to feel her pulse racing, to feel the effect he's having on her with the simplest of kisses. When he pulls away to look at her reaction, Harmony captures his lips with hers again, sucking his bottom lip into her mouth briefly, before finally pulling away.
Harmony's thoughts feel all jumbled up, because when did Rory, the little boy who wore bow ties and traded her his Cheetos for Doritos and let her use him for her personal, singing puppet, make her feel dizzy and jittery and unable to breathe?
Rory stares up at Harmony, his eyes bright and lips swollen. "Now what?" He finally asks.
xxii.
They go on a date.
But they agree not to tell anyone if it goes horribly wrong, so they can easily pretend it never happened without having to worry about disappointing anyone else in the process. Or something like that.
He takes her to dinner at Breadstix, because apparently his dads always went to the one back in Lima. Rory orders fettuccini, and Harmony gets lasagna, but they end up sharing most of it anyway, because they always share food.
When Rory accidentally bumps her foot with his and she notices the pink blush creeping into his cheeks, Harmony smiles slightly before purposely nudging his foot with hers. Her heart soars when he gives her a shy smile.
After dinner, they go see some stupid movie that neither of them like but is fun to mock. Rory whispers something to her, his hot breath tickling her ear, and Harmony muffles her giggles by burying her face in his shoulder.
Halfway through the movie, Rory slips his fingers in between Harmony's, and she has to bite down hard on her bottom lip to keep from smiling too wide.
Once the truly terrible movie is over and Harmony's side aches from laughing too much, they exit the theater, hand in hand, and head on back to Harmony's house.
"So do we tell or not?" Rory asks after parking outside her home. The hopefulness shines through his eyes even with only a dim streetlamp illuminating his face. Harmony smiles at his absolute sincerity and instead of answering, she leans over the console and gives him a chaste kiss. "Is that a yes?" He asks, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and she can't figure out what she did to deserve such an adorable boy.
Biting back her grin, Harmony nods and opens the car door. "I had a wonderful time. Thank you," She says then gets out of the car and practically skips up to her door.
She feels like she could break out into song and dance any moment (albeit not an entirely new feeling for her, but it's different this time), and when she steps into her house, positively giddy, her Mother immediately knows something is up.
"What's gotten into you?" Mother asks, clearly amused by Harmony's dreamy state.
She hums to herself before answering, "Just a really nice first date."
Mother smirks and asks teasingly, "Would this really nice first date's name start with an 'R' and end with an 'ory'?"
Harmony gapes at her mother, because how the heck did she know?
xxiii.
It's strange how little changes between them.
Sure, there's kissing and touching and Sugar rolls her eyes at all of it, but deep down, they're still Rory and Harmony. They still watch movies and go on midnight iHop runs and sit on top of their cars to talk and are first and foremost, best friends. And Sugar tells them that even if she rolls her eyes at them, she's really glad they're together even if it took them way too long.
But it's kind of cool to skip the awkward, getting to know one another part of the relationship and fall right into place.
And they fit. Like when they hold hands, their fingers fit comfortably like puzzle pieces, and when Harmony rests her head on Rory's shoulder, it's easy, and she wonders how she never noticed that before.
xxiv.
He drives her insane.
Yeah, he's sweet and gentle, because he's Rory and he would never hurt a fly, but he also does these things that leaves her feeling breathless and like her body is on fire.
Like one time, they're sitting on the floor in her living room, watching The Sound of Music, and Rory softly kisses the spot behind her ear, causing Harmony to shiver slightly. He continues kissing her neck before nipping lightly at the skin, and there's a ringing in her ears.
And even though she quickly scoots out of reach and chastises him because no there will be no funny business in front of the Von Trapp children, her ears are still ringing.
Then he kisses her, and he pulls her close and easily slips his tongue in her mouth and literally pours how much he feels for her into each kiss.
She feels like she could survive off of his kisses alone.
xxv.
In the eleventh grade, Sugar gets her first girlfriend. She calls herself a bi-unicorn which Harmony doesn't understand but also doesn't question because Sugar is Brittany's daughter.
Plus Harmony likes Marissa Riley a lot more than the tuna fish eating, best friend stealer from third grade.
xxvi.
Harmony begins working on her college applications in June. She's applying to a handful of schools, most of which are in New York and all of which have a musical theatre program she deems worthy enough for her talent.
She reads over Rory's college applications and makes sure that his NYU app is extra good (Is it selfish of her that she wants Rory to go there not because it's his first choice but because it's close to NYADA?) and spends days helping Sugar with hers.
Neither of them are sure what they want to do with the rest of their lives (other than Sugar's goal to have her own reality TV show, of course), but Harmony is going to make sure that they have options.
xxvii.
Harmony and Rory are working on a duet for Glee while his parents' are out on a date, but like most things they do nowadays, it leads to them kissing each other senseless on Rory's bed.
They've done… things before. Actually there's only one thing they haven't done yet, and Harmony would be lying if she said she didn't want to. It just never seemed like the right time.
But as her heartbeat speeds up and their clothes are abandoned on the floor and Rory's mumbling "I love you" over and over and her body's aching because she loves him so much, too much, she knows that tonight's finally the night.
"Are ya sure?" Rory asks hesitantly, pushing Harmony's bangs off her sweaty forehead.
Harmony bites her lip and stares up at this wonderful, sweet boy that loves her for some crazy reason, and she's felt never more certain about anything in her life. "Yeah, I am," She says, nodding. Harmony sits up a bit, leaning back on her elbows. "Do you have a… thing?"
He blinks, taking a moment to realize what she's saying. "Y-Yeah," He stutters, hesitating before moving to retrieve a condom from his bedside table.
Rory fumbles with the square package with shaking hands, and offering her a sheepish smile, he says, "I don't want to mess this up."
Harmony places a reassuring kiss on his lips then buries her head in the crook of his neck, mumbling, "You can't mess this up. You're what makes it perfect."
Before she knows what's happening, Rory's pushing in and there's just too much of him and it hurts so, so bad. The second her face screws up in pain and her vision blurs with tears, he freezes, and his eyes widen. "I'm sorry," He says, pressing soft kisses on her forehead and lips and anywhere he can. "I'm so, so sorry."
Harmony's arms tighten around his neck to keep him from moving, and she blinks away the tears. Every movement sends a shooting pain throughout her body, but pleasure courses through her as well. "No," She whispers, pushing the pain out of her mind. "It's okay. Keep going."
Rory nods, giving her a sweet, slow kiss, and reminds her, "I love you."
"I love you, too," Harmony echoes, and at this moment, she can't imagine loving anybody more than she does right now.
It's awkward and fumbling and the pain never fully goes away. And it doesn't take very long for Rory to come undone, but he makes sure to maintain eye contact and to keep telling her that he loves her the whole time. And when it's over, he pulls her close and says, "I'm sorry that you didn't…"
"Most girls don't the first time," She replies, kissing his bare shoulder.
"It'll be better next time," He promises, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I mean," He adds with a shy smile, "If you want there to be a next time." And it hurts how badly she loves this boy with his bright, blue eyes and goofy smile.
xxviii.
Harmony gets early acceptance to NYADA, and Mother gets all teary eyed. She keeps protesting that they are happy tears, but Mom says it's really because their baby is all grown up.
xxix.
That Thanksgiving is one of the worst days of her life. It starts off normally with everyone meeting at the Hummel-Anderson home to catch up and talk about college plans. Dinner is when it all goes to crap.
"So I hear baby Roar and Harms are fucking," Uncle Puck says, and Harmony chokes on her mashed potatoes. Rory looks at her with wide eyes, and Uncle Kurt makes this strangled animal noise. Mother doesn't even reprimand Uncle Puck for his crude language, because she's too busy looking at Harmony, horrified.
"What?" Uncle Kurt asks, his voice higher and shriller than usual.
"Having sex, doing the dirty, bumping uglies," Aunt Tana offers. Harmony scowls, because this is so not the time.
She's going to kill someone. No, she's going to kill whoever told. Her eyes flicker to Sugar on the opposite side of the table, staring at her lap guiltily. Harmony is going to murder her.
"Is this true?" Mom asks. She doesn't sound or look horrified but more disappointed, and that kills Harmony. Mom had made her promised that they would be open about it and that Harmony would talk to her about it beforehand.
"Could we not do this now?" Harmony asks weakly, her face burning. At some point, Harmony doesn't really know when, Rory's hand found hers, and he squeezes her hand tightly, and all she wants is him to kiss the top her head like he always does to comfort her.
"No!" Uncle Kurt exclaims, verging on hysterical. Blaine is making an attempt to quiet his husband, but it only seems to anger him further. "We're going to do this now!" He turns to Rachel and says, "How could you let her soil my son?"
Harmony's heart breaks at the disgust in his voice, because when did become her and not sweet, precious Harmony? Oh, right. When she let Rory stick his penis inside her.
"Hey," Rory jumps in, surprisingly angry compared to his typically calm demeanor. "Don't talk about her like that! I love her, and I wanted to be with her just as much as she did." Harmony can feel his eyes on her when he adds quietly, "Maybe even more." The blood rushes to her face.
"Oh, God!" Kurt throws his hands up dramatically. "You hear that, Rachel? Your daughter has turned my Rory into a sex crazed teenager!"
"Please! He's lucky to have someone like Harmony!" Rachel argues, her eyes flashing.
Everyone's completely invested in the argument by now, only absentmindedly picking at their Thanksgiving dinner. While no one is watching, Rory whispers in her ear, "Do you think they would notice if we just left?"
xxx.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Quinn asks. She's sitting on the edge of Harmony's bed with that look of disappointment again. Harmony shrugs, staring at her lap. "Come on, Harmony. We should be able to talk about this."
Harmony's silent for a moment before she saying, "I would have told you, but it just kinda happened. And I know you wanted it to be with someone I was in love with, and I really do love Rory."
Instead of responding, Mom asks, "Were you two…"
She struggles to finish her question, and Harmony's face flushes. "Yeah, we were."
They sit in an awkward silence until Mom asks, "Did you enjoy it?"
Her mouth hangs open in shock, because her mom did not just ask her that. "Okay, sharing time is over," Harmony declares. Mom starts to protest, but Harmony repeats firmly, "Over."
Quinn pauses in the doorway and asks, "You don't regret it, do you?"
Harmony knows why her mom's asking and how her first time went. With Puck and wine coolers and cheating and Beth. With a small smile, she replies, "Not for a minute."
xxxi.
"Alright, now Artie, roll a little to your left," Rachel instructs. "And Finn, do you think you could duck down some? Your head is out of the frame. Santana, get your hand off Brittany's butt."
Harmony giggles and tightens her grip around Rory and Sugar's shoulders. They stood out in the mob, not only by being in the center, but because they were wearing bright blue graduation gowns. They had just graduated high school, and Mother insisted on having a photograph with everyone, literally everyone, which of course, was easier said than done.
"If we have to stand here any longer, my face is going to get stuck like this," Sugar complains loudly, fanning herself with her mortar board. "And not even I can pull off this look."
Harmony rolls her eyes and leans into Rory. "We officially finished high school," She says, looking up at him. "How do you feel, NYU boy?"
He had eventually decided to go to NYU, although he makes clear that it isn't just to be close to Harmony (though that helps), but because they have a good American History program. Harmony is, of course, going to NYADA, and ironically enough, Sugar's going to attend Ohio State University.
"NYU boy? You're not very good at nicknames, Harms," Rory teases.
Scowling at him, she replies, "Fine. Then I won't come visit you at NYU" and gives a little hmph! and nod.
"Now really?" He asks, clearly mocking her. He leans closer to her, so their lips are only centimeters apart.
"Really," She whispers before standing on her tiptoes to kiss him. It feels kind of like déjà vu.
Rory slips his tongue into her mouth because he can and tangles one of his hands in her thick, dark hair to cradling her head, and Sugar gags loudly next to them. Harmony faintly hears Uncle Puck make some crude comment and resists the urge to flip him off.
"Rory! Stop sucking Harmony's face! It's time for the picture!" Uncle Sam calls out from somewhere behind them, and Rory pulls away, turning to face the camera.
"I got it! I got it!" Mother exclaims, sprinting back to stand by Mom before the timer goes off.
Before the flash goes off, Harmony hears her mother yell at Uncle Puck for slapping her butt, and Santana and Brittany, stop kissing! She glances over her shoulder to see the commotion when Rory captures her lips in another kiss.
Out of the corner of her eye, Harmony sees the flash go off as her Mother is screaming at Uncle Puck and Sugar's moms are making out and Uncle Artie accidentally rolls over Uncle's Mike's feet and Uncle Blaine steals Uncle Kurt's hat and Sugar is busy texting Marissa back.
And she's going to need a copy of this picture.