December 18th 2012
It's morning, early morning. Rachel's been up for all of five minutes when she hears a knock on the door.
She doesn't know who it could possibly be. There aren't many people who visit her and Kurt, aside from on Thanksgiving, but that had been because Kurt's boss had invited all those people. She wonders if it could be Brody, but she knows that Brody would not have woken up in time to make it all the way to her apartment at this early morning hour.
She hears a second knock on the door. She makes her way over to the door, gasping when she sees Quinn on the other side.
Rachel screams. She's so excited to see the blonde, she doesn't care that she's probably woken up and pissed off all her neighbors and Kurt, all she knows is that Quinn's currently standing right in front of her.
"Happy Birthday," Quinn says.
Rachel just wraps her arms around the blonde. Rachel hadn't been up long enough to realize that it was her birthday until Quinn said that.
"What are you doing here?" Rachel asks as she steps back, letting Quinn into the apartment.
"I'm here to make your eighteenth birthday unforgettable," Quinn says.
Quinn tells Rachel to go on with her day as she normally would, but to come back to the apartment when she's done with classes.
Rachel does as Quinn tells her. On her way back to her apartment after classes, she thinks about her day so far. The day definitely started on a good note, seeing Quinn, but she's internally bothered by the fact that, aside from Quinn, nobody else has wished her a Happy Birthday yet. Not even Brody or Kurt. She doesn't let her hurt show though. She smiles because at the very least, Quinn remembered, and she wouldn't have thought that the blonde even knew when her birthday was, let alone cared so much as to surprise her.
When she enters her apartment, she half hopes that there's a surprise party there, explaining why nobody mentioned her birthday earlier, but she only finds Quinn smiling brightly at her. She's not sure why, but Quinn seems to be the only one who cares to make her first legal day of adulthood a good one.
Quinn tells Rachel to dress up, that they have reservations for five, though she refuses to tell Rachel where they're going.
While Rachel gets ready for what she hopes will be a better night than it was a day, her fathers call her, wishing her a happy birthday. At least they remember, though that isn't surprising, they are her fathers after all.
Rachel gasps when she sees the taxi stop in front of the fanciest vegan restaurant in New York City. Quinn throws some money at the cab driver, telling him to keep the change as she gets out of the cab. Quinn extends her hand for Rachel to grab onto, helping Rachel out of the cab. Rachel barely registers that Quinn isn't letting go of her hand as they walk towards the restaurant.
Rachel looks around her in awe. Quinn tells the hostess that she's made a reservation under 'Fabray.' The girl nods, grabs some menus and leads the Quinn and Rachel to a table in the back. The table is private and set for two. Rachel realizes that nobody else will be joining them, at least not for dinner.
Quinn asks their waiter for sparkling cider, and they pretend it's champagne. This works well for both of them, neither of them being a big fan of alcohol to begin with. They're also both underage, so they wouldn't have been able to order wine or champagne anyway.
Quinn raises her glass and toasts Rachel. Rachel simply beams in response, clinking her glass against Quinn's.
Rachel moans at the taste of her entrée. She's never tasted anything so delightful before.
When the check comes, Rachel reaches for it. Quinn tries to grab it first, but Rachel takes it from her reach. Rachel looks at it and gasps at the expense. She tells Quinn that it's too much, that Quinn shouldn't spend this kind of money on her, but Quinn simply rolls her eyes, placing her debit card in the fold and signals the waiter to take it.
Rachel thanks Quinn profusely as they walk out of the restaurant. It's only six o'clock, and Rachel wonders what they're going to do now. The night was still young. Quinn opts not to take another cab, and entwines her fingers with Rachel's leading her to their next destination. They walk and talk until they find themselves in the same spot they had been in two years ago when Rachel had revealed to the Glee Club that she had gotten them all tickets to Cats, only to be told that it had been closed for years.
They continue on until they're in front of the Gershwin Theatre. Rachel informs Quinn of when she and Kurt had snuck into the theatre and got to sing on the stage. Quinn tells Rachel that someday soon, they'll be begging her to come back and sing on it once more. Rachel smiles at Quinn's confidence in her.
Quinn smiles a little cockily as she pulls out two tickets from her pocket, leaving Rachel squealing. Rachel hugs Quinn, before dragging her excitedly into the theatre. She'd never seen Wicked live before.
Quinn watches Rachel more than she watches the actual show. Rachel is captivated by the performance.
After the show ends, Rachel and Quinn stand up and head into the lobby. Rachel heads towards the exit, but Quinn grabs her hand and pulls her in another direction. Quinn tells Rachel that she's arranged for them to meet the cast, and Rachel squeals once more.
By the time they actually leave the Gershwin, Rachel has a number of autographed Wicked merchandise, and is completely giddy. She tells Quinn that this is her best birthday ever, despite Quinn and her fathers being the only ones who remembered it.
Quinn grins at Rachel, though internally she wants to knock some sense into her friends. Particularly Kurt.
Quinn stops at a little place that Rachel's never heard of to buy them some vegan ice cream, which they eat as they walk back to Rachel's apartment. They stop in front of Rachel's door. Quinn closes her eyes and leans in to kiss Rachel. It takes Rachel about a second to get over the shock and surprises herself when she kisses Quinn back.
Quinn beams at Rachel.
"I've been wanting to do that for so long," Quinn tells Rachel.
Rachel's cheeks flush bright red.
Quinn looks down at her feet for a few moments before bringing her eyes to meet Rachel's. Quinn rubs her arm nervously before asking "Will you be my girlfriend?"
"Yes," Rachel answers, surprising herself again. Rachel's not as surprised that she says yes as she is when she realizes she really does want to be Quinn's girlfriend. She makes a mental note to break up with Brody the next time she sees him.
Rachel leans in to kiss Quinn once more, before opening the door to her apartment. She pulls Quinn into the apartment, closing the door behind her. Her birthday's almost over and she wants to make the most of what's left of it cuddling with her girlfriend.
