Okay, so this is going to be a series of one-shots based on the 'Lose Control' universe. So things that are mentioned in this series will be relevant to that fic, so you might be better off reading that first. It's only four chapters :) I know it's been a while since I posted that fic, and I mentioned back then that I might do this, but I've only just got around to writing them. I needed a break from writing 'Doing it Our Way' and 'Before I Fall to Pieces' so here it is :)
If you have any suggestions for what you'd like to see next then let me know. Meeting the Daddy!Berry's has always been in my mind for this universe, but I'm sure there is more to come :)
Let me know what you think, please review x
Rachel walked through the hallways of McKinley hallway like a whole new person, like she had a purpose now. She was proud to be there, proud to be on Blaine's arm. Sure people would stare at her a lot more, and she wasn't able to disappear as easily as she had done before, but she knew that she wouldn't revert back to her old life for anything. She and Blaine had been dating for the past month, and she couldn't be happier. Of course they'd had to keep their relationship a secret from her dad's, Rachel decided that it would be best for them not to know straight away, she wanted to enjoy this time while it lasted. Tina had been roped in to help keep the secret, so while her dad's thought that she was studying hard at her best friend's home, she was actually out with Blaine. Yes, life had changed drastically for Rachel, and for once she didn't care.
"So, we're happy right?" Blaine asked absently as they were both sat down to lunch in the school cafeteria, Rachel looked up from her chemistry textbook and smiled at him.
"Of course, why?" she asked, Blaine shrugged and started pushing his lunch around his plate, Rachel rolled her eyes and closed her book and stared at him, "What's on your mind."
"How come you've not introduced me to your dads?" he asked bluntly, Rachel's expression faltered for a second, "Are you embarrassed by me?"
"Of course not!" Rachel shrieked, probably a lot louder than she intended.
"I mean I know I'm not as smart as you are, but I know things," Rachel nodded and reached over and squeezed his hand gently.
"Will you please shut up?" she grinned, Blaine sighed and smiled slightly at her, "I thought we agreed that it was best that they didn't know for now?"
"Well yeah, but that was over a month ago," Blaine mumbled, using his free hand to pick up a fry from his plate, "You've already met my parents." Rachel nodded, as she thought back to that encounter. It hadn't been planned, Blaine wasn't even aware that they were home. One night after school, Blaine had taken Rachel back to his house to hang out and there they were, waiting for him, desperate to meet the girl that had finally captured his attention. They had been charming of course, and even though Blaine found the whole thing incredibly awkward, Rachel couldn't help feeling that little bit more accepted as they informed her that she was always welcome in their home.
"Do you want to meet them?" Rachel asked, eventually after a long pause. Blaine stilled as he chewed his food, he thought about this for a moment. It probably wasn't a big deal if he didn't meet them, but he knew that they were such an important of Rachel's life. He wanted to be a part of that. He knew it would be difficult to impress them, the horror stories he'd heard from Tina and Rachel and assured him of that. He swallowed his food and glanced at Rachel, her eyes searching his face.
"Would it be really weird if I said yes?" Rachel smiled softly at him and shook her head,
"If it means that much to you, then I'll arrange it, okay?" Blaine's features lit up as she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his, Blaine smiled into the kiss as he moved his arms to her waist, Rachel never ceasing to amaze him. While they had been dating Rachel's confidence levels had improved considerably. He remembered that first day back at school after he had performed for her in front of everyone at Breadstix, he remembered how overwhelmed she had been pulling into the school grounds with him. As soon as they'd been spotted, people started launching themselves onto the young couple, bombarding Rachel with questions that she had no idea how to answer. Blaine had been worried at first that this could taint their already tentative relationship, but Rachel had held her head high and eventually McKinley's number one couple had lost some of it's shine. That was when Rachel had come into her own, whereas she had been shy about kissing him in the hallways; she now found that the pros much outweighed the cons. Besides, kissing Blaine could never be considered a bad thing.
A few days later, Rachel walked out of her English class with Tina at her side, and grinned when she noticed Blaine waiting for her. She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek, before he wordlessly took her books out of her arm. Rachel blushed as she clasped his hand and they walked quietly through the hallways, as she finished her conversation with Tina.
"So, I'll come over one day this week and we can work on our presentation?" Rachel suggested as they paused at her locker, she turned the dial and opened the door as Blaine placed them inside.
"So what, you're actually coming over to study this week, it's not just a lie to your dad's?" Tina laughed; Rachel rolled her eyes as she turned to close her locker. Blaine clasped her hand again and she brought it to her lips.
"Well, you won't have to lie for us much longer," Rachel grinned; Tina smiled at her friend before noticing the stunned expression on Blaine's face.
"I'll leave you two to talk," Tina nodded, "I'll see you in Chemistry Rachel, see you later Blaine." Rachel waved to her friend before turning back around to face Blaine. He leant against the lockers and just smiled at her, their fingers still entwined.
"Did you mean that?" he asked her quietly, Rachel nodded and reached up to kiss him again.
"I spoke to them last night," she whispered, her breath tickling his ear,
"They were okay then?" Blaine asked,
"Well, they were a little stunned, but when I finally explained to them how much you mean to me, and that I've been seeing you for the last month and my grades are yet to be effected, they seemed to come around to the idea," Rachel explained, tugging his hand slightly as they started walking away from Rachel's locker and towards the cafeteria.
"And they were okay that we've been dating for a month and they've only just found out?" Blaine continued.
"I think so, in fact it was their idea to meet you. They want to know if you're available for dinner on Friday night?" Blaine paused momentarily in front of the cafeteria doors, causing Rachel to stop with him. She stared at him for a second before he composed himself and nodded.
"Friday sounds good," he nodded before pushing the doors open and following her inside.
Friday evening came quicker than Blaine probably wanted but here he was, staring at his reflection in the mirror in the car. He didn't even know why he was so nervous, it was his idea to meet Rachel's dad's. But now he was terrified. It didn't help that Kurt had completely freaked him out before he had drove over here. He had enlisted Kurt's help because he wanted to make a good first impression and that included his appearance. Of course Kurt had planted all sorts of strange scenarios in his mind, thinking about the worst possible outcomes. He fumbled with his bowtie around his neck, suddenly thinking that it was far too tight. He wasn't even sure why he had made such a big thing about meeting her dad's, it had seemed like such a good idea at the time, like the normal thing to do. But now he was having second thoughts. He checked his appearance one more time and nodded before taking the slow long walk up the driveway. He tapped loudly on the front door and gulped slightly as he heard footsteps getting closer. Pull yourself together Blaine, he told himself, he was used to meeting new people, he met them all the time, it was part of his career. Why the hell were his palms sweating? Oh god, he probably looked a mess, Rachel would open the door at any minute and wonder what the hell she'd let herself into, then she'd refuse to let him meet her dads and call their relationship off.
"Blaine hey!" Rachel grinned as the flung the door open and stepped outside with him, closing the door behind her. She kissed him quickly, before pulling away and staring at him.
"Are you okay?" she asked wearily, Blaine gulped, yeah she knew, she totally knew.
"I'm good, yeah, really good. Great even," he paused as he tried to catch his breath; he glanced at Rachel who at folded her arms over her chest and smiling at him.
"There no reason to be nervous," she stated, "They're actually quite looking forward to meeting you,"
"I'm not nervous!" Blaine protested, Rachel quirked an eyebrow at him and reached out to take his hand, "So maybe I'm a little nervous," he paused again and stared at Rachel, "What if they don't like me?" he asked sincerely.
"Of course they're going to like you, because I like you," Blaine smiled softly at her as she reached up and pecked his lips, and just like that Blaine lost some of the tension that his body has been clinging onto, "And you do look very handsome this evening, I take it Kurt had a say in that outfit?"
"Hey! I'm quite capable of dressing myself," Blaine retorted.
"Uh huh," Rachel nodded, smirking at him,
"Fine! He thought the bowtie might make me seem a little more sophisticated, what do you think?" Blaine chuckled and nodded standing up straight. Rachel nodded in approval.
"Very nice, now come on, they'll be waiting for us." Blaine nodded as he took a deep breath, Rachel still clasping his hand as she lead him inside where her dad's where stood waiting for them.
"Dad, Daddy, this is Blaine," she announced proudly, Blaine smiled politely and stepped forward to shake each of their hands. They both shook his hand, before exchanging glances and walking back into the kitchen. Blaine stared at Rachel in concern but she just smiled and shook her head.
"They like you, I can tell," she whispered, "Come on," she took his hand again and walked him through to the lounge, where they cuddled up on the sofa watching some re-runs of FRIENDS. Blaine felt on edge for the longest time, as Rachel placed his arm around her he felt like he was constantly being watched, like he couldn't really relax. Every time he heard voices in the kitchen he was worried that they were talking about him, like they didn't really approve. Dear God, it was hot in the room again; he sat up slightly and started pulling at the bowtie again. Rachel sat up again and stared at him, with an amused expression on her face.
"If it's bugging you that much, why don't you just take it off?" she suggested, Blaine sighed and shook his head.
"No, it's okay," he mumbled, Rachel nodded and rested her head on his shoulder again.
"You really need to learn to relax," she grinned,
"I've never been so nervous in all my life." Blaine confessed quietly, Rachel nodded and they sat quietly watching the rest of the episode. Unfortunately for Blaine, it had to be the episode where Ross discovered Monica and Chandler's relationship, he couldn't help thinking that maybe Rachel's dad's would react like that once they sat down for dinner, maybe this was just the calm before the storm. He shook his head slightly, he knew he was probably over thinking things, but things were much calmer than Rachel had initially led him to believe.
Blaine was on edge as they sat down to dinner, Rachel of course was at his side as they sat opposite her dad's, he tried to make eye contact with them a couple of times but he just felt so intimidated by them. It was ridiculous.
"So Blaine," her dad, whose name he had learnt was Hiram asked, "Rachel tells us that you're a performer?" Blaine swallowed his food and nodded.
"Yes sir," Blaine nodded dutifully,
"And this is your first time in full time education?" Hiram continued, Blaine's eyes darted towards to Rachel who was smiling at him.
"Yes sir, we had a tutor though, so I'm up pretty up to date with the curriculum," he explained.
"Hmm, I see," Hiram nodded before returning to his dinner, Blaine glanced back at Rachel, and she just shrugged slightly and continued to smile at him. Yeah, that didn't make him feel any less awkward.
"So Blaine, tell me. Would you consider a career in performing a sensible career option?" Leroy, her other dad, picked up where Hiram had left off. Blaine gulped again. He felt like he was being interrogated.
"Daddy!" Rachel hissed, Blaine shook his head, if he was honest he'd kind of been expecting this question, it was one that he'd mentally prepared himself for.
"Well sir, I've been performing since I was child, it's kind of all I know," Blaine tried to smile.
"Blaine's actually very good at what he does Daddy," Rachel beamed at Blaine's side, he smiled at her gratefully, without thinking he placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed it gently. Leroy cleared his throat loudly and Blaine instantly released it. Dinner continued with much of the same, Blaine trying his best to win them over, answering their questions as best he could, if he impressed them then they didn't let their feelings show. Blaine supposed that they had a point, Rachel was their pride and joy, and for as long as they knew they had been all she had, now they faced the prospect of no longer being the most important thing in her life anymore. After dinner, Hiram and Leroy moved into the lounge and Blaine hung back to help Rachel with the dishes. She picked up on his body language immediately, the way his body slumped against the counter. She sighed quietly, closed the door to the dishwasher and lead Blaine to the small table in the middle of the room.
"They don't like me do they?" he asked quietly.
"They – look we both knew that it wasn't going to be easy." She tried to reason, "But the important thing is that they wanted to meet you, they didn't just rule it out. That has to mean something right?" Blaine nodded slowly, and Rachel moved from her seat to sit on his lap, she wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his shoulders.
"Just try not to let them get to you, they're trying," She lifted her head and moved her lips to meet his. It started off as something tender, their lips barely touching, but Rachel was the one to deepen the kiss, tightening her grip on him as he instantly moved his hands to her hips again. She shifted her body so that she was straddling him, and started kissing his neck. Blaine moaned quietly as her lips made contact, she grinned and kissed him again, as he tightened his grip on her, pulling her closer to him.
"Rachel?" The both jumped apart immediately as they heard Hiram addressing her, Blaine almost pushed Rachel from his lap. Her cheeks flushed a bright shade pink as she refused to meet her dad's eye.
"I think we all need to have a discussion, don't you?" Rachel nodded as Hiram walked back into the lounge again. Rachel turned to face Blaine again, her cheeks still tainted pink, she giggled as she hit his arm playfully.
"It's not funny Rachel!" Blaine groaned, placing his head in his hands as she started straightening out her clothes, "They're probably going to forbid me from see you ever again now," Rachel rolled her eyes and pulled Blaine to his feet, fixing his bowtie before reaching up to whisper into his ear.
"Never going to happen," she grinned, kissing his cheek and clasping his hand and leading him into the lounge, like a lion leading a lamb to the slaughter.
He gulped nervously as they walked into the lounge and Leroy immediately turned the television off, Rachel sat down on the couch and Blaine sat down in the space next to her. Hiram and Leroy were sat opposite them, their eyes burning into them. Rachel still had her fingers entwined with his, but now feeling awkward, he removed his hand from her grasp and smiled slightly at her.
"Okay, so since this relationship is far more advanced than your father and I could have ever imagined, I think we all need to have this discussion," Hiram stated.
"Daddy, I really don't think this is necessary," Rachel interrupted.
"Now Blaine, Rachel has invested a lot of her time into her studies so she can practice a career in medicine," Leroy stated, silencing his daughter, "Why should we allow this relationship to continue?"
"Well sir, I understand your concern, but I assure you that I really do care about your daughter," Blaine paused as Rachel leant over and took his hand again; he caught her eye and smiled slightly. Rachel nodded as he took a deep breath and turned his attention back to Hiram and Leroy, "As you're aware, I've never been in mainstream education before, I've never really had any proper friends, people who know me for who I am, and not what I do for a career, but Rachel is different from anyone I have ever met." He paused again and turned his attention back to Rachel. She was sitting silently next to him, hanging on his every word, he noticed a few tears in her eyes but he didn't say anything, just gave her a concerned smile. She shook her head slightly, urging him to continue as she frantically wiped her eyes when he turned away again.
"I wasn't aware of it at the time, but I when I met Rachel I realised that she was what I'd been looking for all this time, she makes me happy, and I'm willing to do anything in my power to make her feel the same." He finally finished and waited for some sort of response, Rachel gave his hand another squeeze. It felt like a lifetime but eventually Hiram and Leroy cleared their throats. Hiram slowly got to his feet and walked over to where Blaine and Rachel were seated, Blaine gulped and Rachel squeezed his hand tighter, Blaine wasn't sure whether it was due to nerves or not. He didn't have the courage to ask her.
"That's all we've ever wanted for our daughter, she deserves nothing but the best,"
"Yeah, she does," Blaine said quietly, he glanced at Rachel again and she actually blushed, he couldn't help the small smile tugging at his lips as he tried to concentrate on Hiram Berry stood in front of him.
"If you can promise that you'll never hurt our daughter, then we'll agree to let you two continue to see each other," Hiram held out his hand and Blaine let go of Rachel for a moment and got to his feet, anxiously taking Hiram's hand and giving him a firm handshake.
"I promise sir," he nodded, "I won't let you down,"
By the end of the evening Blaine was feeling much more relaxed, as soon as Hiram and Leroy had discovered that Blaine wanted the same as they did for Rachel then they seemed to get along much better. Blaine said his goodbyes and walked outside with Rachel as they quietly made their way to his car, their fingers entwined once more.
"Did you really mean what you said in there?" Rachel asked quietly, Blaine leant against his car and turned to face her, pulling her in between his legs.
"Of course I did," he smiled, raising a hand and tucking her hair behind her ears, "I really do care about you Rachel," Rachel smiled and took a deep breath, opening her eyes again and locking them with his.
"I – I love you Blaine," she said quietly, Blaine's features faltered slightly and his eyes widened, Rachel sighed and closed her eyes again, Blaine moved his arms and wrapped them tightly around her waist.
"Do you mean that?" he asked eventually, with her eyes still closed, she nodded her head slightly.
"I love you to," he whispered, reaching up to her ear, she shivered slightly and opened her eyes. Blaine pulled back slightly, but still kept his grip on her. Her eyes lit up immediately and she launched herself onto him, catching him off guard, but he wasn't totally opposed to it. He smiled into the kiss as she moved her own arms around his neck.
So maybe the night had started off as a disaster, but both Blaine and Rachel could agree that it had ended on a pretty big high.