Title: Avatar Geeks and Broadway Star
Category: Glee
Genre: Romance/Humor
Ship: Rachel/Sam
Rating: Teen
Prompt: Wedding
Word Count: 3,084
Summary: Returning to Lima for a wedding, Rachel bumps into Sam Evans, which somehow turns into them planning their future wedding.

Avatar Geeks and Broadway Stars
-1/1-

She hasn't seen him since high school. Since glee club and the revolving door relationships that left nobody unharmed. Today, they were gathered to join two of their fellow gleeks in matrimony. She'd received the invitation in the mail, unexpected but pleasantly surprised to see that she was somebody they'd want to see on this bright occasion. She hasn't seen many of her fell show-choir mates since high school and that seems a lifetime ago, before Broadway and fame has come calling as loudly as she's always expected. He stands behind the groom, not the best man but one of his groomsmen, and she sits in the crowd, smiling and clapping and even shedding a tear when the vows are exchanged. But mostly she can't stop looking at the blonde hair and too-wide smile of Sam Evans.

Of all the boys in glee, he'd been the one she knew least. Then again, he'd always kind of been defined by the women at his side, from Quinn to Santana and then back to Quinn once again. Rachel couldn't really point fingers, she and Finn were the on again, off again duo that never seemed to get it right. Seeing as she was sitting at his wedding to Quinn Fabray herself, she thinks she and Sam might finally have made it out of their immediate orbit relatively unscathed.

When the dancing starts up and she's already exchanged pleasantries with most of the others, she begins wondering how to make an easy exit. She has a play to read through, even if she has all weekend to do it, and a bottle of Chianti calling her name. More than all that, she really just wants to get off her feet. But just as she's about to exit the elegantly dressed ballroom, she stumbles into the boy with the big smile and the bright eyes.

"Rachel, hey," he says, waving a hand. "Kaltxi!" He frowns immediately after, his cheeks flushing. "Sorry, I, um, slipped into my inner-geek there."

Her brows furrow. "Did you just say 'hello' in Na'vi?" she wonders.

His eyes widen. "You-You know Na'vi?"

She chuckles lightly at his excitement. "I auditioned for a role in Avatar on Ice what seems like an age ago but was really only…" She wrinkles her nose, thinking back, "Four years ago?" She nods. "That sounds about right… I was in between Broadway shows, nothing spectacular but definitely getting my name out there. It was a goal, you see, from back in high school…" She smiles. "I didn't get the part, but I spent three weeks learning the Na'vi language. I guess some of it stuck with me." Her eyes brighten then. "Do you think they'll ever make a Broadway play of Avatar? Wouldn't that be wonderful? And my knowing Na'vi would certainly put me ahead of the others auditioning." She nods, already thinking of how the set might look.

He stares at her a long moment and when she stops talking and stares back, he gets nervous and blurts out, "You'd look really hot in blue paint!"

She blinks a moment, because that was rather loud and did garner some attention. Reaching out, she pats his shoulder when he fidgets nervously, apologizing. "I'll take that as the compliment it was meant to be," she assures.

He breathes out a sigh of relief. "So…" He looks around and then shrugs. "I'd ask what brings you around here, but…"

She laughs under her breath. "Thankfully, my dads still live in town. I received the invitation forever ago and struggled with whether I wanted to go." She waves her hand, explaining, "Somehow going to your high school sweetheart's wedding to someone else tends to bring about those long-buried worries of whether I'd ever get married or find the right guy or if perhaps I've spent my golden years on a stage where the only love I'm destined for comes from the outlying crowd cheering me on." She takes a deep breath before her shoulders sag. "I'm sorry, my therapist says I bottle things and I think I may have just word-vomited all over you."

He brushes at his immaculate suit jacket. "It's okay, it's a rental."

She laughs warmly, lifting a hand to cover her mouth. "Very funny, Sam."

"You mind saying that a little louder?" he hopes. "I'm pretty sure you're the only one who thinks so."

She shakes her head, amused. "You're so funny, Sam!" she says a little louder, enough to draw eyes their way.

He blushes. "Okay, now they just think I'm weird and not funny."

"Well, you are spending an inordinate amount of time with the girl labeled the freak of our high school. I imagine that does draw some questions." Her brows furrow. "Not that I'm discouraging our interaction at all."

He smiles at her crookedly and she can't help but think that no matter how many times Santana or Noah mentioned that his mouth seemed entirely too large, his smile makes it fit his face just right. "I'm pretty sure anybody who called you a freak is eating their words since you're like the biggest thing to hit Broadway ever…" He smirks. "At least until Avatar gets there anyway."

Her head quirks as she wonders, "You've been following my Broadway career?"

If his face could get any redder, she imagines it would be purple. "Oh, um… Well, actually, I live in New York, so, y'know…" He rubs the back of his neck. "It's kinda hard to go anywhere without seeing Rachel Berry in lights somewhere…"

Her brows rise. "Really? I had no idea that you'd gone on to the big apple too!" She flutters her hands excitedly. "You absolutely have to tell me everything!" Eagerly, she lifts up on her tip-toes as she warns, "And don't leave anything out." She hooks her arm with his and leads him over to an otherwise empty table. "Start at the beginning… You've just graduated high school and we've finished our last stage debut as New Directions which has left the collective crowd weepy with shock and awe at our incredible talent! Annnnd go!" she points at him to get him going.

He laughs. "You're cute."

Before she can even begin to take that apart, he starts telling her his story. From graduation and him and Quinn breaking up, for the last time, and him just sort of being at a loss at where to go after that. He ended up at Ohio University and studied art for awhile before eventually moving to New York and working at a comic book store while he drew up his own during his downtime. He got a small comic strip in the New York Times for awhile which helped pay the bills while he worked to make a name for himself as a serious graphic artist. When he finally found his break, the first thing he did was buy a loft apartment in Soho with a great view. She listens as he animatedly fills her in on the goings-on of his life, from finding himself outside of labels and what he thought was cool and inevitably accepting who he really was, a geek and proud of it. When he's done, he asks about her, and she's happy to fill him in on her journey to becoming Broadway's biggest talent. Though it seems like minutes, it's hours before they realize they've spent the majority of the wedding after-party just sitting with each other, discussing life and its great mysteries. Rachel forgets about her woefully sore feet and the script she has back at her dads, she even forgets about the bottle of Chianti in favor of the bubbly bottle of champagne she and Sam were sharing, though he seems to be drinking more than her.

She's a little buzzed and a lot lighthearted when Quinn calls that she'll be tossing the bouquet.

Sam turns to the women congregating and then looks at her. "Aren't you gonna go up?"

She wrinkles her nose. "I happen to think the idea behind catching a bouquet of flowers meaning that I'll be the next to marry completely irrelevant to my lifestyle. I mean… Why would I base my future on the mere fact of whether or not I caught flowers before a group of obviously desperate women?" She shakes her head, chewing her lip. "Even if I happen to think that marriage at this point in my life would be a good step… I don't have a significant other, but I feel like I'm ready for that step. And I feel, like any role before, I could be a great wife and perhaps mother to any resulting children." She looks at him curiously, at the way his cheeks seem to bloom pink with the after-effects of the alcohol. "What do you think, Sam?"

"Well, we have known each other since we were sixteen, but I'm pretty sure that getting married right now might take away from Quinn and Finn…" He smiles, hiccupping at her.

She chuckles. "You may have a point," she agrees.

He winks at her, leaning in to stage-whisper, "But I'm free tomorrow."

Giggling under her breath, she reaches out to squeeze his shoulder. "That's flattering… But perhaps we should spend some more time getting to know each other."

He sighs, long and loud. "So far I know you're pretty and you like music and you live in New York and you're like the biggest star ever and you're pretty…" He frowns. "I think I might've repeated myself."

"I think you might've had enough champagne," she agrees.

"Did I…" He shakes his head. "Did I ever tell you I thought you were really cute in high school? Like…" His eyes widen, "Like prettier than Quinn even!"

"Really?" Her chest warms, because that was something that always worried her. Not that Sam might think she was pretty, although it was very flattering, but that compared to Quinn she could never be considered better in any sense of the word. But here she was sitting with the boy who had basically worshiped Quinn Fabray the last two years of high school, telling her – Rachel Berry – that he thought she was prettier than the queen bee herself. "You didn't tell me that, no."

"I did." He nods happily, a little drunk and very loose-tongued. "And I… I almost asked you out!" He sighs then, leaning back in his chair sadly. "But then you and Finn got back together and I knew you'd never go for me… All the girls like Finn better."

She reaches out to pat his hand. "I happened to think all the boys liked Quinn, but as you can plainly tell, I was wrong, at least once."

He smiles. "I did like Quinn… A lot." He stares at her earnestly. "But now she's married and I'm happy for her and Finn loves her and whatever and I'm sitting her with you!" He looks up at her with wide green eyes. "And you are so pretty!"

She laughs. "Thank you."

"I used to think about you a lot, when I first got to New York…" He licks his lips. "Like… frakrr…"

Her brows furrow as she tries to remember, to translate. "Always, or all the time, right?"

He nods. "I went to your plays too, when you got big, to see if you were just as pretty as in high school…" He grins happily. "Prettier."

She flushes warm, all throughout her body. "You're very handsome too, Sam."

He pats his stomach. "Still work out." He chuckles happily. "Ab-licious."

"I'm sure," she agrees, eyes darkening as she can't help but wonder if everything about him has gotten better with age.

He squeezes her hand and she realizes she never let go of him. He twines their fingers and strokes her palm and reaches still until he's tracing her pulse at her wrist. His touch is light, smooth, and she swallows thickly. He looks up at her from beneath long dark lashes and his eyes seem even more impossibly green. "Ftang?"

Her mind is foggy, but it filters through. He's asking if she wants him to stop. She shakes her head sluggishly. It's been so long since she's had someone touch her, really touch her. Broadway has become her whole life, the only men to really move with her body have been on the stage and none of them became anything more than co-stars. But now here's Sam Evans and he's skimming his fingers up the inside of her forearm, tickling the crook of her elbow and her breath leaves her quickly.

"Lor…" he breathes. Beautiful.

Her chest hammers, heart skipping quickly over beats. "I-I…" She's at a loss for words, for coherency, and it's so new to her that she smiles. It feels nice, not to be in control for a little while, to just bask in the little circles her draws along her skin.

"So if we're not getting married tomorrow…" He looks up at her. "We should get together for coffee…" He quirks a brow. "Extend the engagement 'til we're at least back in New York."

She laughs breathily. "Maybe in a year or two, after we've gone through a few necessary motions."

He grins widely. "I'm gonna be the best husband you'll ever have, Rachel Berry."

She laughs. "If that's true, I'll be Rachel Evans and I'll have no one else to compare you to."

His brow furrows as he tries to figure that out before finally just shrugging. "I like that… Rachel Evans…" He says it a few more times and she thinks as sweet as it all is, she'd rather they discuss their future when he's a little less drunk.

"I should get you home," she murmurs.

He winks at her. "Little forward, but since you're gonna be my wife."

She rolls her eyes, clucking her tongue. "You've obviously imbibed too much and I have a tendency to read too far into things… So perhaps we should curb this enlightening conversation until the alcohol has run its course… Otherwise you might wake up tomorrow with a girlfriend you didn't really want."

He scoffs. "I want you."

She flushes, because he says it so clearly and with such authority that she feels her skin ripple and her thighs warm. "Yes, well… I happen to want you as well, but not in a drunken state, so…"

He nods. "I shouldn't have drank so much… But you're really pretty and I'm a comic book nerd and I've had a crush on you for years…"

Her brows rise curiously. "Just how many years?" she wonders.

"For awhile in high school and then after I got to New York and saw you on stage…" He shakes his head as if the math is hard. "Just years!"

She smiles, figuring she'll just get it out of him when he's more sober. "Well, I hope in future you might be able to talk to me more fluently and without the help of alcohol."

He nods. "'Kay."

She reaches for him. "Come along, we'll see if we can't find a cab… Unless you have plans to stay at somebody's place?" She stares at him wonderingly.

"Hotel."

She helps him out of his chair and slings her arm around his lean waist. "We'll catch a cab and I'll drop you off at your motel before I go back to my place."

"Or…" he suggests, playing with her hair as they walk sideways toward the door. "You can come back to my hotel room and we can get a head start on the honeymoon!"

If he wasn't so drunk, she might've scolded him for his forward behavior, she instead blames the alcohol coursing through her for the bubbly desire to take him up on his offer. "Perhaps," she says instead.

Minutes later, they're sitting outside the ballroom waiting on a cab while he leans against her heavily, his fingers still tangled in her hair. "You smell good," he says.

She looks up at him. "Thank you."

"I'm really gonna be embarrassed tomorrow."

"Probably," she agrees.

"On the bright-side… I got a date with a really cool girl." He looks over at her, smiling. "You kinda twinkle, did you know that?"

No, she didn't, but she happens to think Sam Evans has a great way with words, drunk or not. "Do I?"

"Yeah…" He reaches out and drags his palm down the side of her head, probably ruining her once coiffed hair. "Makes sense… You're a star and all…" Sighing, he leans over and rests his head on her shoulder, humming Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star under his breath. She finds it oddly adorable.

When the cab arrives, she wrangles him inside and tries to convince herself not to join him in his hotel room, but he draws little stars all along her arm, holding her hand in his lap while they sit in the backseat, the drive quiet and filled with a humming tension. When they finally pull up in front of the hotel, she's a little breathless and his heat is warming her inside out and she's almost ready to give up Broadway just to keep him touching her. Instead, he leans in and kisses her cheek. "Tomorrow, coffee," he murmurs. And when he climbs out on shaky but still stable feet, he leans in before closing the door. "And in a couple years, a wedding." With a wink, he closes the door and then whistles as he walks through the door.

Rachel sits back in the seat and blows out a long breath. She tells the driver her address and then chews her lip. So she'd gone to a wedding to see her first love marry her high school enemy and left with one of the groomsmen… A very handsome comic book nerd who apparently slipped into Na'vi when drunk… She smiles as she drives through the quiet, dark streets of Lima. She'd thought coming home would be an inconvenience, especially when the reason was what it was, but now she thinks it was the best thing to happen to her in some time. She has a date with Sam tomorrow and if everything goes well, she'll one day be inviting Quinn and Finn Hudson to her and Sam's wedding. Wouldn't that be interesting? She thinks he'll recite his vows in Na'vi and she's already wondering how long it'll take for her to learn the whole language again. She's sure it's going to come in handy. And, of course, it does.

[End.]