Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 60th cycle. Now cycle 61!
This is a shift day. There are two updates today.
"Roman Movies"
Rachel/Quinn
Runaway Bride series
(no listing yet; sequel to "Wanting the Next Step")
She had a feeling Quinn was enjoying this bit of secrecy. Friday morning she had come swooshing into McKinley, making it clear that her car had broken down. Rachel had taken this as her cue to come in and offer her assistance in the form of a ride home that afternoon. Quinn had barely managed to keep a straight face until they pulled out of the school parking lot and then had burst out laughing.
"So is your mother going to be..." Rachel started.
"She'll be coming home, but she's not staying long, she's getting ready and then, well… she has a date," Quinn revealed.
"Oh," Rachel smiled. "Good, that's… that's good. Now about tonight…"
"We could order in," Quinn offered, and without needing to lay it out in so many words, what had been a couple of friends hanging out the last time was now starting to look like a date this time around.
"I'm definitely in for takeout. What I was going to say though is that I had a thought. We both agree that we're taking things slow, right?"
"Right," Quinn nodded.
"But that doesn't mean we can't… have some fun," she replied casually.
"I'm listening," Quinn smirked.
"Three kisses," Rachel stated. Quinn looked at her, frowning with curiosity.
"Okay?"
"That's all we get, so we need to use them wisely," Rachel explained.
"Three each, or…"
"Three," Rachel shook her head.
"What we did last time, does that count as one, or…" Quinn asked, turning to face her. Rachel's cheeks flushed. "Maybe not, if we're trying to be…"
"Slow," Rachel filled in.
"Right, that. Alright, you have a deal. I'll do my best," Quinn vowed.
"So will I," Rachel breathed, glancing at her for a beat.
When they'd arrived at the Fabray house, they had gone inside, where Quinn had confirmed her mother wasn't there before turning on her heel and planting her lips on Rachel's. The girl had been surprised, but then she'd rested a hand at Quinn's hip just as she pulled away.
"That's one. I had to," she explained. Rachel let out a shaky breath.
"By… all means."
They'd only managed to sort through menus and decide what they'd order, then to start debating movies, by the time Judy Fabray made her entrance. She was surprised to find Rachel there, only briefly, before she went upstairs to get ready for her date.
"Who's the guy, do you know him?" Rachel asked.
"She met him through a friend. I haven't met him yet, but he's from what I hear he's a real charmer," she shrugged. "I don't know if I'm ready to deal with some stepdad, but if she's happy, then…"
Judy had reappeared, wished them a good night, and then she was gone. Quinn had promptly turned and pulled one DVD to show Rachel.
"How's this?"
"For us, that's… that sounds great," she beamed. They wouldn't have gone anywhere near this movie last time, but this was a whole new game. "We should order dinner."
They would wait for the food to arrive before they started the movie. With all other things done that had needed doing, they were realizing that they hadn't completely chased away the awkward 'what do we do now?' feeling.
"Can I tell you something?" Rachel had spoken, breaking silence. Quinn turned from the window to face her. "That day in the diner, I told you how… I needed to try and find out where I was in all this."
"I remember," Quinn bowed her head, taking a step forward.
"I want this, I want… us, to be an us. However long it takes before we're ready to go out there and have everyone know… The point is… I'm in. I'm in i-if you are." Quinn was smiling.
"Wow…" she breathed, and Rachel smiled back. "Now I've got a question."
"Go for it."
"Would you agree that this is kind of a leap for us, a bit of a big moment?" she took a step.
"Definitely," Rachel agreed.
"Then can we pause the counter for a minute?" she requested.
"We can, we… we should," Rachel agreed once more, while Quinn continued her approach. Rachel had been the first to reach out this time, her hands moving to rest on Quinn's sides as they had been earlier. When their lips had joined, she'd felt the blonde's arms wrap around her, keeping them pressed together. None of their kisses had been the same. The first had been a graze, the second intense, the third short. This one was slow and lingering, building… and interrupted by the door. "Leave it," Rachel had breathed.
"It's the food," Quinn smirked, not releasing.
"It can wait."
"He's going to leave."
"If he wants his money, he'll wait."
"Rachel…"
"Fine," she paused, incapable of chasing her smile. "But we're back on the count now," she 'warned.'
"You kissed me," Quinn grinned. Rachel knew what she meant. She'd initiated it this time.
The declaration had unwound them. Slowly but surely they were becoming what they both quietly wanted to be, becoming a greater part of each other's lives. They sat to dinner and their movie, side by side on the floor, backs up against the couch.
The second of the three 'allotted' kisses had come as Quinn had looked to Rachel, watching her as she laughed at a scene in the movie. She was just so happy, to have her there and to know the chance she had taken was actually turning into so much more than she could have ever expected, so she had tapped at Rachel's shoulder to get her attention before reaching up to turn her chin and capture her lips. When she'd pulled away, it had taken a moment for Rachel to refocus on the movie, which had made Quinn smirk.
They had gotten lost in the movie after that. Rachel had ended up leaning against her, resting her head on her shoulder, and Quinn welcomed it. As the credits had rolled, she wasn't entirely sure that the girl on her shoulder had not fallen asleep. To make sure, she had laid a light kiss to her forehead, and it had revealed to her that Rachel was not sleeping, but she'd been close. She mumbled something, and Quinn frowned. "Sorry?" she asked.
"That's three."
"What? No, that doesn't count," Quinn defended.
"It does to me," Rachel replied, winding her fingers with the blonde's. "Even more than the ones before," she declared, and Quinn let out a breath. She could do with that.
THE END
A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!
