Title: Valentine's Day - Rachel
Author: an_an0maly
Summary: Rachel's Valentine's Day...
Rating: PG
Word Count: 3,314
Disclaimer: I don't own the original Rachel Berry, but Glitter's Rachel, is mine now and I'm not giving her back. Also, I do not own and of the songs mentioned. I promise.
"One way or another, I'm gonna find ya, I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha, one way or another I'm gonna win ya, I'll getcha I'll get-"
Rachel slams her hand down on her alarm clock. She groans as she rubs the sleep out of her eyes. She really isn't in the mood for a workout, but she knows she can't break her routine, even for a day like today.
Especially, for a day like today.
Rolling her eyes, she sits up in bed and decides not to think about what it means to be alone on February 14th. Glancing at the clock on her bedside table, she takes note of the fact that she has two hours to work out, have a shower, avoid her deliriously sappy fathers and make it to rehearsals. With a plan in place, she pulls back the covers and sets to work on starting her elliptical exercises.
For the past week, Rachel had been on an 80's kick. She works through Belinda Carlisle's 'Heaven is a Place on Earth' to Whitney Houston's 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody'. She sings loudly to 'Tainted Love' but when the opening bars of 'Love is a Battlefield' starts playing, Rachel jumps off the elliptical trainer, yanks her iPod off the dock and effectively cuts off Pat crooning about 'heartache to heartache'. Rachel clenches the iPod in her fist.
She takes a few even breaths. These bursts of anger and rage have been flowing through her for the last week and a half. It has been eleven days. Eleven days since she'd broken up with Quinn Fabray and the heartache and anger still hasn't ebbed. She thought letting her go would help them both, but this pain she was feeling, the loneliness, it didn't seem to get any better. Rachel couldn't understand how she'd fallen so in love with someone who used to throw slushies in her face, would call her 'Man-Hands' and even sabotage the Glee Club. But she had, and now she was alone on Valentine's Day.
The break up hadn't involved tears, name-calling or even begging. Neither yelled, neither cried, and it almost seemed anti-climactic after their two previous break-ups. They had stood facing each other and Rachel had calmly questioned Quinn about her emotions. Rachel believed Quinn had been honest when she'd said that she did love her, but that there were definitely real emotions between her and Brittany and that she felt she owed it to herself to sort through them properly.
Rachel hadn't been able to meet Quinn's eyes for a few seconds. Ever since this had all started, Rachel had stood back and let Quinn take control of their "relationship". She'd let Quinn, and even Brittany, walk all over her and she was sick of it. This wasn't the Rachel Berry her fathers had raised. This wasn't the Rachel Berry that had gotten Sandy Ryerson fired. Stealing her resolve and crossing her arms over her chest, Rachel finally met Quinn's gaze.
"I thank you for your honesty about the situation. It seems only fair I return the favour." Taking a deep breath, she plowed on. "It is with great regret that I must inform you that this, between us, can go no further. It is very obvious to both myself and to the entire student body, that I am indeed, not who or what you really want. At least not at this time. It's not fair to string me along when you clearly love someone else. I won't settle for second choice." Rachel straightened her posture slightly, gaining a little more height. "I don't know what the future will bring, for either of us. If you want us to have any kind of relationship, friendship or otherwise, we'll need to start with a solid foundation. This might be all we'll ever have, but I deserve better."
Rachel nodded her head slightly before turning and walking away. She took a few steps before she stopped. Turning her head slightly, she spoke louder to ensure Quinn could still hear her. "The night you and Brittany ambushed me, I promised to always be there for the baby. I... Rachel Berry doesn't back down on a promise." And with that she walked away arms still firmly crossed over her chest.
Rachel can't help but shake her head and smile ruefully at the situation. When Quinn had first been kicked out, Rachel had offered Quinn her home as a place to live. Quinn had turned her down on the grounds of their relationship. But now Quinn is living with the girl she has feelings for and is probably already sleeping with.
"Just forget it, already." Rachel tells herself before grabbing her robe off the back of her door and heading for the shower.
It's nearing ten o'clock in the morning and Rachel is powering down the street as fast as her short legs can go. She can see the community theatre in the distance and she knows she needs to hurry. She crosses the street, barely looking in either direction. She makes it to the front doors with seconds to spare. Flinging the double doors open, Rachel storms in and bumps right into a solid chest.
"Ow!" She mutters as she feels two arms grab her around the shoulders to steady her.
"Woah," she hears a masculine voice say from above her. Reaching up she rubs her forehead before letting her eyes trail up and meet the wall she's just walked into.
"Mike?" Rachel asks confused. She is in the right place, right?
Rachel watches as a grin lights up Mike's face, "Hey!"
Rachel takes a slight step back, Mike's hands dropping down to his sides. She stands on her toes and looks over Mike's shoulder and into the theatre. Yep! She is definitely in the right place. Her brow furrows as she meets Mike's twinkling gaze. "Now, don't take this the wrong way, but... What are you doing here?"
Rachel watches as Mike glances around. "Here? At this very moment, standing. But a few minutes ago landing myself a job."
"Here? Doing what, exactly?" She asks incredulously. Mike Chang? In Theatre? Actually, the more the thought rolls around inside her head, the more believable it becomes.
"Aside from turning O2 into CO2?... Helping with the sets and props and stuff. I'm really good with my hands." Rachel watches as Mike holds up his hands, turning them around as if they could be the solution to every problem. 'If only that were true,' she thinks to herself as she feels a slight ache in her chest.
She feels heat rush up to her cheeks as Mike continues to hold his hands up to her face. She has ideas about where those hands have been and what they've done. Swallowing loudly she looks past his fingertips to meet his gaze. She tries to smile through her thoughts and offers up a congratulations. "That's really great Mike!" She adjusts the strap on her book bag briefly before continuing, "I didn't realise you were into the theatre, but it does stand to reason that with some of your homosexual tendencies, the theatre might be where you feel you most belong." She arches an eyebrow in his direction.
A smirk falls over Mike's lips. "Yes. The theatre. One big homo magnet." And before Rachel can even reply to that statistically correct conclusion, Mike moves into the world famous 'Thinker' pose and starts quoting Arthur Miller in a faux posh accent. "The theatre is so endlessly fascinating because it's so accidental. Like life."
Rachel can't help but cover her mouth as she giggles. She abruptly stops when she realises this is the first time she's felt happy in the last few weeks. And suddenly, it doesn't hurt so much. The smile doesn't leave her face as she waits for Mike to stand back up. "I think I'm really going to like having you around, Mike."
Mike mock scowls down at Rachel. "It took you this long to realize that?" With a wink he starts to walk around her, Rachel following his footsteps until she's facing the exit. "Well... I'll leave you to your rehearsing. Whoever's playing Bo is lucky." Rachel feels her cheeks heat up again. Her smile turns into a grin and she can't help but feel proud of herself. She's feeling more and more like the old Rachel Berry and right now, she has Mike Chang to thank for that.
Mike gives her a small nod before mumbling something about a man and some flowers. It's then that Rachel allows herself to remember what day it is and quickly takes three steps towards Mike. She stands on her tip toes and throws her arms around his neck. She kisses his cheek before pulling back to wish him a "Happy Valentine's Day."
She giggles as Mike's facial expression changes to one of shock, "Zoh. Mai. Gawd! It's Valentine's Day?!" And with that he buries his hands in his pockets, grins and backs out of the theatre lobby. Rachel watches as he disappears into his car before she heads toward the stage for a six hour rehearsal.
Rehearsal hadn't been as disastrous as usual. Paul, the stage director, had been in a romantic mood and flounced across the stage and wore a grin a mile wild, even when Veronica, who was playing Elma, had forgotten half her lines.
Lollie, who had been cast as Grace, walked her out to the parking lot. Lollie was forty-five, divorced and clearly enjoying the single life. She'd taken Rachel under her wing, even though Rachel had refused the maternal affection at first. She had two perfectly great parents, she didn't need another, but Lollie had been persistent. Lollie had led Rachel toward her car in order to give her a small box of chocolates.
"Everyone should be given a little something on Valentine's Day. Even you, Twinkle." Lollie had explained with a grin. Rachel couldn't help but grin back, even if Lollie had called her by a dreaded nickname. Rachel graciously took the box of chocolates and the two bid farewell until tomorrow afternoon.
Rachel makes it home that afternoon around five o'clock. She dumps her bag and the box of chocolates in her room before she bounds down the stairs to make some Valentine's Day Cookies. If she plans it just right, she can make a batch or two and then clean up before checking over all of her homework due this coming week.
As she enters the kitchen though, a single red rose greets her on the counter top. She remembers back to Mike mumbling something about flowers and smiles. This was really sweet of him. She reads the note her father has left, telling her the rose had been delivered around lunch time and that they hope she has a good day at the theatre. She slides the note into her pocket before sniffing the rose as she moves it over to the dinner table. She supposes it should have been weird, her and Mike's encounter at the theatre, but they are now in the same boat and for some reason, that seems to cancel out any awkwardness that should be there.
Bringing her thoughts back to baking, Rachel clears the counter tops and begins taking the ingredients out of the pantry. She lines up the ingredients she needs before she makes her way back up to her room to grab her iPod. Baking isn't as much fun without a little music to sing and dance to. Still on her 80's kick, she sets her iPod to play through the playlist she's made and plugs in the audio jack hooked up to the stereo in the kitchen. She turns up the volume and sets to work on her cookies. She's planning to make enough for all of Glee Club, including Brittany, Miss Pillsbury and Mr Schuester. She hopes to make enough that she can take some to rehearsal as well.
She knows her dads aren't going to be home for a little while. Every year, her dads spend Valentine's Day together. They feel it's a way to reconnect and Rachel respects the tradition. She's thankful that her fathers are still so in love with each other. It gives her hope that her future will one day involve someone she can love so deeply and feel that same love in return.
Guns 'n Roses kicks off her playlist with some 'Paradise City'. Rachel moves around the kitchen bopping her head to the beat as she pulls scales and measuring spoons from cupboards and drawers. She lays out all the utensils and ticks off her mental checklist of items.
She measures out enough flour and sugar for three batches. She begins baking, but unlike her last baking marathon, she's feeling calm and content. She takes to her creations with ease and sings her way through the first batch: 'Voluptuous Vanilla'. As she rolls out the cookie dough, she uses three different sized cookie cutters to shape the dough. Bon Jovi's 'Raise Your Hands' plays as she begins to line the baking trays with heart-shaped cookies.
As she moves onto her second batch 'Volcanic Vault', aptly named for the gooey chocolate that oozes out of the centre with the first bite, Madonna sings in the background about Spanish lullabies. Rachel sings along to every song that works itself through her playlist.
Just as she takes out her first batch of cookies from the oven to let them cool on the cooling racks, she begins to nod her head to the beat of Dead or Alive's 'You Spin Me Round'. Sometimes, when she has the house to herself, she turns on loud music, forgets about her worries and sings and dances it out. It is the only time she feels free, other than being on a stage. Sliding the 'Volcanic Vault' cookies into the oven she clears the counter to start on the next batch.
By the time she pulls out the 'Volcanic Vault' cookies, and slides the 'Vivid Velvet' batch into the oven, The Thompson Twins are singing about holding someone now. Rachel moves the second batch of cookies onto cooling racks before brushing the 'Voluptuous Vanilla' cookies with edible glue. She searches through her food decoration box for the edible red glitter and begins to sprinkle the tops of the cookies.
The Bangles' 'Walk Like an Egyptian' is the next song to burst through the speakers and Rachel can't help but pull a few Egyptian poses, as dorky as she looks. Just as Rachel glitters the last cookie, the final verse starts and to her left she catches both her fathers walking into the kitchen, poorly imitating Egyptians. She can't hold in the giggles, so she lets herself lean forward in laughter.
Her daddy runs over and pulls her into their little line of Egyptians, but the song quickly comes to an end and her daddy pouts. Almost immediately, both her fathers' faces light up and Rachel groans as the next song begins to play. Her daddy raises an eyebrow at her. "This isn't from the eighties," he says as her other father begins to move her back behind the island she's been baking at.
Rachel fixes him with a look. "Daddy. It's Queen." And with that both her fathers crouch down behind the island on either side of her. Rachel rolls her eyes but quickly take a step forward to take the lead. She holds a wooden spoon in one hand and begins to sing. "Momma, just killed a man, put a gun against his head, pulled the trigger and now he's dead..."
Rachel remembers back to when she was 3 years old, just old enough to follow simple directions and sing. Every time Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' comes on, the three of them take their places behind the island, grab a spatula, wooden spoon or ladle and begin to perform. It has been years since they've been able to do this.
Her dad pops up from her right as Rachel crouches down and suddenly it's an entire production in the Berry kitchen. "I see a little silhouetto of a man." Suddenly both her dads are standing tall, spatulas in hand. "Scaramouch, Scaramouch, will you do the fandango?"
Ever the expert, Rachel doesn't miss her cue. "Thunderbolt and lightening, very very frightening me." And then it's a bopping frenzy with the three of them alternating parts. "(Galileo) Galileo (Galileo) Galileo, Galileo Figaro. Magnifico – o – o – o – o."
As the song continues on, Rachel's dads prepare for their moment. "Beezlebub has the devil put aside for me, for me, for me!" Both of Rachel's dads turn their microphones into fake guitars and begin strumming away. Rachel takes a fierce step forward, her hand clenches around the wooden spoon. "So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye, So you think you can love me and leave me to die, Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby, Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here..."
The trio begin swaying from side to side. "Nothing really matters, anyone can see... Nothing really matters, nothing really matters... to me." The song comes to a close and Rachel can't hold back a wide grin as her dads pull her into a hug from either side. She takes a deep breath and her senses fill with familiar scents and a safe and warm feeling washes over her. "Thank you," she whispers to her dads before they pull out of the embrace.
Her dad reaches into his back pocket and pulls out an envelope, handing it over to Rachel with a grin and a wink. "Happy Valentine's Day, Freddie Mercury."
Rachel takes the envelope with a grin before quickly opening it to find two tickets to the New York revival of West Side Story in April. "That's... that's during Spring Break! Are we going to New York?" Rachel looks from father to father.
"Well, we thought, if you want to bring a friend with you, we might head over that way for a few days. What do you think?" Her daddy asks with a hopeful look.
Rachel beams up at her two dads. "This is... the best Valentine's Day."
A clean kitchen, boxed cookies and the time nearing 11:00pm, Rachel finds herself slowly making her way up to her room to check she has everything she needs for Monday morning. She places her iPod back in its docking station ready to wake her up for tomorrow morning's workout. At her desk she finds her books and folders left open from yesterday's study session. Rachel sits down to check she's completed all set homework and assignments before packing up her belongings. She neatly stacks the books she needs for class tomorrow and sets them aside to put in her bag. Rachel spies the neat wrapped gift box that's been sitting on her desk since she and Quinn had began dating again. She sighs as she picks up the box. Inside are matching bracelets, one for Quinn and one for the baby. She knows she can't return them, they're a set and Quinn's is already engraved. Sighing, Rachel opens the top drawer in her desk and sets the box down at the very back. Closing the drawer, Rachel quickly checks the clock again.
At eleven thirty she takes a quick shower to wash off all the flour and sugar before pulling on a set of clean pajamas. She packs her books into her book bag, before pulling her cell phone out to charge over night. On the screen she sees a little envelope in the corner. She scrolls through her phone and brings up the new message. Reading the name at the top of the screen, Rachel's heart begins to beat rapidly in her chest. She selects the SMS and reads the simple message.
Glancing at the clock, she reads the time. 11:58pm. Rachel takes a seat on the edge of her bed and takes a few seconds to gather her thoughts. 'Love, Quinn' is how the message is signed. Rachel shakes her head. She isn't going to read into it. It is just a simple message. Quinn could have sent it to a bunch of people. She quickly types back a reply.
'I...Thanks... Happy Valentine's Day to you, too. Rachel.'