Thank you all for your kind words on Chapter 1! It really does help to hear positive feedback, and I'm glad you're all enjoying this new adventure for our baby Finchels as much as I am.

It was a full two weeks before Finn ever got the chance to speak to Rachel alone.

It was weird, her two companions Mike and Kurt never left her alone. At least one, but usually both of them were hot on her heels wherever she went, staying close to whisper into her ear or be one step away should she need anything. He'd tried to ask Kurt about it once, but the guy had brushed him off with a dismissive shrug and a non-committal answer. Something about them being so close they were practically family, how he'd spent his life looking after her and being here didn't change that.

Well then. That still didn't make sense to him. Finn had spent his whole life around Puck, Quinn, Santana, and Brittany. And he didn't care about any of them the way Kurt and Mike clearly cared about Rachel, and vice versa. Sure, he loved his best friend. And the trio of girls had always been there, part of his social circle. They went to public functions together, always sticking together as a group. They occasionally traveled together, whenever one of them would get an invitation to a ball or high-class celebration. They rarely talked about their interests or their families, but then again Finn didn't really consider himself a 'talker' so he didn't mind.

He considered them his good friends, always had. But Kurt, Mike, and Rachel were seriously making him question if he really knew what true friendship even meant. What it looked like, what it could do. How it made otherwise ordinary people greater, because they were together …

Rachel sought Kurt and Mike out at every turn, the three of them practically moving as one entity rather than three. They would share inside jokes over dinner, ribbing each other in ways that Finn had never dared with Quinn for fear of being screamed at, hit, or completely iced out. Kurt would tell Rachel she was a self-involved brat, Mike would point out that Kurt could be the same, and the three would dissolve into hysterics rather than arguments. There was a safety there, a security that no matter what was said, they were still thick as thieves.

Every night, they would stay up by the fire way later than the rest of the household. He'd see them there, whenever he snuck back down the stairs close to midnight for a snack or something. Kurt and Rachel sitting together on the couch, laughing away with tears in their eyes as Mike reenacted some hysterical story from their mutual past about a bear and some guy named Matt. Or Kurt and Mike sprawled on the carpet at Rachel's feet while she read to them from whatever book had caught her eye that day.

They genuinely seemed to know each other. Love each other. In a way that made Finn's heart burn with jealousy, and not just because he found himself utterly captivated by the dark haired beauty that had swept suddenly into McKinley Manor and turned his life upside down. They were visibly part of something special, the three of them. A bond, an aura surrounded them that glowed like the sun even on cloudy days.

Something his predictable, ordinary country life could not and would not offer him.

As he lay in bed one night, trying to decipher the avalanche of new emotions he was feeling since Rachel's arrival, it hit him. He wanted that for himself. It wasn't enough anymore, the life he'd had before they arrived. Now that he knew what could be, rather than settling for what he had? He couldn't do it. He had to know what it felt like, that world the trio lived in.

He got his first chance on a rainy afternoon in the small McKinley library.

None of his usual gang was around, having been kept in their own homes by the sheer force of the storm outside. Kurt and Mike had gone to the market to pick up supplies before the rain started and had yet to return; the rain was probably keeping them away as well.

But Rachel was home. Alone, at last.

She was seated in one of the large arm chairs by the window, eyes flying across the page she was reading, hair cascading down her shoulder. She never bothered to pin it back or braid it, like Quinn always did. She was … natural. Purely herself at all times, and confident in it. It was intoxicating, and Finn could barely control his racing pulse as he approached her.

"… What are you reading?" he asked, gesturing pathetically towards the book. Rachel lifted her eyes and smiled immediately. It almost bowled him over, the way it seared his very soul with warmth. She placed a small slip of paper between the pages she was reading and closed the book, turning it over to show him the cover.

"Philemon and Baucis." She replied, tilting her head. "Have you read it?"

Finn blinked a few times, his mouth hanging open. He didn't even know they had a book by that title, let alone what the story was about. "Uhh… No. Not yet." He answered stupidly, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"I figured as much. It is written in Greek, after all." Rachel giggled, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Greek?!" Finn balked, snatching the book from her with wide eyes and opening it to the page she'd been on. Sure enough, symbols he couldn't begin to recognize as language covered the page. "You can read Greek?"

"I had a very… extensive education." She smiled, taking the book back from him and placing it on the nearby table. Her deep brown eyes then turned back to study him, not a sound passing between them except the pounding of the rain on the window. Finn kicked himself internally for not paying any attention to his lessons as a boy. It hadn't yet occurred to him that Rachel was, among other amazing things, incredibly intelligent. What would she ever want to do with a dunce like him?

"… It's a lovely story, you know." She continued, gingerly placing her hands in her lap. "It's about this older couple, poor and destitute themselves, who nevertheless always welcome needy travelers into their home. Share what they have, give shelter. And one night, unknowingly, Zeus and Apollo come to the door. The two gods had experienced a run of … bad experiences with mortals." She laughed, clearly referencing yet more ancient mythology that Finn knew nothing about. Entranced by her storytelling, Finn sank down into the chair across from hers, eyes locked on hers.

"So when they meet this couple, they're taken aback by their kindness. To reward them, the gods have a magnificent castle made for them where they can live out the rest of their days. And they grant the couple's deepest wish … that they never have to live a day without each other." Rachel continued, a small blush dotting her cheeks as she tore her gaze from Finn's to look out the window. "The gods arranged it so the couple would die at the exact same moment. And when they did, of old age, they became two trees – an oak and a lime. Their trunks intertwined, ensuring that even in death… they were always together."

Finn barely realized she was done talking. He was still staring, captivated by the story and by Rachel's sweet, clear voice. Like the bells of a church, or a siren's call. He found himself leaning in towards her, his breath coming short. "… Wow."

Rachel's blush deepened, turning back from the window to look at Finn with a soft, reserved (and tentatively hopeful?) smile. "Do you think love like that is real? Or just in stories?"

Finn's eyes shot wider than dinner plates, and he cleared his throat awkwardly to try and force down the lump that had immediately formed there. "I uhh… I don't know."

Rachel nodded, pulling her knees into her chest to snuggle deeper into her chair as she studied him. "There are so many different depictions of love in stories. Some of it is dangerous, like Paris and Helen of Troy. Some of it obligation, like Acontius and Cydippe. Still more are all fire and passion, like Lancelot and Guinevere."

Finn perked up at that last one – finally, something he recognized. "From King Arthur. I know that one." He said proudly, prompting yet another warm smile from Rachel. "It's Quinn's favorite." He continued, instantly shoving his metaphorical foot in his mouth. Why would he tell her that?!

The smile immediately vanished, replaced by a knowing shake of the head and a sigh.

"Of course it is." Rachel said with a visible roll of her eyes.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Finn asked, unsure why he was getting defensive. It wasn't like Quinn's opinions on literature were vitally important to him. Maybe it was just that he'd never had a woman in his life challenge what he believed before. Quinn had told him the story was good. Great, even. He'd read it himself, even if it had taken the better part of a year to finish, and he guessed he agreed. To be honest, he'd like the whole story of the search for the Holy Grail better than the romance, but he didn't mind it. But Rachel clearly disagreed. And was not shy about saying it.

"Quinn no doubt sees herself as Guinevere. And Guinevere is the worst." Rachel said instantly, eyebrows raised in surprise that Finn didn't automatically feel the same way.

"What? No she isn't." he protested, sitting back in his chair. Thunder rolled in the skies overhead, adding an ominous score to the conversation that had suddenly turned so combative.

"Umm, yes she is." Rachel retorted hotly, reacting to Finn's withdrawal by leaning forward in her chair towards him. Finn could see now what Kurt had meant when he'd called Rachel controlling – she wasn't going to let him get out of this conversation, no matter how uncomfortable he was with the way she was speaking. And honestly, it wasn't even her tone causing his discomfort. It was that she was trying to change his mind. Taking beliefs he'd held as long as he could remember, that he'd formed about Quinn long before Rachel ever arrived, and throwing them out the window.

And as much as this was what he wanted? To be in Rachel's world, to experience thoughts and emotions the way she did? The experience of the change was terrifying, and more completely encompassing than he'd thought it would be. It wasn't that his opinions on books or of Quinn were central to his sense of self, far from it. The fear was brought on by the concrete notion he now had of how deeply Rachel could affect him. How much she could push him, make him confront things he didn't want to, open himself up to things he was scared of. This time it was Quinn, but what would it be next time? And would he be brave enough, strong enough, to find out?

Nothing could've prepared him for Rachel, one on one. No amount of dreaming of her or studying her could've stopped the riot in his heart and head. She was a force of nature when she spoke, more powerful than the storm raging outside. His heart racing in his chest, he could only sit there and blink as she continued on with her argument.

"Guinevere's married to Arthur. Who is good and kind and doing the best he can for as many people as possible. He's a ruler of a newly formed nation, who understandably can't devote every waking hour to praising the very ground she walks on. So what does she do? Falls into the arms of the nearest knight who will. Arthur's best friend. But do either of them care how deeply that would hurt Arthur? Clearly not, since they do it anyways. What kind of love is that?! No good can come from a love that doesn't make either person better and costs a good man his life." Rachel snaps, shaking her head.

Finn doesn't move, but rather sits in silence as he watches Rachel slowly calm herself down. In her eyes, he can see it – she knows how wildly she'd reacted to a simple story. How personally she took it all, the specter of Quinn and her need to be adored hanging over the tale that in reality had nothing to do with her. She sighed, raking a hand through her long hair before she speaks again.

"… I refuse to believe that's what love is. Physical attraction and a desire to be desired." She frowned, lifting her eyes to Finn's. There was something else there, something she wasn't saying. And for all of his lack of studies, his lack of book smarts… Finn was people smart. He could hear what she wasn't saying as clear as if she was speaking aloud.

"That's Quinn's version of love. That's all she will give you. Don't you want something more?"

Finn shifted uncomfortably in his seat, lowering his eyes to the stone floor to keep himself from getting distracted by the dark brown ones that he swore saw into his soul. How… how could she know? With the very little time they'd spent together, and most of it in the company of others, how did she see him so clearly for who he was? What he'd ask for if he felt he could, what he'd seek if he wasn't afraid of looking.

"… Do you think love like Philemon and Baucis is real? Or is it just in the stories?" Rachel repeated her question from earlier, getting out of her chair to kneel in front of Finn's, forcing him to meet her eyes. She would not be denied. She couldn't be. There was so much hope and apprehension in her voice it nearly broke his heart in two. But all of his thoughts and emotions were racing through his mind so quickly that he couldn't grab any one of them long enough to form a real answer. He'd never felt this exposed, raw.

"I … I don't know." He answered slowly, giving her the same poor answer to the question that he'd given the first time. Rachel visibly deflated, her shoulders sinking as she looked away from him in embarrassment. She stood quickly, collecting her book and starting to make her way towards the door.

"Rachel, please. Wait." Finn begged, shooting up from his seat as well. Lightning flashed across the room, illuminating Rachel in an ethereal glow for a moment. He swallowed hard, words spilling from his lips before he could stop them.

"I don't know because I'm not sure that I'll have it." He practically spat out. Cheeks flaming red, the only solace he took was that it accomplished what he wanted – Rachel stopped immediately, back still turned. But she'd stopped.

"That… that kind of thing isn't meant for guys like me. I'm not a prince or a hero or any of those things they are in the stories. I'm just some guy. Nothing special. And why… why find out if it's real if I won't have it? Why punish myself with knowing?" he asked, cursing at the pathetic way his voice cracked at the end.

That sound. It wasn't the thunder, the lighting, the rain… laughter. Rachel was laughing. What the actual fuck?! When he'd just bared his damn soul like that to her? How could she?

"… You really don't get it, do you?" She asked quietly, turning to face him. Her eyes were slightly red, like she was on the verge of tears. But she was smiling affectionately at him, knuckles white on the edge of her book.

"You don't see how special you are. What a leader you are, without even trying to be. How much respect Kurt and Mike have for you. How you hold this house and your mother together. How you keep the peace between the people in your life, who might honestly kill each other if you didn't. How welcoming you are to everyone and anyone… even me." She admitted, clutching her book tighter. "I know who I am. What I can be like. And you listen to me. You let me sit there and rant at you just now without walking away or speaking down to me because I'm a woman. You didn't call me crazy, you didn't judge my reaction. You … You're not just some guy, Finn. You're better than all of them." She told him slowly, one solitary tear escaping her eyes.

That was all it took. Practically blacking out from the tidal wave of emotions that hit him all at once, Finn crossed the room to her side in three quick steps and pressed his lips to hers.

He heard Rachel whimper under his touch in surprise, and for a split second he panicked that he'd ruined everything. But then he heard her book clatter to the floor and two small hands wrapped around his neck and God he was in heaven. He pressed into their embrace, hands resting just above her tiny waist as the very essence that was Rachel wrapped around him. The smell of strawberries in her hair, the surety in the weight of her hands. The lightning bolt he swore she'd stolen from the storm outside that her kiss sent rocketing down his spine.

It was the scariest moment of his life. More than dueling, more than jousting. Because he knew he was only just beginning to fall for Rachel, and the incline of his fall would only increase sharply from here. He was going to lose himself in this girl, body and soul, and he'd have no control over when or how it happened.

And she? For all that he knew their connection was real, and it was, he knew so little about her. Where was she from? Why was she here? Could she be swept out of his life as quickly as she'd appeared?

A loud crack of thunder knocked both of them back into reality, making them jump apart. Rachel was panting, lips parted slightly. Finn had to imagine he looked just the same. Except for one thing – Finn was looking at Rachel as if she hung the moon itself. But Rachel… her expression was indecipherable.

"Finn? Rachel? Where are you?" his mother's voice called from the hallway.

"Rachel, don't…" Finn begged quietly, but it was too late.

"Coming, Lady Hudson!" Rachel called back, shooting Finn one last long gaze before running out of the library.

Finn scooped up the book she'd abandoned, pressing it against his own chest. He was as lost with Rachel as he was with this language. Both were a mystery, and both held such … wonderful, and new things for him to discover.

If only he knew how to unlock them.