Hello, fellow Finchel Gleeks! First off, thank you, thank you for all the alerts, faves, reviews, etc! They keep a writer posting! I'm sorry I didn't update right away… the weekend got away with me! Anyway, I have TWO, yes TWO new chapters to post for you lovelies tonight! I won't be able to update again before tomorrow night's episode (YAY, I'm excited!) so this story will be slightly AU from Chapter 5 on… That is if you want me to continue! Remember, reviews = inspiration!

Now, for some Finchel!

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RACHEL POV

"Wait, don't eggs come from animals?"

I laughed as I pulled ingredients from the fridge and set them on the center island. Finn was standing in front of the open pantry, reading my favorite sugar cookie recipe. We had made our way downstairs after Finn's rumbling stomach had me giggling too much to continue any kind of serious conversation.

"You know what I mean!" he laughed setting a bag of sugar on the island, "I know they're chicken babies. Or, I guess, could have been chicken babies. I just meant, how are you going to make these cookies without them?"

"Egg substitute!" I sang, shaking the carton at his as I closed the fridge. He raised an eyebrow, not looking very enthusiastic.

"Eggs in a carton?" He took it from me, bringing it up to his eye level and shaking it, "Um, yum."

"Do you want cookies or not, Finn?" I asked, planting my hands on my hips and trying not to get too offended. After all, I knew I loved a "meat and potatoes" man. He quickly set the carton of egg substitute down.

"I want cookies."

"That's what I thought," I laughed, leaning over to pull a mixing bowl out of one of the bottom cabinets, "Could you grab the flour? It's in the biggest canister by the stove."

"Got it," he answered, grabbing it. I smiled at him, then began to mix the ingredients in the bowl. Finn hummed as he helped me measure things out.

"Push it?" I asked, surprised, recognizing the tune.

"Push it real good," he sang as an answer, leaning forward to kiss me, grinning against my lips. I shook my head, laughing at the memory. I guess we gave Mr. Schue a shock at least.

"S-s-sexy?" Tina stuttered, sharing a look with Mercedes.

"Like an org-" Finn began, his milk chocolate eyes growing wide.

"Dear God, Finn, please don't finish that sentence," Kurt interrupted, pretending to shudder, "she's talking about expression. Expressing our heightened, teenage sense of sexual awareness."

"Oh, cool," Finn blushed, cutting his eyes down at me before looking away quickly.

"I have to admit," Artie cut in, straightening his glasses, "I think Rachel's onto something. Teenagers respond to sexy, and trust me, Artie Abrams knows sexy." He popped his suspenders with his thumbs.

"So what would we sing?" Mercedes asked with a shrug, "Mr. Schue made it pretty clear that he wanted us to sing "Le Freak."

"Y-yeah," Tina added, nodding, "And there's no way we could make "Le Freak" sexy. What will Mr. Schue think about us wanting to change songs?"

"He's not going to know," I answered happily, smiling up at Finn, "As for the song choice, I thought we could spice things up for our little group with a little 'salt' 'n' a little-"

"Peppa! Yeah, boy!" Artie finished, catching on. The others laughed at his enthusiasm nodding.

"Push it?" Mercedes guessed.

"Of course!" I clapped my hands together before waving one hand at Finn, "Would you care to help me demonstrate some choreography ideas, Finn?"

"Best. Moves. Ever." Finn interrupted with a grin, raising his eyebrows suggestively. I laughed at him, shaking my head.

"Oh, you think so?" I asked as he poured some egg substitute into a glass measuring cup.

"Oh yeah," he answered, pouring way more than the recipe called for, "that was the first time I ever got to see the, um, playful side of Rachel Berry. Is this right?" He finished, looking down at the measuring cup.

"Oh, it's just a bit too much," I said innocently, glancing up at him with a coy smile, "We'll have to get ride of some of it."

"Ah, man, I'm sorry, Rach," his shoulders slumped a little, "what are we going to do with it?" Without saying a word, I dipped my hand into the stuff before standing on tip-toe to press my hand to his cheek.

"Don't worry," I teased, "I'm sure we'll think of something." His eyes narrowed as a sly grin inched up his face.

"Flour power!" He yelled suddenly, tossing a handful of the stuff on top of my head. I laughed at his cheesy line, reaching for more of the eggy goop.

"Oh no you don't," Finn laughed, wrapping one arm around my waist and lifting me up and away from the island as he dipped his own hand into the measuring cup, "I've got you where I want you, Berry!" He wiped his hand across my cheek and ran it through my hair as I tried to squirm away, giggling.

"Ew, Finn!" I shrieked, slipping from his grasp. I grabbed a handful of flour and tossed it at him before making a run for it around the island. I grabbed the spray nozzle on the sink, turned on the faucet, and sprayed him. His deep laugh boomed through our kitchen, dancing with my own giggles as he threw more flour at me. I turned off the water and grabbed a kitchen towel, trying to pop him with it. I turned to run again, but he caught up with me in two seconds, turning me around and lifting me off the floor again.

"Surrender!" he demanded, his eyes twinkling.

"Never!" I yelled, laughing and trying to push away from him. He responded by hugging me closer to his chest, his face growing serious. I sobered quickly, mesmerized by the way he was looking at me, like I was the only thing in the world. It was like everything else had melted away in that one second, leaving nothing but the two of us, each tied to the other. Finn brushed his hand across my cheek, wiping up some of the mess. My eyes fluttered shut, the intensity of his gaze almost too much to bear.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered, cradling me against his body. I opened my eyes when he whispered those sweet words, brushing some of the goo off his face, too. It almost scared me, the strength of what I felt for Finn Hudson, the sheer depth of my love for his heart, his laugh, his mispronunciations. I wanted to ask for my ring right then and there, to agree to promise to share our lives together. Only a small thread of sanity kept me tied to reality, to logical thinking.

'We're too young,' I told myself as Finn set me on the floor, slowly, his arms still tight around my waist, 'even if we were to wait, what would people think about an engagement?' He pressed a sweet kiss to my temple, making me sigh.

Did I really care what people thought, anyway?

FINN POV

I have to admit, I was a little relieved as I hugged Rachel close to me, so close I could feel both of our hearts beating. We were still able to laugh, talk, and just, well, just be Finchel, even with my "yes/no" question hanging in the air. It wasn't too strained, it wasn't awkward…

It was just… us… natural. And she would never say "no." I brushed some flour from just above her lip, smiling.

"Hey, Rachel," I said quietly as she passed me in the nearly deserted hallway. She stopped and turned around, hugging her books to her chest. Her big, dark eyes weren't smiling like they usually were when she was talking to me. I was surprised just how much the difference scared me. This was my fault.

"Do you need something, Finn?" She asked, tossing her hair again. I sighed, still feeling guilty about leaving her alone in the auditorium. I rubbed the back of my neck.

"No, I just wanted to, um, say hi and stuff." Did that sound as stupid as I think it did? Yeah, probably.

"Well, hi and stuff," she replied, turning to walk away. I groaned and caught up with her, taking her arm.

"You're cool, Rachel," I said again. I didn't know what I was trying to say, what I wanted to get at, I just knew how much I hated seeing her walk away. She looked up at me, and shifted her books to one side, balancing them on her hip. She reached up and put her hand on my chest, over my heart. She held her hand there for a moment, and I rested mine on top of hers, waiting. She smiled a little, before letting her hand slowly fall.

"Excuse me," Quinn said, stepping between us, "What's going on here?"

"Nothing," Rachel said sadly, hugging her books to her chest again, "We were just discussing a new number to show Mr. Schue." Quinn just raised an eyebrow and took my hand. I tried the whole 'talking with my eyes' thing, so I could tell Rachel I was sorry, but I don't think I was able to pull it off.

"I'll see you in Glee, Finn," She said quietly, turning around and continuing down the hall. In that moment, more than anything, I wanted to drop the hand I was holding and run after her.

"I love you," Rachel whispered as my thumb smoothed across her lip. I smiled at the sound of her voice and leaned forward to brush a kiss to her nose.

"I love you more," I said, before pressing my lips to hers, putting a hand to her cheek as her lips parted…

Suddenly, the door bell rang, causing both of us to jump. We looked at each other, then at our mess in the kitchen.

"Hellooooo Finchel!" a sing-song voice called from the front door, "We come bearing delish French cuisine!"

"Kurt." Rachel and I said together with a laugh. I followed her to he entrance way, laughing at the way her now sticky hair stuck up in the back.

"Let us in, let us in, something something hair on Finn's chinny chin-chin!"

"We're coming, Kurt," Rachel laughed as she unlocked the door and opened it. He and Blaine were hand in hand on the front porch, both carrying brown paper bags.

"My God." Kurt said when he took in our appearance, "What in Chenoweth's name happened to you?"

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I'll try to have chapter 4 up ASAP!

Please, please, please Review!Love!