Title: The Story of Us
Pairing: Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in here.
Summary: AU. She couldn't remember a time when she didn't have her best friends around. And that is because they were always there. Years together of laughter, tears, secrets, fights and love. It was great story. Their story. Faberry, side Brittana.
A/N: Ooops, I'm late. I don't really know what happened, I mean, I had this chapter done for a month now, so it was really just my lazy ass the problem here. Sorry about that. Well, anyway, you already know what Rachel's problem is and I should probably warn you that it won't get better anytime soon. Poor Rachel, I'm such a bitch to her. ): Reviews are always appreciated, thanks for reading.
Chapter 4 ― Elementary School
"Oh, look!" Brittany grinned. "Holly Thanksgiving is here."
Rachel groaned and rolled her eyes. It had been over a year of unsuccessful attempts and she was done with it. Brittney could call their ridiculous named teacher whatever she wanted, she didn't care anymore.
Quinn chucked beside her. "I think it's cute, Rach."
"Well, I don't."
"She is at least saying actual Holidays now." The blonde shrugged. "And Ms. Holiday loves when Brittany calls her that, so, stop worrying."
Sighing, Rachel shook her head. "I can't believe we'll have class with her another year," she said while observing Holly enter the room wearing her creepy smile and one of her weird shirts. "How can someone let this woman teach children? Wait, no, who let her be a teacher in the first place?"
Santana, who was sitting behind them, huffed. "I don't give a fuck."
"Santana, language!"
The Latina ignored her and threw another paper ball at Finn, who was sitting a few chairs ahead. Apparently, his mother forgot to take him to have his hair cut, so it now was a terrible mess on the top of his head. Santana was delighted when she found out that her paper balls simply disappeared in the middle of his hair, so she'd been throwing then for the last fifteen minutes. Mrs. Hudson would not be amused.
"So, Rach," Quinn called. "You'll be coming over today, right?"
The tiny brunette nodded. "But I have to be home by seven. Daddy is coming home this weekend and I have to help Dad clean the house."
Quinn frowned. "Your Daddy is coming home? I thought he wasn't coming this month anymore."
"He wasn't, but apparently some friend of his will work for him this weekend so he can visit us," Rachel said and shrugged. "I don't understand, really. But, I mean, he is coming, so, it doesn't matter."
Rachel looked down to hide her confused eyes from the blonde, but Quinn knew her too well. Looking around the class, she saw that no one was looking their way, so she leaned closer to the brunette.
"You don't look too happy, Rachel," she whispered. "What's wrong?"
"I am happy." Rachel looked up so she could stare at hazel warm eyes. "It's just… Daddy didn't come last mouth and Dad is pissed. He keeps saying that Daddy doesn't care anymore and I heard them fighting over the phone once." She leaned closer so only the blonde could hear her. "He said… he said that Daddy is seeing someone else."
Quinn's hazel eyes widened.
"You mean, like, cheating?" Quinn whispered.
Rachel nodded softly. "Yeah. He kept screaming and I'm scared of what will happen when Daddy gets here."
Holly picked that moment to clap her hands and call everyone's attention. Quinn reached out and took one of Rachel's hands, holding it while she turned to look at their teacher, who was grinning in the front of the class.
"Alright, kids!" Holly exclaimed and winked at Brittany. "How about we learn some of our Holidays today?"
Rachel sighed.
"Oh, God, no."
Frannie entered Quinn's room to find her little sister and her best friend lying on the floor. They were flipping through one of Judy's gossip magazine, both looking at the articles with adorable curious eyes. She chuckled when Rachel let out a dramatic gasp and pointed to something while Quinn nodded with her 'I know, right?' expression in place.
"What are you doing?" she asked and watched in amusement while both girls tried to hide the magazine.
Quinn ended up sitting on it while Rachel smiled her best innocent smile.
"Hi, Frannie!" they said at the same time.
The older girl ignored it and stepped into the room.
"Where did you get that?"
"Get what?" Quinn asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Yes, Frannie, what are you talking about?" Rachel added.
She ignored them again and extended one hand, waiting. Both girls dropped the innocent act and reluctantly gave her the gossip magazine they had been reading only minutes before.
"In our defense," Rachel said. "She left it in the bathroom. It was practically begging to be grabbed."
Quinn nodded, agreeing.
Frannie rolled her eyes and chuckled again. "I am sure it was, Little Monkey. Now, come on, your father is here to pick you up." She offered one hand to Rachel, who hesitated in taking it. "Hmmm, is everything okay, Rachel?"
Rachel looked at Quinn with big fearful eyes before tackling her blonde best friend, hugging her so tightly that she stopped breathing for a moment. She pecked the blonde's cheek before letting go, leaving a stunned Quinn Fabray lying on the floor.
"I'll see you Monday, Quinn," she said with a sad smile before taking Frannie's hand. Turning to look at the confused older girl, she nodded. "We can go now, Fran."
They exited the room and descended the stairs quickly. Hiram was waiting by the front door with Russell. The former scowling and basically ignoring the later, his arms crossed over his black suit clad chest.
"Oh, there you are," Hiram grumbled and took Rachel's little hand from Frannie, who frowned. "Couldn't you be any faster, Rachel? You know we have a lot to do and I want the house perfect for tomorrow."
Russell narrowed his hazel eyes. "Tomorrow?"
Hiram looked at the other man with a blank face. "Yes," was his only answer. "We have to go now, Fabray. Always nice seeing you." He nodded once and started dragging his daughter in the direction of his red car.
Rachel looked over her shoulder and waved goodbye before disappearing inside her father's car.
Frannie was still frowning. "What the hell was that?"
"I don't know, Fran," Russell grumbled. "But I don't like it."
Leroy arrived the next morning.
Rachel was sitting at the kitchen table, eating her cereal, when she heard the front door open. Her Dad, who was sitting in front of her with his coffee, tensed and looked at the entry of the small kitchen of the Berry residence, waiting for his husband.
The sound of footsteps coming closer made her heart race and she had to fight to stay seated. She hadn't seen her Daddy for almost two months now, and even though she was mad at him for taking too long to come home, she couldn't help but miss him.
"I'm home," he shouted from the corridor, his strong voice echoing around the house.
She couldn't wait anymore. Jumping from her chair, she ran out of the kitchen and around the corner, finding her father standing there. He was so tall and muscular and his tired smile still lightened the whole room.
"Princess!"
"Daddy!"
He bent down and scooped her in his arms, hugging her tightly. Rachel grabbed his white shirt with both hands and pulled him closer, burying her head on his neck. Her father's hug was so familiar, but it felt different at the same time. It was still his arms around her, but something else had changed. Was it his cologne? Or the way he held her, maybe?
They were so immersed in each other that they didn't notice Hiram enter the room. The smaller man stayed quiet, just looking father and daughter hug in the middle of the corridor. He felt his eyes start tearing up because he missed that scene so much. It used to happen all the time, Leroy used to hug their little girl at least three times a day because he adored having Rachel in his arms. And, now, when was the last time he had hugged her? Two months ago? When was the last time he had hugged him? One year ago?
"You look so beautiful, princess," Leroy said to his beaming child. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you, too, Daddy." Rachel fisted his shirt and hugged him again. She wasn't ready to let him go yet, not after two months without seeing him. "Why did you take so long?"
Leroy sighed. "I was working, Rachel."
"I know," Rachel replied with hurt in her sweet voice. "That's the only thing you do, right?"
Suddenly, she didn't feel like hugging him anymore. Letting his shirt go, she struggled until her father put her back on her small feet.
Leroy looked upset. "Hey, that is not fair, princess…"
"No, Daddy, you know what is not fair?" Her eyes were shinning with unshed tears. "What is not fair is that you work so much that you don't have time for me and Dad. What is not fair is that I only get to see you once a month now, Father. Because you are too busy working. That is not fair, Father."
And, than, she gave her best storm out because she wanted her father to see that what he was doing wasn't acceptable, that he couldn't just leave his ten years old daughter behind and expect her to be okay with it. She passed her Dad without looking at him and ran out of the house, leaving her fathers alone inside.
She didn't stay to see the big fight that took place in that corridor only minutes later, the same fight that would later result in the divorce of the two men. While they threw insults and accusations at each other, their tiny daughter ran two blocks and ended up in front of the Pierce house.
Knocking, she waited until a sleepily Brittany opened the door. The blonde didn't know what was wrong because Rachel was just crying and saying random words like 'father' and 'hospital' and 'Boston'. But she didn't need to understand what was happening, she just hugged her littler brunette friend and brought her inside.
One hour later, Rachel found herself lying on Brittany's bed with her, Quinn and Santana beside her. That was when she told her other two friends her family situation and the other girls cuddled with her while watching cartoons, no one saying anything.
"We are here for you, Tiny," Santana whispered against her ear hours later. "We'll protect you."
And Rachel believed her.
After that month, Rachel only saw her father four more times that year. He would come back and pass some time with her, they would watch musicals and talk and cook, but Rachel could feel he didn't really want to be there.
Hiram was always travelling when Leroy was home.
The next year, Leroy visited seven times.
The next, only three. He sent her Christmas present through the mail that year because he wouldn't be able to make it. Not that that was any surprise; he hadn't been able to make it the prior year either.
And after three years, he just stopped coming home.
"Are you sure about this, Tiny?" Santana asked for the fifth time that afternoon. "I know you trust them and all, but this is your family, you know? It's okay if you don't want to tell anyone else."
Rachel sighed and shook her head. Quinn was seating not so far with Brittany by her side. Both blondes were talking to Frannie, but she could feel her hazel eyes on her.
"I want to do it, Santana," Rachel assured her Latina friend. "They have been taking care of me for more them a year now, I trust them. I feel like they need to know what is going on."
Santana still wasn't convinced, but it wasn't her problem to tell. Rachel was the one that needed to know what to do and it looked like she'd decided.
After Rachel told her about her parents, the Latina was so furious, but she kept it all inside in order to be there for her tiny friend. Rachel needed her more than she needed to beat the crap out of her dads. Not that she thought she really could. Leroy was, like, scarily tall. But that didn't mean she couldn't want to do it.
She had always seen Rachel like her little annoying sister. They'd known each other since they were six and she fought all those years to keep her safe from everybody, but she would have never imagined that it would be her own fathers who would hurt her the most. It made her angry at them and she would be lying if she told she wasn't a little bit hurt. It took so long for Rachel to tell her what was happening and she couldn't help but feel like the little diva didn't really trust her.
Yeah, she was ten and already a bitch, but she loved Rachel with all her heart.
So, no, she didn't want her to tell the Fabray family what was going on because she wanted to keep Rachel safe herself. The Latina wanted to show her that she could protect her, that she didn't need to tell any adult because she would take care of everything.
But she also knew that it wasn't true. Rachel needed the support of an adult right now, because the people who were supposed to be taking care of her were too busy running away from her.
"Okay," she finally relented.
Rachel smiled softly and leaned forward to peck her fierce friend's cheek. It was such a sweet and delicate gesture that Santana felt her cheeks getting warmer, but her tanned skin hid her blush well.
Like she knew what was running through the Latina's head, Rachel whispered, "I love you, San."
"I love you, too, Tiny."
Smiling, she placed her head on the Latina's shoulder and stayed like that until Russell came home from work.
"You wanted to talk to us, sweetheart?" Judy asked.
They were all seated in the living room. Rachel was sitting between Quinn and Santana with Brittany sitting beside the later while Russell, Judy and Frannie were sitting on the bigger couch, looking at them with curious faces.
"Yeah, I did," Rachel answered.
Taking one deep breath, Rachel opened her mouth and talked.
She told them everything, from how it started until her father's last visit. She told them how she'd found Hiram crying when she got home, the way he was just sitting in the middle of the corridor and didn't even look at her when she stopped in front of him. How, now, one week later, he would pick her up and take her home, but he wouldn't talk to her.
Santana scowled the whole time, Quinn held her hand, rubbing circles in the back of it with her thumb and Brittany listened to everything with a sad face, her blue eyes shining with unshed tears.
Judy was the first one to react when she finished. The blonde mother stood up and took her in her arms. Rachel felt like crying all over again because it felt so good to be hugged like that. She'd never had a mother figure her entire life and she always thought she didn't need one, but that was a lie. She found out at that moment that a mother's hug was the best remedy to every kind of pain. It was just pure magic.
"Oh, baby," Judy whispered against her hair. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of it."
"Little Monkey…"
Rachel looked over Judy's shoulder to find Frannie there. Her blue eyes were sad, but she had a small smile on her lips.
"If they don't want you anymore, I'll just adopt you, okay?"
"Oh, my― Frannie!"
"What? I will!"
The little diva was startled when another pair of arms took her away from Judy. Russell practically smashed her against his chest and she felt herself relax again, breathing in the cologne that she now knew better than her own father's.
"It's going to be okay, Rachel," he said to the girl that he already saw like one of his children. "You are going to be okay."
She looked up at him and smiled. Beside her, Judy was still chastising Frannie for been so insensitive. Looking at the couch, she found her three best friends staring at her with concerned eyes and she finally felt complete after a long time.
"I know."