Hope you guys enjoy!

~Vikki3775


The next morning, Finn and Rachel were in their room getting ready for the activities for the day-well, Rachel was getting ready. Finn was too busy listening to the super exasperated voice of his best friend as it careened into his ear through his cell phone.

He started fiddling with the bed's sheets as he sighed. "Puck-"

"No, don't get all sighy with me, idiot," he snapped. "Just tell me why you and Berry thought it was a good idea to join some ridiculous game show just two months before my wedding; the wedding that you guys are in charge of?"

Finn rolled his eyes. "Dude, you're totally acting like a bridezilla here. It's only two months."

"Do you realize how suspicious Quinn's been? I don't think you know what happens when she starts questioning things."

Finn rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know-"

"No sex," they answered in unison.

"Just tell me what's going on," he demanded.

Exhaling a breath, Finn glanced around the room before pressing his phone closer to his ear. "Look,... Rachel and I aren't doing this competition for for just anything. The prize is four hundred grand. Rachel and I agreed to split it once this thing is over. All we have to do is pretend to be a convincing couple for two months while playing these corny games and we'll get the cash."

"And what happens if you aren't a convincing couple?" Closing his eyes, Finn swallowed hard and shook his head. He doesn't even want to think about that.

"Look, we're gonna win. Don't worry about it," he said rather hastily.

"I still think there's something else you're not telling me, man," he heard him say. "You may be good with Berry now, but there's no way in hell you can last anymore than a week with her. I know you, and you don't enter some lovey-dovey competition just for the money."

"What?" His eyes widened and he looked around the room cautiously as if the brunette could hear the conversation. "Dude, if you're implying that I like Rachel-"

"I'm not saying that you do," he interrupted. "I'm just wondering what else you could be doing this for. Are you trying to bang her? Because if you are, then i'm gonna have to kick your ass." As Puck was speaking, Finn couldn't help but let his eyes wander towards the brunette, who seemed to be wrapped in a white towel, having just stepped out of the shower. The steam circling around her kept him entrapped, his eyes following a trail of water as it slowly slid down the cleavage of her chest. He gulped hard.

"Uh, hello?"

"Huh, what?" He turned his head from her immediately and shook his head.

"Dude, you totally blanked out on me for a second."

He frowned and closed his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, sorry man. I was...distracted." At this, he caught the brunette look at him in confusion and he pointed at the phone, mouthing, "Puck".

"Yo, I can't wait to tell Mama Hudson-"

"Wait, what?!" His eyes widened. 'No, no, no, no, dude, you can't tell her. She'd totally freak out."

"Why shouldn't I? She'll find out eventually when she turns on that old fifty-niner in her house."

He sighed and ran a hand over his face as he said, "Just...don't tell her, okay? I'll tell her when I get the chance. And be easy telling the news to Quinn, please? I-I don't want her to worry about it."

Puck snickered. "Trust me, Hud, I think I know who I proposed to. There's no way in hell she's letting this go."

Inside, Finn groaned. Great. Just another thing to worry about. "Alright, man, talk to you later," he said.

"See ya, dude." Placing the phone down, he looked at the bathroom door where Rachel was, only to find it closed.

Standing up, he sighed and put his hands in his dress pant pockets before leaning against the wall next to the bathroom door. After a minute of just standing there, he knocked.

"Rachel, could you hurry up? I've still got to do my hair and we've got to be downstairs in two…" His sentence drifted off when the door suddenly opened and Rachel walked into the room, wearing a beautiful flowy red dress with matching colored heels, her hair curled loosely. He blinked at her, his mouth slightly opened.

She grinned up at him. "Ready." After a moment of just watching him stare at her, she snapped her fingers in his face to get his attention.

"Uh, Finn?" She snapped again. "Hello?"

Finn blinked for a moment before nodding tensely, his lips in a straight line as he said, "Let's go." And with that, he walked briskly out of the room, leaving the brunette very confused. Frowning at his retreating figure, she pickEd something up off of the floor before chasing after him.

"Finn, you forgot your shoes!"


Brittany sighed happily as she sat down at the dining room table. "Well, I hope you are all enjoying your breakfast," she said. "Once we finish eating we will then move on to the first game of the competition."

From his seat, Kurt rose his petite hand. "Um, may I ask what it is we're doing exactly?"

"During this competition, you and your significant other will challenged mentally, physically and emotionally," she revealed. "Today is the mental part of the competition. Each of you will be pulled aside and asked a few questions about yourself that you will answer. After that, we will all meet in the ballroom, where your significant other will answer the exact same questions. Whoever has the most questions correct wins the round," she exclaimed smoothly.

"Well, what happens if you have the least correct?" Emma asked.

The girl found this funny and giggled. "Let's just hope that doesn't happen, okay?" The table got silent after that, and the once excited aura around the table turned into one of panic and fear.

Oblivious, the blonde beamed. "Okay! First person up,...Blaine!" Finn watched as Blaine's face turned completely pale, before slowly getting up and following her out of the room.

After everyone answered their questions, it was time for them to head towards the ballroom. He figures that's why they wanted them to dress up. He was searching his thoughts for every possible thing he knows about Rachel when a soft hand grabbing his caught his attention.

He caught the brunette's gaze immediately and she smiled understandingly at him, almost as if she knew what he was thinking.

"You'll do fine, Finn," she said quietly, yet soothingly as they entered the ballroom. She squeezed his hand softly and smiled. "I believe in you."

He grinned lopsidedly at her and nodded. It's too bad his thoughts aren't the same.

The ballroom was quite big. It sort of reminded him of the room in that movie Beauty and the Beast. They were walking on a large marble floor, cleaned to perfection with a grand chandelier that had to be at least three times the size of the one he saw in the entryway of the mansion on the ceiling. Four love seats were placed in a horizontal line, facing a burgundy podium where Brittany stood, examining some index cards. Behind each each couch held some fort of partition, while a large flat screen on wheels stood right next to the podium. Finn didn't know what the electronic device would be used for but he figured it would be revealed later on in the competition. He felt Rachel gently tug one of his arms towards one of the love seats and they sat down.

He watched as Karofsky and Santana came in, their expressions awe-filled.

"Yo, what the fuck…." the buff man muttered, craning his neck to look at the architecture of the ceilings. As soon as they were seated, Finn could see the cameramen come closer to them, each camera focused on a couple.

"Hello guys, and welcome to the ballroom!" Brittany smiled. "For this segment we will be playing a game called, "#TheMoreYouKnow". Each of you will be separated with your significant other and one of you will have to answer a set of questions about the other." She gestured towards the television. "Then, this screen will reveal what your partners had to say, and we'll get to see which couple knows the most about each other. The couple with the highest score, wins!"

Finn nodded and frowned determinedly. I got this.

"First one up,...Finchel!" She clapped eagerly and At this, Finn's heart immediately dropped in his chest. They're gonna lose. It's over.

"Rachel, can you please move behind that partition?" She asked, pointing to the purple curtain behind them. The petite brunette smiled easily and obeyed as Brittany got her cards together.

Her blue eyes set on him and she smiled. "Okay, Finn, are you ready?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Okay." She started shuffling some cards as she said, "I'm going to start easy and gradually ask harder questions each round." She finally chose a card and set her eyes on him. "Okay, question one: What is Rachel's favorite color?"

Relaxing in his seat, Finn grinned. "Oh, that's easy. Pink." If he had a nickel for every time he heard her mention or wear something pink, he'd probably own a mansion similar to this one. It's cute when she does it, though, he thought. Almost immediately, he pushed the thought away.

"Let's see what she has to say." Everyone turned their attention to the television screen, as it revealed his so-called "fiance".

"Hi," she greeted with a smile, waving. "I would say, out of all of the colors on the color wheel, my favorite color would be pink." When the screen turned off, Brittany turned back around and smiled.

"Correct! That gives you and Rachel ten points, good job! Rachel, you can come from behind the partition now." With that, Rachel returned back to to her seat, beaming and she squeezed his arm happily.

"Next, is Santana! Karofsky, can you stand behind that partition please?" she asked, not breaking her gaze from the grinning Latina.

He shrugged and got up. "Sure, whatever." Santana slapped his arm.

"Have a little more excitement, will ya?" She snapped. Rolling his eyes, he mumbled something under his breath before going behind the curtain.

"Alright, Santana, here's your first question: What is David's full name?

She opened her mouth to speak, "Uh..." She drawled. "Fuck. Uh, David Shane Karofsky?" A second later, the screen turned on and Karofsky appeared.

He looked at the person behind the camera. "You want me to give my answer now?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay." he said. "My full name is David Brian Karofsky. Why my parents decided on such a stupid ass middle name, I don't know." Once the screen turned off, the Latina winced and rubbed the back of her neck as her boyfriend revealed himself from the partition.

He glared at her. "Seriously, Santana? Shane. What kind of idiot would name their kid Shane?"

Blaine rose his hand, "Actually, a lot of people have-"

"No one asked you, hobbit," he snapped.

Brittany's eyes widened. "Okay, Karofsky, i'm going to need you to sit down." Rolling his eyes, he complied.

She smiled again. "Alright! Next up: Emma!" As Will moved to the back of the partition, Finn turned to look at Rachel and found her biting her lip, something she does when she's anxious. Almost as if he knew what she needed, he went to grab her hand, gently squeezing it. At the action, she looked up at him with a grateful expression.

"Thanks," she mouthed. He gave her a lopsided grin and nodded before turning his attention back to the older couple.

"I would have to say Will's favorite musical is "Singing in the Rain." He always asks me to play it whenever he's sick," she answered sweetly.

"I sang in the rain once. I got cursed out by a homeless man and almost got jumped in an alley, but I had fun!" The host added suddenly. An awkward silence filled the air. She cleared her throat and smiled. "Anyways, let's see what his answer was."

"Gosh, that's such a hard question," Will said on the screen, laughing. "But no musical beats 'Singing in the Rain. It will forever be my favorite."

"Ten points for you, Emma!" Brittany smiled. As Will happily walked back to his seat, she addressed the last couple. "Okay, guys, you're next. Blaine, would you go behind that partition, please?"

He smiled and stood up. "Of course."

"Alright, Kurt," she asked after a moment. "Here's your question: What is Blaine's favorite fashion accessory?"

"His bow tie," he answered immediately. "The kid can't live without it. Once I tried to steal his holiday themed one from him, he didn't talk to me for two days." Everyone but karofsky laughed at this.

A minute later, Blaine appeared on the screen, smiling. "My bowties. Simple. Nothing goes in between me and my bowties," he explained, his face suddenly solemn. "And I mean, nothing."

"Correct!" Brittany cheered, clapping. "Okay, now for the next for rounds you will be switching with your partners and answering harder questions. Rachel, you're up."

As Finn went behind the curtain, Rachel fiddled with the skirt of her dress as she waited for the question.

"Name one nickname Finn was given as a child."

She laughed at this. "Wow, that's a good one. He actually has a lot of nicknames," she responded happily. "Finnegan, Huddy, Hud, Hudson, Frankenteen-though in my opinion seems a little mean-"

"Just one, sweetie," the blonde cut off nicely. Slightly taken aback, Rachel nodded slowly.

"Um, well, there's one nickname that I absolutely love, but don't think he'll like it if I share."She grinned mischievously.

"Go ahead," the host encouraged with excited eyes. "It can't be that bad."

She bit her lip and smiled. "His family members like to call him "Finny bear," because they think he's soft and cuddly like a Teddy bear. To be honest, I think so too," she added, winking at the camera for good measure. Everyone laughed at this.

After a while of laughing her behind off, Brittany wiped her eyes with her hand. "Woo, okay, now let's see his answer."

"Do I have to say it?" Finn said uncomfortably on the screen. Rachel could see the blush start to form on his cheeks as he muttered, "Finny bear," very quickly. The room burst with laughter again as Finn appeared from behind the curtain, the same blush on his cheeks as on the screen.

"Aww, it's okay, sweetie," Rachel cooed as he sat down next to her. "You'll always be my teddy bear." His cheeks got redder when she reached up to kiss his cheek.

"Karofsky, you're up!" The buff guy sighed and faced her in his seat.

"Name the High School Santana Attended."

"Are you serious right now?" He muttered exasperatedly to himself while running a hand through his hair. "I-I don't know, some roman catholic school?" He answered weakly.

"I know he's gonna get this answer wrong," the Latina stated on the screen while she shrugged. "I attended Tribeca Prep, an all girls school."

"Well, Tribeca's kind of a catholic school. Right?" He said weakly as his girlfriend walked back to her seat.

She hit him at the back of the head. "No, idiot."

"Will, you're next!"

"Oh, boy…" Will said, rubbing his hands together.

"What was the name of Emma's first boyfriend?"

At the memory, the older man rolled his eyes. "Ugh, his name was Ken. Ken Tanaka. I still don't know what she saw in him."

"Hey!" The redhead's voice protested from behind the curtain.

Brittany showed Emma's answer on the screen and Will was in fact-

"Correct!" She declared.

"He wasn't that bad," Emma debated as she took a seat. "You just hated him because he was my first boyfriend." Her husband shook his head and chuckled.

"Sure, Emma."

"Blaine: "Who is Kurt's overall favorite fashion designer?" Brittany asked.

"Geez, that's a hard one." He bit his lip. "Uh, Vera Wang?"

"Being an editor in chief for Vogue, I have a lot of favorite designers. But if I had to choose my absolute favorite designer it would be Marc Jacobs," Kurt responded on the screen. "His sweaters are to die for."

"I'm sorry, Blaine, but that was incorrect," said Brittany sympathetically.

He shrugged simply."It's alright. It was a hard question anyways."

As time went on and more questions were asked, Finn found himself feeling more and more stressed out. The questions became more and more detailed, and sometimes went as far as childhood memories. Thank goodness he and Rachel grew up together, because otherwise he'd be in deep shit.

It was the final round of the game and he and Rachel were surprisingly in the lead. He could see the look of surprise start to show on the brunette's face beside him that he could only guess he's wearing himself

"Alright, Finn. Your last question for the game. Are you ready?" Brittany asked.

Finn let out a sigh. "As I'll ever be."

"Okay...What is Rachel's worst fear?"

Finn frowned to himself. Damn. He was stumped. How can one know the overall fear of a girl that's literally afraid of everything? He immediately started to search his brain. Let's see, spiders, ghosts, losing her voice…

Wait. He's got a good one.

It's moments like these where the bartender realizes how alike they really are. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Being unsuccessful," he said finally. "Rachel's never been the one to just settle for whatever life throws at her. She always wants more. She's sure of where she wants to go in life…" he frowned to himself. "...she just doesn't know how to get there." He exclaimed softly. "And, I don't know...I guess it kind of scares her." A moment of silence filled the ballroom as his explanation hung in the air. He could feel everyone's eyes on him and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Uh, is that...is that it?"

"Let's see," the blonde said softly. Then, in an instant he saw Rachel on the screen, frowning at her lap.

"Failing at life," she said after a moment. She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "I-I know life isn't set in stone, but...you can't help but wonder what the future will be like...if those dreams you once had as a kid will actually come true." She finally made eye contact with the camera, her brown orbs swirling with emotion. "It's my fear everyday."

"Wow…" Brittany whispered to herself once the TV turned off. "Never have we had such an accurate answer for such a hard question. I thought you were gonna say that she was afraid of ghosts of something."

"That's my second fear," Rachel said as she revealed herself from the curtain and sat down. "But it's nothing like a life long fear, right?" She explained weakly, chuckling slightly. At the wounded look in her eyes, Finn wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her forehead.

The rest of the game went by smoothly, and Finn and Rachel won first place with 110 points, Will and Emma with 80, Kurt and Blaine with sixty and Santana and with 20.

As they got up to leave, they were stopped by a smiling Brittany. "Congrats Finn and Rachel! You are now in the lead. How do you feel?"

"Really great," Rachel said honestly. "As long as we keep this streak going, nothing can stop us." Her eyes shimmered with confidence, something that surprised Finn. It was a nice look on her.

Brittany sighed happily and looked at the rest of the contestants. "Now, since today was the first of many rounds in the competition, you will be granted a free day tomorrow." Excited chatter could already be heard as everyone started to voice their plans.

She smiled. "Now, the next challenge won't be until Monday, so relax, have fun, and remember: the games only get harder from here."


A comfortable silence surrounded the suite as Finn and Rachel got ready for bed that night.

"I'm surprised we won today," Rachel said as she brushed her hair in front of the bathroom mirror. "I thought out of all people, Will and Emma would win."

From his place on the bed, Finn sighed and reclined on his pillows. "Yeah, me too. But I guess it doesn't matter how many years you're married with a person when it comes to what you know about them."

Finished with her hair, Rachel turned off the bathroom light and walked into the room towards her bed. "Speaking of surprises, I was surprised by your memory skills today," she said.

He smirked at her as she climbed onto the bed. "Why, because i'm so dumb that I can't retain any information?" He asked.

"No," she said immediately with a shake of her head. "I-I just gave you a lot of information to remember. I wasn't sure if you read it or not." She looked down at her lap bashfully. It was silent for awhile...so silent that the tension coming from the big elephant in the room was just screaming to be addressed.

"Thanks," she suddenly said. Finn had to lean in slightly, for she spoke so soft.

"Huh?"

"Not a lot of people understand me," she clarified, looking up at him. "But you do. You understand." Blush formed on her cheeks at the admission, causing him to grin. Another moment of silence filled the air.

"You and I...we aren't as different as you think, munchkin," he whispered after a while. He shrugged. "I mean, get scared too sometimes. I don't want to work as a bartender for the rest of my life. That's like, the ultimate loser status," he sighed and looked up at the ceiling helplessly. "The thing is,... I just don't know what I want, you know?" Rachel nodded silently at this, her eyes understanding. That's almost exactly how she feels. She doesn't want to be stuck as a diner girl or a miserable voice coach that trains spoiled little kids. She wants more.

He sighed as he lay on his pillow, still looking up at the mirror covered ceiling. "And my mom...she believes in me so much. I don't want to disappoint her."

The brunette's heart sunk at the dejected look on his face and he gently touched his arm. "Finn." He turned his head to look at her. "Your mom loves you," she said softly. "Matter of fact, she adores you. Whatever career choice you choose, I'm pretty sure she'll be right behind you."

A smirk appeared on his lips. "So if I wanted to be a stripper…"

"Okay, not literally." She rolled her eyes with a grin and he chuckled softly at her. All these years she's never known he felt the same. They probably could've had more moments like these in the past if they took the time to talk to each other instead of arguing all of the time.

Comfortable silence filled the air until the she scoffed. "At least you have support. I'd do anything to be in your position right now."

Finn turned his head to look at her, his eyes soft. "Still haven't heard anything from your dads?"

She shook her head and crossed her arms. "No," she said, sighing deeply. "And i'm guess they would've reached out to me by now if they cared, so…" At her response, Finn sighed disappointedly. It's been ten years since Rachel's talked to her fathers last. Growing up, Rachel's always wanted to reach for the stars. Both being doctors, Leroy and Hiram's thought different. They filled her innocent little mind with the dream they wished for her, the dream of working in the medical field. It wasn't until the day that she finally told them of her true passion that things started to turn out for the worst, resulting in Rachel stranded in New York with no job, no place to live, and zero education. He remembers how many years she stayed with Quinn until she was able to get back on her feet.

"Well, I think you did a good job today," he said in attempt to brighten the mood. "Actress, Rachel Berry's totally gonna take Broadway by storm." He nudged her shoulder gently and she giggled.

"I don't know about that," she said bashfully looking down at her lap.

"All i'm saying is, people would be dumb not to want you now. I mean, you're on a tv show for fucks sake. That's got to mean something, right?" She looked up at him and smiled.

"I guess it does. Thanks, Finn," she said. "That was actually really nice." As he made eye contact, he found himself almost getting lost in her brown orbs one again.

He looked away and smirked. "Yeah, but don't get too comfortable. I still don't like you."

"Surrree," she drawled out with a smile, rolling her eyes as she got under the covers. Finn reached over to turn the light off.

"Goodnight, Finn."

"Night, Rachel."


A lot of things annoy him in the morning. Alarms clocks, early morning call times, just about anything that makes a sound. He's been known to be cranky in the morning for these reasons alone. So you could only guess his surprise when a beautiful voice coming from the bathroom wakes him up and actually makes him happy.

"Oh my man I love him sooo...he'll never know!"

He halted in his spot under the covers and cracked one eye open to scope out his surroundings. Was there a radio on or something? Slowly, he got up and walked towards the slightly opened bathroom door. Moving his ear closer to the sound, he was pleasantly surprised by what he heard.

It was Rachel.

Rachel was in the shower; singing.

I know what you're thinking, "You mean to tell me you've grown up with this girl for twenty years and you haven't heard her sing once?" The thing is, he has. When he was in middle school, his mom always made him go to her concerts and plays. It wasn't until freshman year in highschool that she finally gave in and granted him freedom. It's been years since he's last heard her voice. He knew it sounded great, but he never heard it like that. It sort of confused him that she hadn't gotten a part on broadway yet.

He could hear the sound of the shower turn off and he scrambled around to find a position less stalkerish. He leaned against the wall adjacent to the door and crossed his arms nonchalantly as he waited for her. Two minutes later, she stepped outside, her hair and body both wrapped up in a towel.

"You're voice sounded cool in there." She jumped in surprise at the sound of his voice and he laughed.

Turning around, Rachel took a deep breath and placed a hand on her heart, her eyes wide. "Geez, Finn, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" She huffed.

He shrugged and grinned lopsidedly. "Nope. Just trying to get ready."

She nodded slowly, her eyes still alert. "Well...you are now free to use the bathroom." He turned around and started to walk into the bathroom when she spoke again.

"And...thanks."

He turned around and smirked at her through the slightly closed door. "You're welcome."


"Cannon ball!" Karofsky held himself in fetal position as he plummeted into the cool, comforting waters of the underground swimming pool. From their seats on the patio, Blaine and Finn laughed as Santana repeatedly hit her boyfriend with a pool noodle for getting her wet.

Blaine sighed and leaned back in his chair. "This is nice. I haven't relaxed this much since Kurt and I's honeymoon."

Finn smiled at his friend. "Hey, you never told me how you guys met," he said.

Blaine smiled at this. "We went to highschool together. Well, Kurt transferred to my school around junior year. There were some problems at his old school."

"Let me guess, bullying?" Finn asked. The hair gelled man nodded, his eyes questioning.

"Yeah. H-How'd you know that?"

"My brother went through the same thing," he clarified. Blaine nodded.

"Kurt'll probably kill me if I tell you before him, so I should probably stop while i'm at it." They laughed. A minute later, Blaine checked the time on his watch his watch.

"Gosh, what is taking them so long?" Finn said impatiently.

Blaine sighed deeply and shook his head. "This is honestly nothing new to me. Kurt's probably upstairs critiquing Rachel's clothes right now."

A few very frustrating minutes later, they turned their heads towards the glass patio door when they heard it slide open. Out walked Kurt first, who wore Michael Kors shorts and flip-flops with a top.

"Ridiculous," Blaine stated exasperatedly. Finn couldn't hear the rest, for his focus was on something else.

Or rather someone else.

Walking out of the house happily, Rachel stood in the middle of the pool deck with a pastel pink string bikini. From his seat, Finn gulped. What the happened to the polka-dot one-piece?

At their appearance Blaine nodded and grinned knowingly. "Yep. Just like I thought. Your fiance's wearing a bathing suit from Kurt's collection." Finn just nodded.

Suddenly, he perked up. "Ooh! I've got an idea!" He leaned over to Finn and whispered something in his ear.

"I honestly don't understand why you thought that travesty of a bathing suit was acceptable," Kurt exclaimed from the poolside with a shake of his head. "Had I not had a backup, you would've been stuck wearing it."

Rachel rolled her eyes and smiled. "It's not that bad, Kurt. Otherwise, I wouldn't have packed it."

"Yeah, well-" his sentence was cut off when he was lifted suddenly by his semi-strong husband and tossed into the pool with him. Rachel barely had time to process what happened before she too was lifted bridal-style and carried into the pool. The cool feeling of water hit her like a ton of bricks and she had to register what was happening first before she swam up to the surface.

As soon as oxygen filled her lungs again, she focused her attention on her "fiance," who seemed to be laughing his butt off.

"Blaine Anderson!" She took a glance at Kurt who seemed to not be amused at all as he stood drenched in the five foot pool of water. His husband laughed at his now disheveled appearance while he glared at him.

Kurt pointed a finger accusingly at his spouse. "You're lucky we're on this show. Otherwise, there'd be hell to pay, you hear me? Hell." As Kurt marched up the pool steps and back to his previous place, Blaine turned towards finn Finn, mouthing the word, "yikes" with a cringe before following him. Finn shook his head and chuckled before turning towards his current situation: a fuming Rachel.

Her petite form stood before him with crossed arms as she stared him down...or stared him up, to be more accurate.

"C'mon, Rachel," he said with a smile. "You can't possibly be mad at me for tossing you in the pool."

Her shoulders relaxed when she caught a cameraman focussing his attention on them from the deck. "I'm not mad," she answered reluctantly. Lie. "I just don't understand why you thought it was such a good idea to…" her words fell short when the feeling of his lips pressing against hers stopped her rant. Surprised, she blinked at him for a moment before closing her eyes and reciprocating the kiss. When he finally pulled apart from her, he kept his face a close distance from hers as she stared up at him with wide eyes, trying to catch her breath.

"Forgive me?" He said simply with a lopsided grin. It took her awhile to process things, but once she did, she nodded her head slowly. Smirking, Finn chuckled before swimming away, leaving her frozen in the middle of the pool.

Well, I'll be damned. Blinking quickly, she shook her head before making her way out of the pool and back to her seat. Next to her sat Emma, who was looking at her with a soft smile of her face.

"Men. When will they understand that a woman's preparation takes time and effort."

Rachel laughed at her comment and nodded. "Exactly," she agreed. "It's like they completely forget how much time it takes for us to look even remotely presentable for the day."

"It took years for Will to understand my morning routine," the older woman admitted as she took a sip of lemonade from her glass. Both women looked at their partners as they talked to one another. "I mean, pampering is sacred for a woman, you know?" The brunette nodded in agreement.

"How did you get him to finally understand?" She asked. Emma put her glass down and turned her seat towards her, her brown eyes filled with amusement.

"He thought that the reason I take so much time getting ready was because I was insecure of how I looked. I still think he does, to be quite honest." They shared a giggle. "He spent years bombarding me with the littlest of compliments to try to make me feel good. Eventually he realized that me taking time to prep myself wasn't because I was felt bad about myself, but because I was trying to make myself become the best person I can be." At this, a wave of conversations from the last few days hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Actress Rachel Berry's totally gonna take Broadway by storm."

"All i'm saying is, people would be dumb not to want you now."

"You're voice sounded cool in there."

"You look beautiful."

She blinked for a moment before looking across the poolside at Finn, who seemed to be laughing at something Will said. Feeling someone's eyes on him, he locked eyes with her, a lopsided grin on his face.

"Yeah," she said, her heart beating erratically in her chest. "Exactly."

"Hey guys, I just came up with the best idea!" Shouted Karofsky from the pool. "We should totally play Chicken Fight!" His girlfriend clapped eagerly at this and smiled.

"My man can totally pack a punch," Santana added proudly, smiling up at him.

"So who's in?" He asked. A moment of silence passed while everyone looked at each other.

Will shared a reluctant look with his wife. "Uh, Emma and are gonna sit this one out. We don't want to ruin the fun for you guys."

Karofsky looked indifferent. "Okay, so the geezers are out. That's cool. But please tell me the twinkle-toe twins aren't calling out."

"If by "twinkle toe twins, " you mean us, then you are correct," Kurt responded sassily with a roll of his eyes. At this, Rachel and Finn connected eyes.

"You want to do it?" Finn asked.

With slight blush forming on her cheeks, Rachel nodded. "S-Sure. I'm up for any competition."

"Woo! Let's go!" Karofsky continued to clap hard and loud as Finn and Rachel slowly made their way inside the pool.

Finn looked at his fiancé cautiously. "You sure you want to do this?"

Rachel smirked. "Finn, I think you've forgotten who you're talking to," she said matter-of-factly, her hands on her hips. "Chicken Fight is in my blood, okay? I always win this."

Finn chuckled at her determined countenance. "If you say so…" He started lowering himself further in the water. After about two minutes of getting settled on their partner's shoulders, both couples stood across from each other, ready to face a battle that should be illegal. At the sight of the couple before them, Finn smirked. See, at home, he and Rachel were known to be the champions of chicken fight. Despite being complete enemies for most of their lives, Finn and Rachel to be a good team. He wasn't sure of it was the broadness of his shoulders or Rachel's surprising upper body strength, but they've never been defeated. And he guesses based upon the determined look on the brunette's face above him, they're not gonna start now.

"I'll be the referee," Will offered from his seat on the deck.

"This is gonna be a bloodbath," Kurt muttered, grasping on his husband's shoulder.

"Alright. You guys ready?"

"Totally ready," Karofsky responded. "It's time to show him what Santofsky's about, right babe?"

Santana smirked. "Right."

Finn craned his head to look up at Rachel. "Ready, Rachel?"

She grinned. "Ready."

Will grinned. "On your marks...get set...GO!" Kurt Blaine cheered for each couple as they fought one another in the water. Finn focused on holding onto the brunette's legs as she flailed her arms to try and get the Latina to lose her balance. The battle seemed to last forever, but lasted only for three minutes until Santana lost balance and fell backwards into the water.

At seeing her opponent fall into the water, Rachel beamed from above. "Yes!" She cheered. Grinning wide, Finn lowered himself underwater so she could get off of his shoulders. Once he rose from the water, he felt Rachel wrap her small arms around him in a hug. Wiping some water from his face, he grinned down at her beaming face.

"We totally showed them," she said.

"Hell yeah, we did!" Grinning, they both shared a high-five. Looking over the brunette's head, Finn found Karofsky whispering something into his girlfriend's ear, Santana nodding along with an uneasy look on her face. Something unsettling churned in his stomach, but he pushed it aside, as he watched the couple pulled apart.

"Hey, we want a rematch," said Karofsky after a moment. "We don't think it's fair that Berry got to charge first."

At this, Finn and Rachel shared a look. What would a second win hurt anyways? "Uh, sure man," Finn said, shrugging. As both girls got settled on their partner's shoulders, Rachel noticed something flash in the Latina's eyes.

Will clapped his hands. "Alright, ready…set...GO!" In an instant, both couples were back to fighting. Rachel squealed happily as she gently grabbed the Santana's arms in hopes of knocking her down. Things were all fun and games until the Latina grabbed her shoulders roughly and pushed her with all her might, sending the smaller brunette backwards in one swift movement.

Finn sighed disappointedly when he heard the splash and started to stand up straighter in the water. He was about to congratulate the couple when he realized how long it's been that Rachel's been under water.

"Rachel?" He said concerningly, turning around. Seconds later, a wounded Rachel slowly arose from the water, her face contorted in pain as she grasped at the back of her neck.

"Ow…" she whimpered. As Finn saw her bottom lip start to tremble, he immediately sprung into action.

He approached her slowly, his voice soft. "Let me see, baby." Gently, he pushed her hair away from the back of her neck and examined it with concern. When he reached out and touched it, she immediately let out a his.

"Ow." Despite their wet surroundings, he could've sworn he saw a tear trickle down her cheek. Anger burned from the inside of him and he turned around quickly, his eyes aflame.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" He snapped.

"Finn, I'm fine," Rachel said weakly.

"No, you're not, Rachel! They totally just shoved you off my shoulders-"

"Look, we were playing the game right," Karofsky said with a smirk. "It's not my fault your girlfriend is just a weak, bony little puss-"

"You wanna finish that sentence?" Finn snarled, storming closer to him.

"Finn, stop," she said softly, grabbing his arm.

"You better listen to your girl, Hudson," Karofsky said with a smirk. "I mean, that's what you do best, right? Follow her around like a lost little puppy?" At this, Finn's breath came out in short puffs, his fists clenched tight at his sides as he stared at the other man under his eyelashes.

Uh oh. Rachel knows that look. And after many years of being around him and seeing how Finn works, she knows things won't be good for anyone if she lets this continue.

She touched one of his clenched fists in hopes of soothing him. "Finn, honey, come on. They're not worth it." Seeing him visibly relax his shoulders at her touch made her heart flutter with pride and she gently tugged him away from them, keeping caution of her aching neck and back. A moment of awkward silence filled the whole deck.

"Hey, who wants some burgers?" Will offered suddenly, standing up from his seat.

"I could use some," Blaine said hurriedly as he averted his gaze from the two couples in the pool.

"Okay, good. I'll get them started now." As the other two couples moved to set things up on the deck, Karofsky and Santana moved to get out of the pool, the girl's eyes sympathetic, while the male smirked sardonically. Finn's hard stare never wavered until the brunette's gentle hands on his face caught his attention. A caring, almost tender emotion passed over his eyes as he looked at her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, i'm good," she grinned at him despite the stabbing pain in her back. "I might have to refrain from Chicken Fight for a while, but otherwise i'll be good." She found that he was still looking at Karofsky and sighed.

"Finn, i'm fine." She kissed his chest before looking up at him again. "Okay?" His chestnut eyes still held a slight showing of concern, but eventually he relaxed and grinned at her softly.

"Okay." Wrapping an arm around her, he kissed her forehead before separating from her and making his way up the pool steps.

The next half an hour went by smoothly (well, as smoothly as it could get) as everyone got prepared for lunch. As soon as she set her foot on the deck, Finn made it his mission to make sure she wouldn't strain herself. Every time she would move slightly in her seat, Finn would have his eyes on her like a hawk. It was kind of uncomfortable, to be honest. When everything was set up up for lunch everyone took a seat at the table and waited for Will to be done with the burgers. Finn took a seat next to Rachel and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, cautious of the pain in her neck.

Grabbing a handful of chips from a glass bowl, Santana leaned back in her seat and sighed. "You know what would be the shit right now? A margarita."

Kurt frowned. "But isn't it only two o'clock?"

"Yes, which makes it a perfect time for a lunchtime cocktail," she retorted.

"You know, I wouldn't mind a little alcohol," Blaine added. "I mean, what's a beer gonna do anyways?"

"Make you totally wasted," Kurt snickered. His husband rolled his eyes at him.

Finn stood up from his seat. "Well, I could make us drinks," he offered.

Karofsky rose an eyebrow. "Oh really? And how do you know how to make drinks?"

From her seat, Rachel visibly tensed. Did he forget what we told them?

"My uncle," he lied smoothly, grinning. "He was a bartender in his early years and taught me everything he knows about drinks...when I was old enough, of course." Finn took this time to cast a quick wink at her before making his way towards the bar. Grinning, Rachel relaxed in her seat.

As Finn started setting glasses on the bar, he saw Blaine start to approach him.

"Hey man," he greeted, grabbing a barstool and sitting on it. Finn nodded in greeting before turning around and picking up a few bottles of alcohol behind him.

Blaine exhaled a breath. "That was...that was quite the show that happened earlier." Mindful of two cameras on him, Finn nodded and started pouring the drinks before casting his gaze over the man's shoulder to Karofsky, who was currently being scolded by his girlfriend.

"Yeah, well," he grabbed a nearby cutting board and a lemon, "it all could've been avoided if Santana hadn't pushed Rachel so hard in the water." His gaze settled on Rachel as he grabbed a knife and started cutting the lemon into slices.

Blaine frowned. "I would've reacted the same way if I were in your shoes. I mean, you should've seen it from where we-Finn!" The younger man's hands reached out to stop Finn from nearly cutting off his finger, for it was so close to the knife. Finally looking away from Karofsky, he glanced down at fruit in front of him and sighed.

"Can I be honest with you, Blaine?"

Blaine frowned. "Yeah, Finn. Of course."

He rose his head and pointed at the man. "I don't trust him," he said. "He's just got some vibe about him that's not cool, and…" he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I mean, you saw the way he looked at us. It's like he's planning some...attack in his head."

"To be honest with you, I've noticed it too," Blaine agreed. "Whenever Kurt and I would kiss or hug each other he'd give us this...look." He frowned to himself. "I-I don't know, I didn't want to tell Kurt about it because I didn't think it was a big deal, but based on what I saw today…" he turned around to look at Karofsky.

"There's definitely something sketchy about the guy."


"No way!" Blaine said with wide eyes as the table erupted into laughter.

From his seat, Will smiled and shrugged. "It's what I had to do. It was either I turn him into the principal for "possessing drugs," or he had to join the glee club," he exclaimed.

"I totally would've done the same thing, Will," Finn said, biting into his burger. "Whatever it takes to keep things together."

"Did he ever find out?" Rachel asked.

The older man grinned. "Yeah, I told him the truth on the last day of his senior year. His exact words were, "you're the coolest teacher I've ever had". Everyone laughed at this.

"See, this is why we should have a karaoke night," Kurt proposed. "It'll allow us to see your vocal talents, Will." He looked at everyone. "All of you."

Karofsky found this ridiculous and scoffed, "Yeah, well, I don't sing. All that prissy, gay stuff isn't for me."

This caught Kurt's attention and he frowned. "Since when is singing "gay?" Once again, awkward silence filled the deck as the question hung in the air.

Breaking the silence, Santana slapped her boyfriend's arm. "Don't act like you haven't sung before. I've got videos after videos of you singing KISS in the shower at home." Karofsky's face turned red in embarrassment, and with that, the subject was dropped.


Rachel groaned and tried to take the remote from Finn's hands. "C'mon, Finn, give me the remote."

"No!" He exclaimed, pushing her arms away. "This is the first time I've ever been allowed to use a 90 inch tv and I'll be damned if the first thing I see is "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Giving up, Rachel let out a huff and crossed her arms as Finn scrolled through movies on the television.

It was nighttime and they were in their room for the night, fighting over which movie to watch. This battle was nothing new, for they grew up together and often fought for the remote when they had sleepovers. Rachel would always end up winning, though, because she was always the smaller, more dramatic, drama queen between the two.

"Can we at least find a movie that we both like?" She asked. He looked at her with narrowed eyes for a moment.

"Fine," he said after a moment. She beamed and took the remote from him. "But don't choose something cliche and girly like you always do," he said. The brunette rolled her eyes and browsed through the movies until she landed on one.

"There," she said as she pressed play. "The Hangover. No girly, or cliche content. Happy?"

Finn grinned mockingly. "Very."

About a half an hour into watching the movie, Finn noticed that Rachel had been shifting in her seat on the bed for quite some time.

He looked at her amusedly. "You good?"

She tried to rub her lower back. "Yeah, just the medicine I took earlier is wearing off and my back is starting to hurt, so…"

"I can help you with that," he offered. All he got was a raised eyebrow. Finn rolled his eyes. "Come on, I'll help you out, just...take off your shirt and lay on your stomach."

Her eyes widened. "What?! I'm not taking my shirt off in front of you!" She screeched.

He shrugged it off and folded his arms, looking straight. "Fine. Just take another pill again and see how long that lasts."

Rachel groaned and rolled her eyes. "Gosh, fine, I'll do it. Just don't look at me. " Finn nodded with a smirk and continued to look the other way as she started to take her pajama top off. Once she did, she laid down stomach first on the bed.

"Okay." She said. "I'm ready."

Finn wasn't sure why he thought Rachel would have her bra on while he massaged her, but when he turned around and saw her bare back, he was nothing less than aroused. He couldn't help but think of how things would've been if they were doing other things in this bed.

He spent a while just staring at her back until he actually went to touching it. He felt Rachel's muscles start to tended as soon as he touched her, which made it more difficult to find the knot in her back.

He stopped moving his hands. "Just...try to relax, okay? I can't find the knot in your back if you're tense." At that, he felt her muscles start to relax and he grinned.

"I'm gonna start with your neck, okay?"

"Okay," she mumbled. Slowly, he moved his hands up towards the area between her shoulders and started to massage it. About two minutes into carefully massaging her, he got a groan in response.

He detached his hands from her immediately. "You okay?" He asked frantically.

"More than okay…" she murmured. He chuckled at her.

He moved his hands lower towards her lower back. "I'm gonna work on your back now, okay?"

"Okay."

Slowly and easily, he started to massage her back, using his thumbs to press into the hard, knotted parts. Rachel let out another groan and Finn almost had to stop his ministrations, for he felt his pants getting too tight. That's when he decided to take a glance at the brunette's butt. Finn licked his lips at the sight of the perky cheeks as he continued to massage her. Daringly, he moved his hands lower, resting them on her ass.

Rachel tensed up. "Alright, get off." Finn laughed before turning round so she put her shirt back on.

When he turned back around, he found the brunette rubbing the back of her neck with a peaceful smile on her face. "Wow. My back actually feels better."

Finn rolled his eyes. "Thanks for believing in me, Rach."

"No! I just didn't think your big hands would be capable of fixing my back. How did you know how to do that?"

It took a moment for him to remember, but once he did, a huge goofy grin formed on his face.

Rachel sighed and rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, a booty call?"

"Her name was Jessica," he answered smugly. "She was an masseuse at some spa in Queens. He sighed happily. "Gosh, she was such a-"

"Okay, you're getting a little too comfortable here, and I'm gonna need you to stop." Rachel cut off, holding a hand up. Finn rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"Thanks, anyways," she said meekly. "I really needed that."

He cast a smirk at her before reclining against the headboard, his hands behind his head. "No problem, munchkin."

She frowned at him. "Would you stop calling me that?" She snapped. "Why do you call me that anyways. It's it's degrading and-and rude to people who actually habe that disability.

He rose an eyebrow at her. "You really want to know?"

Rachel nodded with an exasperated expression. "Uh, yeah!" Silently, Finn patted the spot next to him. Rachel stook a seat.

"Okay," he sighed. "Remember that sleepover we had at your dads' house? The one where I stayed for the week because of my parent's wedding anniversary?" She nodded. "We were in your room at night, trying to figure out a movie to watch. Even though I wanted to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, we ended up watching your choice, which was 'The Wizard of Oz'." He chuckled as he said, "You didn't even last an hour and you fell asleep around the scene where Dorothy met the munchkins."

Finn grinned softly into the distance as he recalled the memory. "I just remember looking at you...all small and cute, curled away into a little ball fast asleep. You just looked so...innocent and small, just like those munchkins. At that moment I decided that would be your name and I've been using it ever since." A moment of silence filled the air after he finished. Finn stayed staring straight, rubbing the back of his neck.

When he finally casted a glance at her, he found her expression unidentifiable. Her eyes, however, held a stronger emotion, almost soft as they stared into his. A moment of just staring lasted for about a minute until he decided to say something.

"Oh, and I call you midget just to annoy you," he said. Finn watched as her previous expression changed into one of annoyance.

"See?" He pointed with a smile. "That face almost always makes my day!"

She pushed him. "Shut up," she said. Finn laughed.

He sighed. "Well, I'm gonna hit the hay."

Rachel nodded. "Me too." Nothing but the sound of ruffled sheets filled the air as they got settled under the covers.

Reaching over to turn off the light, he yawned. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." As darkness filled the room, Rachel finally let the smile she contained spread on her face as her stomach fluttered.

The more you know indeed.


Yes, I am back! Final exams are finally over and I can post more updates now! For a while I will be focusing on Save Money Live Better so I can get on to finishing the story/ I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

~Vikki3775