AN: is at the bottom this time
Disclaimer: I own nothing, as usual.
She was due on stage in half an hour and Rachel was struggling to get into her suit. She had long lived by the tradition of drinking a glass of whisky before a performance, but tonight, she had already downed two glasses of the thick liquid. It wasn't that she was nervous about the actual performance, she was Rachel Berry after all, her voice was outstanding and her acting skills well above average. She could have an audience laughing one minute and crying not thirty seconds later. But it had been a long time since she had been in front of an actual audience.
"Don't dwell in the past, Rachel, or you'll miss the present and fail in the future." Came her dad's voice, echoing from the past it was urging her to forget.
Rachel somehow manoeuvred the half-full glass to her mouth, managing to spill some inside her helmet before it reached her mouth, the alcohol burning a trail through her chest before settling in her stomach, the burning heat pulling her from her thoughts. Rachel's small frame did not hold alcohol too well, and after three large glasses of straight whisky, she was swaying where she stood, the cumbersome space suit making movement much more difficult.
Laughing at herself, Rachel thought of the reason she had chosen to drink two glasses past her usual self-imposed limit. Quinn Fabray. The first (and only) time Quinn had listened to her singing, Rachel had found the other woman outside her door, laughing hysterically. At the time, she hadn't thought much of it, but now that her thoughts were mostly consumed by Quinn (and constructive criticism for her coworkers, of course) Rachel couldn't help but dwell on their first encounter.
She had persuadedQuinn to come to karaoke night purely for the purpose of showing the weapons specialist (a job title Rachel still considered to be extremely obnoxious, regardless of its owner's sex appeal) what an amazing performer she was. Enlisting the easily-convinced Will to help her had been easy, and she had given him precise instructions regarding what he was to do and when (down to the exact second) he was supposed to do it.
Confident that her entrance would go off without a hitch, Rachel was then left to come up with appropriate attire for the occasion. Having already decided on the song, she was trying to keep with the classic Titanic theme, but was at a complete loss over what to wear. She obviously wouldn't find any 20th century clothing aboard a spacecraft in the 22nd century, so she had tried to be innovative, adding her own modern twist.
If Jack and Rose were in the same situation in this century, obviously their debate over the wooden door would be over a spacesuit! Thus leaving Rose to float around in space alone, waiting for rescue.
Rachel's subconscious could admit that she was grasping at straws, but even her internal debates were heated, and Rachel was stubborn, so stuck by her idea. However, five hours later when she was drunk and trying not to trip over her own feet on the way to the small room at the back of the McKinley, she might have regretted her decision just a tiny bit.
During her heartfelt ballad, she avoided looking at Quinn. While Rachel was an amazing actress, she drew on her own feelings to make a performance perfect, and she didn't want the other woman seeing just how deeply the song resonated with her. Unbeknownst to Rachel, it was this raw display of emotion that drew Quinn in. Nevertheless, it was not until she stumbled from the stage (downing even more alcohol, unsurprisingly produced by Noah) that Rachel finally made eye contact with Quinn.
Oh God, is that a midriff-baring top? I CAN SEE HER MIDRIFF. Is that a tattoo? It's a tattoo. I have to sleep with her.
Seeing Quinn shiver, Rachel grinned and turned away.
"LET'S PARTY!"
Her declaration met with cheers, Rachel pulled her helmet from her head, dark hair cascading down her back. Turning her head to look at Quinn through a curtain of hair, Rachel smiled, turning fully to face the taller woman and placing the helmet on a nearby table.
"Would you mind helping me out of this suit, Quinn? It's quite hot in here." Managing to keep her composure, Quinn merely smiled her agreement, stepping over to Rachel and helping her out of the suit. Pulling off the heavy boots before stepping out of the suit and busying herself with pulling on a pair of heeled black boots, Rachel failed to notice Quinn's reaction to what she had been wearing underneath her costume.
Quinn felt all the heat in her body pool between her legs as her eyes roamed over Rachel's bare legs, up to her ass - barely covered by a tight black skirt. Like her legs, Rachel's toned arms were bare, her stomach and breasts covered by a tight red tank top, leaving little to the imagination. Quinn was pulled from her haze by a shout from across the room.
"Be more careful with your leering, Fabray!" A chorus of laughter erupted after Santana's statement, and Quinn, rather than bowing her head in shame, met Rachel's eyes (level with her own because of Rachel's boots), challenging the brunette. She could see that Rachel was well on her way to being drunk, but she was staring back at Quinn, her brown eyes glowing under their tipsy glaze.
Rachel was drunk. When she had first started drinking years ago, it was obvious to anyone around her when she was even slightly inebriated. But over the years, Rachel had learnt to hold her alcohol, and how to act sober when she most definitely was not. It was a skill that came in handy, especially when one was trying to impress an extremely attractive pink-haired goddess who was smirking at her from barely a foot away. Rachel would have done anything to lean in and kiss Quinn's smiling mouth, to take her full bottom lip between her teeth and bite down gently, then -
You are getting way ahead of yourself there, Rachel.
Clearing her throat, Rachel broke her gaze from Quinn's, seeking another drink from a nearby ice-bucket to calm her thoughts.
If anything that's going to make it worse. But by all means, don't listen to me. I'm just your better judgement.
Ignoring her own thoughts, Rachel twisted the lid off her beer and took a long gulp of the bitter liquid, smiling as the bubbles ran down her throat.
"Quinn," she began, trailing her hand down Quinn's forearm, entwining their fingers and leading them over to some chairs by the wall. Kurt was currently on stage singing All The Single Ladies (with accompanying dance moves), and it would have been slightly difficult to hold a conversation had they sat right by the boisterous performance. Santana and Brittany took up the open space in front of the raised platform, copying Kurt's dance moves perfectly, much to the enjoyment of Puck.
"Tell me something about you," Rachel said after dropping Quinn's hand. Reluctant to let go (and slightly tipsy) Quinn quickly grabbed Rachel's hand, drawing it into her lap and playing with her fingers. Rachel smiled innocently at Quinn, grateful for the gesture, bringing her other hand up to trace the veins on Quinn's wrist, causing the other woman to shiver.
"Um, well, there's not really that much to tell, Rachel." Quinn could barely string words together while Rachel's thumb ran circles over her pale skin, let alone come up with a topic of conversation.
"Come on Quinn, there must be something." Rachel had switched back from innocent to seductive in a second, and with her thumb still outlining patterns on Quinn's wrist, moving further up her forearm with every stroke, Quinn felt heat once again pool in her stomach, sliding down between her legs.
"Um, well, I'm a, uh, I work with, um, guns." Quinn's voice had risen well-above its normal pitch, causing Rachel to chuckle, glancing down at her hand as it traced the crease on the inside of Quinn's elbow.
"Mm-hmmm. I know. What's your favourite one?" Rachel trailed her index finger back down Quinn's arm, boldly leaning her head down to press her mouth against Quinn's palm. Smiling when she heard the gasp above her, Rachel glanced up at Quinn, raising her eyebrows in expectation.
"Um, plasma cutter. Mmmm, yeah. Plasma... Cutter." Quinn had almost lost all coherent thought by this point. Rachel sat up straight again, bringing Quinn's hand with her, pressing gentle, open-mouthed kisses to each of her fingertips. Keeping the pretence of conversation going, Rachel murmured her response against Quinn's fingers, her warm breath causing her companion to shudder.
"Mine too." Quinn did not even attempt to respond, humming her acknowledgment as her eyes slipped closed, the image of Rachel kissing other places flickering across the darkness. Just as she felt the ghost of Rachel's tongue on her fingertip, the screech of a microphone ripped the women from their heated moment.
"Y'all can do the nasty later. It's time for Quinn to sing! Get up here, girl." Quinn groaned as Rachel released her hand, raising her middle finger at Mercedes. Santana was doubled over in laughter, leaning on Brittany for support. And as Quinn surveyed the room, she remembered that she and Rachel were not alone.
All the boys were gawking at them, save for Kurt, who was inspecting his nails indifferently, and Will, who gestured excitedly for her to take the stage, choosing to ignore the fact that Rachel was probably just about to take Quinn's finger into her mouth before Mercedes had ripped them from bliss. Quinn moaned quietly at the thought, causing Rachel to shoot her a lust-filled glance, longing to continue where she left off.
Knowing they would not relent until she sang, Quinn stood from her chair, twisting the cap off a beer and downing the entire thing as Rachel had done earlier. When Quinn looked back at her, Rachel bit down on her lower lip, staring up at Quinn with dark, frustrated eyes. Quinn mouthed a "sorry" to Rachel, earning a wink that turned her knees to jelly, making it very difficult to step up onto the stage where Mercedes was offering her the gold microphone.
Throwing back a mischievous grin, Mercedes left Quinn alone on the stage. Confident in her ability, and knowing the perfect song to sing, Quinn looked over to the controls where Will was looking at her expectantly.
"Do you have any Jace Everett?" Will nodded reluctantly, hitting a button on the controls before stepping back to lean against the wall. As the opening riff played, Quinn began swaying her hips to the beat, her long skirt flowing around her legs.
When you came in the air went out
Quinn looked directly at Rachel as she sang, for once shocking the brunette if her expression was anything to go by. Rachel's jaw hung wide open and her fingers dug into the skin of her thighs.
"Berry close your mouth. The bugs'll fly in!" Santana shouted over the music.
"Gross," came Brittany's quieter response, causing Quinn to laugh into the microphone. Rachel threw the pair a dirty look before turning back to Quinn, her jaw now clenched tightly shut.
I don't know who you think you are
but before the night is through
I wanna do bad things with you
The room erupted in cheers and whoops as Quinn sang, her eyes never leaving Rachel's. Even from across the room and with the lights shining in her face, Quinn could see the lust in Rachel's expression. Quinn licked her lips before the final line, bending low over the microphone,
I wanna do real bad things with you
Rachel crossed her legs tightly, folding her arms in front of her. She bit down hard on her bottom lip, raking her dark gaze over Quinn's body and nodding slightly. Quinn stepped gracefully from the stage and walked towards Rachel, leaning down so she was level with Rachel's ear.
"Not tonight, Berry," Quinn breathed, trailing her fingertips up the side of Rachel's neck. Quinn stood straight once more, glancing down at Rachel's frustrated expression and smirking. As she left the room, Quinn felt Rachel's stare burning a hole in her bare back and attempted to ignore the heat throbbing between her legs as she returned to her room.
AN: thanks again for all your reviews! I'm really glad people like this (gleekmx1 your comment made my day! and HIJKay I don't know how closely this will follow dead space. I haven't played it in a really long time, but I did add in the plasma cutter ;) so I hope you liked that)
The song was Bad Things by Jace Everett. aka, the True Blood theme song.
