Title: Drawing The Line
Summary: Quinn's estranged aunt, Rachel, returns to Lima after being away for several years. The two spend more time together and become much closer with every day that passes. It's not long before Quinn starts developing feelings that she should not be feeling. Complications soon arise.
Warnings: Angst in this chapter.
A/N: Holy cow! The pressure was definitely on to get the next chapter up for you guys, so I did this as fast as I could.
Over 400 follows for this story! That's amazing! You guys are all so awesome and you motivate me more than I can express :)
This chapter was originally supposed to be two separate chapters, but I didn't want to leave you guys with another cliffhanger. Quite a bit goes down, so I hope you're all ready for it! Enjoy!
The message is sent. There's no turning back now for Rachel.
As soon as she sends it, she gets a reply.
Quinn: I'll be there soon
Definitely no turning back now.
Rachel: Hurry!
Rachel gets up from the chair and sprints to her bathroom. She turns on the light and examines her appearance in the mirror.
Grimacing slightly, she grabs the brush and hastily runs it through her hair a few times. She then takes concealer and uses it to cover up the slight bags under her eyes to hide how tired she's been.
She has to look somewhat presentable.
She hears a knock at the door and stops what she's doing. She then quickly looks herself over one last time. Probably not her best night, but it'll have to do. She turns off the light and then runs to the door.
She opens it to see Quinn standing there, panting like she's been running. She's wearing a t-shirt and track pants. And her blonde mane is down and slightly unruly, which Rachel thinks is cute.
"Hi," Rachel says as she looks up at her.
Before Quinn has the chance to say anything, Rachel grabs her by the hand and yanks her inside the house.
"What's wrong?" Quinn asks as Rachel locks the door.
"Nothing. I just wanted to see you," Rachel says as she turns around.
Without warning, she pulls the younger girl to the living room.
"Are you sure everything's okay?" Quinn asks as she helplessly gets dragged along.
Rachel doesn't answer and forces her to sit down on the couch. When Quinn does, she falls on the spot next to her and smiles.
"How much have you had to drink?" Quinn narrows her eyes. Her aunt was definitely a little more upbeat than normal.
Rachel smirks and looks over at the nearly empty bottle of wine still sitting on the table. Quinn turns around to follow her gaze.
"Wow," she says.
"It was really good this time. Do you want some?" Rachel offers.
"Um, sure?"
The older woman gets up and skips over to the table. She takes the empty glass and pours the rest of the wine into it.
She comes back and hands the glass to Quinn before taking her previous position.
"That's the glass I was using if that's okay," she tells her.
Quinn nods and downs the entire thing in one go.
"Quinn! Slow down!"
The blonde puts the glass on the floor and laughs. "Really, Rachel? You're telling me that?"
Rachel shoves at her playfully with a laugh. She the. scoots closer and leans her head against the couch and smiles as she stares at the girl.
Quinn shifts nervously under the gaze and clears her throat. "So, what's going on? You made it sound really urgent when you were texting me."
"I told you already. I just wanted to see you," Rachel huffs.
"Are you sure that's all?"
"I'm sure!"
"Okay," Quinn nods. "Anyway, what have you been doing?"
"Waiting to hear from you," Rachel says. A little too aggressively.
Quinn winces. "I'm sorry. Puck and Santana distracted me so I forgot to text you when we got back."
The older woman looks up at her and frowns. "You were alone with Santana in bed again," she says bluntly.
"We shared a bed, yeah. Just to sleep. It's no big deal."
"Did you fuck?"
"Rachel!" Quinn exclaims.
"What?"
"You still need to work on your filter."
"It's just a question and I want to know the answer," she says undeterred.
"No, we didn't, all right? I've already told you that me and her aren't going to do that ever again."
"But are you sure? What if you decide to change your mind one day?"
Quinn looks at her in disbelief. "Why would I lie to you?"
Rachel looks her over for a moment. "You wouldn't."
"Exactly."
"Well, I'm just making sure."
"Why does it even matter anyway?" Quinn asks.
Rachel shrugs, "I just care about you."
Quinn doesn't say anything else and decides to let this one go for now. If something's bothering Rachel, she'll tell her eventually.
But this is strange. Is Rachel actually jealous?
The woman moves as close as she can and molds her body into Quinn's side. The younger girl wraps an arm around her shoulder and relaxes into the embrace.
Rachel stares at the necklace on Quinn's pale neck and reaches up to run her fingers over it.
"You're still wearing this," she says lowly.
"Of course I am. You gave it to me."
Rachel smiles and leans forward to lightly nuzzle the girl's neck, smirking when she sees goose bumps breaking out on the girl. She then pulls back and licks her lips before ever so slowly grazing them against the soft skin. The hand she was using to look at the necklace moves it's way up to the other side of Quinn's neck as she pulls her even closer.
She leaves a soft peck. And then another. And another...
Wanting more, Rachel begins to slowly leave open mouthed kisses at different spots on her neck. She moves her hand once again to caress the younger girl's cheek.
Quinn grabs the arm of the couch and squeezes, trying to keep herself together.
She breathes deeply and says, "Rachel, you should probably stop."
Rachel does so immediately and frowns, but still doesn't move from her position.
She pouts, "Why?"
"Because," Quinn whispers.
She runs the tips of her fingers along Quinn's jawline and asks again, "Because why?"
The blonde inhales, "Because it just makes me want to do it back to you."
Rachel feels her breath hitch at the confession and leaves a kiss just below the girl's ear.
"So do it," she whispers.
Quinn shifts her gaze down to look at her. "What?"
Rachel licks the shell of her ear and then breathes out, "You heard me."
She pulls back and Quinn turns to study her face. Quinn has a slightly uncertain look while Rachel's face is that of want and hunger.
Rachel watches as hazel eyes darken and she once again feels her entire body heat up.
Quinn suddenly grabs the older woman and pulls her onto her lap to where she's straddling her. Rachel is caught off guard and lets out a yelp.
Quinn attaches her lips to Rachel's neck and sucks fervently. The brunette moans and holds the back of Quinn's head in place as she braces her other hand against the back of the couch to keep her balance.
Quinn moves her hands to Rachel's lower back and rakes her nails upward, causing the woman to arch into her touch. Rachel squirms on her lap until she can't take it anymore. She needs more.
She pushes Quinn back by the shoulders and cups her face with both hands. They gaze at each other for a moment, both knowing what's about to happen.
"You're so beautiful," Rachel whispers.
She makes the first move by pressing her lips against the girl's forehead. Quinn closes her eyes and savors this moment.
Rachel trails down her face until their lips graze together.
She closes her eyes and presses a firm kiss against the corner of Quinn's mouth. Just the way Quinn had done a few days before. She then moves a little lower and grazes Quinn's lower lip before lightly taking it between her own lips.
Quinn kisses back suddenly with a quick peck, causing Rachel to gasp.
With one look at the challenging face of the girl below her, the older woman dives in and completely attaches her mouth to Quinn's and their lips finally move together.
Rachel moans when she feels Quinn squeeze her even tighter and threads her fingers through blonde hair. Their lips continue to slide together effortlessly.
Feeling bold, Rachel bites down on Quinn's bottom lip, causing her to gasp. She then pushes her tongue into the girl's mouth. Quinn lets out a moan and massages it with her own tongue.
She wants to roam her hands all over Rachel's body, but knows that would be pushing it. So she keeps them where they are.
She never thought she'd be in a position like this with Rachel. And it's better than any way she could have imagined. It's perfect.
Rachel pulls away to gasp for air. Quinn wastes no time and assaults her neck again. Rachel catches her breath and wraps her arms around Quinn's shoulders.
She believed that she could never feel this way again. She thought she'd go through the rest of her life without this sort of connection to someone. And she definitely never thought she'd find it with her niece of all people.
Her niece...
Her niece!
Reality suddenly crashes onto Rachel and she quickly sobers up.
"Quinn, stop!"
She panicks and scrambles out of the girl's lap and to the other side of the couch. She stares wide eyed at Quinn.
They both work to even out their breathing as they look at one another. Quinn seems to be the more confused of the two.
She frowns and moves to scoot closer to the older woman.
Rachel quickly puts a hand up and says, "Please, just stay over there."
Quinn does as she's told.
And awkward silence looms over them.
The older woman suddenly stands.
"We shouldn't have done this," she says quickly before darting for her room.
"Rachel, wait!" Quinn is able to catch her and gently grabs her by the arm and turns her around. She's not surprised when Rachel struggles against her.
"Hey, calm down. I'm sorry, okay?" she tells her.
Rachel shakes her head at her. "No, this is my fault. Not yours. I'm sorry, Quinn."
She pulls Quin's hand off of her and steps into her room.
Quinn tries to go in as well. "Rachel, please. Just talk to me?"
She ends up being slowly pushed out by the shorter woman. "Quinn, I'm sorry, but we'll talk later, okay? I need to be alone right now. Is that okay?"
Her niece understands where she's coming from and nods her head in defeat. It's probably best to let her sort everything out.
Rachel suddenly slams the door and locks it.
She pushes her ear against the door. When she hears Quinn's footsteps walking away, she sighs and goes to sit on her bed.
She puts her face in her hands and starts to silently sob.
What has she done?
Every restless night she's had was nothing compared to this.
It's already eight in the morning when Rachel finally decides to get out of bed. She was only able to get about an hour of sleep and eventually gave up trying.
She sighs, dreading what's to come. Dreading the inevitable conversation with Quinn.
She turns the knob to her door and pushes it open, quietly making her way out of the bedroom.
When she gets to the living room, she frowns when she sees Quinn asleep in the couch and sits down on the other side. As soon as she does, Quinn starts to stir, as if she could sense her presence.
The girl opens her eyes and when she sees Rachel there, she quickly sits up and starts rubbing her face to wake up.
Rachel thinks she's probably just as exhausted as she is herself.
"Hey," Quinn says with a small smile.
Rachel can't help but smile back, but then quickly frowns, "Why didn't you sleep in the guest room?"
"I was waiting for you to come out," Quinn shrugs.
It makes her feel guilty, but Rachel knows she still has to do this.
She decides to get right to the point. "Quinn, I'm so sorry about last night."
"Why are you sorry? Do you regret it?"
Rachel doesn't answer right away. She honestly doesn't regret it one bit. And she doesn't want to lie and say she does. So instead, she says, "It was a mistake."
The look on Quinn's face is enough to break her heart.
"Rachel..."
"It was a mistake," she repeats. "I shouldn't have put you in that position. I had been drinking and just felt lonely. But that doesn't excuse what I did. I promise it won't happen ever again and I hope that you'll eventually forgive me."
She recites the speech she had been preparing all night.
"Rachel, I don't need to forgive you. I wanted it just as much."
The woman pauses, but chooses to ignore the statement. "We'll just put the whole thing behind us, all right? It'll be okay."
"You know we can't put this behind us," Quinn whispers.
"Quinn, you know you'll be able to find someone in no time," she says, on the verge of tears at the thought. "And you'll forget all about this. I know it isn't ideal to go through something like this, but we can move past it."
"Don't say that. This wasn't a mistake, Rachel. There's something between us. I can feel it. And I know you feel it too. You can't say there's nothing there."
"Quinn..."
"I want you and I know you want me too. You don't have to feel ashamed to admit it."
"Please stop," Rachel chokes out. "Just don't, okay?"
"Okay, then how about this? I'll forget about everything. We'll put this whole thing behind us. But only if you can look me in the eyes and say that you don't feel anything for me," Quinn says determinedly. "Say you feel nothing for me."
Rachel knows she has to, but she can't do it.
She looks away as tears trail down her face. "I'm sorry," she whispers. "But we can't do this, Quinn."
"Why not?"
"Really?" Rachel scoffs. "Apart from how much older I am than you, I am your aunt, Quinn. And you are my niece. Did you seriously forget that?"
"We're not actually related, Rachel. Did you seriously forget that?" Quinn defends. "And I'm an adult. I can do whatever I want."
"And you think that will make everyone okay with this? You think that Judy will be okay with this? Because I guarantee that she won't be and never will be."
"She doesn't have to know about this. We hardly ever see her now," Quinn points out.
"I've done enough damage to this family already, okay? I don't want to make everything worse!" Rachel cries. "We have to draw the line somewhere. Nothing can happen ever again, Quinn."
Quinn gets up and kneels on the floor in front of where Rachel is sitting. She gently takes the woman's hand and says, "Please don't do this."
"You know we can't."
The younger girl wraps her arms around Rachel's waist and pulls her close.
Rachel hears her sniffling and knows that she's crying. She runs her hand through the blonde hair and leans down to press a kiss at the top of her head.
"Don't do this to me," Quinn whispers.
"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let it get this far," Rachel says as she starts crying harder.
She lets them stay like that for a few more minutes. Just holding each other for the time being. She knows she probably won't get the chance to be like this with Quinn ever again. That breaks her even more.
With as much strength as she can muster, she unwraps the girl's arms from around her and stands, pulling Quinn up with her.
She sighs, "It's probably best if we don't see each other for a while."
The look on Quinn's face makes Rachel feel that much worse.
Quinn looks at the floor and nods. "If that's what you want," she mumbles.
Knowing that she probably shouldn't, Rachel reaches up to cup the girl's cheek. "I don't want that at all. But we both know it's the smart thing to do."
Quinn exhales. And without a word, she turns around and sits on the couch to put on her shoes.
She avoids eye contact the whole time, and it takes everything in Rachel not to say anything more.
The girl finally stands and moves past Rachel and leaves the house.
When she hears the front door slam, Rachel covers her mouth with her hand as she tries to hold back her sobs. She goes to the couch and sits down where Quinn just was.
"Please don't hate me."
Quinn is miserable. So fucking miserable.
It hasn't even been a week since that last time with Rachel, and she's never felt this depressed in all of her life.
She didn't know it was possible to hurt this much. To love this much. To love someone that was never yours in the first place. Did life even work that way? It seems so cruel and unjust to her.
There's so much of her missing now and she doesn't know if she'll ever find herself again. Rachel took that away from her. She needs Rachel back in her life.
Quinn wants to talk to her. She wants to tell her that she's willing to pretend nothing happened and that her feelings don't exist if that means she can see Rachel again. But would Rachel allow that? She doubts it.
When she hears a knock at her bedroom door, she rolls over and calls out, "Come in."
Judy peeks her head in. "Quinn? Dinner's ready."
"I'll be down in a minute," she tells her mother.
She hears the door close and sits up. She sighs and gets up and stretches. This was the one night that both of her parents were off of work and they were supposed to all eat dinner and spend time together.
Quinn makes it to the dining room to see them both already sitting at the table.
Russell takes one look at her and jokes, "Were you in bed all day, kiddo?"
She smiles at her father. "No, just didn't go anywhere today," she says as she sits down.
The three begin to dig into their food.
"Didn't you say you have an interview at the Lima Bean?" Judy asks.
Quinn nods, "On Thursday. It's just a part time position."
She could use the extra cash. And she needs something to keep her busy to get her mind off Rachel.
"I'm sure they'll hire you. It's summer, so they need all the help they can get," Russell says.
They continue to eat in silence for a few minutes. It's too quiet. Normally it's not like this.
"You didn't invite Rachel?" Russell asks Judy.
Quinn does her best to keep her face stoic as simply hearing the woman's name out loud makes her heart feel like it's being squeezed.
"I did. But she said she has a date tonight!" Judy says ecstatically.
Quinn feels all of the air sucked out from her lungs. Did she really just say that Rachel has a date? Tonight?
"Good. She needs to get back out there," Russell remarks. "So who's the guy?"
Yes, who is this fucking guy, Quinn seethes.
She knows that she has no right to be upset as Rachel is free to do whatever she wants. But knowing that she's giving someone else a chance so easily just makes everything hurt worse.
She would give anything for the chance to love Rachel.
"I think his name is Brody?"
Brody? That sounds like a total douchebag name.
"Where'd she find him?" Quinn can't help but ask.
"She served him at Breadstix one night and he kept coming back and asking to take her out. I guess she decided to finally say yes," Judy smiles.
What a creep. So he was basically stalking her where she works until she agreed to go out with him? Sounds like a real winner. Good job, Rachel.
Quinn silently fumes to herself. She knows she's being irrational. But fuck. This hurts.
"He sounds nice from what she's told me. Way better than Finn at least."
Who cares? Anyone could be a better option than that fucktard.
"Sweetie, that's not saying much. It's not that hard to better than Finn."
Quinn grins at her dad. At least he gets it.
"I'm not saying he's going to be the next man she marries," Judy defends. Quinn clenches her teeth at the thought. "I just think that it's good she's taking a chance and getting back into the dating world."
She feels like she's going to be sick. She knew this was going to happen eventually. But not this soon. Why is Rachel doing this?
"Are you still going out tonight, Quinn?" Judy asks.
Quinn internally face palms. She forgot about Puck's party tonight. He said that his mom was out of town and he intended to take full advantage of it.
Well, at least it's still early so she'll have time to get ready.
"Yeah. Santana is picking me up," Quinn says as she stands and takes her plate to the sink. "I have to go shower and stuff."
"Okay. Be safe tonight!" Judy calls as Quinn runs up the stairs.
Santana's car swerves into the driveway. Quinn was already waiting outside and opens the door and hops into the passenger seat.
She looks over to see her friend holding a ridiculously large burrito and smiles.
"Want some of this?"
"No thanks," Quinn laughs. "I already ate."
Santana nods and pulls the car out of the driveway and heads in the direction to Puck's house.
"Are you gonna drink tonight?" she asks as she inhales the burrito.
"No. That probably wouldn't be a good idea," Quinn mumbles.
Santana eyes her for a moment. "What happened?"
Quinn takes a breath.
"Rachel has a date tonight," she grits through her teeth.
"What? Are you fucking kidding me? Already?"
Quinn just shrugs and continues to stare at the window, not wanting her friend to see the tears in her eyes.
She had already cried enough in front of Santana when she was telling her all about what happened that day with Rachel. All her friend could do was hold her and tell her that everything would be okay.
There might have also been a few uncalled for threats to kick Rachel's ass.
"Is she doing it just to fuck with your head?"
"She's not like that," Quinn says. "She's probably just trying to move on."
"I still say this is bull shit," Santana bites out angrily. "Like what the hell?"
"Not like I can do anything about it."
Santana drives in silence for a few minutes.
"You need to get laid. Puck said there's gonna be a lot of girls from Dalton at the party. I'm sure at least one of them wouldn't mind jumping your bones," Santana smirks. "Not like you'll have to see them ever again."
Quinn frowns, "I don't think that's a good idea..."
"Hey, if Rachel wants to move on this fast, then you should too."
She sighs. Santana does have a point.
They can hear the bass of the music thumping from down the street. Quinn has no idea how they get away with the cops never showing up to these things.
They're forced to park their car down the street and walk further than they're used to. As they walk through the threshold, the two girls aren't surprised to see the dozens of people spread throughout the house, a lot of whom they've probably never met.
Puck sees them come in and smiles. He pushes his way through everyone to greet them.
"My favorite girls, just in time," he hugs them both. "What's up?"
"We need to get Quinn some ass tonight," Santana yells over the music.
Quinn feels her face heat up and nudges her friend in the ribs. "Do you need a megaphone? I'm not sure everyone heard you."
"Say no more." They can tell Puck is already drunk with the glazed over eyes and slurred speech. "Let's go."
He pulls Quinn through the living room and to the back door with Santana following along.
When they get to the backyard, Puck approaches three girls standing together talking.
"Ladies!" Puck announces. "Have you met Quinn and Santana? They're my best friends."
All of them smile and wave awkwardly at each other.
"They just graduated from Dalton," Puck explains. "This is Unique, Marley, and...Cat?"
"Kitty," the blonde one snaps.
"Yeah, Kitty."
"Nice to meet you all," Quinn says politely.
He looks at her and quickly pulls her aside far enough to where they can't be heard. Santana joins them.
"Okay so listen, the blonde one is mine tonight. That means the other two are up for grabs," he whispers.
"You mean the one whose name you couldn't remember?" Quinn smirks.
"Yeah. And judging by the four o'clock shadow, I'm pretty sure the one in purple is a dude," Santana deadpans.
"Whatever. At least there's the girl with the dark hair. She's cute, right?"
Quinn looks over his shoulder at the girl. She was indeed cute. But she also had this clueless and naive look to her like she was sheltered all of her life or something.
"Kitty said she swings both ways. And she's open minded," Puck wiggles his eyebrows. "Now, go get wasted with her and tell me how tight that ass is later."
"Nice, Puck. Real nice," Quinn says with a disgusted face.
"Puck! Are you coming?" Kitty calls out from the back door, looking impatient.
He smiles at his two friends. "Later!"
They watch him disappear inside. Quinn figures he probably won't return until later.
"So, you guys went to McKinley?" Unique asks as she and Marley join the two girls.
Santana is silent and looks bored, so Quinn answers for them. "Yeah. We were both on the cheerleading squad."
"We were co-captains," Santana says pointedly.
"That's so cool," Marley gushes. "Kitty was on the cheer team at our school. But we never did that. I was into show choir more than anything."
"Yeah. We were both in the glee club," Unique says proudly.
Quinn perks up. Glee club? Rachel was in glee club in high school.
"So you sing?" she asks Marley.
"Girl, she's got pipes that would blow you away," Unique brags while Marley blushes.
"That's awesome."
"Thank you," Marley smiles.
Santana smirks. With the way this Marley chick is making googly eyes at her best friend, she'll bend over for Quinn in no time.
"Hey, what are you drinking?" Santana asks Unique suddenly.
Unique lights up. "This is my special mix. It's sprite and -"
"Yeah, whatever. Can you make me one?"
"Um, okay?"
Quinn looks wide eyed and shakes her head at her best friend, who has a devious glint in her eye. This is way too soon...
"Okay. Let's go, Crying Game," Santana orders as she walks back towards the house.
"Excuse me?"
"Move it!" she barks.
Unique shivers in fear and quickly follows her.
Quinn shifts nervously as she watches the two go back inside.
When they're both alone, Marley speaks.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say your friend is trying to get you alone with me."
Quinn purses her lips. Fucking Santana.
"It wasn't very subtle."
"Look, I'm not trying to -"
"It's okay," Marley laughs. "At least I'm not getting cornered by a sweaty football player. You seem pretty normal."
"Thanks, I guess?"
The two girls move further down the yard where it's quieter and sit down on the grass.
"You don't seem like the type to come to these things," Quinn observes.
Marley shakes her head, "I don't even drink that often. But Kitty invited us and Unique really wanted to come."
Quinn nods. "That makes sense."
"But I needed to get out anyway," Marley continues.
"Rough day?"
"I just broke up with my boyfriend."
"I guess we're the lonely hearts club," Quinn says sadly.
"Oh? What's his name?"
Quinn looks at her and frowns.
"Her name?" Marley tries.
"Rachel," Quinn says. She loves that name. "Her name is Rachel."
"I'm guessing you guys just broke up too?"
Quinn wishes she could say that much. Rachel was never hers in the first place.
"Something like that," she shrugs.
"And your friend is trying to help you hook you up with someone?" Marley smiles.
"Yeah, I guess so," Quinn sighs. "Rachel had a date with someone tonight. And it makes me sick knowing that she's with someone else."
"That's harsh."
Quinn nods. Harsh doesn't even begin to describe what she's feeling.
"Sorry. I don't know why I'm even telling you this."
"Maybe you're friend is right. You do need a hook up," Marley jokes.
The blonde smiles. "Probably. But I don't think I'm ready for that."
"It's always worth a shot."
Marley reaches down and laces their fingers together. Quinn looks down at their conjoined hands and frowns.
"Is this okay?" Marley asks.
Quinn simply nods, forgetting how to use her voice. She's beginning to feel anxious again.
"So, we're both here, single, and trying to get over someone. The general consensus is that you need a quick rebound. I think you're gorgeous. You haven't gotten bored with me yet. So, what do you say?"
The blonde gapes at her.
"I don't really do these things. But I figured -"
"Look," Quinn releases her hand out of the girl's hold. "You seem like a great person. But I'm not feeling up to this."
"Oh. Okay."
"I'm really sorry."
"You don't have to apologize," Marley says. "Just thought I'd try. I guess I'm more desperate to move on than I thought."
"Hey, don't worry about it. If it were any other time, I probably would. I mean, you're beautiful, but -"
"I'm not Rachel," Marley finishes for her.
Quinn is caught off guard. That wasn't what she was going to say. But it's still the truth.
"She sounds like someone very special."
"She is," Quinn agrees.
Marley smiles sadly. "There's no hope for you two?"
She sighs, "Well like I said, she's on a date tonight."
"And? I'm sure she cares about you just as much as you care about her. She's probably only on this date just to get over you. And you're here doing the same thing when you should be fighting for her."
Quinn just stares. Who is this girl, Dr. Phil?
"She doesn't want to be with me. There's no point in fighting for her," she says.
"Well, what's one more try?"
Quinn thinks about it.
"I mean, do you really wanna go through the rest of your life without giving it one last try?"
"No," Quinn says. "I really don't."
"Well?"
She knows what she has to do.
She suddenly stands. Marley gets up to join her, knowing exactly what's to come.
Quinn smiles sadly at the girl. "I'll see you around?"
"I hope so," Marley smiles back. "Good luck with Rachel."
"Thanks. Take care of yourself."
"I'll be fine. Again, I'm sorry about that."
Quinn gives her a quick hug before running into the house.
She finds Santana inside playing beer pong with Unique. They both seem to be getting along for the most part.
"Hey," she grabs her friend by the shoulder and turns her around.
Santana smirks, "That was quick."
"Take me to her house."
"What?"
"Take me to Rachel's house," Quinn says.
"Q, are you sure that's a good idea?"
Quinn shakes her head. "No. But I guess we'll find out?"
"There's no cars parked here, so that's a good sign," Santana says as they pull in front of Rachel's house. She parks by the curb and turns off the headlights. "Unless she's still out."
Quinn shakes her head, "It's already midnight. And I can see a light on inside."
"Are you sure?" Santana squints in the darkness.
"Yeah," Quinn nods.
She unbuckles her seatbelt and takes a deep breath.
"Do you want me to wait here?" Santana asks.
"No, I'll be fine."
"Quinn, have you thought this through? What if she doesn't want to see you?"
"I don't know, okay? I just know I need to see her."
"I just don't want you to be disappointed when it doesn't go the way you expect it to."
"I don't really know what to expect." She opens the car door and steps out.
"If you say so."
She turns to her friend, "But I have to do this."
Santana looks at her sadly, "Call me if you need anything, okay?"
"I will."
Quinn closes the door and watches as the car pulls away.
With a shaky breath, she turns and makes her way up the driveway.
She stares at the front door. It's now or never.
She raises her fist and knocks on the door three times. She decides to cover the peephole just in case Rachel decides to ignore her if she knew it was her.
After a minute, she hears scuffling on the other side of the door.
"Who is it?" Rachel calls out.
"It's me," she calls back, praying that the woman will open the door.
"Quinn?"
"Yeah."
It's silent for a moment. And Quinn is scared that Rachel is going to tell her to go away. Or not say anything at all.
She nearly jumps for joy when she hears the door unlocking.
It opens and Quinn is met with the sight of Rachel, who looks like she's lost just as much sleep as Quinn has lately. The woman also looks like she's been crying.
Such a beautiful mess.
"Hey," Rachel says softly.
"Hi," is all Quinn can think to say.
She's not sure who moves first. It's almost as if a magnetic pull is bringing her forward. But she finds herself wrapped in Rachel's arms as she holds the smaller woman back with just as much force.
Quinn sighs in content. She finally feels home.
Sooner than Quinn would have liked, Rachel pulls away and clears her throat.
"Are you coming inside?"
Quinn smiles and nods.
She follows Rachel inside to the kitchen where a mug of hot tea sitting on the counter. She assumes Rachel was winding down before she got here.
They both stand there in silence, just staring at one another.
Rachel is the one to finally speak. "So much for not seeing each other," she sighs.
Quinn is almost afraid to ask. "Do you want me to go?"
"No," Rachel shakes her head. "I don't."
She sips her tea slowly, studying the girl in front of her.
"How have you been?" she asks.
"Could be better," Quinn shrugs.
"Same."
"And what about you? I heard you had a date tonight."
Rachel looks at her sharply. Of course Quinn knows. She told Judy about it.
"Yes."
"How did it go?"
"Quinn..."
"Sorry. I'm just asking." Her voice cracks and Quinn mentally berates herself.
Rachel gives her a forlorn look. "It went fine. He took me to a nice restaurant and was a perfect gentleman."
Quinn nods sadly. Of course he was perfect.
"That's nice. I'm glad you enjoyed it."
She's a terrible fucking liar.
"But I don't think I'll be seeing him again."
Quinn fights the grin forming on her face. "Oh? Was there something wrong with him?"
"No," Rachel shakes her head. "At least not that I noticed."
Not wanting to push it, Quinn doesn't ask anymore of the questions that are at the tip of her tongue.
"I only agreed to go for all the wrong reasons." Rachel reaches to touch Quinn's wrist.
"Good thing you acknowledged that," she clears her throat.
"This has been so hard for me, Quinn. I can't shake off what I feel."
Quinn nods, "I know. Believe me, I've been trying too."
"How long?"
"What?" Quinn blinks.
"How long have you felt this way?"
"Since the night of my graduation. At least. Maybe longer?"
That was the night it actually hit her, she remembers vividly. And it's only grown every day since.
Rachel simply stares at her. Quinn is glad that they're at least having this conversation.
"What about you?"
The woman sighs, "It just happened so suddenly and I found myself wanting to be around you all the time. And as soon as you came over that night, that's when I knew. The moment I saw you again."
Quinn smiles despite everything.
"I don't know how all of this happened. It just did," Rachel says as she wipes away at the tears forming.
"I know this is all confusing for you. But I don't like being away from you. If I have to, I'll hide my feelings away forever. If that means I can still see you." It's hard, but it's Quinn's best option at this point. She wants to do this. For Rachel.
The older woman shakes her head, "We both know you're not going to be able to force your feelings away."
Quinn doesn't answer. She knows it's true. But she still has to try.
"And I won't be able to either."
The blonde takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Is this the part where Rachel tells her for the last time that they can't see each other?
"But I also know that I'm not going to stay away from you again."
Quinn's eyes snap open and lock onto Rachel's.
"What are you saying?"
Rachel gently moves her fingers down to caress Quinn's hand on the counter. She stares down at it and says, "I don't know exactly. I don't know what's going on with my life anymore." She looks up at Quinn, "I just know that I want you. I can't remember the last time that I've felt this way about someone."
"So...you're willing to take a chance with me?"
"I know it's crazy. And probably a terrible idea. But I'm not going to live the rest of my life wondering what could have been. Is that selfish of me?"
Quinn smiles, "No, I don't either."
Rachel pulls Quinn's hand up and lightly brushes her lips across her knuckles.
"I don't know what I'm doing," she confesses.
"And you think I do?" Quinn asks as she moves her hand to softly run her thumb over the woman's cheek. "But I know we can figure this out together. I want to be with you more than anything."
Rachel holds her gaze and says, "Then be with me?"
Quinn takes a step and moves to where she has Rachel pinned between herself and the counter.
"If that's what you want," she whispers.
The shorter woman reaches up suddenly to grab the back of Quinn's neck. She pulls her in for a deep, languid kiss. Quinn grips onto her sides and holds her even closer.
"This is all I want," Rachel says as she pulls away.
She rests her forehead against Quinn's chest and wraps her arms around her waist, holding her as close as possible. She doesn't know how she'd ever be able to let this go. It would be impossible.
Rachel glances at the clock and tilts her head back to look up at the girl in her arms.
"It's getting late," she smiles.
"Is this your subtle way of kicking me out?" Quinn says in jest.
"No. I think you're sleeping with me tonight."
The blonde lifts an eyebrow at the statement.
"Get your mind out of the gutter!" Rachel laughs at the smirking girl.
Quinn giggles and presses a kiss to her forehead.
"I've spent a lot nights wishing I was right next to you so you could hold me. So you have a lot of catching up to do."
Not wanting to ever refuse such a request from Rachel, Quinn spends the entire night holding her, just like she wanted.
She thinks about how grateful she is for this chance with her. She just hopes that she doesn't mess it up somehow.
She doesn't know what's to come. She's not certain of their future together, or if there will even be one. All she knows is that they're just getting started.
A/N: Don't worry guys. This story is far from over :)
Unfortunately, it's going to be about a week before I can update again. I'm taking a trip for a few days and won't have time to write.
Also, sorry if the editing was a little off again. My plane leaves in a few hours and I really need to get some sleep. If I cringe when I reread it again, I'll probably do some minor editing.
I love hearing what you all have to say so keep it coming! Reviews and PM's are always appreciated :)