Disclaimer: Glee is not mine
All he knew was that they fit somehow, and that he felt as if he spent most of his life traveling a path that led inexorably to her.
-Nicholas Sparks, At First Sight
Kurt rolled his eyes as he followed Finn back to where the girls were standing. He couldn't believe he was going along with this ridiculous-sure to blow up in Finn's face and therefore ruin his vacation- scheme.
"So what are you ladies doing?" Finn asked; his eyes focused on Rachel. Kurt snorted, his brother had never been known as subtle.
Brittany and Quinn stared at each other, before glancing at Rachel, who hadn't taken her eyes off of Sam. Honestly, they hadn't planned on what to do after. All of their plans involved finding Sam, not what to do once they found him. Sam seemed like a nice guy, but they were reluctant to leave Rachel alone with him, at least until they got to know him a little.
"We were…uh…just about to go to the bar and have a Panini," Quinn improvised, earning a surprised look from Brittany.
"Q, it's a little early to drink and do shots, don't you think? I'm hungry. I don't want alcohol," Brittany said, a confused expression on her face.
"No, Brits, an Italian bar is more like a café or coffeehouse. They mostly serve sandwiches and beverages, so you'll be able to eat," Quinn explained slowly, as if she was speaking to a five year old.
Kurt watched this exchange with interest, idly thinking that his earlier assessment of Brittany was spot on. He was brought out of his musings by the next words out of his brother's mouth.
"Really? Kurt and I were just talking about going to the bar. Isn't that right, Kurt?" Finn looked pleadingly at Kurt. "Didn't we promise Mom that we'd go to one?"
"Uh, right. Yeah, we were just about to go," Kurt responded, watching as Finn's gaze returned to Rachel. He'd never seen Finn like this. Even with the disaster that was Santana, he'd never had this look on his face. Kurt had always had the feeling that with Santana, it had been more of a physical attraction and Finn was simply seeing the fantastic body Santana possessed. Yet Finn was gazing at Rachel's face almost tenderly, as if he saw something beneath the surface that no one could see.
"So, why don't we all go together? I know a great one a couple of blocks away," Quinn asked, seeing as Rachel seemed to be unable to say anything. She picked up some of Kurt's shopping bags, looking enviously at the names on the bags, gesturing to Brittany to pick up some also. She started striding along the road, subtly grabbing both Kurt's and Brittany's arms, in order to let Sam and Rachel walk alone.
Finn picked up the remaining shopping bags, giving Rachel a smile as she took one from him, despite his protests. They fell silently in step, Finn deliberately walking slower to match Rachel's pace as she walked cheerfully next to him, swinging Kurt's Prada shopping bag from one hand.
"Are all these Kurt's?" she finally asked, peeking at Sam out of the corner of her eye.
"Unfortunately. I have no idea how he's going to get all this home. He's gonna need like his own plane or something." Finn rubbed the back of his neck in such a way that Rachel had the feeling it was his tell when he was nervous or unsure about something.
She found it adorable, a giggle rising in her throat as she stared at him, thinking of him and Kurt chasing those bags down.
"What's so funny?" he asked, shifting the bags around.
"I wish you could have seen you two trying to chase all those shopping bags. It was so funny!" Rachel giggled harder, her giggles soon erupting into full blown laughter as she stood stock still on the sidewalk.
Finn stopped also, staring at her as she laughed, thinking how beautiful her face was when she laughed. He started chuckling also; mentally thanking Kurt and his bags for letting him see this side of Rachel.
It seemed to break the ice between them, because Rachel found herself conversing easily with Sam as they walked a slight distance behind Kurt, Quinn and Brittany. By the time they'd reached the small bar Quinn had been talking about, they'd covered all the basics and were conversing like old friends. She felt completely at ease walking with Sam, and more than once found her eyes wandering up to stare at him as she forgot about what she was about to say to him.
"Here we are," Quinn announced, stopping in front of a quaint bar. She turned to see Sam and Rachel still a distance away, walking very closely together as they talked. She smiled as she saw Rachel burst out laughing at something Sam said, thinking that she hadn't seen Rachel this carefree in a long time. For a while, Quinn had had the feeling that Rachel was simply moving on autopilot, going through the motions of life, her suspicions growing when Rachel had visited the other day, asking about her relationship with Puck. "Why don't we go in and get a table, and they can catch up?" Quinn asked, whistling and gesturing to the bar once she had Rachel's attention.
Brittany and Kurt nodded and went in. Quinn gave Sam and Rachel once last glance before following them, her smile growing as she watched Sam nudge Rachel with his hip in a teasing manner, making Rachel laugh yet again.
"I think this is it," Finn said cheerfully, pausing in front of the bar. "Ready to go in?"
He placed his hand on the small of Rachel's back, leading her into the bar. He paused, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dimness before searching out Kurt and the girls. He was happy to see that Kurt's bags were taking up a large amount of room in the booth, giving him the opportunity to sit alone with Rachel. Even better, the table next to them was also piled high with bags, so it was almost like they'd be alone.
Once again, he placed his hand lightly on the small of her back, leading her towards the empty table two tables away from Kurt. He pulled her chair out for her, pushing it gently towards the table once Rachel had sat down, before placing Kurt's bags on the floor and sitting across from Rachel, who'd picked up a menu and was examining it. He smiled at how cute she looked with that perplexed expression on her face, biting her lip. He glanced down at his own menu, instantly realizing why she looked perplexed. It was completely written in Italian.
Shit.
He sheepishly looked up at her, unsure of what to do. Fortunately for him, Rachel looked up at him at the same time, a smile now on her face, automatically making him smile.
"Quinn told me how to order on the plane. I wanted to be prepared and practiced how to order with her," she explained, smiling. "But what do you want to drink?"
Finn quickly glanced down at the menu, naming the first thing his eyes fell on. "Uh, Cappuccino."
"Be right back, Sam!" she said brightly, bouncing off to the counter to order. Finn watched her go, thinking that he might be hearing his mother say 'I told you so' quicker than he thought.
"So let me get this straight. A fortune teller told Rachel the man of her dreams is named Sam Evans, then she got his name in a Fortune Cookie years later?" Kurt asked looking across the table at Brittany and Quinn, who were both nodding. "What does that have to do with Italy?" He took a sip of his Espresso as he waited for one of them to enlighten him.
"Rachel came with me to the airport to drop off my husband at the International Terminal. He's going to Copenhagen on business, but he promised to bring back a gift for me and Lord Tubbington," Brittany explained carefully.
Kurt arched an eyebrow, glancing at Quinn. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that Quinn was the more coherent of the two and that if he wanted explanations, Quinn should be his go to choice.
"Lord Tubbington's her cat," Quinn hastily explained. "B, explain about the page and what happened afterwards."
"Well, we were watching Artie go through security and were about to leave, when the PA system announced 'Alitalia flight 476 passenger Sam Evans please report to your gate.' Rachel didn't think it was a sign, but I knew it was. I started running to the gate and Rachel followed me. The mean security guard wouldn't let us through without a ticket, so I finally convinced Rachel to buy a ticket. By the time we bought our tickets and Quinn came with the luggage, we'd missed you two on your flight. But we got on the next one and here we are!" She beamed happily at Kurt before taking a bite out of her cornetto.
Kurt glanced over at Finn and Rachel, who were sitting a few tables away, heads close together as they quietly talked. Kurt's mountain of bags was piled on the table between them, creating a modicum of privacy for the two. Wanting to get as much information about this whole situation as he could, he turned to Quinn. "But what I don't get is, how did you know that F-, uh, Sam, was Sam?"
"My husband is Rachel's cousin. Their grandparents have a soul mate love story, where they both weren't supposed to be somewhere, but Fate made sure that they were. They spotted each other across the crowded room and had what Rachel calls 'The Moment.' They both knew that something was happening and met in the middle of the dance floor, forgetting about anything else. They got married as soon as her grandpa came home from the war. Rachel was always very affected by that story and the idea of a soul mate."
"The Fortune Teller and cookie, you see," Brittany cut in, anxious to impress the significance of them on Kurt, who simply nodded, looking at Quinn expectantly.
"When I called Rachel and Brittany said that Sam was on his way to Italy, we both knew that she had to come to Italy and find him, she just needed a push to realize it. Anyway, when we were checking in at the hotel, Rachel was looking around and saw a man get off the elevator. Him." She pointed at Finn, who was smiling at Rachel as she laughed at something. "She couldn't stop staring at him. I called her name like 5 times and she had no idea, she was so into him. She started walking towards him, but a basketball team got in the way," Quinn explained patiently.
"And it wasn't just her, Kurt. Quinn didn't really see the whole thing, but I did. He stepped out of the elevator and looked up. Just like her, he couldn't stop staring. She was upset when she lost him, so we came to the Spanish Steps to get Gelato and figure out what to do and then he showed up! We knew that he was staying at the Hotel Cavalieri, so when they had 'The Moment' at the hotel and then he showed up here; that means he's Sam," Brittany interrupted, finally arriving at the important part of the story.
"So none of you have ever seen Sam Evans before and you know nothing about him, other than that he took Flight 476 to Rome and that he's staying at the Hotel Cavalieri?" Kurt asked slowly. "How did you know about the hotel by the way?"
"Quinn's aunt called every hotel in Rome asking for Sam," Brittany announced cheerfully.
"We're not stalkers," Quinn said quickly, assuming by the look on Kurt's face that that's what was going through his head. "It's just since we were on a later flight than you and Sam, we knew we'd never find you once you landed."
"I see." Kurt said, anxious to get back to his previous question. "You've really never seen or heard anything about Sam Evans?"
"No, not a thing," Quinn answered.
"The cookie said he'd be right behind a door, and he was. We knew that much," Brittany added helpfully.
"Interesting." Kurt sat back, deep in thought. They'd flown halfway around the world chasing a man they'd never seen or even knew anything about. Finn happened to step out of an elevator at the right moment, causing Rachel to inadvertently believe he was Sam. Carole had felt that Finn needed this trip; that he needed to be pushed out of his comfort zone to get past what Santana had done to him. He stared at Finn out of the corner of his eye, watching as Finn conversed with Rachel, their heads still very close together.
Even if she currently believed he was Sam Evans, Kurt had the feeling that Rachel was just the push Finn needed.
Rachel peeked at Sam out of the corner of her eye as he walked up to the counter to get her a napkin, hardly daring to believe that she was here. Yesterday, she'd been alone in her apartment watching 27 Dresses and today she's in Italy having coffee with Sam Evans.
The Sam Evans she'd been dreaming about for years. Although truth be told, the real Sam Evans was better looking than she could have ever thought. She studied him as he fumbled in Italian, attempting to ask for some napkins. He was much taller than Jesse was; something she'd always liked in a man. She eyed his broad shoulders and large hands, wondering what if would feel like to have those hands on her body.
Before she could chastise herself for even thinking that, Sam was back, successfully holding a pile of napkins. "Mission accomplished," he said cheerfully as he handed her the napkins. "Although I think I may have insulted her mother."
Rachel laughed. "So what were you saying about your job, Sam?" she asked as she wiped the edge of her cup. She placed her hand on the table, noticing that her fingers were almost touching Sam's.
"I'm a high school art teacher. I teach painting and drawing. Sometimes I teach sculpture too," he said, taking a slow sip of his cappuccino. Rachel couldn't help but laugh again at the grimace that passed over his face when he tasted it. He was so adorable in his reaction.
"How rewarding, working with kids like that. I bet you have students who aren't good at the traditional subjects, but excel in your classes. It must feel so great to bring that artistic side out. You must be very talented Sam," Rachel commented, sipping her own tea as her eyes stared at him over the rim of her glass. She could see a blush spread over his face, making him appear even cuter. "I would know. I'm very talented too," she said seriously, a teasing glint in her eye.
"Yeah?" He leaned closer to her, allowing Rachel to look into those amber eyes she'd noticed across the room. Up close like this, she could see the gold flecks in his eyes, along with the same teasing glint hers held. It was her turn to blush as she felt his eyes boring into her. "And what would a Broadway Babe like yourself know about art?"
"Oh, I know plenty," Rachel teased right back, inwardly thrilled that he'd called her babe, even if it was indirectly. It sounded so natural coming from his mouth. Jesse was not one for terms of endearment, claiming they weren't in high school. Rachy was the only nickname he'd ever utter, unaware that Rachel hated it more than anything and felt that Rachy was more of a high school nickname than Babe or Baby was.
"Of course, I'm always willing to learn more, if I could find a talented enough teacher," she added innocently, now very aware that their fingers were touching. She shivered as his fingers lightly grazed hers. She glanced down at their fingers, wondering if his finger grazing was an accident. "Italy's such a haven for art, you know."
"So I've heard. You know, talented art teachers are hard to come by. What are you going to do?" he asked, his fingers grazing hers again a little firmer, leaving Rachel no doubt this time if it was an accident or not. She smiled up at him, blushing slightly.
"Well, I'm not just looking for any talented art teacher. I do have certain qualifications." Rachel leaned her head closer, letting her own fingers graze his.
"Yeah? What would they be?" he asked, giving her a lopsided grin that made Rachel's insides melt.
She pursed her lips in thought. "He should be American, since I don't speak Italian and it would probably be really good if he was tall."
Sam quirked an eyebrow. "Tall?"
"Yes, tall. That way he can get through the crowds so I can see the art better," Rachel said seriously, that playful glint still in her eye.
"So you need a tall American, anything else?" he looked at her, a serious look on his own face as his fingers now rubbed casually against her knuckles.
"I think it would be good if he didn't like cappuccinos," Rachel said thoughtfully. "It would leave us more time to look at the art, you know." She leaned her head even closer, their foreheads practically touching. "Do you know anyone who meets my qualifications?"
"I might." His eyes continued to stare into hers as his face broke into a smile. "Wanna get out of here?"
"Oh, yeah," Rachel replied, already standing up.
He stood up also, his hand automatically reaching up to rest on her back. Rachel smiled up at him, letting him lead her towards the door.
Caught up in each other, neither noticed the three pairs of eyes watching them leave. Two of the pairs of eyes were thrilled, while the owner of the third pair shifted uncomfortably, wondering when the ticking timebomb that was Sam Evans was set to go off.
A/N: One of my shortest chapters yet! I hope I didn't confuse anyone with the whole Sam/Finn thing, but I figured whenever Quinn, Brittany or Rachel is talking to or referencing Finn, he should be called Sam, while Kurt talking to Finn would be his given name, and of course, any action Finn does would necessitate the use of his own name.
